Title: Math and physics of complex fluid interfaces: biological membranes, charged droplets, and active fluids

Speaker: Petia Vlahovska, Northwestern University

Abstract: Interfaces abound in multiphase materials and living systems. I will highlight my group's research on modeling the dynamics of soft, fluid-embedded interfaces. Examples include electrohydrodynamic streaming leading to "Saturnian" droplets, curvature fluctuations of biomimetic membranes, and symmetry-breaking instabilities such as Quincke electrorotation, electroconvection, and the spontaneous propulsion of droplets enclosing active particles (microswimmers). These phenomena pose challenging multiscale, multiphysics free-boundary problems. Our approach integrates theory and experiment, developing analytical models that rationalize experimental observations and leveraging experiments to uncover new directions for modeling.

In this talk, I will focus on the dynamics of biomembranes (whose equilibrium shapes minimize the Willmore energy) and discuss how hydrodynamic dissipation within the membrane and its bilayer structure influence membrane remodeling and the statistics of thermally driven fluctuations measured using light, X-ray, or neutron scattering techniques.

Zoom: https://northwestern.zoom.us/j/96605429763

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