U.S.-France Cooperative Research: Hydrodynamics of Bacterial Colonies

University Of Arizona, Tucson AZ

Investigators

Abstract

9909866 Lega This three-year award for U.S.-France collaboration in applied mathematics involves Joceline Lega, Neil H. Mendelson, and a graduate student at the University of Arizona, and Thierry Passot of the Cote d'Azur Observatory in Nice, France. The project, supported under the joint program of the National Science Foundation and the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS), is aimed at the development of a hydrodynamic model to describe dense colonies of bacteria at the surface of a growth medium. The approach follows hydrodynamics ideas used in astrophysics. This award represents the U.S. side of a joint proposal to the NSF and the French National Center for Scientific Research. NSF will cover travel funds and living expenses of the U.S. investigator and graduate student. The CNRS will support the French researcher's visits to the United States. Lega provides expertise on modeling of nonlinear phenomena and pattern formation; Mendelson, a cellular biologist, will conduct experiments to test the model and computations; and Passot, a physicist, provides expertise in hydrodynamics and turbulence. Their collaboration will advance understanding of the "hydrodynamics" of bacterial colonies.