Physical Chemistry Seminar: Professor Suri Vaikuntanathan, University of Chicago

Physical Chemistry Seminar: Professor Suri Vaikuntanathan, University of Chicago
Date
Tue October 29th 2019, 4:30 - 5:30pm
Location
Sapp Center Lecture Hall

Physical Chemistry Seminar: Professor Suri Vaikuntanathan, University of Chicago (Host: Tom Markland)

About the Talk

“Design principles for organization and self-assembly far from equilibrium”

Non-equilibrium thermodynamics provides a useful set of tools to analyze and constrain the behavior of far from equilibrium systems. However, these tools have not yet been broadly applied to aid in the control of many body systems and materials assembled far from equilibrium. In this talk, I will report an application of ideas from non-equilibrium thermodynamics to the problems related to morphological changes in membranes, non-equilibrium self-assembly and more broadly control of material properties far from equilibrium. In many of these contexts, I will show how the material properties can be substantially constrained (and even predicted) using tools from non-equilibrium thermodynamics.

About the Speaker

Research Interests:

We develop and use tools of equilibrium and non-equilibrium statistical mechanics to understand the behavior of complex systems in physical chemistry, soft condensed matter physics, and biophysics. Specific research directions include:

Statistical Mechanics of Driven Systems and Self Assembly Out of Equilibrium:

Understanding the statistical mechanics of self assembly and pattern formation under non-equilibrium conditions remains an important open problem. We are interested in developing theoretical and simulation methodologies that enable the study of far from equilibrium systems and elucidate the principles of assembly, stability and self organization in non-equilibrium conditions.

Information Processing and Control in Biology:

Energy dissipation is a characteristic feature of feedback and information processing circuits in biological systems. Research in our group will explore tradeoffs between efficiency and dissipation in biological circuits and motors, and the strategies utilized by biological systems to ensure sensitivity and robustness in noisy dissipative environments.

Organization and Assembly in Soft Matter:

Our group pursues projects related to solvation thermodynamics and the statistical mechanics of self assembly in a number of systems ranging from lipid membranes to nanocyrstals in ionic melts.