Perspective From BIO: The Intersection of the Life and Physical

SciencesDr. James Collins, Assistant DirectorDirectorate for Biological Sciences

Looking toward the futureA growing number of scientists and engineers seek inspiration from living systems to produce breakthroughs in new knowledge, develop practical applications, reshape our scientific concepts, and change the definition of what is possible.

“Physicists have borrowed the term ‘emergence’ from evolutionary biology to describe [nanoscale] phenomena, which are driven by the collective behavior of matter”

Frontier at your fingertips, Piers Coleman, Nature, Vol. 446

Opportunity: Lead a conversation

BIO’s mission:To enable the discoveries for understanding life

BIO’s vision:Inspiring research and education at the frontiers of the life sciences

Elements framing BIO’s vision and for fulfilling BIO’s mission:Values:• Integration of Research and Education• Broadening Participation• International Partnerships• Alignment with Other Institutional Agendas

Overarching Scientific Themes:• Theoretical Biology• Systems Biology• Biology and Society

Looking toward the future

• Resilience• Complexity• Communication• Synchrony• Cooperation• Sustainability

Fundamental Concepts

Harold J. Morowitz, George Mason University, NSF/BIO/EF

Christopher Paola, Univ. Minnesota – Twin Cities

GEO/EAR

James Zachos, UC Santa Cruz

David Karuse, SUNY at Stony Brook

NSF/GEO/EAR

Fossil leaf from the earliest Eocene (~55.5 million years) of the Bighorn Basin, WyomingCredit: Scot Wing, Smithsonian Inst.

Key Scientific Themes

• Transition from organic chemistry to life

• Neural form and function as an architectural and operational blueprint for new technology

• Energy acquisition, management and sustainability based on living systems

• Ecological forecasting: adaptation of the living world to planetary change

BIO’s Role

• Stimulate communication between life and physical scientists

• Foster collaborations between life and physical scientists

• Accelerate the development of transformative knowledge and technologies

Foster discoveries at the interface of the life and physical sciences

How can you help?

EducationWhat is the future of education at this interface?

What are the educational barriers to stronger unions between biologists and physical scientists?

What are the institutional barriers and how do we overcome them?

How do we encourage and support the growing research momentum at the interface of the life and physical sciences?

ResearchWhat research areas are ripe for collaborations?

Are there scientific “cultural” barriers to collaborations between life and physical scientists?

Are there funding models that can better serve the science community?

“Now, Significant multidisciplinary progress can be anticipated in understanding how physical forces

shape the inner workings of cells.”

“If cell biologists are truly to engage physicists and vice versa, a better sense that both are in the ride

together is necessary.”

Last Words...

Back up slides

How do you make a machine mimic nature?

A new generation of machines that mimic nature…

A model simulating atmospheric currents.Ran Nathan, Smithsonian Institution. Roni Avissar, Duke University NSF/BIO/DEB