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Oct. 18 physics lecture explores origin of life 3:36 p.m., Oct. 16, 2006--Albert Libchaber, Detlev W. Bronk Professor of Physics at Rockefeller University, will speak on “Physical Aspects of the Origin of Life Problems” at 4 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 18, in 114 Purnell Hall. Libchaber investigates the physics of the growth, form and motion of internal cell structures. His also focuses on the change in the movement of fluids as they evolve from a stream-like flow to a chaotic, turbulent one. In his UD talk Libchaber will discuss how temperature differences across porous rocks may feed accumulation and replication of evolving molecules and how such nonequilibrium conditions near porous thermal submarine vents are pieces in the puzzle of the origin of life. He also will discuss how building an artificial cell based on gene expression inside vesicles can reveal the physical constraints to overcome, in particular energy exchange, osmotic pressure, sources and sinks for protein production. Libchaber heads Rockefeller's Experimental Condensed Matter Physics Laboratory. He is a member of the university's Center for Studies in Physics and Biology, where faculty explore the interface between physics and biomedical sciences such as cell biology, neurobiology, immunology and structural biology. A native of Paris, France, Libchaber received his bachelor's degree in mathematics from the University of Paris in 1956 and an Ingénieur des Telecommunications from the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Telecommunications in 1958. He earned a master's degree in physics from the University of Illinois in 1959 and his doctoral degree from the Ecole Normale Supérieure in 1965. Among his many honors, Libchaber is a chevalier of two French organizations, the ordre national de la Legion d'Honneur and the Palmes Academiques. He also is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a corresponding member of the French Academy of Science and a former MacArthur fellow. In 1986, he received the Wolf Prize for studies of the onset of turbulence. For more information on his UD talk, call (302) 831-3361 or send e-mail to [sherry@bartol.udel.edu]. |
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