Active Jamming M. Cristina Marchett, Syracuse University, DMR 1004789

1. Active Jamming M. Cristina Marchett, Syracuse University, DMR 1004789 Migrating layers of epithelial cells display the heterogeneous stress distribution and dynamics of glassy materials. To model this complex dynamics we have jammed ``liquid” Tambe et al., Nat Mat 2011 adapted ideas and tools used to characterize the jamming transition of granular matter to the study of models of flocking at high density. A collection of soft disk self-propelled at speed v0 exhibits a transition with increasing density f from a liquid to a glassy state with particles actively jammed in the cage of their neighbors (inset: mean-square displacement vs time). S. Henkes, Y. Fily & M. C. Marchetti, arXiv: 1107.4072 v0 The “normal modes” characterizing a jammed system (left) provide a novel approach for understanding the dynamical patterns observed in experiments on confluent cell layers (right: Poujade et al., PNAS 2007). f f

2. Active and Driven Soft Matter M. Cristina Marchett, Syracuse University, DMR 1004789 The PI co-chaired the 2011 Soft Condensed Matter Physics Gordon Research Conference (GRC)held at Colby-Sawyer College, NH, Aug. 14-19, 2011. The conference was attended by 178 scientists and was very successful. For the first time the Soft Matter GRC was preceded by a Gordon-Kenan Research Seminar (GKRS), a 2-day event for junior scientists. The GKRS was attended by a record number of 70 graduate students and postdocs that then stayed for the GRC. The PI’s group, from left: graduate student Shiladitya Banerjee, undergraduate student Ben Burdick, postdoc Silke Henkes, senior research scientist Moumita Das, Cristina Marchetti, postdoc Yaouen Fily.