RealArt presentation: Biological, Soft and Complex Matter & LagLivLab

There are so many cool, complex pattern forming processes that I would like to show you! Making a good and beautiful document presenting all that would be very time consuming and it is better to show you things in person while we talk about what our common interests might be.

I have for 25 years worked on pattern forming processes in Nature. This includes geological phenomena like travertine formation, compaction of reservoirs, drainage fracture networks, dissolution and growth patterns (you may scroll through my ResearchGate profile for examples) and in materials science. Some of these processes have been transformed into art by Ellen Karin Mæhlum who has worked with us at Njord periodically since 2003.

The last 5-6 years I have focused my research and teaching on the physics of life, working with both biologists and musicologists. We work on how biological life finds it's shape, so-called morphogenesis. This is related to the active research field in physics called active matter that searches for basic theories of very different systems like mammalian tissue, flocks of birds, schools of fish and motile bacteria.

I'm also an engaged educator and the student research lab LagLivLab that I started up can be a fun and interesting partner for art projects. See also the LagLivLab web page, the LagLivLab wiki page and some other stories about LagLivLab.

Most of my working time is engaged in science and education, but periodically I engage in public debate and writing opinions. I am always looking for partners to playfully engage in art and other forms of public outreach. The best start is to meet and talk!

dagkd@fys.uio.no