LIFD Colloquium: Lisa Fauci

Prof Lisa Fauci, Tulane University

Talk title: Long, flexible, and actuated: Flagella Moving Through Heterogeneous Fluid Environments

Abstract: In microscopic biological systems, rarely does an undulating flagellum beat freely, but may move through passive elastic structures such as mucosal strands or narrow ducts in the female reproductive tract.  In this talk, we will focus on two intriguing systems: (a) flagellar motility through a viscous fluid with suspended polymeric networks, and (b) the journey of (incredibly long) insect sperm through (incredibly narrow) sperm storage organs in the female reproductive tract. We will discuss mathematical models and computational methods that capture these coupled fluid-elastic systems, what we have learned, and what challenges lie ahead.