Quantitative Understanding of Biosystems

Thomas Nordlund is professor emeritus in the Department of Physics at The University of Alabama at Birmingham. He joined as faculty after earning his PhD in physics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, with postdoctoral work done at the Biozentrum der Universität Basel and the University of Rochester. He is an elected fellow of the American Physical Society and has been studying biomolecular dynamics for over thirty years.Peter M. Hoffmann is a professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan, where he founded the biomedical physics program. He is the author of the popular science book, Life’s Ratchet. He has been involved in soft matter and biophysics research for twenty-five years, and earned his PhD in materials science and engineering from Johns Hopkins University.

• I. Introduction, Approach, and Tools 1 Introduction to a New World 2 How (Most) Physicists Approach Biophysics 3 Math Tools: First Pass II. Structure and Function 4 Water 5 Structures: From 0.1 to 10 nm and Larger 6 First Pass at Supramolecular Structures: Assemblies of Biomolecules 7 Putting a Cell Together: Physical Sketch III. Biological Activity: Quantum Microworld 8 Quantum Primer 9 Light, Life and Measurement 10 Photosynthesis 11 Direct Ultraviolet Effects on Biological Systems IV. Biological Activity: (Classical) Microworld 12 Classical Biodynamics and Biomechanics 13 Random Walks, Diffusion, and Polymer Conformation 14 Statistical Physics and Thermodynamics Primer 15 Reactions: Physical View 16 Molecular Machines: Introduction 17 Assembly 18 Preparation for Experimental Biophysics 19 Atomic Force Microscopy