This is an extensive review on a novel approach to dealing with highly complex, multicomponent systems, which is broadly called "coarse graining of microscopic degrees of freedom." It offers a very powerful possibility to reduce the complexity of the theoretical treatment of a very large class of materials and make their study manageable and transparent, also allowing direct contact with experiments.

“This is an extensive review on a novel approach to dealing with highly complex, multicomponent systems, which is broadly called 'coarse graining of microscopic degrees of freedom'.”

The review covers a large variety of systems, going from a pedagogical level to cutting-edge research. I assume that people have learned something by reading it and it gives me great pleasure that people cite it heavily. If beginning graduate students, for instance, have the feeling that the article makes their going into research more palatable, I would be very glad—this would mean I did my job well.

  Does it describe a new discovery, methodology, or synthesis of knowledge?

In my opinion, the article offers a detailed description of the above-mentioned coarse-graining strategy in many different contexts. It also describes a host of new discoveries on the particularities of the so-called "ultrasoft colloids," that is, systems whose constituent particles are penetrable (e.g., polymers, polyelectrolytes, etc.)

  Would you summarize the significance of your paper in layman’s terms?

I would say that the article has helped bring forward the significance of certain theoretical approaches, their power, and their broad range of applicability. It might also have helped a bit in making people realize the meaning of a statement by the pioneer of Soft Matter Science, the late Pierre Gilles de Gennes—a recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1991—who once said that complex fluids need not necessarily be complicated fluids.

  How did you become involved in this research and were any particular problems encountered along the way?

My involvement with Soft Matter began during my Ph.D. studies, when I worked on the study of classical fluids with Professor Neil Ashcroft at Cornell University. It was intensified during my postdoctoral stay in Juelich, where I worked on star polymers and since then, there has been no looking back.

The particular problems pertained rather to a translation of terminology, expertise, language, and methods from chemistry or physical chemistry—the traditional "strongholds" of Soft Matter—into Physics. But other scientists had already paved the way before me—Pierre Gilles de Gennes, being one example of many. So, these problems were not insurmountable ones.

  Where do you see your research leading in the future?

I see it leading to the discovery of novel forms of self-organization of soft matter, in particular, under the influence of external fields, to which soft systems react very sensitively.

  Are there any social or political implications for your research?

It would be far-fetched to make such claims. The implications of the fundamental research, which is what I am doing, for society, are not immediate but rather very indirect. But the skills one acquires by working in this field are manifold and my graduate students can obtain very attractive jobs, be they in scientific research or in industry, and I am very glad of that.