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‘Frontiers of biological physics’ convenes at UW this weekend

Program to explore labor, activist alliances

‘Frontiers of biological physics’
convenes at UW this weekend

Some of the brightest minds in science will gather Saturday to explore new frontiers.

The University of Washington will host “Frontiers of Biological Physics,” a daylong symposium devoted to the increasingly relevant intersections of biology and the physical and material sciences. The symposium, which runs from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. in A102 of the Physics Astronomy Building, is sponsored by the Department of Physics and the Department of Physiology and Biophysics.

“We hope the symposium is a catalyst for more involvement between physicists and biologists,” said Joe Howard, a UW professor of physiology and biophysics who helped organize the event and will deliver a lecture on how molecules generate force. “There should be more involvement between the two groups because they have a lot to contribute to one another.”

Michael Schick, a UW physics professor and organizer of the symposium, agrees with Howard. Schick said he enjoys pairing the divergent groups of scientists together. “It creates a very interesting tension,” he said.

Highlighting the impressive list of speakers is Steve Chu, the Stanford University Physics professor who won the Nobel Prize in 1997 for his work in the field of laser cooling and trapping. That work led to a greater understanding of the interaction between light and matter. His lecture - Watching Enzymes Do Their Work, Fold and Unfold, One Molecule at a Time - is set for 4:45 p.m. and will last about 45 minutes.

Other lecturers include:

Leroy Hood, president and director of the Institute for Systems Biology, will deliver a lecture Computing Life beginning at 9:05 a.m. Hood is the founder of the Institute for Systems Biology and a former chair of the UW Department of Biotechnology. His research focus is to decipher complex biological systems and networks with cutting edge tools and technology.

Lee Hartwell, president and director of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, will follow Hood at 10 a.m. with How Do You Make A Cell With 6,000 Genes? Hartwell’s study of yeast has led to an unraveling of the intricate web of genetics. Understanding how yeast cells grow, rest and divide is the centerpiece of his work.

At 11:20, John Hertz will deliver a lecture!M!Modeling Genomic Regulatory Dynamics - on his work in the study of the collective dynamics of a network involving the relationship between RNA and DNA within genes. Hertz is a professor at the Nordic Institute for Theoretical Physics in Copenhagen, Denmark.

David Tank’s lecture!M!Cellular and Network Mechanisms of Persistent Neural Activity - will immediately follow Hertz at 12:15 p.m. Tank heads up the Bell Labs Biological Computation Research Department and his research interests include experimental methods for measuring chemical and electrical signals in biological cells, mechanisms of learning and memory in the brain, and biological and artificial neural networks.

At 2:30 Ken Dill, of the University of California, San Francisco will speak. His lecture is entitled Protein Folding From The Perspective Of Simple Models. In addition to protein folding, his research includes an emphasis on the theory of structure and function within membranes and proteins. He’s also an expert in statistical mechanics and biopolymer physical chemistry.

Howard will speak at 3:25 and will be followed by Chu.

“(The UW) is a logical place for an event like this,” Schick said. “Everywhere you go on campus, there’s overlap between biology and physics.”

The event is free and open to the public. No registration is required. More information about the symposium can be found on the Web at http://depts.washington.edu/symposia/. ¶

University Week
The faculty and staff publication of the University of Washington
uweek@u.washington.edu
January 24, 2000