Title: Modelling cell migration Rita is a physicist that uses computational models and theory to study morphogenesis and cell migration (using both Cellular Potts and Vicsek models). She also has some nice work on the generation and analysis of transcriptomics of gene and protein expressions in yeast, arabidopsis and mammalian cells. Host: Julio Belmonte
Title: Bridging 'Micro-' and 'Macroscopic' Scales in Wet Granular Dynamics Abstract: "From sand dunes to Faraday crispation, granular materials (i.e., large agglomerations of macroscopic particles) are ubiquitous in nature, industry and our daily lives with widespread applications from the prediction of natural disasters (e.g. snow avalanches and debris flows) through the enhancement of energy efficiency…
Title: Investigating Multimodal Activation of Cellular Signaling Pathways Through Lipids Abstract: Key signaling molecules, receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) are a clinically important family of receptors that act as key regulators of a wide range of biological functions and as such, play a role in the development of various diseases. All RTKs are membrane proteins that…
Title: Engineering new proteins for enhanced photosynthesis Abstract: Plants, green algae, and cyanobacteria power the biosphere using oxygenic photosynthesis to oxidize water to oxygen and liberate high-energy electrons for carbon fixation. Despite its evolutionary success, oxygenic photosynthesis has a low overall efficiency. It fails to make use of the abundant energy in the near-infrared region of…
Title: Conformations of Polyampholytic Disordered Proteins: Does Nature Use Multicriticality Abstract: Recent advancements in understanding intracellular organization have been significantly attributed to the application of polymer physics methods. A notable example is the formation of membraneless organelles from intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs), which can be described as liquid-liquid phase separation in a polyampholyte (PA) solution.…
Title: Communicating Science to the Public (Workshop) Abstract: Gain hands-on practice in explaining your research without using jargon. You’ll learn how to craft an elevator pitch to help you get the attention of people outside your field — including potential supporters of your work.
Title: Shape-shifting mechanics for adaptive cities Abstract: Rapid urbanization is intertwined with urgent, climate change related threats to human well-being and environmental health. Meanwhile, much of our built environment relies on static structures, which require substantial energy input for cooling and other interventions -- resources often unavailable to much of the global population. Addressing these challenges requires sustainable designs,…
Title: A Generalized Critical State Approach for Granular Rheology and Impact Loading Abstract: The dynamics of dense granular-fluid mixtures, such as those occurring in landslides and debris flows, embody a complex interplay and transition between solid mechanics and fluid dynamics. Despite major advances in large-deformation analysis, geotechnical modeling remains largely governed by strain-independent critical state…
Title: De novo protein design with multi-objective fitness functions Abstract: We have developed a protein design pipeline, called EvoPro, that uses iterative rounds of deep learning-based structure prediction and sequence optimization to evolve protein sequences for prespecified design goals. Two design projects will be described that make use of EvoPro: the creation of a set…
Title: Geometrically Cohesive Granular Materials: Structure, Permeability and Porosity Abstract: Geometrically cohesive granular materials (GCGMs) are granular materials whose shape allows for particle entanglement that can result in extreme rigidity (c.f. bird nests, beaver dams and entangled clothes hangers). In this talk I’ll first review some surprising rheological features of GCGMs that arise from the…