Controlling Pattern Formation in Active-Ordered Fluids

Active fluids comprised of reconstituted biopolymers and motor proteins are self-driven materials that exhibit rich spatiotemporal dynamics. These dynamics are characterized by buckling instabilities and the proliferation of topological defects in orientational order. These defects drive material flows and give the system its striking, characteristic texture and dynamics. One of the grand challenges of active soft matter physics is developing rational methods for controlling the spatiotemporal dynamics of these remarkable materials. In my talk, I outline how I’ve approached this challenge using a combination of fluid dynamics, PDE-constrained control theory, and reaction-diffusion processes. I’ll propose two broad categories of control strategies: those that come from external fields and those generated from within the material itself.