Biological
systems and soft materials:
Future
directions in statistical physics
A symposium on the interface of statistical
physics, biology, and chemistry
Department of Physics,
March 6 and 7, 2004
Supported by U.S. National
Science Foundation, Virginia Tech,
and
the
Biological
and soft matter systems pose fascinating and fundamental challenges at the
interface of physics, biology, and physical chemistry. Life scientists in particular are
increasingly recognizing the need for quantitative analysis, integrating data
from a variety of structural components and dynamical processes spanning
multiple scales. By virtue of their expertise with complex interacting systems,
including those far from thermal equilibrium, statistical physicists are
uniquely poised to make significant contributions in this interdisciplinary
arena. Fruitful collaborations are emerging, and we anticipate that this trend
will accelerate in the future.
We
are organizing this symposium to bring junior and senior researchers together
to discuss a variety of topics in these fields, and to illustrate how they can
be approached with computational and analytical methods from statistical
physics. The workshop takes place on the campus of Virginia Tech in Blacksburg,
VA, Saturday March 6 and Sunday March 7, 2004. Some
travel grants are available for graduate students and postdocs
without other sources of support. The registration fee for participants
is a nominal U.S. $60 (except for graduate and
undergraduate students, who will be admitted FREE),
and inexpensive accommodation is available in the local area.
The
symposium will consist of invited talks of about
40 minutes by internationally known researchers who combine a strong
theoretical foundation with an active research program in soft matter or biological systems (see titles and
abstracts below) and contributed talks (about
5 minutes, 1-2 transparencies).
On Saturday evening, we will hold a celebration to honor Royce
K.P. Zia on his 60th birthday. The cost of the
banquet dinner (eight-course Chinese!)
will be $18 (tax and tip included). If you plan to attend, please e-mail Beate Schmittmann at schmittm@vt.edu BY FEBRUARY 28!
Notice to students and postdocs seeking financial support:
At the time of your registration on the
registration web site, please also send e-mail to Professor Beate
Schmittmann at schmittm@vt.edu with
your request and the following information:
Name:
Affiliation:
Brief reason for wanting to attend:
Brief description (2-3 sentences) of research:
Title of talk:
Name of PhD/postdoctoral advisor:
Program Travel and
Accommodations Registration (Deadline: February 29)
Invited speakers:
- James
D. Gunton, Department of Physics,
Crystallization
of globular proteins Abstract
- Yi
Jiang, Theoretical Division,
Rippling and
aggregation in myxobacteria: A cellular automata
modeling Abstract
- Mehran Kardar, Department of Physics, MIT:
Symmetry considerations in the visual
cortex and in natural images Abstract
- Ching-Hwa Kiang, Department of Physics
and Astronomy,
DNA-based nanostructures Abstract
- Alan J. McKane, Department of Theoretical Physics,
Stochastic models in population biology
and their deterministic analogs Abstract
- Susan W. Liebman, Department of Biological Sciences,
Prion-prion interactions in yeast Abstract
- Leah B. Shaw, Departments of Chemical
Engineering and Physics, Cornell
University:
A genome-wide statistical
mechanics model for protein synthesis with comparison to experimental data Abstract
Organizers:
Beate Schmittmann,
Department
of Physics, Virginia Tech. schmittm@vt.edu
Uwe C. Täuber,
Department
of Physics, Virginia Tech. tauber@vt.edu
Per Arne
Rikvold, Department of Physics,
Bulbul
Chakraborty,