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SUMMARY:Microbes and turbulence
DTSTART:20140520T161500
DTEND:20140520T171500
DTSTAMP:20260406T063916Z
UID:a92997621a2037a7d3432e3fbe1109e49d2ca57ac190228442b6207c
CATEGORIES:Conferences - Seminars
DESCRIPTION:Dr Roman Stocker\, Environmental Microfluidics Group\, MIT\, P
 arsons Laboratory\, Cambridge USA - visiting professor at EAWAG\nAbstract:
 \nMicrobes have been studied forever. So has turbulence. In a broad range 
 of environments\, microbes are routinely exposed to turbulence\, yet physi
 cists have ignored microbes and biologists have ignored turbulence. In thi
 s talk I will illustrate the fascinating dynamics that unfold when environ
 mental microbes are considered in the context of turbulent flow. I will fo
 cus on motile microbes and will use microfluidic experiments and mathemati
 cal modeling to show how turbulence affects the swimming of microbes\, un-
 mixes them counter to one's intuition\, and shapes their competition for n
 utrients. In addition to representing a new class of problems in active ph
 ysics\, these processes are broadly important for environmental dynamics i
 ncluding trophic interactions and biogeochemical cycling in natural ecosys
 tems such as oceans and lakes.Short biography:\nRoman Stocker is an Associ
 ate Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at 
 MIT\, where he heads the Environmental Microfluidics Group. Roman's resear
 ch focuses on microscale biophysical processes in the environment\, with a
  special interest in the ocean. His group develops original microfluidic t
 echnology and image analysis techniques to understand microbes in the cont
 ext of their physical (e.g.\, flow)\, chemical (e.g.\, nutrients) and ecol
 ogical (e.g.\, other organisms) landscape\, by directly observing microbes
  and making them 'come to life' for the non-microscopist. This approach ha
 s resulted in a broad range of fundamental new insights on microbial dynam
 ics\, particularly motility and chemotaxis. Roman's work has frequently ap
 peared in high-profile journals including Science\, Nature and PNAS\, and 
 has been featured in popular media including the BBC\, CNN\, and the New Y
 ork Times.
LOCATION:GR A3 32 http://plan.epfl.ch/?room=GR%20A3%2032
STATUS:CONFIRMED
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