Active Matter Within and Around Us

Len Pismen is Emeritus Professor of Fluid Mechanics at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. He  has worked in various areas of applied physics and published over 200 papers. His earlier books include Vortices in Nonlinear Fields (1999), Patterns and Interfaces in Dissipative Dynamics (2006), and general audience books The Swings of Science (2018) and Morphogenesis Deconstructed (2020). The latter, most recent, book also appears in Springer's Frontiers Collection.

“The science underlying active matter spans physics, biology, and materials science, and covering it all in a 200- page book is a difficult task. But it’s one that Pismen takes up admirably. Active Matter Within and Around Us presents a curated display of recent developments in the field of active matter from the vantage point of an experienced surveyor. … Active Matter Within and Around Us hints at many open questions and problems that are waiting to be solved.” (Suraj Shankar, Physics Today, August, 2022)

• Introduction.- Polar Flocks.- Active Nematics.- Active Colloids.- Motion of Microorganisms.- Eukaryotic Cells.- Active Gels.- Live Tissues.- Morphogenesis.- References.