An important class of microscale fluid-structure interactions in biology involves the interactions and deformations of flexible elastica, both passive and active, with fluid flows. Examples range from fundamental biological transport processes such as the swimming of microorganisms using internally actuated cilia or flagella, the transport of material by the coordinated action of ciliary carpets to the involvement of both actuated and passive flexible filaments in the symmetry-breaking of vertebrates. I will discuss two problems concerning the dynamics of passive and active fibers in flows. First, I will talk about the novel buckling instabilities and complex shapes of single actin polymers in simple flows and their importance in the rheology of complex fluids. I will then discuss a biophysical model of a spontaneously beating cilium that incorporates various details of their microscopic physics. Using this model, I will illustrate how beds of beating cilia self-organize to form large-scale metachronal waves that help in fluid transport.
Zoom link: https://icts-res-in.zoom.us/j/82181995579?pwd=aTVRWVc4NGtCL0lxZnQ0NUUyWUg0dz09
Meeting ID: 821 8199 5579
Passcode: 202022