Statistical Mechanics of Dynamics and Structure in Liquids

University Of California-Berkeley, Berkeley CA

Investigators

Abstract

David Chandler of the University of California, Berkeley isupported by the Theoretical and Computational Chemistry program for research on glassy dynamics and aging, the hydrophobic effect and self-assembly. The work is examining the behavior of coarse-grained models of super-cooled liquids with particular attention being paid to non-linear phenomena such as sublinear responses to driving forces, ratchet and amplifier effects and switches based upon the elasticity of glasses. Chandler continues his work on the theory of hydrophobicity which introduced a view of the driving force for hydrophobic assembly as being due to the formation of soft interfacial modes nucleated by extended hydrophobic forces. The latter project includes a study of the self-assembly of virus capsid systems, clusters which are prototypical illustrations of complementarity. The work is expected to have a broad impact on the general understanding of liquids and of biomolecular systems and to positively impact the training of future scientists.