Rising Stars in Soft and Biological Matter Symposium 2021

September 23-24, 2021

The UChicago Rising Stars in Soft and Biological Matter Symposium is a platform for exceptional early-career scientists in the broad field of soft and biological matter to present their work.  These speakers are chosen for their track record of research accomplishments and demonstrated contributions to enhancing diversity, equity, and inclusion in STEM. 

Please register for this Virtual Symposium by filling out this short form to receive an email with a Zoom link closer to the date.

All times are indicated in Central Daylight Time.  

Thursday, September 23

10:30  Tech Check
11:00-11:03 - Introduction & Welcome, Margaret  Gardel, Lead Organizer

Session 1 - Mechanics of Soft Matter (Discussion Leader: Sidney Nagel)

11:03 - 11:21  Joe Bakarat Curvature-mediated forces in complex biological interfaces
11:21 - 11:39  Mike Ford

 Physical intelligence using functional soft matter

11:39 - 11:57  Angel Martinez Thermomechanically active electrodes power work-dense soft actuators
11:57 - 12:15 Meera Ramaswamy Universal scaling of shear thickening transitions
12:15 - 12:33  Nabila Tanjeem Engineering self-limiting assembly of deformable colloidal particles through
geometric frustration
12:33 - 1:03

 Discussion with all Session 1 speakers

Session 2 - Nanostructured Soft and Biological Matter (Discussion Leader: Stuart Rowan)

1:00 - 1:18  Irem Altan

 The Self-Assembly of Proteinaceous Optical Devices in Squids

1:18 - 1:36  Caitlin Cornell  Direct Imaging of Liquid Domains in Membranes by Cryo-Electron Tomography
1:36 - 1:54  Vida Jamali  Imaging, learning, and engineering of complex soft matter systems at the nanoscale
1:54 - 2:12 Abigail Plummer Instability, frustration, and phase transitions in puckered sheets
2:12 - 2:30 Stephanie
Valenzuela
 
 Creating Reconfigurable Networks and Assemblies: A Guided Approach using
Dynamic Covalent Chemistry
2:30 - 3:00

 Discussion with all Session 2 speakers

3:00 - 4:00  Closed Session.  Informal Discussion in Field Specific Breakout rooms
[(Mechanics: Sid Nagel,Tom Witten)]; [(Nano: Margaret Gardel, Stuart Rowan,
Dmitri Talapin)]; [(Active Matter: Arvind Murugan, Suri Vaikuntanathan, Vincenzo Vitelli)]

Friday, September 

Session 3 - Active Matter & Dynamical Systems (Discussion Leader: Vincenzo Vitelli)

11:00 - 11:18 Sam Dillavou Demonstration of Decentralized Physics-Driven Learning
11:18 - 11:36 SJ Kole Layered Chiral Active Matter: Beyond Odd Elasticity
11:36 - 11:54 Chantal Nguyen Emergent collective behavior in entangled worm blobs
11:54 - 12:12 Khoi Nguyen Tunable rheology of skeletal muscles
12:12 - 12:30 Suraj Shankar Optimal transport and control of active matter
12:30 - 1:00

Discussion with all Session 3 speakers

Session 4 - Discussion of Future Directions led by Participants

1:00- 1:20

Mechanics of Soft Matter
Faculty Discussants: Sid Nagel (UChicago Physics), Tom Witten(UChicago Physics)

1:20- 1:40

Nanostructured Soft and Biological Matter
Faculty: Margaret Gardel (UChicago Physics & PME), Stuart Rowan (UChicago PME, MRSEC Director), Dmitri Talapin (UChicago Chemistry)

1:40- 2:00

Active Matter & Dynamical Systems
Faculty:  Arvind Murugan (UChicago Physics), Suri Vaikuntanathan (UChicago Chemistry), Vincenzo Vitelli (UChicago Physics)

2:00-2:05

Thank you & Conclusion, Margaret Gardel

**Please also see announcement of a similar symposium sponsoreed by Princeton University and the University of Delaware MRSEC: Soft Matter for All on October 15th.