May 9, 2023 Faculty Lunch Talk

Speaker: Ying-Jen Yang, PhD

Affiliation: Laufer Center, Dill lab

Talk Title: Finally, the Two Universal Laws of dynamics: with applications to Molecular Motors, Neuronal Networks, Evolution, and Traffic Flows.

Abstract: Across biology, complex dynamics emerge at various scales, from molecules to cellular networks, organisms, and populations. Despite diverse modeling approaches, a unifying framework for identifying key observables, constructing models, and analyzing them has been missing. Building on the success of thermodynamics and statistical physics for equilibrium systems, I will present my recent work generalizing these principles for living, non-equilibrium systems. Our lab has shown that non-equilibrium's "Second Law" is the principle of Maximum Caliber, and I have forwarded this enterprise by developing the associated "First Law" of non-equilibrium. Together, these two laws provide principled and general tools for dynamical model-making, enabling new insights into symmetry components beyond the Onsager near-equilibrium relations, and accounting for costs and benefits beyond energies, heat, and work. I will illustrate the power of this framework with examples from molecular motors, neuronal networks, evolutionary dynamics, and traffic flows, demonstrating its far-reaching implications for interdisciplinary research and understanding complex biological systems.

Date/Time: May 9, 2024 @ 12 PM

Location: Laufer Center, Conference Room 107