Simple Dynamics of Complex Systems: from Nuclei to Fish

Presenter: Professor Martin Gruebele (University of Illinois, Department of Chemistry)

Seemingly complex chemical systems often have simple underlying dynamics, decorated by effects that sometimes hide the simplicity, much to the entertainment of theorists and experimentalists alike. I will present four experimental and/or computational studies as time permits, with some computation and modeling to rationalize the experimental observations: coherently control of nuclear motion to enhance fusion, visualization of localized orbitals in quantum dots and carbon nanotubes; protein folding and protein-protein interactions from in vitro to in cell to in vivo, and dynamical analysis of vertebrate swimming behavior.