Events in Physics
Thursday, October 05, 2017
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Theory Seminar: John Molina (Kyoto), Dynamics of Active Particles: From swimmers to crawling cells, 1300 in PS1.28PS1.28Active systems, composed of 鈥減articles鈥� that consume local energy to perform work, have attracted a great deal of attention due to their relevance in Physics, Biology, Medicine, and Engineering. Examples of these systems can be found at vastly different length scales: from the nano-scale, with kinesin motors transporting cargo inside of cells, to the micro-scales of cells crawling around to close wounds or bacteria swimming in viscous media, and finally, to the macro-scales at which fish, birds, and humans move about. In our work, we have focused on studying the dynamics of micro-meter sized active particles, including both swimmers (e.g., bacteria) and crawlers (e.g., epidermal cells). While we have a fairly complete understanding of the propulsion mechanism used by such particles, the non-trivial coupling between the particle and its environment gives rise to complex dynamical behaviors that have yet to be fully explained. In other words, we know how a single bacteria or cell is able to move, but we cannot always predict what will happen when many of these particles come together. Given the difficulty of performing controlled experiments on these type of systems, computer simulations have become one of the preferred approaches for studying the properties of these active systems. We will introduce the basic computational models that allow us to study the dynamics of interacting swimmers, including the full hydrodynamic interactions, as well as the collective motion of crawling cells on 2D substrates. In the first part of the presentation, we will discuss the collective motion of particles swimming in a viscous medium. We will show that the type of swimming, determined by whether the propulsion is generated at the front (e.g., a puller like the Chlamydomonas algae) or at the back (e..g,, a pusher such as spermatozoids or most bacteria), has a crucial effect on the hydrodynamic interactions between swimmers, and thus, on the collective motion that can be observed[1-4]. In the second part of our talk, we will consider the dynamics of cells crawling on 2D substrates. Here, we will focus on the response of the cell to a periodic stretching of the substrate, which is known to result in a preferential alignment that is cell specific[5], and on the role of cell-cell interactions on the large scale collective motion of cell colonies[6]. |
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(Calls open 10th August)Industrial CASE awards are for a minimum of 3.5 years. During the period of the award, the student is required to spend a period on the premises of the co-operating body. For a 3.5 year award, the cumulative period should be no less than 9 months but this could be spread over the period of the studentship and would not normally exceed 18 months. Industrial CASE students will receive an enhanced stipend detailed below. Non-academic partners are required to take part in recruitment and monitoring of the student and to maintain active contact with the student and academic supervisor throughout the period of the studentship. Research Organisations are encouraged to include an industrial external examiner for the PhD. Industrial CASE-Plus extends the Industrial CASE competition to help students become more effective in promoting technology transfer, should their chosen career path take them into either academic research or industry. For the first 3.5 years of the award, Industrial CASE-Plus operates in the same way as the Industrial CASE competition. The main difference is that the student spends a further year working full-time on the premises of the non-academic partner as an employee. During this additional year, the student is employed by the non-academic partner at a salary equivalent to that of a new STFC postdoctoral researcher. STFC will contribute 50% of the salary costs incurred by the non-academic partner (up to a maximum STFC contribution of £14,250). Entry into the last year is dependent on the student demonstrating a level of achievement agreed in advance between the non-academic partner, the Research Organisation and the student. STFC will not commence funding for the additional year until the PhD thesis has been submitted. |
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The Academy’s Chair in Emerging Technologies scheme aims to identify global research visionaries and provide them with long term support to lead on developing emerging technology areas with high potential to deliver economic and social benefit to the UK. Due to the prestige and duration of these awards they are announced intermittently, with two awards made in 2009 and 2012. As part of a wider investment in research talent from the National Productivity Investment Fund, the government has provided funding for up to ten Chairs to be appointed in this round of applications. By covering employment costs for the Chair, the award enables sustained focus on advancing the technology to application in a strategic manner over a period of up to 10 years. The Academy is not prescriptive in defining the focus of Chairs, except that they require a powerful case to be made for the value of an extended long-term vision through to application, and hence for funding that provides sustained support for a world-leading researcher, ensuring continuity of their focus across other grants and contracts and removing any expectation of duties that do not support the technology programme. Emerging technology fields that have been highlighted as having particular potential include:
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