报告摘要：

This presentation will begin with a brief overview of our theoretical and computational research in polymer, soft matter and biological physics, in particular studies of the structural, dynamical and rheological behaviours of charged polymers, linear and branched entangled polymers, supramolecular polymer networks, ferrofluids and lipid micelles, etc. These investigations span a wide range of time and length scales, employing techniques from atomistic simulations to mesoscopic bead-spring models and macroscopic constitutive equations. A more detailed discussion will then focus on our recent experimental and theoretical studies of Belousov–Zhabotinsky (BZ) self-oscillating hydrogels, which exhibit complex biomimetic behaviors and can serve as a physio-chemical model system for exploring the interplay between chemical and mechanical oscillations in cell-to-cell communications. In the absence of external interference, our experimental results revealed that chemical and mechanical self-oscillations in BZ hydrogels are inherently asynchronous, which our theoretical calculations interpreted as a result of rate-limited reactant diffusion and solvent migration processes [1]. By cyclically applying external mechanical stimulation, we found that when the gel’s oscillation entered harmonic resonance with the applied oscillation, the system kept a “memory” of the resonant period and maintained it post stimulation, demonstrating an entrainment effect [2]. More surprisingly, by systematically varying the stimulation cycle length, we uncovered the discrete nature of the stimulation-induced resonance and entrainment behaviors in the chemical oscillations of BZ hydrogels. The harmonic resonance observed under stimulation can be well described by our theoretical model which incorporates the delayed mechanical response effects. Our finding paves a way of using smart active materials as chemical engines to generate mechanical force bridging active materials with biological discoveries in chemomechanical coupling.

主讲人简介：

Prof. Zuowei Wang obtained his BSc and MSc degrees from Xiamen University and PhD from Fudan University, all in Physics. Before joining the University of Reading, he worked at Fudan University, Universite de Nice-Sophia Antipolis (CNRS), Max-Planck Institute for Polymer Research, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. His research interests are mainly focused on multiscale computer simulation and theoretical modelling of polymeric and soft matter materials, including charged and entangled polymers, polymer networks, antimicrobial peptides, surfactant and lipopeptide micelles, dipolar fluids, etc, as well as developing theoretical and computational methodologies. His research activities are funded by EPSRC, BBSRC, EU MSCA and international collaboration grants, and led to publications in journals such as PNAS, PRL, Macromolecules, Science Advances, J. Rheology, etc. He serves on the international advisory, editorial and referee boards of various scientific journals, funding agencies and doctoral training network.