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The Institute for Biophysical Dynamics
Critical examination of biological entities as basic as a single mammalian cell raises questions so complex that they cannot even be stated in terms of one's discipline alone: the questions overflow the normal boundaries between the biological information, and the physical sciences. Fortunately, converging trends in the biological and physical sciences permit the development of a detailed understanding at the molecular level of the structure, diversity and function of biological entities. To achieve this level of understanding, however, scientists must address questions that are interdisciplinary in a profound way. The potential benefits are as great as the challenges.

The University of Chicago has established the Institute for Biophysical Dynamics to meet these challenges with a new approach to scientific research at the interface between biology and the physical sciences. The Institute will bring together experimentalists, theoreticians, and computational scientists to forge a scientific culture of fluid exchange of ideas and collaboration across disciplines and among laboratories. In addition, the Institute will establish training programs to involve undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral students in this new cross-disciplinary approach to science. This culture of interdisciplinary research will provide paths for Insights developed at the laboratory bench to profoundly influence endeavors as diverse as molecular- based computing and the treatment of illness at the bedside. And finally, it will facilitate exchanges among researchers in Industry, Argonne National Laboratory, and the University.