Engineering Life – Active Matter Across Scales

Organised by the B CUBE Center for Molecular Bioengineering of the Technische Universität Dresden, the conference takes place at the Steigenberger Hotel in the historic city center and also as hybrid format.

The aim of this conference is to bring together scientists and engineers to nourish an interdisciplinary multifaceted discussion of active matter across scales. 

The individual motion of active entities from molecules through cells and tissues to animals give rise to emergent collective behavior across large scales. These, often marvel, phenomena are described in the context of Active matter. Active matter encompasses out of thermodynamic equilibrium systems in which individual particles extract or produces energy used to generate mechanical work. The rules that govern the dynamics of collective motion are not only central in non-equilibrium statistical and soft matter physics but are also key in the understating of fundamental biological questions at different scales such as the self-organization of intra-cellular machineries and organelles, cell migration, tissue formation and morphogenesis and the dynamics of animal flocks and swarms. At the same time, this knowledge enables the design of programmable interactive materials with emergent life-like properties. 

The topics that will be discussed in the conference are: 

  • Synthetic molecularly active materials
  • Molecular active materials in living systems
  • Cellular interactions and morphogenesis
  • Collective Behavior at the population level 
  • Adaptive materials 

Keynote Speakers:

Peter Fratzl - MPI of Kolloids and Interfaces Potsdam/DE
Frank Jülicher - MPI PKS Dresden/DE

Confirmed Speakers:

Katia Bertoldi - Harvard University/US
Otger Campas - TU Dresden, PoL/DE
Iain D. Couzin - University Konstanz/DE
Irene Giardina - Sapienza University of Rome & CNR-ISC Rome/IT 
Nir Gov - Weizmann Institute of Science/IL
Lorenzo Guiducci - MPIKG, Potsdam and Cluster of Excellence Matter of Activity/DE
Jean-Francois Joanny - College de France, Paris/FR
Lisa Manning - Sycracuse University/US
Cristina Marchetti - University of California, Santa Barbara/US
Claudia Veigel - LMU, Munich/DE
Vasily Zaburdaev - FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg/DE

In addition to the invited speakers there will be slots for talks and posters from the submitted abstracts.
Space is limited so register now!

Registration is now open until May 15th.

Information and Registration