49th IFF Spring School - Physics of Life

Date: 26/02/2018 – 09/03/2018
Source: www.fz-juelich.de

49th IFF Spring School - Physics of Life 49th IFF Spring School - Physics of Life

The 49th IFF Spring School – Physics of Life will be held February 26 – March 9 2018 in Jülich, Germany.

The deadline for application is December 20, 2017!

Overview

The Spring School will provide an introduction to and an overview of current research topics in biophysics of living systems, with an emphasis on understanding biological structure, dynamics and function. Biomolecules, cells, tissues, and their multiscale interactions are the main building blocks of biological organisms. The physical understanding of their structural and dynamical properties and their organization and synergy is very challenging due to the enormous complexity and non-equilibrium behaviour of these systems.

However, this knowledge is essential for linking the structure and dynamics of biosystems to their corresponding functions. The goal of this Spring School is not only to give an overview of selected topics from biophysics to students and postdocs in physics, chemistry and biology, but also to establish an interdisciplinary connection between these fields. This includes, in particular, the introduction of biologists and chemists to physical experimental methods and theoretical modelling, and the introduction of physicists to the large variety of fascinating biological phenomena. Introductory lectures will present the basics of biosystems and biophysics.

These lectures are intended to establish a common level of basic interdisciplinary knowledge. Subsequent lectures will treat more advanced topics within different disciplines and emphasize interdisciplinary aspects.

The IFF Spring School & Biophysics Research in Jülich

The annual IFF Spring School is a long-standing tradition of the Institut für Festkörperforschung (IFF) which was founded in 1969. The institute’s research topics ranged from electronic and structural properties of solids and nanoelectronics, to the thermal and dynamical behaviour of soft matter. The IFF has organized the Spring School for over 40 years. Since the restructuring in 2011, research in the area of electronic systems, their phenomena, as well as their applications in information technology, became part of the Peter Grünberg Institute (PGI) named after the IFF scientist who received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2007. Biophysics and soft matter research is now located at the Institute of Complex Systems (ICS). These institutes are linked together and supported by the Institute for Advanced Simulation (IAS), which focuses on developing and applying high-performance computing to understand complex systems, and the Jülich Centre for Neutron Science (JCNS), which is dedicated to the operation of neutron scattering instruments at national and international neutron sources. The IFF Spring School is now organized in turns by PGI and ICS.

The Institute of Complex Systems (ICS) consists of 8 departments: neutron scattering, theoretical soft matter and biophysics, soft matter, cellular biophysics, molecular biophysics, structural biochemistry, biomechanics, and bioelectronics. A major objective of biophysics research is to understand processes far from equilibrium, which distinguishes dead from living matter, and thus to elucidate the structure and function of biological matter and living systems. Examples include biomolecules, such as DNA and various proteins, cells with their complex machinery and functions, tissues which represent a collective organization of cells, and systems biology which concerns intricate inter- actions between different biological entities starting from single molecules to cells and tissues, right up to organs and whole organisms.

An essential part of the mission of the Institute of Complex Systems is the interdisciplinary education of graduate students at the interface between physics, chemistry and biology. Here, the International Helmholtz Research School on Biophysics and Soft Matter (IHRS BioSoft) provides graduate education and training, with a programme of introductory and advanced lectures, seminars, lab courses, retreats, and transferable skills courses. More information is provided at http://www.ihrs-biosoft.de.

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