Microbes and turbulence
Event details
| Date | 20.05.2014 |
| Hour | 16:15 › 17:15 |
| Speaker | Dr Roman Stocker, Environmental Microfluidics Group, MIT, Parsons Laboratory, Cambridge USA - visiting professor at EAWAG |
| Location | |
| Category | Conferences - Seminars |
Abstract:
Microbes have been studied forever. So has turbulence. In a broad range of environments, microbes are routinely exposed to turbulence, yet physicists have ignored microbes and biologists have ignored turbulence. In this talk I will illustrate the fascinating dynamics that unfold when environmental microbes are considered in the context of turbulent flow. I will focus on motile microbes and will use microfluidic experiments and mathematical modeling to show how turbulence affects the swimming of microbes, un-mixes them counter to one's intuition, and shapes their competition for nutrients. In addition to representing a new class of problems in active physics, these processes are broadly important for environmental dynamics including trophic interactions and biogeochemical cycling in natural ecosystems such as oceans and lakes.
Short biography:
Roman Stocker is an Associate Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at MIT, where he heads the Environmental Microfluidics Group. Roman's research focuses on microscale biophysical processes in the environment, with a special interest in the ocean. His group develops original microfluidic technology and image analysis techniques to understand microbes in the context of their physical (e.g., flow), chemical (e.g., nutrients) and ecological (e.g., other organisms) landscape, by directly observing microbes and making them 'come to life' for the non-microscopist. This approach has resulted in a broad range of fundamental new insights on microbial dynamics, particularly motility and chemotaxis. Roman's work has frequently appeared in high-profile journals including Science, Nature and PNAS, and has been featured in popular media including the BBC, CNN, and the New York Times.
Microbes have been studied forever. So has turbulence. In a broad range of environments, microbes are routinely exposed to turbulence, yet physicists have ignored microbes and biologists have ignored turbulence. In this talk I will illustrate the fascinating dynamics that unfold when environmental microbes are considered in the context of turbulent flow. I will focus on motile microbes and will use microfluidic experiments and mathematical modeling to show how turbulence affects the swimming of microbes, un-mixes them counter to one's intuition, and shapes their competition for nutrients. In addition to representing a new class of problems in active physics, these processes are broadly important for environmental dynamics including trophic interactions and biogeochemical cycling in natural ecosystems such as oceans and lakes.
Short biography:
Roman Stocker is an Associate Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at MIT, where he heads the Environmental Microfluidics Group. Roman's research focuses on microscale biophysical processes in the environment, with a special interest in the ocean. His group develops original microfluidic technology and image analysis techniques to understand microbes in the context of their physical (e.g., flow), chemical (e.g., nutrients) and ecological (e.g., other organisms) landscape, by directly observing microbes and making them 'come to life' for the non-microscopist. This approach has resulted in a broad range of fundamental new insights on microbial dynamics, particularly motility and chemotaxis. Roman's work has frequently appeared in high-profile journals including Science, Nature and PNAS, and has been featured in popular media including the BBC, CNN, and the New York Times.
Practical information
- General public
- Free
- This event is internal
Organizer
- EESS - IIE