CAREER:Emergent properties in synthetic active matter: self-organization and synchronization

在自然界中，生物系统已经进化到在可变条件下以高保真度和令人羡慕的调谐和自组装能力运行。例如，细胞分裂或分化，肌肉收缩。这种现象的财富是可能的，因为生命系统消耗能量作为支付这些紧急行为的代价的象征。 这个职业项目的目的是提供一个全面的关键机制的利害关系。为此，研究团队将采用自下而上的方法，使用消耗能源的人造和微观构建块进行各种实验。 其最终目标是设计新颖、智能和活性的材料，并将生物组织带入材料世界。尖端的研究计划与本科生和研究生的软物质课程的开发相互融合。卓越的教育是横向的，依赖于两个战略轴心：（i）利用“软”材料的自然吸引力开展外联工作，例如在科学博览会上泼洒番茄酱或玉米淀粉，或让学生进入实验室，和（ii）一个科学“没有墙”的组成部分，每两年举行一次研讨会。技术摘要这个为期五年的职业生涯计划的目的是利用外-平衡性质的合成胶体活性物质，探索其物理原理，创造新的材料与先进的功能。这是一个实验驱动的建议，植根于有关自然界中涌现现象的机制的基本问题，这里用纯合成的成分来解决。它侧重于自组织和同步与不同的实现自推进粒子使用微流体，胶体科学和显微镜技术。这个项目的主旨是丰富的原始实验，这些实验相辅相成，为非平衡系统复杂性的出现所需的关键机制提供了一个全面的图景。这种方法将开创软物质物理学之外的发展，并探索从生物学中的自组织到运动性的非平衡物理学的未知领域。具有尖端功能的新型材料的创造将对材料科学，纳米和生物工程产生影响。

Non technical abstractIn Nature, biological systems have evolved to operate under variable conditions with high fidelity and enviable ability to tune and self-assemble. For example, cells divide or differentiate and muscles contract. This wealth of phenomena is possible because living systems consume energy as a token to pay the toll to achieve those emergent behaviors. The aim of this CAREER project is to provide a comprehensive picture of the key mechanisms at stake. To this end, the research team will use a bottom-up approach with a variety of experiments using artificial and microscopic building blocks, which consume energy. The ultimate goal is to design novel, smart and active materials and bring the biological organization to the materials world. The cutting-edge research program mutually integrates with the development of a soft matter curriculum for undergraduate and graduate students. Excellence in education is transverse and relies on two strategic axes: (i) an outreach effort using the natural appeal of "soft" materials, e.g. splashing ketchup or cornstarch at science fairs or getting students into the lab, and (ii) a science "without walls" components with a bi-annual seminar.Technical abstractThe aim of this five-year CAREER program is to harness the out-of-equilibrium nature of synthetic colloidal active matter to explore its physical principles and create novel materials with advanced functionalities. It is an experiment-driven proposal, rooted in fundamental questions about the mechanisms of emergent phenomena in nature, here addressed with purely synthetic components. It focuses on self-organization and synchronization with different realization of self-propelled particles using microfluidics, colloid science and microscopy techniques. The thrust of this project is the wealth of original experiments, which complement each other to provide a comprehensive picture of the key mechanisms required for the emergence of complexity in non- equilibrium systems. This approach will pioneer developments beyond soft matter physics and explore uncharted fields of out-of-equilibrium physics from self-organization to motility in biology. The creation of novel materials with cutting-edge functionalities will have an impact in material science, nano- and bioengineering.