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There is now a CONTENT FREEZE for Mercury while we switch to a new platform. It began on Friday, March 10 at 6pm and will end on Wednesday, March 15 at noon. No new content can be created during this time, but all material in the system as of the beginning of the freeze will be migrated to the new platform, including users and groups. Functionally the new site is identical to the old one. webteam@gatech.edu
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Prof. Christy Landes, Rice University
In Search of Concurrence between Biological and Synthetic Polymer Structure and Function
Physical Chemistry Seminar Series
Whether a synthetic material is intended for a medical therapeutic or for charge storage, one of the innate challenges in materials chemistry is the ability to engineer cheap, efficient, robust devices. In contrast, nature manufactures such materials from the cheapest of precursors. As we advance to scientific tools able to observe nature’s molecular level methods, we begin to understand that one reason nature can be so successful is that her strategy differs from ours. Whereas humans usually design materials with a single, well-defined function, nature often acts through redundant or degenerate channels that are singly not as efficient, but collectively, and in the face of damage or wear, outperform their synthetic cousins.
Our central question is: Can we take cues from the structure-function interplay and use of cooperative pathways in nature’s biomolecular processes to inform design principles for tailored functional materials applications? The pursuit of answers to this question presents challenges for theory, measurement, and data interpretation. The talk will present insights into the overall question, as well as attempts to overcome some of the innate challenges encountered along the way.
For more information contact Prof. Christine Payne (404-385-3125).
