About the event

Department of Mathematics & Statistics Colloquium

Dr. Brian Seguin

Associate Professor and Assistant Chair, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Loyola University Chicago

Modeling Lipid Bilayers: a Combination of Mechanics and Geometry

Abstract: Lipid bilayers are thin membranes made from lipid molecules that form a continuous barrier around cells. In my talk I will discuss the modeling of lipid bilayers using an energy approach. This will involve deriving the Canham-Helfrich energy for the bilayer using a statistical-mechanical approach under the assumption that the lipid molecules making up the bilayer can be modeled as rigid rods. In the process I will introduce basic concepts from the differential geometry of surfaces. This derivation explains the presence of spontaneous curvature common in lipid bilayers and can be used to explicitly calculate the material parameters present in the Canham-Helfrich energy.

Speaker Bio: Brian Seguin obtained a B.S. in Engineering Mechanics from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 2005 and a Ph.D. in Mathematical Sciences from Carnegie Mellon Universityin 2010. Since then he has spent time at McGill University and the University of Dundee.

Brian is interested in using techniques from geometry and analysis to study problems in material science and biology. For example, he has worked on projects involving plant cell biomechanics, lipid bilayers, liquid crystal theory, and soap films.