Geometry, Topology, and Symmetry in Soft and Living Matter: May 9-13 2022

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Organized by:

Oleg Gang (Chem. Eng. and APAM, Columbia University & CFN, Brookhaven National Lab),

Miranda Holmes-Cerfon (Courant Institute, NYU),

Karen Kasza (Mech. Eng., Columbia University),

Alexei Tkachenko (CFN, Brookhaven National Lab)

Soft Condensed Matter Physics is a rapidly changing field that interfaces with multiple disciplines, such as Chemistry, Biology, Nanomaterials, and even Social Sciences. Many of the interdisciplinary problems in this field are also closely connected to geometry and topology, and this connection is increasingly prominent and multifaceted. Some well-known examples are: topological defects in liquid crystals, the role of curvature in lipid membranes, or the problem of close packing in colloidal self-assembly. SCGP workshop “Geometry, Topology, and Symmetry in Soft and Living Matter” brings together scientists from various branches of Soft Condensed Matter and Biophysics, with a special interest in this aspect of the field. The scientific program of the workshop is organized around the major themes:

• Packing and self-assembly: from the geometry of building blocks to the morphology of their assemblies (molecules, colloids, designer particles, viruses, protein complexes, crystals, and mesostructures).
• Folding across the scales: from natural to programmable folding (origami/kirigami, proteins, RNA/DNA, chromosomes).
• Morphogenesis, topological transformations and spatiotemporal organization: from the living world to self-organized systems and active matter (shaping tissues and organs, active swimmers, driven system).