This Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Mathematical and Physical Sciences (CFDA 47.049) program will enable research on a new class of "active polymers" that can respond to local energy fluctuations. The $495,000 award to the University of Massachusetts (UMass) will support the development of experimental methods to produce and study the mobility of these active polymers, with a focus on how energy injection at the molecular level impacts their behavior...
This $240,000 three-year project grant awarded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) Division of Mathematical Sciences will support fundamental research on mathematical models for active matter systems at The Pennsylvania State University. The project aims to develop novel techniques for analyzing free boundary and homogenization problems in two areas of active matter: (A) crawling cell motion on a substrate and (B) collective motion of microswimmers in anisotropic fluids. The research will...
This $308,031 three-year Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Mathematical and Physical Sciences (CFDA 47.049) program supports research on the nonlinear electrohydrodynamics of motile particles in confinement. The project aims to develop mathematical models, analytical solutions, and computational methods to understand the behavior of micron-sized colloidal particles driven to rotate or roll by electric fields between two planar electrodes. The research integrates...
This Project Grant from the National Science Foundation Division of Materials Research, under the Mathematical and Physical Sciences program (CFDA 47.049), provides $333,827 to Brandeis University for research developing quantitative continuum theories of composite active fluids from September 1, 2022 through August 31, 2025. The research will develop theoretical and computational frameworks to describe the dynamics of multi-component biological and synthetic fluids containing self-powered...
This Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation's Mathematical and Physical Sciences program (CFDA 47.049) totaling $630,000 aims to develop "synthetic life-like materials and machines" using light-responsive active fluids. The project at Brandeis University will pursue two complementary research aims: Embedding a rigid inclusion in a photo-responsive active nematic liquid crystal to implement hybrid theory-experiment feedback and control the targeted dynamics of the...
The National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded a $1,350,000 Project Grant under the Mathematical and Physical Sciences program (CFDA 47.049) to the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) Office of Research. The award period runs from October 1, 2023 to September 30, 2027. The project aims to develop "synthetic life-like materials and machines" by using light-responsive active fluids to control the dynamics and motions of rigid and deformable interfaces and inclusions. Key...
This $691,996 Project Grant from the National Science Foundation's Mathematical and Physical Sciences program (CFDA 47.049) will fund research at Georgetown University into rheology and particle dynamics in colloidal gels. The researchers will use novel fluorescent particles and high-speed confocal microscopy combined with rheology to observe the rotational dynamics and arrest states of individual particles as interparticle interactions are increased. They will leverage this data to address...
This $266,000 Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Mathematical and Physical Sciences program supports theoretical research and education to advance the understanding of nonequilibrium systems using and developing stochastic thermodynamics. The key products and services to be delivered under this 2-year award, which begins on May 1, 2025, include: Investigating four relevant topics in stochastic thermodynamics: Connecting chimera states with stochastic...
This $361,476 National Science Foundation project grant supports research at the University of Pittsburgh to advance understanding of the two-way coupling between active matter and transport barriers in unsteady flows. Funded under the Engineering program (CFDA 47.041), the three-year award will investigate how light-guided brine shrimp interact with and influence large-scale transport structures in electromagnetically driven laboratory flows. Through two aims, the grantee will determine...
This National Science Foundation (NSF) Mathematical and Physical Sciences (CFDA 47.049) Project Grant award of $330,000 supports theoretical and computational research by the University of California, Merced to describe and understand the behavior of biologically-inspired active solids. The research aims to create models that combine mechanical and chemical factors to investigate the unique shape changes and self-organization phenomena possible in active solids, such as those found in cell...