Active and Intelligent Living Matter II

Collective motion in biological systems, for example seen in animal herds, bird flocks, ant colonies, or bacterial swarms, is a captivating example of self-organization in intelligent living matter. Over recent years, the soft matter and biological physics communities have made substantial progress in uncovering the physical principles underlying the behavior of living matter. These advances have even inspired the design of synthetic active materials capable of self-propulsion and self-assembly. Hydrodynamic interactions, steric forces, topological constraints, and sensory mechanisms such as chemotaxis and visual feedback have all been identified as key drivers of emergent collective phenomena in active systems. Looking ahead, biomedical and technological applications may increasingly depend on materials that mimic the behavior of biological systems.

However, far less work has been done to explore and understand the intelligent facet of these materials; their ability to sense, respond and adapt to external or imposed forces or constraints. A defining characteristic of living matter is the ability to adapt and respond dynamically to environmental cues, and yet it remains largely unexplored in synthetic systems. Natural examples, from schooling fish to migrating epithelial tissues, exhibit intelligent and context-dependent responses. Yet most engineered materials still respond only passively.

The central theme of the conference will be understanding how living systems process information - and how we might replicate this in artificial systems. The conference is designed to support a diverse cohort of participants, with a strong emphasis on early-career scientists, i.e., Ph.D. students, junior postdocs, and new faculty.

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