New statistical physics in living matter: non equilibrium states under adaptive control
SPL
3 July 2023 to 20 December 2023
Programme theme
Buddho, Silke, Tannie and Tomohiro.
Understanding biological physics in detail requires one to not only explore the complex, multiscale structures of biological materials but also to understand their emergent properties that arise out of their being in a nonequilibrium steady state. The cytoskeleton, for example, is a complex assemblage of filaments, their bundles, and various proteins which interact with them. But the mechanics and biological utility of this structure are not determined merely by their structural elements, but by their nonequilibrium state, characterized by endogenous motor activity and the polymerization and depolymerization of the constituent filaments. Consequently, recent developments in the areas of nonequilibrium statistical mechanics and thermodynamics are of critical importance to the physical foundations of living matter, but these ideas remain incomplete and, in most cases, have not penetrated into the biological physics and biology communities.
The proposed programme aims to bring together researchers in mathematics and statistical physics specializing in the fundamental properties of fluctuations and response in nonequilibrium states with researchers in biological physics. We expect the work to enable new collaborations and cross-fertilization of ideas. In short, we expect that understanding the living world will provide challenges that will stimulate new fundamental thinking in statistical physics while current research in this field will help to structure our ever-expanding knowledge of living matter as a nonequilibrium dynamical system. One example of how the living world can introduce new ideas into statistical physics is found in the studies of a large class of nonequilibrium steady-states that are under some form of homeostatic control. In these systems, the energy input maintaining the nonequilibrium state itself depends on the current (or recent) state of the system. While there has been great progress in understanding the statistical physics of driven systems, this new feature of feedback-based control, which is endemic to biology, has received comparatively little attention.
We believe that the time is ripe for a programme to bring together biologists and biophysicists at the cutting edge of these investigations with physicists and mathematicians studying nonequilibrium statistical physics. The potential for collaborative breakthrough is strong: not only are more abstract mathematical ideas from statistical physics necessary to interpret these data, but also these experiments will point out new areas for theoretical research in a variety of tightly regulated nonequilibrium systems.
SPL programme: interview with the team of organisers
Workshops
Building a bridge between non-equilibrium statistical physics and biology
3 July 2023 to 7 July 2023
Active mechanics, from single cells to cell layers, tissues and development
4 September 2023 to 8 September 2023
Biological condensates: cellular mechanisms governed by phase transitions
9 October 2023 to 13 October 2023
Walls Across Kingdoms: Mechanics, Growth and Function of Cell Walls
24 October 2023 to 24 October 2023
Non-equilibrium physics of self-assembly: from viruses to nano-containers
13 November 2023 to 17 November 2023
Seminars
| Monday 10th July 2023 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 11:00 to 12:00 |
Hugo Touchette Stellenbosch University |
Room 2 | 
|
| 15:00 to 16:00 |
Jorn Dunkel Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Room 2 |
|
| Tuesday 11th July 2023 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 09:30 to 10:30 |
Andrej Košmrlj Princeton University |
Room 2 | |
| 11:00 to 12:00 |
Herbert Levine Northeastern University |
Room 2 | |
| 15:00 to 16:00 |
Kirone Mallick CEA/Saclay; École Polytechnique |
Room 2 | |
| Wednesday 12th July 2023 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 11:00 to 12:00 |
Hugo Touchette Stellenbosch University |
Room 2 |
|
| 15:00 to 16:00 |
Isabella Guido University of Surrey; Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self Organisation |
Room 2 |
|
| Thursday 13th July 2023 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 11:00 to 12:00 |
Christoph Schmidt Duke University |
Room 2 | |
| 15:00 to 16:00 |
Hugo Touchette Stellenbosch University |
Room 2 | |
| Friday 14th July 2023 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 11:00 to 12:00 |
Marco Mazza Loughborough University |
Room 2 | |
| Monday 17th July 2023 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 11:00 to 12:00 |
Abhishek Dhar International Centre for Theoretical Sciences |
Room 2 |
|
| 15:00 to 16:00 |
Martin Evans University of Edinburgh |
Room 2 | |
| Tuesday 18th July 2023 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 11:00 to 12:00 |
Rachel Bennett University of Bristol |
Room 2 | |
| Wednesday 19th July 2023 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 11:00 to 12:00 |
Abhishek Dhar International Centre for Theoretical Sciences |
Room 2 |
|
| 15:00 to 16:00 |
Abhishek Dhar International Centre for Theoretical Sciences |
Room 2 | |
| Thursday 20th July 2023 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 10:30 to 11:30 |
Ryoichi Yamamoto Kyoto University |
Discussion Room |
|
| Monday 24th July 2023 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 11:00 to 12:00 |
Karsten Kruse Université de Genève |
Room 2 | |
| Tuesday 25th July 2023 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 10:00 to 11:00 |
Karsten Kruse Université de Genève |
Room 2 |
|
| 11:00 to 12:00 |
Rhoda Hawkins African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) |
Room 2 |
|
| Thursday 27th July 2023 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 11:00 to 12:00 |
Karsten Kruse Université de Genève |
Room 2 |
|
| 15:00 to 16:00 |
Anupam Kundu International Centre for Theoretical Sciences |
Room 2 |
|
| Monday 31st July 2023 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 10:00 to 11:00 |
Cristian Giardina Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia |
Room 2 |
|
| 11:00 to 12:00 |
Evelyn Tang Rice University |
Room 2 |
|
| 15:00 to 16:00 |
Moumita Das Rochester Institute of Technology |
Room 2 | |
| Tuesday 1st August 2023 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 10:00 to 11:00 |
Matthew Turner University of Warwick; Kyoto University |
Room 2 | |
| 11:00 to 12:00 |
Manas Kulkarni International Centre for Theoretical Sciences |
Room 2 | |
| Thursday 3rd August 2023 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 11:00 to 12:00 |
Andela Saric IST Austria; University College London |
Room 2 |
|
| 15:00 to 16:00 |
Rosemary Harris Queen Mary University of London; University College London |
Room 2 |
|
| Tuesday 8th August 2023 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 10:00 to 11:00 |
José Alvarado University of Texas at Austin |
Room 2 | |
| Wednesday 9th August 2023 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 14:30 to 15:30 | Room 1 | ||
| Thursday 10th August 2023 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 11:00 to 12:00 |
Jonathan Selinger Kent State University |
Room 2 | |
| 15:00 to 16:00 |
Wilson Poon University of Edinburgh |
Room 2 |
|
| Tuesday 15th August 2023 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 10:00 to 11:00 |
Robin Selinger Kent State University |
Room 2 |
|
| Thursday 17th August 2023 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 11:00 to 12:00 |
Elsen Tjhung The Open University |
Room 2 | |
| Friday 18th August 2023 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 11:00 to 12:00 |
Robert Jack University of Cambridge |
Room 2 |
|
| Tuesday 22nd August 2023 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 10:00 to 11:00 |
Chiu Fan Lee Imperial College London |
Room 2 | |
| Thursday 24th August 2023 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 11:00 to 12:00 |
Rita de Almeida Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul; Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte |
Room 2 | |
| 15:00 to 16:00 |
Rastko Sknepnek University of Dundee |
Room 2 |
|
| Tuesday 29th August 2023 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 15:00 to 16:00 |
Silke Henkes Universiteit Leiden |
Room 2 |
|
| Thursday 31st August 2023 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 11:00 to 12:00 |
Sara Jabbari-farouji Universiteit van Amsterdam |
Discussion Room |
|
| 15:00 to 16:00 |
Farzan Vafa Harvard University |
Discussion Room |
|
| Friday 1st September 2023 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 11:00 to 12:00 |
Wilson Poon University of Edinburgh |
Discussion Room |
|
| Monday 11th September 2023 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 15:00 to 16:00 |
Ricard Alert Max-Planck-Institut für Physik komplexer Systeme, Dresden |
Room 2 |
|
| Tuesday 12th September 2023 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 09:30 to 11:00 | Room 2 | ||
| 15:00 to 16:00 |
Natsuhiko Yoshinaga Tohoku University |
Room 2 |
|
| Thursday 14th September 2023 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 15:00 to 16:00 |
Timon Idema Delft University of Technology |
Room 2 | |
| Friday 15th September 2023 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 15:00 to 16:00 |
Mark Bowick University of California, Santa Barbara |
Room 2 |
|
| Tuesday 19th September 2023 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 15:00 to 16:00 |
Douglas Durian University of Pennsylvania |
Room 2 |
|
| Thursday 21st September 2023 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 11:00 to 12:00 |
Nir Gov Weizmann Institute of Science |
Room 2 |
|
| Monday 16th October 2023 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 13:00 to 16:00 | Room 2 | ||
| 16:00 to 17:00 |
Jean-Francois Joanny Collège de France; Institut Curie |
Room 1 | |
| Tuesday 17th October 2023 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 11:00 to 12:00 |
Bernard Derrida Collège de France; École Normale Supérieure |
Room 2 | |
| 13:00 to 16:00 | Room 2 | ||
| Wednesday 18th October 2023 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 13:00 to 16:00 | Room 2 | ||
| Thursday 19th October 2023 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 11:00 to 12:00 |
Bernard Derrida Collège de France; École Normale Supérieure |
Room 2 | |
| 13:00 to 16:00 | Room 2 | ||
| Friday 20th October 2023 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 11:00 to 12:00 |
Bernard Derrida Collège de France; École Normale Supérieure |
Room 2 | |
| 13:00 to 14:00 |
Laura Machesky University of Cambridge |
Room 2 | |
| 14:30 to 15:30 |
Martin Howard John Innes Centre, Norwich |
Room 2 | |
| Monday 23rd October 2023 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 11:00 to 12:00 |
Raymond Goldstein University of Cambridge |
Room 2 | |
| Wednesday 1st November 2023 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 16:00 to 17:00 |
Andrea Liu University of Pennsylvania |
Room 1 | 
|
Organisers
- Buddhapriya Chakrabarti University of Sheffield
- Silke Henkes Universiteit Leiden
- Alex Levine University of California, Los Angeles
- Tanniemola Liverpool University of Bristol
- Fred MacKintosh Rice University
- Tomohiro Sasamoto Tokyo Institute of Technology
- Christoph Schmidt Duke University
Speakers
- Ricard Alert Max-Planck-Institut für Physik komplexer Systeme, Dresden
- José Alvarado University of Texas at Austin
- Rachel Bennett University of Bristol
- Mark Bowick University of California, Santa Barbara
- Moumita Das Rochester Institute of Technology
- Rita de Almeida Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul; Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte
- Bernard Derrida Collège de France; École Normale Supérieure
- Abhishek Dhar International Centre for Theoretical Sciences
- Jorn Dunkel Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Douglas Durian University of Pennsylvania
- Martin Evans University of Edinburgh
- Cristian Giardina Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia
- Raymond Goldstein University of Cambridge
- Nir Gov Weizmann Institute of Science
- Isabella Guido University of Surrey; Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self Organisation
- Rosemary Harris University College London
- Rhoda Hawkins African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS); University of Sheffield
- Silke Henkes Universiteit Leiden
- Martin Howard John Innes Centre, Norwich
- Timon Idema Delft University of Technology
- Sara Jabbari-farouji Universiteit van Amsterdam
- Robert Jack University of Cambridge
- Jean-Francois Joanny Collège de France; Institut Curie
- Andrej Košmrlj Princeton University
- Karsten Kruse Université de Genève
- Manas Kulkarni International Centre for Theoretical Sciences
- Anupam Kundu International Centre for Theoretical Sciences
- Chiu Fan Lee Imperial College London
- Herbert Levine Northeastern University
- Andrea Liu University of Pennsylvania
- Laura Machesky University of Cambridge
- Kirone Mallick CEA/Saclay; École Polytechnique
- Marco Mazza Loughborough University
- Wilson Poon University of Edinburgh
- Andela Saric IST Austria; University College London
- Christoph Schmidt Duke University
- Robin Selinger Kent State University
- Jonathan Selinger Kent State University
- Rastko Sknepnek University of Dundee
- Evelyn Tang Rice University
- Elsen Tjhung The Open University
- Hugo Touchette Stellenbosch University
- Matthew Turner University of Warwick; Kyoto University
- Farzan Vafa Harvard University
- Ryoichi Yamamoto Kyoto University
- Natsuhiko Yoshinaga Tohoku University
Participants
- Simon Alberti Technische Universität Dresden
- Ricard Alert Max-Planck-Institut für Physik komplexer Systeme, Dresden
- Karen Alim Technische Universität München
- José Alvarado University of Texas at Austin
- John Bechhoefer Simon Fraser University
- Martine Ben Amar CNRS - Ecole Normale Superieure Paris; Université Pierre et Marie Curie Paris
- Rachel Bennett University of Bristol
- Meredith Betterton University of Colorado Boulder
- Kaushik Bhattacharya CALTECH (California Institute of Technology)
- Dapeng Bi Northeastern University
- Stefano Bo King's College London
- Thierry Bodineau IHES
- Mark Bowick University of California, Santa Barbara
- Fridtjof Brauns University of California, Santa Barbara
- Chase Broedersz Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam; Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
- Robijn Bruinsma University of California, Los Angeles
- Mike Cates University of Cambridge
- Buddhapriya Chakrabarti University of Sheffield
- Guillaume Charras University College London
- Hugues Chaté CEA/Saclay
- Jinju Chen Newcastle University
- Isaac Chenchiah University of Bristol
- Rosana Collepardo Guevara University of Cambridge
- Leticia Cugliandolo Sorbonne Université
- Moumita Das Rochester Institute of Technology
- Chandan Dasgupta Indian Institute of Science; International Centre for Theoretical Sciences
- Luke Davis University College London
- Rita de Almeida Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul; Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte
- Bernard Derrida Collège de France; École Normale Supérieure
- Abhishek Dhar International Centre for Theoretical Sciences
- Jure Dobnikar Chinese Academy of Sciences
- Benjamin Doyon King's College London
- Jorn Dunkel Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Douglas Durian University of Pennsylvania
- Jeff Eldredge University of California, Los Angeles
- Clément Erignoux INRIA
- Martin Evans University of Edinburgh
- Cristian Giardina Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia
- Luca Giomi Universiteit Leiden
- Nigel Goldenfeld University of California, San Diego
- Raymond Goldstein University of Cambridge
- Ramin Golestanian Max-Planck-Institut für Dynamics and Self-Organisation; University of Oxford
- Isabella Guido University of Surrey; Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self Organisation
- Michael Hagan Brandeis University
- Ryo Hanai Kyoto University; Asia Pacific Center for Theoretical Physics
- Edouard Hannezo Institute of Science and Technology (IST Austria)
- James Harden University of Ottawa
- Rosemary Harris University College London
- Rhoda Hawkins African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS); University of Sheffield
- Silke Henkes Universiteit Leiden
- Martin Howard John Innes Centre, Norwich
- Yahaya Ibrahim Umaru Musa Yar'adua University
- Timon Idema Delft University of Technology
- Takashi Imamura Chiba University
- Sosuke Ito University of Tokyo
- Sara Jabbari-farouji Universiteit van Amsterdam
- Robert Jack University of Cambridge
- Andrea Jimenez-Dalmaroni Cardiff University
- Jean-Francois Joanny Collège de France; Institut Curie
- Mehran Kardar Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Bhavin Khatri Imperial College London; The Francis Crick Institute
- Swapnil Jaideo Kole Indian Institute of Science
- Alexei Kornyshev Imperial College London
- Andrej Košmrlj Princeton University
- Karsten Kruse Université de Genève
- Manas Kulkarni International Centre for Theoretical Sciences
- Anupam Kundu International Centre for Theoretical Sciences
- Jorge Kurchan École Normale Supérieure
- Halim Kusumaatmaja University of Durham
- Chiu Fan Lee Imperial College London
- Herbert Levine Northeastern University
- Alex Levine University of California, Los Angeles
- Andrea Liu University of Pennsylvania
- Tanniemola Liverpool University of Bristol
- Fred MacKintosh Rice University
- Ananyo Maitra CY Cergy Paris University; Sorbonne Université
- Satya Majumdar Université Paris Saclay; CNRS (Centre national de la recherche scientifique); Université Paris-Saclay
- Kirone Mallick CEA/Saclay; École Polytechnique
- Marco Mazza Loughborough University
- Roeland Merks Universiteit Leiden
- Thomas Michaels ETH Zürich
- Alexander Mietke University of Oxford
- Kristian Muller-Nedebock Stellenbosch University
- Cesare Nardini SPEC, CEA-Saclay
- David Nelson Harvard University
- Monica Olvera de la Cruz Northwestern University
- Ignacio Pagonabarraga Universitat de Barcelona
- Philip Pearce University College London
- Wilson Poon University of Edinburgh
- Sriram Ramaswamy Indian Institute of Science
- Angelo Rosa SISSA
- Paddy Royall ESPCI ParisTech
- Guillame Salbreux University of Geneva
- Masaki Sano Shanghai Jiao Tong University; University of Tokyo
- Andela Saric IST Austria; University College London
- Tomohiro Sasamoto Tokyo Institute of Technology
- Helmut Schiessel Technische Universität Dresden
- Christoph Schmidt Duke University
- Jeremy Schmit Kansas State University
- Jennifer Schwarz Syracuse University
- Udo Seifert Universität Stuttgart
- Robin Selinger Kent State University
- Jonathan Selinger Kent State University
- Vivek Shenoy University of Pennsylvania
- Jordan Shivers University of Chicago
- Boris Shraiman University of California, Santa Barbara
- Pascal Silberzan Institut Curie; CNRS (Centre national de la recherche scientifique)
- Rastko Sknepnek University of Dundee
- Anton Souslov University of Bath
- Sean Sun Johns Hopkins University
- Kazumasa Takeuchi University of Tokyo
- Evelyn Tang Rice University
- Mykola Tasinkevych Nottingham Trent University
- Margarida Telo da Gama Universidade de Lisboa
- Eugene Terentjev University of Cambridge
- Kristian Thijssen Niels Bohr Institutet, University of Copenhagen
- Dave Thirumalai University of Texas at Austin
- Elsen Tjhung The Open University
- John Toner University of Oregon
- Gyula Toth Loughborough University
- Hugo Touchette Stellenbosch University
- Matthew Turner University of Warwick; Kyoto University
- Farzan Vafa Harvard University
- Kirsty Wan University of Exeter
- Helen Wilson University College London
- Ryoichi Yamamoto Kyoto University
- Julia Yeomans University of Oxford
- Natsuhiko Yoshinaga Tohoku University
- Yaojun Zhang Johns Hopkins University
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