Conference: Working Across Scales in Complex Systems

该奖项支持一个关于“在复杂系统中跨尺度工作”的研讨会，该研讨会将于2023年4月12日至14日在亚特兰大埃默里大学校园举行为期两天半的紧张科学讨论，聚集等离子体物理学和生物物理界的代表。讲习班的目标是寻找和探讨这两个领域之间的相似之处，以推动这两个领域的发展。如果可以确定生物物理学和等离子体物理学在理论上的相似之处，其他更广泛的社会效益可能是巨大的，从理解与人类健康相关的基本生物过程的进步到聚变能源科学的进步，从而对能源经济和气候变化的中介产生影响。物理学的发展往往是通过在名义上不同的领域之间找到意想不到的联系来发展的。投入资源寻找等离子体物理、生物物理学和其他致力于多尺度物理系统的领域之间的明确联系，可能会在这些领域和邻近领域带来实质性的智力进步。这将是这类研讨会的第一次，生物物理学和等离子体物理界将能够相互交谈，并探索可能的联系。研讨会将把不同背景和职业阶段的研究人员联系起来。因此，它将有助于建立新的专业网络，促进初级研究人员的科学领域和职业生涯。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This award supports a workshop on “Working across scales in complex systems”, which will bring together representatives of plasma physics and biological physics communities for two-and-a-half days of intense scientific discussions on the campus of Emory University in Atlanta, on April 12-14, 2023. The goal of the workshop is to look for and explore similarities between the two fields towards advancing both fields. If theoretical similarities between biological and plasma physics can be identified, additional broader societal benefits may be immense, ranging from advances in understanding of basic biological processes relevant to human health to advances in fusion energy sciences, and hence impact on the energy economy and mediation of climate change.Physics often develops by finding unexpected connections among nominally distinct fields. An investment of resources into searching for such connections explicitly between plasma physics, biological physics, and other fields working on multi-scale physical systems can potentially result in substantial intellectual advances in these and adjacent fields. This will be the first workshop of this kind, where the biological physics and plasma physics communities will be able to talk to each other and explore possible connections. The workshop will connect researchers with diverse backgrounds and career stages. As such, it will contribute to building new professional networks, advancing both the scientific fields and careers of junior researchers.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.