Conference: 2025 Stochastic Physics in Biology GRC

Gordon Research Conferences, East Greenwich RI

Investigators

Abstract

This award will partially support for a Gordon Research Conference (GRC) on Stochastic Physics in Biology, to be held in Ventura, CA, January 12-17, 2025. The meeting will bring together an outstanding and diverse group of physicists, mathematicians, engineers, and biologists at the forefront of research in the field of Stochastic Physics in Biology. The theme of the conference is “Bridging Theory and Experiments at all Scales.” The conference will address emerging challenges in understanding complex behaviors of biological systems using principles and theories in stochastic physics. The conference is preceded by a Gordon Research Seminar (GRS), a unique forum for graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and other junior scientists to present new, unpublished research. The conference and GRS look exciting, timely, and in an area of interest to the POLS program at NSF. The program brings together leaders in the field, including researchers supported by POLS. The conference is organized to optimize collaboration and communication among researchers from diverse disciplines. Sessions foster cross-disciplinary communication, by including speakers from different disciplines, with introductions by discussion leaders that bridge the different disciplines. The program is organized around nine sessions: I; Non-equilibrium Statistical Mechanics; II: Evolutionary Dynamics; III, Microbial Ecology; IV: Quantitative Physiology and Metabolism; V: Information Processing and Networks; VI: Cell Fate and Development; VII: Machine Learning and Causal Inference; VIII: Microbial Growth and Patterning; and IX: Molecular Organization. The program promotes networking through scheduled and informal discussion times, poster sessions, social hours, and Power Hour ™. Broader impacts of this award include fostering interdisciplinary science, increase the diversity, equity, and inclusivity (DEI) of the Biological Physics Community, and the training and career development for early career researchers. This GRC has a longstanding commitment to diversity and inclusion and strongly believes they are an integral part of creating thriving communities that advance the frontiers of science for all scientists. GRC provides conference fellowships (such as the Carl Storm Underrepresented Minority and International Diversity Fellowships) to support the participation of U.S. underrepresented minorities. This GRC Stochastic Physics in Biology is committed to developing a diverse program and inclusive conference atmosphere. Participants will be selected to ensure proportional representation of women and underrepresented minorities. Of the 31 invited speakers, 60% are early- or mid-career, and 40% are women. In addition to invited talks, we will select from submitted abstracts another 20+ contributed talks, with a focus on underrepresented scientists and early- career researchers. To increase the participation of women and URM scientists at the meeting, we will reach out to known networks, including (1) the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS), (2) the American Physical Society Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity Alliance (APS-IDEA), (3) Black in Biophysics, and (4) the Inclusive Graduate Education Network (IGEN). The Chair of this GRC conference, Dr. Andrew Mugler, participates in his department’s chapter of the APS Bridge Program, which actively targets admission and preparation of URM graduate students. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.