Colloquium September 17 Dr. Eric Mjolsness (hosted by Bender) Institute for Genomics and Bioinformatics, and Computer Science Department University of California, Irvine Physical modeling in biology: Gene regulation to plant development The conceptual tools of the physicist are finding substantial application to cellular and developmental biology. Simplicity may be a weaker guide to likelihood in biology than in physics, but such physical theories as statistical mechanics, viscoelastic mechanics, field theory, and geometrical dynamics are increasingly fruitful in these areas of biology. Deep connections to information, computing, and dynamics are added into the conceptual mix. Examples will be exhibited from gene regulatory networks in fruit flies, enzymatic regulation in bacteria, and pattern formation in plant development, along with a unifying mathematical framework (based on field theory) for the computational simulation and analysis of such heterogeneous and multiscale dynamical systems. Joint work with Wesley Hatfield, Marcus Heisler, Henrik Jnsson, Elliot Meyerowitz, Bruce Shapiro, Guy Yosiophon, and others. Coffee: 3:30 PM, 245 Compton         Lecture: 4:00 PM, 204 Crow