BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:researchseminars.org CALSCALE:GREGORIAN X-WR-CALNAME:researchseminars.org BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Aomawa L. Shields (UC Irvine) DTSTART:20200921T190000Z DTEND:20200921T200000Z DTSTAMP:20260404T094121Z UID:GaTechPhysics/1 DESCRIPTION:Title: Recipe for a Habitable Planet\nby Aomawa L. Shields (UC Irvine) as part of Georgia Tech School of Physics Colloquium\n\n\nAbstract \nThe discovery of numerous small exoplanets has brought the search for li fe beyond the Solar System into sharp focus on many potentially habitable worlds where life may exist. However\, many factors and processes can affe ct planetary climate and habitability\, most of which are currently uncons trained by observations\, and their effects must be understood to accurate ly determine a planet's habitability potential and prioritize planets for observational follow-up. Professor Shields will describe the methods used by her research group to quantify the effects on planetary climate of a r ange of factors important for planetary habitability\, and share recent re sults from this work\, which demonstrates how the unique interactions betw een a star and a planet’s atmosphere and surface can produce either a re cipe of successful ingredients for habitable surface conditions\, or one t hat reveals less favorable planetary prospects for life.\n LOCATION:https://stable.researchseminars.org/talk/GaTechPhysics/1/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Jim Sethna (Cornell) DTSTART:20200928T190000Z DTEND:20200928T200000Z DTSTAMP:20260404T094121Z UID:GaTechPhysics/2 DESCRIPTION:Title: Sloppy models\, differential geometry\, and why science works \nby Jim Sethna (Cornell) as part of Georgia Tech School of Physics Co lloquium\n\n\nAbstract\nModels of systems biology\, climate change\, ecolo gy\, complex instruments\, and macroeconomics have parameters that are har d or impossible to measure directly. If we fit these unknown parameters\, fiddling with them until they agree with past experiments\, how much can w e trust their predictions? We have found that predictions can be made desp ite huge uncertainties in the parameters – many parameter combinations a re mostly unimportant to the collective behavior. We will use ideas and me thods from differential geometry and approximation theory to explain slopp iness as a ‘hyperribbon’ structure of the manifold of possible model p redictions. We show that physics theories are also sloppy – that sloppin ess may be the underlying reason why the world is comprehensible. We will present new methods for visualizing this model manifold for probabilistic systems – such as the space of possible universes as measured by the cos mic microwave background radiation.\n LOCATION:https://stable.researchseminars.org/talk/GaTechPhysics/2/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Andrew Zangwill (Georgia Tech) DTSTART:20201012T190000Z DTEND:20201012T200000Z DTSTAMP:20260404T094121Z UID:GaTechPhysics/3 DESCRIPTION:Title: A Mind Over Matter: The Life and Science of Philip W. Anderso n\nby Andrew Zangwill (Georgia Tech) as part of Georgia Tech School of Physics Colloquium\n\n\nAbstract\nI present a biographical survey of the life and science of Philip W. Anderson. I discuss his upbringing in the Am erican Midwest during the Great Depression\, his education at Harvard Univ ersity\, his wartime service\, and his subsequent career as a physicist a t Bell Laboratories\, Cambridge University\, and Princeton University. I s ketch the back story for some of his best-known scientific achievements an d also for some of his forays into national and scientific politics. A fe w remarks about his activities as a public intellectual and his personal l ife round out the presentation.\n LOCATION:https://stable.researchseminars.org/talk/GaTechPhysics/3/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Peter Hirschfeld (U Florida) DTSTART:20201019T190000Z DTEND:20201019T200000Z DTSTAMP:20260404T094121Z UID:GaTechPhysics/4 DESCRIPTION:Title: On the Remarkable Superconductivity of FeSe and Its Close Cou sins (preliminary title)\nby Peter Hirschfeld (U Florida) as part of G eorgia Tech School of Physics Colloquium\n\nAbstract: TBA\n LOCATION:https://stable.researchseminars.org/talk/GaTechPhysics/4/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Julia M. Yeomans (University of Oxford) DTSTART:20201026T190000Z DTEND:20201026T200000Z DTSTAMP:20260404T094121Z UID:GaTechPhysics/5 DESCRIPTION:Title: Self-propelled Topological Defects\nby Julia M. Yeomans ( University of Oxford) as part of Georgia Tech School of Physics Colloquium \n\n\nAbstract\nActive materials such as bacteria\, molecular motors and e ukaryotic cells continuously\ntransform chemical energy taken from their s urroundings to mechanical work. Dense active matter shows mesoscale turbul ence\, the emergence of chaotic flow structures characterized by high vort icity and self-propelled topological defects. I shall describe the physics of active defects\, discussing active microfluidics\, the formation of de fect lattices and examples of topological defects in biological systems.