• Experimental Soft Matter Physics
• Rheology and Optical Imaging
• Microfluidics
• Small Angle X‑ray Scattering
• Developing a Low Cost Lab-Centered Science Curriculum

Before joining the University, Rema Krishnaswamy worked at the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR), Bangalore and at the Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore as a DST Ramanujan Fellow (2010−2015).

She obtained her PhD (2004) in physics from Raman Research Institute (RRI), Bangalore in the area of experimental soft condensed matter physics. 

She was also a postdoctoral fellow at the Laboratoire de Physique des Solides, Universite Paris-Sud, Orsay (2004−2005) and subsequently a centenary postdoctoral fellow at Department of Physics, IISc (2006−2009).

Her research interests are interdisciplinary and deal with understanding the structure, phase behaviour, and non-equilibrium phenomena under flow of different ​“Soft Matter” systems such as colloids, surfactants, emulsions, liquid crystals and bio-inspired materials.

Her current research interest is in the area of active matter that exhibit rich physics such as internally generated flows, self-motility, and large-scale collective motion, mimicking the behaviour observed in biological systems. 

Active emulsions formed by micron-sized liquid crystal or oil drops that self-propel in an aqueous medium is a model system that is of interest to her. 

Using optical techniques like microscopy and light scattering in the lab, she studies their dynamics, shape deformation, and collective behavior in the bulk and at fluid interfaces.