This is an extended version of my Nobel Lecture, delivered on December 8, 2021. I will
recall the genesis of the concept of multiple equilibria in natural sciences. I will then describe …

When cooled or pressurized, polymer melts exhibit a tremendous reduction in molecular
mobility. If the process is performed at a constant rate, the structural relaxation time of the …

It is well established that for symmetry‐protected bound states in the continuum (BICs),
introducing the broken geometry symmetry in a dielectric metasurface transforms such a BIC …

Melting is well understood in terms of the Lindemann criterion, which essentially states that
crystalline materials melt when the thermal vibrations of their atoms become so vigorous that …

Understanding the physics of glass formation remains one of the major unsolved challenges
of condensed matter science. As a material solidifies into a glass, it exhibits a spectacular …

Conditions of rapid processing often drive polymers to adopt nonequilibrium molecular
conformations, which, in turn, can give rise to structural, dynamical, and mechanical …

The noncrystalline glassy state of matter plays a role in virtually all fields of materials science
and offers complementary properties to those of the crystalline counterpart. The caveat of the …

While it is known that the properties of polymer nanocomposites are largely dominated by
the interfacial layer around nanoparticles, the molecular parameters controlling the …

Memory and rejuvenation effects in the magnetic response of off-equilibrium spin glasses
have been widely regarded as the doorway into the experimental exploration of …

Unlike a crystal, a glassy solid state displays slow internal relaxation processes besides
vibrational modes even when structural (α) relaxation is frozen. The precise nature of such …