近期活动

Joint Seminars

Mathematical Problems in Soft Condensed Matter

Paul Atzberger Department of Mathematics & Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of California Santa Barbara
Tue, 2012-05-22 10:00 - 11:00
601 Pao Yue-Kong Library

Soft condensed materials are characterised by relatively weak interactions between microstructure components that are comparable in strength to thermal energy. This results in subtle energy-entropy balances that produce "softness" in the mechanics and rich kinetics spanning long time-scales. Examples include polymeric materials, liquid crystals, food products, and many biomolecular structures. Many challenges arise in the modelling and analysis of these systems as a consequence of the coupling of phenomena over a wide range of spatial and temporal scales. This often makes it difficult to capture relevant processes in a unified model. In this lecture we shall review the area of soft condensed materials and highlight opportunities for mathematical research. We shall also discuss recent developments in multiscale methods for investigations of soft materials. We shall also discuss recent coarse-grained approaches developed for investigations of polymers, proteins, and lipid bilayer membranes.