Active Hydrodynamics - Course

Location: Wageningen 
Coordinators: Uddalok Sen (WUR) and Corinna Maass (UT) 
Lecturers: Jacco Snoeijer, Mazi Jalaal, Hartmut Löwen, Marjolein Dijkstra, Alvaro Marin, Silke Henkes, Alexandre Morin, Matan Ben Zion, Luca Giomi, Idan Tuval, Daniel Tam, Chase Broedersz, Florian Muijres 

Active matter systems are ubiquitous nonequilibrium condensed systems composed of self-driven (active) units capable of converting (stored or ambient free) energy into motion. These active units often interact with each other and/or interact with the ambient medium, which sometimes leads to the emergence of collective motion. The most-commonly observed active matter systems are observed in biology, but there have been significant advances in so-called `synthetic active matter' over the past decade as well. Active matter systems can be broadly classified into two groups: 'dry active matter' (where hydrodynamic interactions with the ambient are unimportant), and 'wet active matter' (where hydrodynamic interactions with the ambient must be taken into account). Finally, active units at sufficiently high density can be regarded as intrinsically active fluids via continuum theories. 

The course will focus on 'wet active matter', and will offer a fundamental introduction into activity at primarily low Reynolds numbers, hydrodynamic interactions of active agents with each other and their environment, and the implications for their dynamics and emergent behaviour. To familiarize course participants from the fluid dynamics community with general concepts in active matter, there will also be one introductory lecture on what is active matter, followed by one on 'dry active matter' (where hydrodynamic interactions are not important). These will be followed by lectures on the essential theoretical, modeling, and experimental techniques, before delving deeper into the details of specific cases of hydrodynamics in both synthetic and biological active matter systems. As part of the course, the participants will also have to perform a mini-project/case study on topics at the frontier of this rapidly evolving field. Finally, there will also be a panel discussion focusing on scenarios where one can ignore hydrodynamics and where it is absolutely crucial.  

For more information, contact: 
Uddalok Sen | uddalok.sen@wur.nl