Eppur si muovono: rotations in active matter
Abstract: Living matter relies on the self organization of its components into higher order structures, on the molecular as well as on the cellular, organ or even organism scale. Collective […]
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During the 2023–24 academic year, the CMSA will be hosting a seminar on Active Matter, organized by Farzan Vafa. This seminar will take place bi-weekly on Mondays at 12:30 – 1:30 pm (Eastern Time). The meetings will take place in Room G02 at the CMSA, 20 Garden Street, Cambridge MA 02138, and some meetings will take place virtually on Zoom or be held in hybrid formats.
To learn how to attend, please fill out this form, or contact Farzan Vafa (fvafa@cmsa.fas.harvard.edu).
The schedule will be updated as talks are confirmed.
The many phases of a cell
Abstract: I will begin by introducing an emerging paradigm of cellular organization – the dynamic compartmentalization of biochemical pathways and molecules by phase separation into distinct and multi-phase condensates. Motivated […]
Cytoskeletal Energetics and Energy Metabolism
Abstract: Life is a nonequilibrium phenomenon. Metabolism provides a continuous flux of energy that dictates the form and function of many subcellular structures. These subcellular structures are active materials, composed […]
Stochastic PDE as scaling limits of interacting particle systems
Abstract: Interacting particle models are often employed to gain understanding of the emergence of macroscopic phenomena from microscopic laws of nature. These individual-based models capture fine details, including randomness and […]
Drivers of Morphological Complexity
Abstract: During development, organisms interact with their natural habitats while undergoing morphological changes, yet we know little about how the interplay between developing systems and their environments impacts animal morphogenesis. Cnidaria, […]
Nonreciprocal matter: living chiral crystals
Abstract: Active crystals are highly ordered structures that emerge from the nonequilibrium self-organization of motile objects, and have been widely studied in synthetic and bacterial active matter. In this talk, I […]
Hydrodynamics and multi-scale order in confluent epithelia
Abstract: In this talk I will review our ongoing theoretical and experimental efforts toward deciphering the hydrodynamic behavior of confluent epithelia. The ability of epithelial cells to collectively flow lies at […]
Learning to School in the presence of hydrodynamic interactions
Abstract: Fluids pervade complex systems, ranging from fish schools, to bacterial colonies and nanoparticles in drug delivery. Despite its importance, little is known about the role of fluid mechanics in such […]
Active Matter Controlling Epithelial Dynamics
Abstract: My lab is interested in the active and adaptive materials that underlie control of cell shape. This has centered around understanding force transmission and sensing within the actin cytoskeleton. I […]
Taming Active Matter: from ordered topological defects to autonomous shells
Abstract: The spontaneous emergence of collective flows is a generic property of active fluids and often leads to chaotic flow patterns characterized by swirls, jets, and topological disclinations in their orientation […]
Topological defects drive layer formation in gliding bacteria colonies
Abstract: The developmental cycle of Myxococcus xanthus involves the coordination of many hundreds of thousands of cells aggregating to form mounds known as fruiting bodies. This aggregation process begins with […]
Theories of branching morphogenesis
Abstract: The morphogenesis of branched tissues has been a subject of long-standing debate. Although much is known about the molecular pathways that control cell fate decisions, it remains unclear how […]