Paul Michael Chaikin (born November 14, 1945, in Brooklyn, New York) is an American physicist known particularly for many significant contributions to the field of soft condensed matter physics.
He joined the physics faculty at the University of California, Los Angeles in 1972 and studied thermopower, density waves, and high field phenomena mostly in organic superconductors.
His interests in geometry/topology led to his founding contributions to diblock copolymer nanolithography, and studies of defects, annealing, and pattern formation.
His more recent research centers on artificial self-replication, self-assembly, active matter, DNA nanotechnology, topological defects on curved surfaces, and quantifying order far from equilibrium.
[5] He has been awarded the 2018 Oliver Buckley Prize with the citation "for pioneering contributions that opened new directions in the field of soft condensed matter physics through innovative studies of colloids, polymers, and packing.