Other Drives/Programmes

TSU & EMU COLLOQUIUM

Speaker: Dr. Raj Kumar Manna

Affiliation: Postdoctoral Associate, Syracuse University, USA

Title: Shape Morphing of Chemically Active Elastic Sheets, and Tissues

Date and Time: 06 February 2023 (Monday); Time: 11 AM (Tea: 10:45 AM)

Venue: Nevill Mott Hall, JNCASR

Abstract:

Shape-morphing of two-dimensional elastic materials is a vital and ubiquitous transformation in synthetic and biological systems. Due to their compliant nature, these shape-changing materials can deform continuously to adapt their shape to the external environment. My talk will focus on these shape-changing elastic materials in synthetic (chemically active sheets) and biological systems (tissue).

The first part of my talk will discuss the design principles for driving shape changes of 2D elastic sheets in fluid-filled microchambers. The sheets are coated with a catalyst to generate controllable fluid flows, which transform the sheets into complex 3D shapes. Moreover, a single sheet that encompasses multiple catalytic domains can transform into a variety of 3D shapes through the addition of one or more reactants. The mechanism can be used to perform self-sustained operations, including self-rotating and self-oscillating behavior.

The second part of my talk will describe the shape-morphing of Kupffer’s vesicle (KV) in the zebrafish embryo as it undergoes programmed asymmetric cell shape changes to establish the left-right axis of the embryo. Here we employ the 3D Vertex model to investigate KV cell shapes and cell distribution for a range of values of tailbud tissue fluidity and KV propulsion velocity, and compare to experiments. Our findings provide insight into the physical mechanisms that regulate organogenesis and may help identify new targets for therapeutics.

As part of the series of events organized by the Department of Science & Technology, Govt. of India, the 2nd SCO Young Scientists Conclave (SCO-YSC) will be hosted at the JNCASR campus from 6th to 10th February 2023.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is an inter-governmental organization with Kazakhstan, the People's Republic of China, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Russian Federation, the Republic of Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, and India as member states. This conclave aims to bring together innovative young minds from these member states onto a common platform to discuss various scientific ideas under five umbrella themes:

The conclave hopes to establish a network of young talents by facilitating their interaction and fostering research collaboration during this 5-day hybrid meeting. The program will be inaugurated by the Honorable Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh, Minister of State for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences, Government of India.

The conclave will be streamed live on the official YouTube channel for the entirety of the program, allowing everyone interested to participate.