The surprising connections which have developed between physics and various fields as diverse as biology and economics now constitute the fascinating research area known as complex materials and systems. The study of complex materials and processes is rapidly expanding, and many important experimental and theoretical discoveries have been made in recent years. Statistical physics is key to exploring this new and expanding field, enabling an understanding of real-world phenomena compromised of complex materials or exhibiting complex processes. This book includes lectures presented at the CLXXVI International School of Physics oEnrico Fermio, held in Varenna, Italy, in July 2010. The school focused on recent advances and developing perspectives in the study of complex materials and processes, as related to physics and biology. The book provides both an introduction and a complete presentation of recent theoretical and experimental developments for each topic.Topics addressed include: scaling and universality, supra-molecular systems and solutions, polymer systems, static and dynamics of liquid water, arrested dynamics and jamming, dynamics of out of equilibrium systems, physics of confined liquids, granular matter, physics of biological and medical systems, networks in physical and social sciences, turbulence in physics, biology and economics and finally, switching phenomena in biology and economics. The book provides reviews of these cutting edge topics by leading authorities and will be a reference work useful to both advanced research professionals and beginning graduate students.

Physics at the beginning of the twenty-first century has reached new levels of accomplishment and impact in a society and nation that are changing rapidly. Accomplishments have led us into the information age and fueled broad technological and economic development. The pace of discovery is quickening and stronger links with other fields such as the biological sciences are being developed. The intellectual reach has never been greater, and the questions being asked are more ambitious than ever before. Physics in a New Era is the final report of the NRC's six-volume decadal physics survey. The book reviews the frontiers of physics research, examines the role of physics in our society, and makes recommendations designed to strengthen physics and its ability to serve important needs such as national security, the economy, information technology, and education.

Complex Systems Science in Biomedicine Thomas S. Deisboeck and J. Yasha Kresh Complex Systems Science in Biomedicine covers the emerging field of systems science involving the application of physics, mathematics, engineering and computational methods and techniques to the study of biomedicine including nonlinear dynamics at the molecular, cellular, multi-cellular tissue, and organismic level. With all chapters helmed by leading scientists in the field, Complex Systems Science in Biomedicine's goal is to offer its audience a timely compendium of the ongoing research directed to the understanding of biological processes as whole systems instead of as isolated component parts. In Parts I & II, Complex Systems Science in Biomedicine provides a general systems thinking perspective and presents some of the fundamental theoretical underpinnings of this rapidly emerging field. Part III then follows with a multi-scaled approach, spanning from the molecular to macroscopic level, exemplified by studying such diverse areas as molecular networks and developmental processes, the immune and nervous systems, the heart, cancer and multi-organ failure. The volume concludes with Part IV that addresses methods and techniques driven in design and development by this new understanding of biomedical science. Key Topics Include: • Historic Perspectives of General Systems Thinking • Fundamental Methods and Techniques for Studying Complex Dynamical Systems • Applications from Molecular Networks to Disease Processes • Enabling Technologies for Exploration of Systems in the Life Sciences Complex Systems Science in Biomedicine is essential reading for experimental, theoretical, and interdisciplinary scientists working in the biomedical research field interested in a comprehensive overview of this rapidly emerging field. About the Editors: Thomas S. Deisboeck is currently Assistant Professor of Radiology at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston. An expert in interdisciplinary cancer modeling, Dr. Deisboeck is Director of the Complex Biosystems Modeling Laboratory which is part of the Harvard-MIT Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging. J. Yasha Kresh is currently Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery and Research Director, Professor of Medicine and Director of Cardiovascular Biophysics at the Drexel University College of Medicine. An expert in dynamical systems, he holds appointments in the School of Biomedical Engineering and Health Systems, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering and Molecular Pathobiology Program. Prof. Kresh is Fellow of the American College of Cardiology, American Heart Association, Biomedical Engineering Society, American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering.

This book serves as an introduction to the continuum mechanics and mathematical modeling of complex fluids in living systems. The form and function of living systems are intimately tied to the nature of surrounding fluid environments, which commonly exhibit nonlinear and history dependent responses to forces and displacements. With ever-increasing capabilities in the visualization and manipulation of biological systems, research on the fundamental phenomena, models, measurements, and analysis of complex fluids has taken a number of exciting directions. In this book, many of the world’s foremost experts explore key topics such as: Macro- and micro-rheological techniques for measuring the material properties of complex biofluids and the subtleties of data interpretation Experimental observations and rheology of complex biological materials, including mucus, cell membranes, the cytoskeleton, and blood The motility of microorganisms in complex fluids and the dynamics of active suspensions Challenges and solutions in the numerical simulation of biologically relevant complex fluid flows This volume will be accessible to advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate students in engineering, mathematics, biology, and the physical sciences, but will appeal to anyone interested in the intricate and beautiful nature of complex fluids in the context of living systems.