\n LOCATION:https://stable.researchseminars.org/talk/GaTechPhysics/5/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Michael Brenner (Harvard) DTSTART:20201116T200000Z DTEND:20201116T210000Z DTSTAMP:20260404T094121Z UID:GaTechPhysics/8 DESCRIPTION:Title: Machine Learning for Partial Differential Equations\nby Michael Brenner (Harvard) as part of Georgia Tech School of Physics Colloq uium\n\n\nAbstract\nI will discuss several ways in which machine learning can be used for solving and understanding the solutions of nonlinear parti al differential equations. Most of the talk will focus on learning discret izations for coarse graining the numerical solutions of PDEs. I will start with examples in 1d\, and then move on to advection/diffusion in a turbul ent flow and then the Navier Stokes equation.\n LOCATION:https://stable.researchseminars.org/talk/GaTechPhysics/8/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Taekjip Ha (John Hopkins) DTSTART:20200831T190000Z DTEND:20200831T200000Z DTSTAMP:20260404T094121Z UID:GaTechPhysics/9 DESCRIPTION:Title: Revisiting and Repurposing the Double Helix\nby Taekjip H a (John Hopkins) as part of Georgia Tech School of Physics Colloquium\n\n\ nAbstract\nDNA is an iconic molecule that forms a double helical structure \, providing the basis for genetic inheritance\, and its physical properti es have been studied for decades. In this talk\, I will present evidence t hat sequence and methylation dependent physical properties of DNA such as flexibility and self-association may be important for biological functions [1\,2]. In addition\, I will present a new application of DNA where mecha nical modulations of cell behavior can be studied at the single molecule l evel using rupturable DNA tethers [3]. We found that cells can change thei r behavior dramatically in response to just two molecules strongly tugging on them [4].\n \nReferences:\n \n[1] R. Vafabakhsh and T. Ha\, “Extreme bendability of DNA less than 100 base pairs long revealed by single molec ule cyclization”\, Science 337\, 1097-1101 (2012). \n[2] T. Ngo\, Q. Zha ng\, R. Zhou\, J. G. Yodh and T. Ha\, “Asymmetric unwrapping of nucleoso mes under tension directed by DNA local flexibility”\, Cell 160\, 1135-1 144 (2015). \n[3] X. Wang and T. Ha\, “Defining Single Molecular Forces Required to Activate Integrin and Notch Signaling”\, Science 340\, 991-9 94 (2013). \n[4] M. Roein-Peikar\, Q. Xu\, X. Wang and T. Ha\, “Ultrasen sitivity of cell adhesion to the presence of mechanically strong ligands\, ” Physical Review X (2016).\n LOCATION:https://stable.researchseminars.org/talk/GaTechPhysics/9/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Philip Kim (Harvard) DTSTART:20200914T190000Z DTEND:20200914T200000Z DTSTAMP:20260404T094121Z UID:GaTechPhysics/10 DESCRIPTION:Title: Stacking atomic layers: quest for new materials and physics< /a>\nby Philip Kim (Harvard) as part of Georgia Tech School of Physics Col loquium\n\n\nAbstract\nModern electronics heavily rely on the technology t o confine electrons in the interface layers of semiconductors. In recent y ears\, scientists discovered that various atomically thin van der Waals (v dW) layered materials can be isolated. In these atomically thin materials\ , quantum physics allows electrons to move only in an effective 2-dimensio nal (2D) space. By stacking these 2D quantum materials\, one can also cre ate atomic-scale heterostructures with a wide variety of electronic and op tical properties. We demonstrate the enhanced electronic and optoelectroni c performances in the vdW heterostructures\, suggesting that these a few a tom thick interfaces may provide a fundamental platform to realize novel p hysical phenomena. In this talk\, we will discuss several research efforts to realize unusual quasiparticle pairing mesoscopic devices based on stac ked vdW interfaces between 2-dimensional materials.\n LOCATION:https://stable.researchseminars.org/talk/GaTechPhysics/10/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:William D. Phillips (Joint Quantum Institute\, NIS and UM) DTSTART:20210222T200000Z DTEND:20210222T210000Z DTSTAMP:20260404T094121Z UID:GaTechPhysics/11 DESCRIPTION:Title: A new Measure: The Revolutionary Quantum Reform of the Metri c System\nby William D. Phillips (Joint Quantum Institute\, NIS and UM ) as part of Georgia Tech School of Physics Colloquium\n\n\nAbstract\nOn 2 0 May 2019\, World Metrology Day\, the international metrology community i mplemented revolutionary changes to the International System of Units (the SI\, or Metric System) wherein all of the base units of measure are now d efined by fixing the values of constants of nature. The SI is now firmly b ased on quantum concepts. The talk will discuss why we needed such a refor m and how we achieved it.