APS March Meeting DCP Focus Sessions
11.7.1 The Physics of Evolution
Recent progress in genomics and systems biology has provided a wealth of data on molecular biophysical properties of proteins, e.g., their stability, interactions with other proteins, functions and abundance in living cells. However, past attempts to place the data obtained in genomics and proteomics projects firmly in a biological context have been only partially successful. Indeed Darwinian evolutionary theory – population genetics - still operates with mostly phenomenological concepts of beneficial, neutral and deleterious mutations, without apparent connection to the actual physical changes in protein sequences and structures that bring about these effects. Recently, significant theoretical and experimental efforts have been undertaken to bridge this gap by building multi-scale evolutionary models where genotypes of model or real organisms are directly coupled to physical properties of their biomacromolecules, i.e., proteins, RNA and DNA. This focus symposium will review these exciting developments and outline future directions that bridge microscopic and macroscopic (organismal) length scales in physical biology.
Eugene Shakhnovich, Harvard University
Confirmed Invited Speakers:
- Eugene Koonin, NIH
- Claus Wilke, University of Texas at Austin
- Tanja Kortemme, UCSF
- Eric Siggia, Rockefeller University
- Eugene Shakhnovich, Harvard University
- Shimon Bershtein, Harvard University
11.7.2 Non-Equilibrium Insights into Single Molecules and Cell Function
This focus symposium will explore new non-equilibrium approaches to understanding and controlling complex phenomena in biological systems. The symposium is intended to juxtapose problems and methods from single molecule and single cell investigations as well as experimental and theoretical perspectives that can elucidate similarities and perhaps convergence of insights. An operational goal of the symposium is to examine development and application of non-equilibrium theoretical concepts that can allow obtaining the equilibrium free energy information and pathways which have been employed in single molecule (primarily mechanical) to problems in cell biology and cellular function. A number of key open issues will be addressed. Some processes (e.g. cell division and cell cycle) are so non-equilibrium in their nature that Boltzmann-type statistical approaches simply fail to give any insights. So then how does one obtain a statistical mechanical understanding? Are such far from equilibrium behaviors more or less conducive to being controlled? Are there optimal ways to understand the nonlinear dynamics descriptions of oscillators in statistical mechanics? Can one conceive of design rules for nano-bio-machines? Are there "best systems" with which to explore these questions?
Norbert Scherer, University of Chicago
Aaron Dinner, University of Chicago
Confirmed Invited Speakers:
- Haw Yang, Princeton University
- Robert Phillips, California Institute of Technology
- Dimitri Makarov, University of Texas at Austin
- Joshua Socolar, Duke University
- Gavin Crooks, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
- John Wikswo, Vanderbilt University
- Jan Liphardt, University of California, Berkeley
11.7.3 Quantum Coherence in Biology
Can biological systems utilize quantum mechanics to aid their function or attain an advantage in a competitive environment? Contributions to this focus symposium will cover fundamental physics, experiment as well as theory, that examines manifestly quantum-mechanical phenomena in biological systems. Key topics will include reports of experiments that yield evidence for quantum-coherent dynamics in biological systems, studies of decoherence in biological environments, and theoretical studies analyzing biological systems with tools of chemical physics and quantum information. The symposium will focus on coherence in biological settings, such as photosynthetic light-harvesting and long-range energy transfer, on excitonic phenomena in biology, and on biological sensing processes with potentially non-trivial quantum-mechanical features, such as magneto-reception and olfaction.
Gregory D. Scholes, University of Toronto
Mohan Sarovar, University of California, Berkeley
Confirmed Invited Speakers:
- Jennifer Brookes, University College London
- Alan Aspuru-Guzik, Harvard University
- Alexandra Olaya-Castro, University College London
- Daniel Turner, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Thorsten Ritz, University of California, Irvine
- Joseph L. Kirschvink, California Institute of Technology
- Spiros Skourtis, University of Cyprus
- Nigel Scrutton, University of Manchester
11.7.5 Fundamental Issues in Interfacial Charge Transport for Energy Applications
New materials designed for efficient solar energy conversion and storage have attracted a great deal of attention in the Physics and Chemistry communities. Photoconversion mechanisms based on interfacial charge transport triggered upon light absorption are investigated by both experimental and theoretical methods from the point of view of fundamental science and in the quest of principles to guide the design of efficient photovoltaic and photocatalytic systems. This focus symposium aims to survey recent advances in studies of fundamental aspects of electronic processes and reaction mechanisms for solar energy harvesting and conversion into electricity and fuels. The program is intended to bring together a diverse community to foster the cross-fertilization of complementary approaches in the development of physical principles and characterization of molecular systems for efficient and cost effective solar energy conversion.
Lin X. Chen, Argonne National Laboratory & Northwestern University
Victor S. Batista, Yale University
Confirmed Invited Speakers:
- Pershant Kamat, Radiation Laboratory, Notre Dame
- Tim Lian, Emory University
- Sebastian Loth, IBM Research
- Xiaoyang Zhu, University of Texas at Austin
- Hrvoje Petek, University of Pittsburgh
- Paul Fenter, Argonne National Laboratory
- Victor Batista, Yale University
11.7.6 The Role of Water in Energy Production and Utilization
Water, aqueous solutions and their interfaces with various materials play a key role in a number of areas related to current and future energy production and utilization. Examples include the catalytic conversion of biomass into fuels in aqueous solutions, photocatalytic water splitting to produce hydrogen, nuclear power production and waste disposal, and polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells. Often, the structure, dynamics and reactions of water at and near a solid interface or at the interface with solutes plays a crucial role. However, in almost all cases a detailed understanding of these properties is lacking, particularly for the conditions of interest. This focus symposium will focus on fundamental aspects of water, aqueous solutions and their interfaces. Experimental and theoretical contributions investigating the properties of aqueous systems in “real world” conditions, as well as “model system” studies are solicited.
Greg Kimmel, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Angelos Michaelides, University College, London
Confirmed Invited Speakers:
- Peter Feibelman, Sandia National Laboratory
- Valeria Molinero, University of Utah
- Peter Rossky, University of Texas at Austin
- Andrew Hodgson, University of Liverpool
- Francesco Mallamace, Università di Messina
- Konrad Thuermer, Sandia National Laboratories
- Phillip Geissler, University of California, Berkeley
11.7.7 Electronic Structure and Applications to Energy Conversion
Advances in the realm of energy related research rely upon the use of electronic materials that are currently limited by a lack of understanding of several fundamental processes that occur following photoexcitation. Theoretical modeling provides an understanding of the material’s behavior, and the acquired knowledge will allow for a better analysis and interpretation of experimental data, and facilitate rational design of new structures with desired optical, light harvesting, energy and charge transfer properties, guiding experimental efforts. This focus symposium will address the developments and applications of emerging quantum chemistry and computational physics methodologies for study of a variety of energy related dynamical processes. These include generation of electronic excitations that are constrained by the confined nanoscale geometries, energy transfer and light-harvesting processes influenced by the spatial evolution of excitations, transformation of photoexcitation energy into electrical energy via charge separation (e.g., charge injection at interfaces), and the role of size and dimensionality in controlling the interplay between electronic excitation and structural response.
Sergei Tretiak, Los Alamos National Laboratory
Troy Van Voorhis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Confirmed Invited Speakers:
- Oleg Prezhdo, University of Rochester
- Annabella Selloni, Princeton University
- Eric Bittner, University of Houston
- Jeffrey Grossman, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- David Beljonne, University of Mons Hainaut
- Vladimir Chernyak, Wayne State University
- Cherri Hsu, Academica Sinica
11.7.8 Ultrafast Dynamics and Imaging
This focus symposium will focus on ultrafast dynamics and imaging in chemical physics. Fundamental electronic and nuclear dynamics in molecules take place on attosecond to picosecond time scales. Ultrafast processes are instrumental to ensure that functions can be performed in the competition with vibrational cooling and decoherence. Advances in ultrafast imaging and spectroscopy tools such as x-ray scattering, electron scattering, angular resolved photoelectron spectroscopy and nonlinear laser spectroscopy have initiated a shift in paradigms. The traditional "from structure to function" approach is complemented by the direct determination of function on its natural (ultrafast) timescale with atomic spatial resolution. The symposium aims to provide a forefront view of the progress in the field covering a variety of techniques from laboratory-based pump-probe measurements to large-scale experiments using the world's first soft (FLASH) and hard (LCLS) x-ray lasers.
Marcus Guehr, Stanford University
Oliver Gessner, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory
Confirmed Invited Speakers:
- Joachim Burgdörfer, Technical University Vienna
- Nils Huse, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
- André Staudte, National Research Council of Canada
- Dwanye Miller, University of Toronto
- Christoph Bostedt, LCLS, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
- Nikolaus Ernsting, Humboldt University Berlin
11.2-01 Earle K. Plyler Prize Session
Birgitta Whaley (Chair), University of California, Berkeley
Confirmed Invited Speakers:
- Shaul Mukamel (Award Winner), University of California, Irvine
- Sunney Xie, Harvard University
- Graham Fleming, University of California, Berkeley
11.7.8-02 Langmuir Prize Session
Oliver Gessner (Chair), Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory
Confirmed Invited Speakers:
- Steve Leone (Award Winner), University of California, Berkeley
- Thomas Pfeifer, Max-Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics
- Chris Greene, Department of Physics and JILA, University of Colorado
11.5-01 Leroy Apker Prize Session
Birgitta Whaley (Chair), University of California, Berkeley
Confirmed Invited Speakers:
- Chia Wie Hsu (Award Winner), Harvard University