Conference Description
The conference will focus
on the design, synthesis, and modeling of dissipative (active) material systems
that perform life-like functions. Dissipation is the physical
process associated with the irreversible transformation of energy from one form
to another. The systems to be considered at
this meeting are capable of transducing, storing, and/or harvesting energy and
using that energy to self-assemble, perform work, or dynamically respond to
changes in the environment. In this sense, the materials are active and
adaptive. Through discussions at this conference, we will be attempting to
formulate ways of inscribing the vital functions found in biological systems
into synthetic materials, and thereby, potentially blurring the lines between
living and non-living systems. The meeting will highlight attempts to establish
new design rules for achieving specific biologically-inspired functions or
behaviors. The emphasis will be not only on designing material systems (i.e., a
composite formed from different constituents), but also on creating "systems of
materials" that encompass different components interacting across many scales
to achieve a function. Technological advances in this field will come from iterative
interactions between experimentalists and theorists to correlate the components
of the system (organelles, reaction cascades, DNA, etc.) to a function
(metabolism, motion, etc.). The outcome of such a multi-disciplinary forum
could be a systems-level framework that can enable researchers to create
biomimetic materials that exhibit new, useful functionality.
The meeting will bring together materials
scientists, physicists, engineers, biologists, chemists, and experts in
computational modeling. This array of expertise is needed to address
fundamental challenges at the core of this research area. Young researchers are
especially welcome to present posters; please submit abstracts for posters a month
before the meeting. We are attempting to secure funding to help defray the
costs for speakers and poster presenters.
