Active Matter: Cytoskeleton, Cells, Tissues and Flocks
Coordinators: Iain Couzin, M. Cristina Marchetti, Sriram Ramaswamy, Christoph Schmidt
This program will focus on the physical and mathematical modeling of active systems, defined as nonequilibrium materials composed of many interacting units that individually consume energy and collectively generate motion or mechanical stresses. Realizations span an enormous range of length scales, from the living and nonliving world, including individual living cells, tissues and organisms, animal groups, self-propelled colloids and artificial nanoswimmers. Experiments in this field are now developing at a very rapid pace and new theoretical ideas are needed to bring unity to the field and identify "universal" behavior in these internally driven systems. The program will bring together a broad spectrum of scientists working on active matter, ranging from theoretical and experimental physicists, to biologists, engineers and applied mathematicians.
This program was supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. NSF PHY11-25915 and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation Grant No. 2919.
Special Program Events
Conference: Active Processes in Living and Nonliving Matter February 10-14, 2014 Coordinators: Iain Couzin, M. Cristina Marchetti, Sriram Ramaswamy, Christoph Schmidt. |
Focused Working Group on Self-Propelled Micro-Objects March 3 - 21, 2014 Working Group Leaders: Siegfried Dietrich, Gleb Oshanin, Mihail Popescu, Mykola Tasinkevych. The goal of the Focused Working Group (FWG) is to bring together a small group of theoretical physicists, physical chemists, and micro-mechanical engineers working on self-propelled micro-objects, such as mechanical swimmers or chemically active colloids, to integrate experiments, theory and simulations in these systems. Applicants who are specifically interested in participating in the FWG, should be sure to add a comment to their application. |