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Lectures & Events
Monday
06
December
Zoom
11:00
Protein as amorphous evolving matter
Prof. Tsvi Tlusty
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Protein as amorphous evolving matter
Protein is matter of dual nature. As a physical object, a protein molecule is a folded chain of amino acids with diverse biochemistry. But it is also a point along an evolutionary trajectory determined by the protein’s function within a hierarchy of interwoven interaction networks of the cell, the organism, and the population. Thus, a theory of proteins needs to unify both aspects, the biophysical and the evolutionary. In this talk, a physical approach to the protein problem will be described, focusing on how cooperative interactions among the amino acids shape the evolution of the protein. This view of protein as evolvable matter will be used to examine basic questions about its fitness landscape and gene-to-function map. Department of Physics, National University in Ulsan, South Korea
Sunday
19
December
Gerhard M.J. Schmidt Lecture Hall
11:00
Electrical Conductivity in Metal-Organic Frameworks
Prof. Mircea Dinca
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Electrical Conductivity in Metal-Organic Frameworks
The emergence of electrically conductive metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) has been one of the most paradoxical developments in the field in the last few years. Indeed, how can one transport charges through a material that is mostly “empty” space? In this sense, MOFs made from layers of organic ligands connected by (typically) square-planar metal ions have shown particularly good electrical conductivity. However, a precise mechanism for charge transport is still the subject of debate, with various experimental and computational reports describing these materials as metals, semiconductors, semimetals, or even borderline insulators. Most of the discussion on this point has been focused on the effects of in-plane metal-ligand conjugation and the efficiency of in-plane transport. This lecture will describe the latest efforts from our group to understand the intrinsic properties of these materials, especially as related to single-crystal electrical measurement studies, and will discuss in particular the unexpectedly large influence of out-of-plane transport. Time allowing, I will discuss unexpected results stemming from the behavior of these materials as 1D metals, and applications in energy storage and conversion. Department of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Monday
20
December
Zoom
11:00
From cell circuits to collective cell behaviour
Prof. Leah Edelstein-Keshet
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