|
Dr. Juan de Pablo
Liew Family Professor in Molecular Engineering,
Executive Vice President for Science, Innovation,
National Laboratories, and Global Initiatives,
Senior Scientist at Argonne National Laboratory
Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering,
The University of Chicago
Website
Liew Family Professor in Molecular Engineering at the University of Chicago | Executive Vice President for Science, Innovation, National
Laboratories, and Global Initiatives | Senior Scientist at Argonne National Laboratory
As the Executive Vice President for Science, Innovation, National Laboratories, and Global Initiatives, Juan de Pablo helps drive and
support the expanding reach of the University’s science, technology, and innovation efforts, along with their connection to policy and industry. He identifies and shapes emerging strategic scientific and technological initiatives, and provides oversight of
entrepreneurship and innovation activities at the University’s Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. He also works with faculty, deans, and administrators to build global academic partnerships and international research collaborations while overseeing
the University’s international centers.
Juan de Pablo provides leadership for the University’s stewardship of two U.S. Department of Energy National Laboratories — Argonne
and Fermilab — as institutions to advance science and technology in support of the nation’s interest. He collaborates with other leaders in research and innovation to build programs and links between and among the national laboratories and the University,
as well as the Marine Biological Laboratory. Working closely with President Paul Alivisatos, he plays an essential role in the University’s partnership with the Department of Energy.
******* *******
“Control and Design of Active Liquid Crystals"
Tuesday, April 5, 2022
3:00 p.m. – 4:15 p.m.
FRNY G140
– Reception at 2:30 p.m. in Henson Atrium –
Abstract:
Understanding how internal activity leads to specific behaviors is important for the control and design of autonomous materials systems
capable of delivering desired functionalities. Polymeric materials comprising mechano-chemically active components can undergo spontaneous structural rearrangements that generate internal stresses and motion. These stresses can be particularly large in the
case of liquid crystalline polymers, where elasticity plays an important role on the structure of the underlying materials. This lecture will focus on the relationship between structure, activity, and motion in lyotropic liquid crystalline polymeric systems.
More specifically, results will be presented for actin and tubulin suspensions, where activity is generated by protein motors. A distinctive feature of these biopolymers is that characteristic contour lengths can range from hundreds of nanometers to tens of
microns, thereby making them amenable for study by optical microscopy. By relying on molecular and meso-scale models, it is possible to arrive at a comprehensive description of these suspensions that helps explain the connections between molecular structure,
the formation and shape of distinct topological defects, activity, and defect dynamics. One of the outcomes of such a description is the realization that hydrodynamic interactions can in some cases exacerbate or mitigate the elasticity of the underlying materials,
leading to non-intuitive phenomena that do not arise at equilibrium. By balancing such effects, these findings raise the possibility of controlling and designing functional materials where specific, macroscopic dynamical responses are engineered into a system
to create function.
******* *******
|
(765) 494-4365 |
(765) 494-0805