Surfactant dynamics in confined domains

Surfactants are chemicals that are ubiquitous in the modern environment.  They adsorb onto gas-liquid interfaces and reduce surface tension.  This can be a benefit in many industrial, domestic or biomedical situations but also a nuisance, when surfactants contaminate interfaces that should otherwise be clean.  I will describe a set of problems illustrating the dynamics of flows generated or influenced by surfactants, starting with their surprising capacity to solve a maze, diverting via consideration of optimal transport to lung airways (where surfactants are beneficial) and superhydrophobic surfaces (where they are not).