CAREER: Research in Algorithmic Theory of Self-Assembly

University Of Oklahoma Norman Campus, Norman OK

Investigators

Abstract

Self-assembly is the process by which simple objects spontaneously assemble into complexes. It is expected to ultimately become an important technology at the level of atoms and molecules. The development of researches in programmable self-assembly is reaching the stage that we have to understand it mathematically in order to take full advantage of this new tool. The goal of this research is to study the computational aspects of self-assembly. The objectives of this project includes: (1) Solving concrete problems in the Tile Assembly Model, including but not limited to finding an approximation algorithm for the Minimum Tile Set Problem (MTSP) and characterizing the shape languages. (2) Exploring different modelings of self-assembly, which will give a more accurate abstraction of the experimental results and will reflect the massive parallelism in molecular/DNA computing. (3) Studying the connections between the algorithmic self-assembly and the classical theory of computation, especially the communication theory and the resource-bounded Kolmogorov complexity. This CAREER project will integrate teaching activity into the research of self-assembly. The PI will offer graduate level courses in molecular computing and closely-related fields such as bioinformatics, and introduce the research to undergraduate and graduate students in general theory courses. This project will adopt the active learning techniques in teaching. It is expected that the project will contribute to understanding the engineering power of self-assembly, and to disseminating the current research information to students as well.