Professor Manasa Kandula, Department of Physics, University of Massachusetts, Amherst

In this talk, I will present our research on developing a colloidal model system to study active filaments through direct visualization experiments. Active polymers are crucial components in living systems, yet experimental studies, particularly on synthetic active filaments, are limited despite significant advances in theoretical and simulation approaches.

Our group has been focused on creating a colloidal model system of semi-flexible filaments and exploring methods to induce activity within these filaments. I will detail our approach to designing and fabricating these colloidal active filaments and discuss our findings on their dynamic behaviors.

This research aims to bridge the gap between theoretical models and experimental observations, offering new insights into the behavior of active polymers in synthetic systems.