Our lab uses theoretical and computational techniques to study a wide variety of soft condensed matter systems both in and out of equilibrium. How do we explain the way disordered solids maintain their rigidity, and also how they fail? What can simple models of active matter teach us about the collective behavior of cells in dense tissue, or about how birds flock? We focus on the role of topology and topological interactions in protecting system behaviors even in the presence of strong fluctuations – this allows us to make strong predictions about how a system responds to perturbations even when using extremely simplified, coarse-grained representations. We employ data-science-driven techniques, working closely with experiments, to formulate precisely tests that can discriminate between different theoretical approaches. And we ask how novel broken symmetries in coarse-grained descriptions of living matter leads to new phase transitions in models of soft living active matter.
See below for a rolling list of recent group news!
Our group was proud to have two invited talks this year (presented by star postdoc Haicen Yue in the “Frontiers of Soft Matter” invited session on Friday, and by Daniel on Monday morning)! In addition, Charles Packard gave an excellent talk about his work on non-reciprocal effects in models of flocking, and Tomi Obadiya presented his machine learning work for the first time!
Starting a research group during the pandemic was certainly a process – it was great having the chance to take our first group hike! We opted for a fairly easy walk up a nearby granite monadnock. Great views of Atlanta from the top (which made it abundantly clear just how geographically challenged the whole group is), and a fun time!
The National Science Foundation has awarded a CAREER grant to Daniel! Starting August first and running for five years, this grant will fund multiple graduate students to study the dynamics and thermodynamics of “ultra-strong” glassforming materials.
Working with the group of Nuno Araujo and led by his graduate student Diogo Pinto we showed that the energy landscape in models of dense cellular matter has a hierarchical (and ultrametric) structure, and that the choice of metric defining the distance between basins was key to uncovering this structure. On a techincal level, this project also inspired us to make substantial improvements to the computational geometry algorithms at the heart of the cellGPU software package. Read more here!
Graduate student Chengling Li joins the group – welcome, Chengling!
Daniel teamed up with with Michael Czajkowski and Science for Georgia for an encore presentation of the physics of ice cream as part of the 2022 Atlanta Science Festival! The event sold out, we all learned a little bit about the kind of thing ice cream is, and the line for waffle cones wrapped around part of the block – everybody wins!
Twelve years ago, Daniel attended his very first APS March Meeting. This year, in Chicago, he got to watch the first grad student to join the group present for the first time. Another proud moment! Even better: it was quickly followed by an absolutely stellar talk from the Sussman Lab’s star postdoc. Congrats, Charles and Haicen!.
A collaborative paper with the Manning group – studying the non-monotonic fluidization that can be generated by active “fluctuating edge tension” models of cells – was published in Soft Matter!
Stellar postdoc Haicen Yue presents at the APS flagship fluid dynamics conference, talking about her work on the fusion of cellular aggregates and other meso-scale droplets! It’s a proud moment for the group, as Haicen becomes the first Sussman Lab member other than Daniel to give a talk!
Fulfilling a childhood dream, I teamed up with Michael Czajkowski and Science for Georgia to do some science outreach, talking about the soft matter physics of ice cream. Performing in downtown Decatur on a beautiful day, there were absurd illustrations, zany demonstrations, and some delicious, delicious science!
