The University of Montpellier launches "COLLY," a European research project to better understand the deformation of materials under stress
The University of Montpellier has officially launched COLLY (Colloidal Yielding): modular glasses for exploring the plasticity of materials from the macroscopic to the microscopic scale, a European research project funded by the European Commission as part of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) – Postdoctoral Fellowship program.
The COLLY project, which will run for 24 months, began in January 2026 and has a total budget of €226,000. Coordinated by the University of Montpellier, it aims to deepen understanding of the fundamental mechanisms by which soft materials deform and yield under external stress, a key phenomenon in both fundamental science and numerous industrial and natural applications.
A European research project at the interface between fundamental physics and cutting-edge experimental techniques
Understanding how materials react to external stress is a major scientific challenge, with implications ranging from materials engineering and industrial processes to the prediction of natural phenomena such as earthquakes, landslides, and avalanches. When the applied stress exceeds a certain threshold, materials can undergo irreversible deformation or flow, a complex behavior known as yielding (or yield strength). Despite its ubiquity, this phenomenon remains largely misunderstood, particularly due to the multiplicity of time and length scales involved.
The COLLY project focuses specifically on soft glasses, a category of materials consisting of concentrated suspensions of colloidal particles. These systems are relevant models for studying everyday glasses, while offering a major advantage: their high modularity. The interactions between particles and the properties of the material can be finely controlled, making them ideal systems for exploring the microscopic origins of plasticity and yield strength.
Funded by the European Commission as part of a Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant, COLLY is based on close collaboration between a host institution, a postdoctoral researcher, and a scientific supervisor. The project is hosted at the Charles Coulomb Laboratory (L2C) at the University of Montpellier and led by Alessandro Martinelli, under the supervision of Professor Luca Cipelletti. It relies on cutting-edge experimental techniques, combining visible light scattering experiments at L2C and X-ray scattering measurements during short research stays at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) in Grenoble. This multi-scale approach makes it possible to study the phenomenon of yielding from the dynamics of individual particles to the macroscopic behavior of the material.
Advancing understanding of yielding and strengthening European scientific excellence
The main objective of the COLLY project is to elucidate the physical mechanisms governing the flow threshold in soft materials, establishing a direct link between the microscopic dynamics of particles and macroscopic mechanical properties. By providing new experimental data on several scales, the project aims to contribute to a more predictive understanding of how materials deform and eventually fail.
Beyond its scientific objectives, COLLY is fully aligned with the ambitions of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, supporting researchers' career development, international mobility, and interdisciplinary collaborations. The project also promotes open science practices and the wide dissemination of research results to the scientific community and the general public.
"This project represents a unique opportunity to explore a physical phenomenon that is extremely common in our daily lives, but still poorly understood," emphasizes Alessandro Martinelli. "The use of new colloidal systems and advanced experimental techniques will give us access to unprecedented information about particle dynamics at the nanoscale and a better understanding of how and by what mechanisms a material breaks."
By hosting the COLLY project, the University of Montpellier is reaffirming its commitment to high-level fundamental research, international cooperation, and training the researchers of tomorrow. This project also illustrates the institution's strong involvement in European research programs and its active contribution to advancing knowledge in soft matter physics.
Practical information:
Date: launch in January 2026
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are, however, those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.