Challenges in the Physics of Active and Biological Matter

Description

Living and active matter, which include artificial, externally driven systems and natural biological ones, are currently under intense study. The study of such systems has been a rapidly evolving field in recent years, with significant advances in experimental and computational techniques. Despite intense interdisciplinary collaborations, developing computational and theoretical tools and identifying synergistic approaches still remain to be improved. Furthermore, there remain many open questions and challenges that require interdisciplinary approaches and collaborations to address. These include, for example:

(i) How biomolecular processes taking place at cell membranes give rise to the complexity of biological function, which is physically controlled mainly by electrostatic interactions, and where the effects of specific interactions between biomolecules compete with the effects of non-specific membrane-mediated interactions.

(ii) The emergence of order by means of self-organization in large assemblies of growing or motile cells, from confluent tissues to biofilms, poses significant challenges for scientists because of their ability to use energy sources to generate fluxes of matter or motility.

(iii) How synthetic active systems mimicking some of the behaviors of the biological ones can be rationally designed and harnessed for technological uses and to improve understanding of the more complex biological systems.

This workshop aims to bring together both experimental and theoretical researchers from physics, chemistry, biology, and related fields to discuss and explore current challenges in the physics of active and biological matter. Crucial to the success of our workshop will be the interaction between theoreticians and experimentalists to discuss the state-of-the-art computational, experimental and theoretical techniques used to study these systems, and to foster new connections between physicists, chemists and biologists working in the field of biological and active matter.

Period	16 Aug 2023 → 18 Aug 2023
Event type	Workshop
Location	Espoo, FinlandShow on map
Degree of Recognition	International