June 25, 2019
MMLS
Benjamin Machta
Yale University
Ben Machta examines how physical laws constrain the design principles of biological systems. His research uses statistical physics, information theory and Riemannian geometry to understand how the need to coordinate and process information constrains function. He has worked to understand how simple models emerge from complex molecular details and to bound the energetic needs of small thermodynamic systems. He has also sought to understand how cells exploit the subtle physics near critical points to sense and respond to their environment.