\n LOCATION:https://stable.researchseminars.org/talk/GaTechPhysics/11/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Ruth Murray-Clay (UC Santa Cruz) DTSTART:20210301T200000Z DTEND:20210301T210000Z DTSTAMP:20260404T094121Z UID:GaTechPhysics/12 DESCRIPTION:Title: The Tip of the Planetary Iceberg: How Observed Planets May D iffer from their More Distant Cousins\nby Ruth Murray-Clay (UC Santa C ruz) as part of Georgia Tech School of Physics Colloquium\n\nAbstract: TBA \n LOCATION:https://stable.researchseminars.org/talk/GaTechPhysics/12/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Daniel Arovas (UC San Diego) DTSTART:20210412T190000Z DTEND:20210412T200000Z DTSTAMP:20260404T094121Z UID:GaTechPhysics/13 DESCRIPTION:Title: Quantum Magnetism from the Iron Age to Today\nby Daniel Arovas (UC San Diego) as part of Georgia Tech School of Physics Colloquium \n\n\nAbstract\nThe quantum theory of magnetism has provided many durable paradigms for quantum phases of matter\, including intrinsically quantum d isordered states\, symmetry-protected topological phases\, and quantum spi n liquids. It also served as a birthing ground for many important develop ments in the theory of quantum phase transitions. In this lecture\, I wil l review some of the history and highlights of this very rich field.\n LOCATION:https://stable.researchseminars.org/talk/GaTechPhysics/13/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Andrea Liu (University of Pennsylvania) DTSTART:20210329T190000Z DTEND:20210329T200000Z DTSTAMP:20260404T094121Z UID:GaTechPhysics/14 DESCRIPTION:Title: How Materials Can Learn How to Function\nby Andrea Liu ( University of Pennsylvania) as part of Georgia Tech School of Physics Coll oquium\n\n\nAbstract\nHow does learning occur? In the context of neural ne tworks\, learning occurs via optimization\, where a loss function is minim ized to achieve the desired result. But physical networks such as mechanic al spring networks or flow networks cannot minimize such a loss function b y themselves—they need the help of a computer.\nAn alternative is to enc ode local rules into those networks so that they can evolve under external driving to develop function. For example\, if the springs in a mechanical network have equilibrium lengths that grow if the springs are stretched\, and shrink when the springs are compressed\, the network will naturally e volve under applied stresses.\nI will describe how both of these strategie s—global minimization of a loss function as well as training by local ru les--can be used to teach materials how to perform functions inspired by b iology\, such as the ability of proteins (e.g. hemoglobin) to change their conformations upon binding of an atom (oxygen) or molecule\, or the abili ty of the brain’s vascular network to send enhanced blood flow and oxyge n to specific areas of the brain associated with a given task.\n LOCATION:https://stable.researchseminars.org/talk/GaTechPhysics/14/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Predrag Cvitanović (School of Physics\, Georgia Tech) DTSTART:20220922T150000Z DTEND:20220922T160000Z DTSTAMP:20260404T094121Z UID:GaTechPhysics/15 DESCRIPTION:Title: Recurrent solutions and dynamics of turbulent flows\nby Predrag Cvitanović (School of Physics\, Georgia Tech) as part of Georgia Tech School of Physics Colloquium\n\n\nAbstract\nIn the world of moderate\ , everyday turbulence of fluids flowing across planes and down pipes\, a q uiet revolution is taking place. Applied mathematicians can today compute 'exact coherent structures'\, i.e. numerically precise 3D\, fully nonlinea r Navier-Stokes solutions: unstable equilibria\, traveling waves\, and (re lative) periodic orbits. Experiments carried out at Georgia Tech today yie ld measurements as detailed as the numerical simulations\; our experimenta lists measure 'exact coherent structures' and trace out their unstable man ifolds. What emerges is a dynamical systems theory of low-Reynolds turbule nce as a walk among sets of weakly unstable invariant solutions.\n\nWe tak e you on a tour of this newly breached\, hitherto inaccessible territory. Mastery of fluid mechanics is no prerequisite\, and perhaps a hindrance: t he talk is aimed at anyone who had ever wondered why - if no cloud is ever seen twice - we know a cloud when we see one? And how do we turn that int o mathematics?\n\nrequest Zoom Passcode early from predrag.cvitanovic@phys ics.gatech.edu\n LOCATION:https://stable.researchseminars.org/talk/GaTechPhysics/15/ END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR