BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//Talks.cam//talks.cam.ac.uk//
X-WR-CALNAME:Talks.cam
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:Critcal phenomena in biopolymer rheology - Fred MacKintosh (Rice U
 niversity)
DTSTART:20231208T140000Z
DTEND:20231208T143000Z
UID:TALK208897@talks.cam.ac.uk
DESCRIPTION:The mechanics of cells and tissues are largely governed by sca
 ffolds of filamentous proteins.&nbsp\;Particularly common examples of thes
 e are the collagen fiber networks of extracellular&nbsp\;matrices. There i
 s now increasing evidence that the mechanics of such fibrous structures ar
 e&nbsp\;governed by underlying mechanical phase transitions reminiscent of
  the rigidity transition&nbsp\;identified by Maxwell for macroscopic engin
 eering structures: networks of struts or springs&nbsp\;exhibit a continuou
 s\, second-order phase transition at the isostatic point\, where the numbe
 r of&nbsp\;constraints imposed by connectivity just equals the number of m
 echanical degrees of freedom.&nbsp\;By contrast\, fibrous networks in 3D e
 xhibit a line of critical transitions as a function of strain&nbsp\;rather
  than connectivity. These transitions have shown remarkable richness\, inc
 luding non-mean-field critical behavior. We will present recent theoretica
 l predictions and experimental&nbsp\;evidence for such strain-controlled m
 echanical phase transitions in biopolymer networks\, as&nbsp\;well as some
  of the resulting elastic and dynamic signatures and anomalies such as an&
 nbsp\;unexpectedly large Poisson ratio and slow stress relaxation.
LOCATION:Seminar Room 1\, Newton Institute
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR