Title: Electrodynamics in Soft Matter and Biophysics

Abstract:

Over the past decade, a deeper understanding of the physics of highly charged surfaces in the presence of an aqueous environment has been developed. This includes attractions between like charged surfaces induced by counterion correlations. Such effects are crucial for DNA packaging and protein complexes. However the problems relating to motions of macromolecules and their associated counterions have barely been probed. For example, there are no existing models for S(q, \omega) for highly charged double layers let alone effects involved in macromolecular transport. Modern X-ray scattering including anomolous scattering are appropriate tools here. This will be an important area for both theoretical and experimental research over the next decade.