Coupling between Geometry and Mechanics in Locomotion and Embryogenesis


January 30, 2018

Monday, January 29, 2018
Dr. Jerzy Blawzdziewicz
Texas Tech University
2:00 - 3:00pm
SEH, B1220

 

Abstract

The interplay between geometry and mechanics is crucial for a variety of biological processes. That coupling will be analyzed here using locomotion and embryogenesis as important examples. In animal locomotion the geometry of body movements is optimized for efficient propulsion and maneuverability, under constraints associated with the structure of the neuromuscular system. Focusing on locomotion of the nematode C. elegans in 2D and 3D environments, I will discuss the geometry and biomechanics of its turning maneuvers and investigate the optimization and neuromuscular control of nematode gait patterns in different media. To demonstrate how mechanical forces and feedbacks play a subtle yet profound role in guiding form generation processes (e.g., in morphogenesis, organogenesis, and tissue regeneration), my second example will center on the formation of embryonic architecture during fruit fly morphogenesis. My group’s recent results indicate that mechanical feedback is critical for robustness of morphogenetic movements because it provides both local and global coordination of cell activities.

 

Biography

Jerzy Blawzdziewicz is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Physics at Texas Tech University. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Warsaw in 1986. Before joining Texas Tech in 2010, he was a senior research scientist at the Institute of Fundamental Technological Research in Warsaw, and held faculty positions at the University of Szczecin in Poland and, subsequently, at Yale University. His research addresses problems lying at the intersection of fluid mechanics, statistical mechanics, and soft matter physics. The focus areas include collective phenomena in suspension flows, drop hydrodynamics, microstructure and jamming in granular systems, and dynamics of molecular and colloidal glasses; recent interests also center on applying fluid-mechanics and soft-matter-physics concepts to investigate biophysical problems.