Sarah Schyck

NB1.34

TUDelft, Department of Aerospace Engineering

Delft, The Netherlands

I’m Sarah — a scientist driven by a deep curiosity about how materials behave, transform, and grow.

My research journey began with the development of nanomaterials and thin films for sensing applications at a national research institute. That early hands-on work with functional materials sparked a lasting fascination with how structure and form can be designed with purpose.

Since then, my work has spanned multiple scales and material states — from studying high-pressure crystalline behavior to synthesizing and characterizing magnetic colloids throughout my graduate career.

Today, my focus is on living materials made with and from fungi. I explore how the architecture of the natural world can be combined with synthetic design to create biohybrid systems. At the heart of my research is the belief that when we understand both systems and structure, we can create materials that are not just smart — but alive.

Whether you’re working in soft matter, sustainable design, or biofabrication, I’m always open to connecting and exchanging ideas.

news

Apr 02, 2026	We’re used to materials being made. But what if they could grow into their function? 🍄 In our latest work, now published in Advanced Functional Materials, we combined mycelium (living fungal networks) with 3D printing to create materials that continue developing after fabrication.
Jan 10, 2026	I was awarded an NWO XS grant in December to investigate some of the many talents of mycelium.
Oct 10, 2025	How fast can hematite particles swim? We took a look and published the results in Applied Materials Today. Check it out now!
May 08, 2025	Our recent article on delightfully deformable magnetic microparticles has been featured on the cover of Soft Matter! 🧲💫

latest posts

May 31, 2023	Reflecting on the Dutch Soft Matter Meeting

selected publications

Shaping of Biohybrid Functional Living Materials

Sarah Schyck, Mark Ablonczy, Sourav Patranabish, and 1 more author

Advanced Functional Materials, 2026

DOI
Enhancing the active motion of hematite microswimmers

Sarah Schyck, Silvana A. Caipa Cure, Stefano Sacanna, and 1 more author

Applied Materials Today, 2025

Abs DOI

The demand for autonomous, self-propelled active particles is rapidly growing in soft matter research, driven by their potential applications in cargo delivery, environmental remediation, and as valuable models for understanding biological systems. Despite this interest, the challenge of designing highly active and cost-effective microparticles persists. Here, we present a simple and general method to enhance the photocatalytic performance of hematite microparticles through thermal treatment. By calcining the particles in air at 600 °C for varying durations, we achieve significant improvements in their light-driven motility. Optical microscopy tracking reveals up to an 87-fold increase in mean-squared displacement (MSD) at short lag times. Our findings highlight a simple and scalable method to substantially improve the efficiency of hematite microparticles, and this advancement opens new avenues for their application in key areas of soft matter and photocatalysis research.
Reshapable Magnetic Particles for Morphology-Controlled Soft Systems

Sarah Schyck, Nitin Rajendra Madam, and Laura Rossi

Soft Matter, Mar 2025

Abs DOI

Spherical polymeric particles are essential in a wide range of applications, from fundamental self-assembly to bioseparation technologies, with well-established synthetic methodologies. However, incorporating functional components into polymeric matrices to enhance their properties remains a significant challenge, especially when uniformity is required. In this study, we introduce a simple and versatile emulsion evaporation method to fabricate magnetic-loaded polymeric microparticles with exceptional malleability. These composite particles maintain their magnetic functionality while being reshaped into ellipsoids through mechanical stretching. This scalable and straightforward approach offers precise control over particle morphology, offering broad potential for applications in soft robotics, drug delivery, and other magnetically responsive systems.