Date:
Wednesday, September 21, 2016, 4:30pm
Location:
20 Garden Street G10
Speaker: Prof. L. Mahadevan
Abstract: A century since the publication of Darcy Thompson’s classic “On growth and form,” his vision has finally begun to permeate into the fabric of modern biology. Within this backdrop, I will discuss some simple questions inspired by the onset of form in biology wherein mathematical models and computations, in close connection with experiments allow us to begin unraveling the physical basis for morphogenesis in the context of examples such as tendrils, leaves, guts, and brains. I will also try and indicate how these problems enrich their roots, creating new questions in mathematics, physics, and biology.