Biophysics / Soft Matter
Biophysics is an interdisciplinary science that uses the methods of physical science to study biological systems by applying the principles of physics and chemistry and the methods of mathematical analysis and computer modeling to understand how biological systems work.
This science seeks to explain biological function in terms of the molecular structures and properties of specific molecules. WPI researchers are making strides in molecular and multimolecular aspects of biophysics by fostering groups engaged in multidisciplinary research in this field.
Biophysics gives us medical imaging technologies including MRI scans, CAT scans, PET scans, and sonograms for diagnosing diseases. It provides the life-saving treatment methods of kidney dialysis, radiation therapy, cardiac defibrillators, and pacemakers.
Biophysics Research Groups
- Germano Iannacchione’s group studies order-disorder phenomena in biomaterials. Using calorimetric, dielectric spectroscopic, and optical microscopy techniques, participants study the ordering and self-assembly of biomaterials such as proteins, DNA, and cholesterols. Current work is focused on understanding the elements controlling protein denaturing and folding dynamics, mesoscopic phase behavior of DNA segments, and self-assemblies of filament, tubule, and helical microstructures formed in cholesterol-based model-bile systems.
- Qi Wen's group is interested in studying the physics of living cells, particularly the mechanical properties of cell cytoskeleton and the mechanical interactions between cells and extracellular materials. He is leading the experimental biophysics laboratory at WPI's Life Sciences & Bioengineering Center. The research in his lab interfaces with physics, chemistry, nanotechnology, and biomedical engineering. The aim of the research is to understand the physical principles governing the transmission of force inside cells and the transduction of mechanical force into intracellular biochemical signals to regulate cellular functions.
Research in Professor Wen’s group is currently funded by the National Science Foundation. The group is accepting new graduate students, both PhD and master levels. Students with a strong interest in experimental biophysics, good communication skills, and some experimental background are strongly encouraged to apply.
The lab is equipped with a combination of cutting-edge biophysics tools such as fiber optical tweezers, traction force microscopy, and atomic force microscopy, for single cell and single molecule studies. Results from the research will guide the design of novel materials for wound healing, tissue engineering, and tumor treatment.
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Kun-Ta Wu’s group is interested in bio-inspired materials such as DNA and proteins, particularly in active matter. Active matter differentiates from conventional passive matter due to its capability to convert chemical energy to mechanical work. Such capability enables active matter to perform the tasks beyond the limit of passive matter, such as transporting cargos and pumping fluids without external pumps. Wu’s group aims to understand the rules and laws of self-organization of active matter along with developing a minimum set of components that mimic living entities to better understand the origin of life. To approach these goals, Wu’s group uses various biomaterials including molecular motors and filamentous proteins to create the fluids that pump themselves: active fluids. Wu’s group uses active fluids as model experimental systems to learn far-from-equilibrium fluidic dynamics driven by millions of molecular motors, and mimic intracellular activity in-vitro such as cytoplasmic streaming.
To gain insights into these dynamic systems, Wu’s group collaborates with Professor Erkan Tüzel (Physics) on modeling the active fluids with particle-based simulations. Wu’s group also closely connects with Brandeis Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) as contributors of Interdisciplinary Research Group (IRG) and actively participates in MRSEC-associated events such as Winter School and Annual Retreat.|
Professor Wu is seeking for talented students who are eager to challenge the boundary of existing knowledge at the interface of physics, biology and material science. Students who are passionate about the pioneering research in this field are encouraged to contact Professor Wu (kwu@wpi.edu). For more details, please visit the group’s website (labs.wpi.edu/kuntawu).
Nuclear Science and Engineering Group
- Dave Medich’s group performs experimental and computational (Monte Carlo) research in the field of applied nuclear physics with a focus on medical and health physics. Presently he is developing a novel technique to enable high-resolution in vivo functional imaging using neutrons, researching localized intensity-modulated Yb-169 HDR brachytherapy, developing a field-deployable nuclear forensics device for radiological and topological characterization, and analyzing the time-dependent resuspension of radioactive Am-241 into the atmosphere.
Nanoscience/Photonics/Electromagnetics
Nanoscience, photonics, and electromagnetics are interdisciplinary fields that incorporate elements of physics, engineering, materials science, biotechnology, and chemistry. With many revolutionary technologies over the past decades, many research endeavors deal with structures and scales that are on the order of 100’s of nanometers or smaller. Nanoscience and nanotechnology involve the ability to see and to control these tiny, individual atoms that make up everything on Earth. The food we eat, the clothes we wear, the houses we live in, and even the human body, all consist of atoms. The interaction of photons and electromagnetics at these small scales leads to new interactions between light and matter that include the quantum mechanical properties of matter and structures engineered at the nanoscale level. Research will lead to the next generation of technologies, such a metamaterials, quantum enable devices for information science, and micrometer and nanometer sized sensors with enhanced interactions with matter.
Devices on these small scales and something as small as an atom are impossible to see with the naked eye—in fact, the atom is impossible to see with the typical microscope. Therefore, physicists generally have to invent the instrumentation to study and build things at the nanoscale level. Once physicists developed the right tools, such as nanoscale 3D printers, the scanning tunneling microscope (STM), and the atomic force microscope (AFM), the benefits of nanoscience research to society became very clear.
The potential applications of nanoscience research are considerable, affecting such areas as medicine, transportation, communication, and sustainable energy