Special Triangle Seminar
MATHEMATICAL & PHYSICAL ASPECTS OF BIOLOGY
City University London, 14 December 2015
Room ELG03 Drysdale Building, Northampton Square
Start Time 2:00pm
Speakers: Mr Pierre Haas (University of Cambridge)
Prof. Carla Molteni (King's College London)
Prof. Johnjoe McFadden (University of Surrey)
This meeting, funded by the Mathematical and Theoretical Physics Group of IoP, aims to provide an introduction to recent research on applications of mathematics and theoretical physics to the description of biological processes.The talks by Mr Pierre Haas (University of Cambridge), Prof. Carla Molteni (King's College London) and Prof. Johnjoe McFadden (University of Surrey) will be of colloquium style and aimed at a wide audience.
Mr Pierre Haas did a BA and MMath in Mathematics at the University of Cambridge and is now a PhD student of Prof. Raymond E. Goldstein at the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics of the same University. He is a member of the Biological Physics research group which focuses on understanding non equilibrium phenomena in the natural world, with particular emphasis on biological physics. Members of the group include theoretical and experimental physicists, chemists, applied mathematicians and biologists, and they collaborate broadly with scientists from other departments in Cambridge and beyond. Pierre is currently interested in gaining a mechanical understanding of the inversion process in the alga Volvox. More information can be found here.
Prof. Carla Molteni is a professor of Physics at King's College London and a member of the Thomas Young Center which brings together 100 research groups from Imperial College, King's College, Queen Mary University London and University College London to study the theory and simulation of materials. She works at the interface of Physics with Chemistry, Materials Science and Biology. She designs computer experiments to elucidate and predict complex processes in materials and biomolecules, by accurately calculating, with the aid of powerful computers, how atoms interact, rearrange and react to external stimuli (such as light, pressure, mechanical force or the binding of a ligand), or to the presence of anomalies (such as defects or mutations). More information can be found here.
Prof. Johnjoe McFadden is a professor of Molecular Genetics at the University of Surrey. He has worked on paratuberculosis in cows and humans, tuberculosis and meningococcal meningitis in humans. His group now specializes in using systems-based approaches to study infectious disease. Prof. McFadden has a particular interest in the role of quantum mechanics in life, evolution and consciousness. He is the author of several books and frequent contributor the The Guardian newspaper. Most recently he has published "Life on the Edge: The Coming Age of Quantum Biology" written with Prof. Jim Al-Khalili (University of Surrey). More information can be found here.