Simulations unravel origins of nanospool formation Henry Hess, Columbia University, DMR 0645023

Graduate student Jasmine Davenport-Crenshaw made an unexpected discovery when her newly developed simulation codemodeled the aggregation of microtubules as they are transported by kinesin motor proteins: Not only did the simulations (left column) reproduce the experimental observations (right column), the simulations also enabled a glance at the first few seconds of the self-assembly process, showing that nanospools can originate from simultaneous collisions of multiple microtubules. Ms. Davenport-Crenshaw’s presentation of these results was recognized with the first place in the oral presentation competition at the 36th Annual Society of Black Engineers Conference in Toronto.

Simulations unravel origins of nanospool formation Henry Hess, Columbia University, DMR 0645023

Undergraduate researchers working on the project continue to work with international partners. J. Rudman spent the summer with Dr. Y. Hiratsuka.

Using state-of-the-art technology - including Magnetix, Lego, and Rotelle pasta – we reached out to elementary school kids and demonstrated key self-assembly concepts. Our experience and the details of our demonstration experiments are accessible at: www.bme.columbia.edu/hess/ScienceExpo.html

Undergraduate Researcher J. Rudman with labmates in Japan

Explaining self-assembly in a elementary school setting: