New Directions Short Course:

Biophysical Fluid Dynamics

Description:

From June 19-30, 2006 the IMA will host an intensive short course designed to efficiently provide researchers in the mathematical sciences and related disciplines the basic knowledge prerequisite to undertake research in fluid dynamics relevant to the biological realm. The course will be taught by Michael J. Shelley, Professor of Mathematics at the Courant Institute, NYU, and Raymond E. Goldstein, Professor of Physics and Applied Mathematics, at the University of Arizona. The primary audience for the course is mathematics faculty. No prior background in fluid dynamics or biophysics is expected. Participants will receive full travel and lodging support during the workshop.

Course content and structure. The course will begin with an introduction to hydrodynamically mediated transport phenomena in biology across a broad range of scales, from micro- to macroscopic. This will be followed by lectures on basic incompressible fluid dynamics, flexible and biological materials, and their mutual coupling. The course will then pursue two overlapping tracks: Michael J. Shelley will lead discussions on the modeling, computation, and analysis of fluid-body interactions, what we learn from such models, basic mechanisms of biological locomotion, and the modeling of soft active materials. Raymond E. Goldstein will lead discussions on biophysical applications and modeling, especially at the micro-scale, including the dynamic flagella, chemotaxis, microscale stirring and locomotion and their relation to biological viability. Both lecturers will discuss experiments and models on large-scale dynamic coherence in biological systems. A typical day during this two week course will consist of two general lectures by the principal speakers in the morning, each one-and-a-half hours in duration. Afternoons will be used for topical lectures by guest speakers, and for problem solving and brain-storming sessions.

Guest Speakers. The course will feature guest lecturers including:

Silas Alben (Harvard)
Lisa Fauci (Tulane University)
Annette Peko Hosoi (MIT)
Thomas Powers (Brown University)
Idan Tuval (University of Arizona)
Z. Jane Wang (Cornell University)
Charles Wolgemuth (University of Connecticut)
Jun Zhang (New York University)

LIST OF CONFIRMED PARTICIPANTS