This encyclopedia provides an authoritative single source for understanding and applying the concepts of complexity theory together with the tools and measures for analyzing complex systems in all fields of science and engineering. It links fundamental concepts of mathematics and computational sciences to applications in the physical sciences, engineering, biomedicine, economics and the social sciences.

Analyzes approaches to the study of complexity in the physical, biological, and social sciences.

This book offers a comprehensive presentation of the concepts, properties, and applications of complex materials. Authors of each chapter use a fundamental approach to define the structure and properties of a wide range of solids on the basis of the local chemical bonding and atomic order present in the material. Emphasizing the physical and chemical origins of different material properties, this important volume focuses on the most technologically important materials being utilized and developed by scientists and engineers.

A clear, concise introduction to the quickly growing field of complexity science that explains its conceptual and mathematical foundations What is a complex system? Although "complexity science" is used to understand phenomena as diverse as the behavior of honeybees, the economic markets, the human brain, and the climate, there is no agreement about its foundations. In this introduction for students, academics, and general readers, philosopher of science James Ladyman and physicist Karoline Wiesner develop an account of complexity that brings the different concepts and mathematical measures applied to complex systems into a single framework. They introduce the different features of complex systems, discuss different conceptions of complexity, and develop their own account. They explain why complexity science is so important in today's world.

This book presents the hotly debated question of whether quantum mechanics plays a non-trivial role in biology. In a timely way, it sets out a distinct quantum biology agenda. The burgeoning fields of nanotechnology, biotechnology, quantum technology, and quantum information processing are now strongly converging. The acronym BINS, for Bio-Info-Nano-Systems, has been coined to describe the synergetic interface of these several disciplines. The living cell is an information replicating and processing system that is replete with naturally-evolved nanomachines, which at some level require a quantum mechanical description. As quantum engineering and nanotechnology meet, increasing use will be made of biological structures, or hybrids of biological and fabricated systems, for producing novel devices for information storage and processing and other tasks. An understanding of these systems at a quantum mechanical level will be indispensable.

This pioneering text provides a comprehensive introduction to systems structure, function, and modeling as applied in all fields of science and engineering. Systems understanding is increasingly recognized as a key to a more holistic education and greater problem solving skills, and is also reflected in the trend toward interdisciplinary approaches to research on complex phenomena. While the concepts and components of systems science will continue to be distributed throughout the various disciplines, undergraduate degree programs in systems science are also being developed, including at the authors’ own institutions. However, the subject is approached, systems science as a basis for understanding the components and drivers of phenomena at all scales should be viewed with the same importance as a traditional liberal arts education. Principles of Systems Science contains many graphs, illustrations, side bars, examples, and problems to enhance understanding. From basic principles of organization, complexity, abstract representations, and behavior (dynamics) to deeper aspects such as the relations between information, knowledge, computation, and system control, to higher order aspects such as auto-organization, emergence and evolution, the book provides an integrated perspective on the comprehensive nature of systems. It ends with practical aspects such as systems analysis, computer modeling, and systems engineering that demonstrate how the knowledge of systems can be used to solve problems in the real world. Each chapter is broken into parts beginning with qualitative descriptions that stand alone for students who have taken intermediate algebra. The second part presents quantitative descriptions that are based on pre-calculus and advanced algebra, providing a more formal treatment for students who have the necessary mathematical background. Numerous examples of systems from every realm of life, including the physical and biological sciences, humanities, social sciences, engineering, pre-med and pre-law, are based on the fundamental systems concepts of boundaries, components as subsystems, processes as flows of materials, energy, and messages, work accomplished, functions performed, hierarchical structures, and more. Understanding these basics enables further understanding both of how systems endure and how they may become increasingly complex and exhibit new properties or characteristics. Serves as a textbook for teaching systems fundamentals in any discipline or for use in an introductory course in systems science degree programs Addresses a wide range of audiences with different levels of mathematical sophistication Includes open-ended questions in special boxes intended to stimulate integrated thinking and class discussion Describes numerous examples of systems in science and society Captures the trend towards interdisciplinary research and problem solving