The University of Chicago and University of California San Diego MRSECs are co-sponosoring a Rising Stars in Soft and Biological Matter Symposium. This provides a platform for exceptional early-career scientists in the broad field of soft and biological matter to present their work. The 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, October 6
10:30 a.m. Tech Check - Margaret Gardel (Symposium Participants only)
10:55 a.m. UChicago MRSEC Director/ Introduction
Session 1- Programmable Matter
(Chairs: Aaron Esser-Kahn, Heinrich Jaeger)
| 11:00-11:18 | Sun-Min Yu | How do cells communicate long-range? |
| 11:18-11:36 | Angus McMullen | Self-assembly via programmable folding of colloidal polymers |
| 11:36-11:54 | Ella King | Designing out-of-equilibrium features of self-assembly |
| 11:54-12:12 | Pragya Arora | Jamming-unjamming, stereoselectivity and self-recognition in designer granular active liquids |
| 12:12-12:30 | Trevor Jones | Programming pneumatic morpho-rods using interfacial flows |
| 12:30- 1:00 | Break/Discussion with Speakers |
Session 2- Assembling Soft Matter
(Chairs: Arvind Murugan and Sidney Nagel)
| 1:00- 1:18 | Amelie Chardac | Topology-driven ordering of flocking matter |
| 1:18- 1:36 | Krishna Shrinivas | The many phases of a cell |
| 1:36- 1:54 | Hungtang Ko | Small fire ant rafts are unstable |
| 1: 54- 2:12 | Mauricio Gomez Lopez | Microrheology of an active micro swimmer suspension |
| 2:12- 2:30 | Trevor Grand Pre | Kinetic frustration controls LAT protein condensation |
| 2:30-3:00 | Break/ Discussion with speakers |
3:00 - 4:00 Informal Discussion in Field Specific Breakout rooms - Networking, Job Search
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Future Opportunities in Soft and Biological Matter (Panelists: Arvind Murugan and Sidney Nagel)
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Academic Job Search in Engineering and Materials Science (Panelists: Shaochen Chen and Jon Pokorski)
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Academic Job Search in Physics and Chemistry (Panelists: Margaret Gardel and Sarah King)
Friday, October 7
Session 3- Biological & Fibrous & Liquid Crystal Materials
(Chairs: Monica Olvera de la Cruz, Stuart Rowan)
| 10:00-10:18 | Billie Meadowcroft | Mechanochemical rules for shape-shifting filaments that remodel membranes |
| 10:18- 10:36 | Fernanda Fontenele | Characterizing Instabilities in fiber-reinforced soft and biological composites |
| 10:36- 10:54 | Xi Chen | The Ferroelectric Nematic Realm: Introducing NF, NF*, SmZA and SmAF Phases |
| 10:54-11:12 | Jingjing Wu | Multi-functional bioadhesive materials for translational tissue adhesive technologies |
| 11:12-11:30 | Sophie Ettinger | Rods in a lyotropic chromonic liquid crystal: emergence of chirality, symmetry-breaking alignment, and caged angular diffusion |
| 11:30-12:00 | Break/ Discussion with Speakers |
Session 4 - Polymers I
(Chairs: Tod Pascal, Jon Pokorski)
| 12:00- 12:18 | Carmen Lee | Buckling instabilities in moving chains of bubbles |
| 12;18- 12:36 | Allison Green | Depletion-driven assembly of polymer-coated nanocrystals |
| 12:36- 12:54 | Liang Feng | Bioinspired Mechanisorption: Storing Energy in Non-Equilibrium Soft Materials through Active Adsorption |
| 12:54- 1:12 | Nairiti Sinha | Competition of Folding-Induced Assembly and Liquid-Liquid Phase Separation Produces Diverse Morphologies of Homochiral Peptide Mixtures |
| 1:12- 1:45 | Break/ Discussion with Speakers |
Session 5 - Polymers II
(Chairs: Mike Burkart, Jon Pokorski, Michael Sailor)
| 1:45- 2:03 | Caitlin Maikawa | Designer polymer excipients to enable next-gen insulin formulations |
| 2:03- 2:21 | Joshua Tropp | Designing Conjugated Polyelectrolytes for Bioelectronics |
| 2:21- 2:39 | Sungmin Nam | Implantable Tissue-Interfacing Soft Robotic Medical Device for Mechanotherapy |
| 2:39- 2:57 | Nicholas Muzzio | Conjugated Conducting Polymer Nanocapacitors as Biocompatible Materials for Neuronal Interfaces |
| 2:57- 3:27 | Break/ Discussion with Speakers |
3:30 Conclusion/ Thank you!