- When?
- February 11, 2020 8:00 PM
- Where?
- Academy Building, Aula
What?
Movement, Muscles and Molecular Motors.
Order tickets (free): https://sggroningen.nl/evenement/movement-muscles-and-molecular-motors
As humans, we are constantly moving. We walk, we run, we ride; all of us know what locomotion looks and feels like on the scale of our bodies. But how is motion truly orchestrated? How much energy is required to do it, where does this come from, and how does it get where it needs to be? How are macroscopic forces generated at the molecular level, and why does our physical intuition fail so spectacularly for motion at the smallest length scales?
In this year’s Hendrik de Waard Lecture, theoretical biophysicist Kees Storm explores the physical mechanisms and molecular foundations that enable living motion. With the aid of some simple calculations, order-of-magnitude estimates, and intuitive mathematical models we zoom in on ever smaller length scales revealing a fascinating world where simple but complex machines defy physical equilibrium and, literally, move us. Recent years have seen the fundamental understanding of biological motion inspire some mind-blowing technological advances, with the university of Groningen in a world-leading role; we conclude by considering some of the biological and non-biological applications where this new technology may change the world around us.
Cornelis (Kees) Storm obtained his master's degree in Theoretical Physics at Leiden University and earned his PhD in 2001 under supervision of Prof. Wim van Saarloos. He was a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia), the Institut Curie (Paris) and the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. In 2007 Storm was appointed Assistant Professor at TU/e (department of Applied Physics and the Institute for Complex Molecular Systems). He received tenure in 2009 and became Associate Professor in 2015. In the second half of that year he was a visiting professor at Harvard University's John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. Since October 2017 Storm is Full Professor of Theoretical Biophysics at TU/e, leading the Theory of Polymers and Soft Matter group. Storm is member and leader of several national and international research consortia, and among other professional service appointments is a board member of the Center for Computational Energy Research, member of the KNAW committee for the European Molecular Biology Laboratories, and of the NWO round table for Physics. Storm has a passion for scientific outreach, and his work has been featured on radio and the 'Universiteit van Nederland'.
Get your (free) tickets here: https://sggroningen.nl/evenement/movement-muscles-and-molecular-motors