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Welcome!
We are a group that feels that progress in solving important
interdisciplinary research problems will need of a free exchange of
ideas between scientists of different disciplines. CIRCS was founded
by researchers from different disciplines who wished to collaborate
to find theoretical and experimental solutions to complex system problems.
By combining their different expertise they can in principle find
quantitative solution to these problems.
Presently, we work on complex biological and mesoscopic material science
problems. The research areas includes: nanotribology (the physics of
nano-friction), glasses, superconductivity, molecular biophysics, protein
motors, cardiac fibrillation, and neuroscientific modeling.
The members are drawn from several departments, including Physics,
Mathematics, Chemistry,
Biology
and Mechanical Engineering. |
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The CIRCS was started as a response to the present challenges to conduct
quantitative interdisciplinary research on many important experimental and
theoretical complex problems in biology and materials science.
The typical approach of doing research that is characterized by explicit
barriers between disciplines is not acceptable if one wants to find
quantitative and relevant solutions to these type of problems. We
at CIRCS feel that there must be more cross-fertilization of ideas
between different scientific fields. We also feel that as quantitative
model builders we can make important contributions in finding solutions
to these problems by fostering direct collaboration and interaction
between experts in different disciplines; in particular, those in
biological physics and nanophysics.
At present, the biological physics problems include: hierarchically constrained
dynamics of biological systems; protein hydration; glassy behavior
and noise in proteins; birth and decay of coherent states in biomolecules;
electron spin resonance spectral calculations for probing protein
dynamics; macromolecular crystallization; the study of knottiness of ring DNA
and polymers; the modelling of complex patterns of electrical
signaling in cardiac arrhythmia's and in the brain.
The pattern formation and nano-material science problems suggested for attack
are: atomic scale friction (nanotribiology); nanostructural patterning
by surface growth and erosion; computer modeling of combined flow and
solidification; geometric boundary effects in spatio-temporal chaos and
pattern formation; problems in classical and quantum chaos and their connection
to the important problems of dissipation and friction and quantum
computing; pattern formation of systems that can be modeled by large sets of
coupled nonlinear oscillators.
These problems are among the most important in molecular biology, neuroscience,
medicine, and materials science. Many of these problems need of
large scale numerical simulations to be modeled realistically. Several CIRCS
members excel in high performance computational modeling.
The new global paradigms that we've identified as promising directions for
future inquiry relate to what has been termed "complex systems." One
characteristic of complex systems is that they involve many entities, or
freedoms, which interact strongly and are usually modeled by nonlinear
equations. Generally speaking, the solutions to these nonlinear equations
behave regularly for some time. However, for extended periods of time,
they often become irregular or deterministically chaotic. Chaotic behavior,
however, is only part of the story when one attempts to explain the
behavior observed in complex biological or mesoscopic material science systems.
Many other factors contribute to their behavior, which requires an
interdisciplinary effort to fully understand and model the myriad patterns or
complex behavior that can arise.
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Alain Karma, Director, CIRCS
Northeastern University Physics Department
Northeastern University
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