PEBBLE BioFusion Camp 2024: International Applications Now Open!

Program Dates: August 1^st– August 16^th, 2024

Location: Yungu Campus of Westlake University in Hangzhou, China

Program Description:Biological systems exhibit dazzling behaviors, from adaptation to changing environments, highly diverse variations, oscillations and multistability, to complex structure and dynamics emerging from a collection of simple interacting components. To understand how these behaviors emerge from the underlying living matter and regulatory networks is a daunting yet utmost exciting challenge that our era is fortunate to have. We take on this challenge with a strong belief: to reveal the secrete of life, we need to follow what life does. Because life utilize physical principles, manufacture functional devices, performs complex chemistry, regulates large networks, computes and learns from information, we also need to march relentlessly across disciplinary boundaries and employ drastically different perspectives, philosophies, frameworks, and techniques. Hence we aim for a bio-fusion, integrating perspectives from physics, engineering, biology, computation, and learning in the context of complex biological systems, and let them react without bounds!

This goal demands fearless courage and fresh young minds, so we organize this summer camp to invite those interested to join us on this stimulating expedition. The PEBBLE BioFusion Camp is a 16-day summer camp for senior undergrads, PhD students and young postdocs, hosted by the Center for Interdisciplinary Studies (CIS) at Westlake University, featuring invited speakers from all over the world introducing ideas and techniques across a wide range of disciplines, fromPhysics (biophysics, active matter and nonequilibrium statistical mechanics),Engineering (bioengineering and biocontrol),Biology (mechano, systems and synthetic biology), toLearning (machine learning and AI). On top of learning about ideas and techniques from drastically different disciplines, each student will also develop their own project, so they can have authentic hands-on experience in marching through disciplinary boundaries and finding their way through the unknown. The students will have plenty of exciting discussions and help on projects during the camp, with casual and extended chats with fellow students, invited speakers, and organizers. Marching through this intellectual expedition, you will leave with mind-bending ideas, powerful techniques that solve truly hard problems, and a group of kindred spirits sharing a memorable summer experience!

Format and Topics:The PEBBLE camp learning experience blends breadth and depth: the student will be exposed to a wide spectrum of perspectives, ideas, and techniques, and at the same time develop their own project with in-depth hands-on research experience tackling the unknown.

Depth: Each student has their own research project to work on throughout the camp, with help from invited speakers, organizers, TAs, and fellow students. A student could bring their own ideas, choose from a list of ideas handed out, or come up with one during brainstorming sessions at the beginning of the camp. By the end of the camp, each student will hand in a short report on their project.

Breadth: The collection of topics the invited speakers will talk about provides several different perspectives on complex biological systems. See the following for a list of topics with relevant invited speakers and in-house experts from the organizing team at Westlake University.

To be updated…

Speakers/Lecturers:

Program Information:

Program Dates:August 1^st– August 16^th, 2024

Application Deadline:June 23, 2024, at 23:59 (Beijing Time)

Who is eligible:

Senior undergrads, graduate students, and young postdocs from across the world

How to apply:

Fill out the registration form on this website:https://www.wjx.cn/vm/tiVNBHZ.aspx#

Materials required: personal statement and 2 letters of recommendation. 

Cost:

Freeto apply.Room and board are fully coveredfor admitted students during the camp. Travel costs are not covered. For students that need to travel a long distance, there is an option to apply for our limited travel fund, and the award will be given out based on merit.