Self-organization is a hallmark of biological systems ranging from sub-cellular constituents to multicellular organisms.  Using microorganisms as model systems, we seek to understand how multicellular systems can self-organize in space and time.  In this talk I will introduce several remarkable examples of bacterial self-organization mediated by either purely physical forces or by complex sensory mechanisms, and will discuss how bacterial communities may benefit from these processes to coordinate large-scale collective translocation and to facilitate long-range material transport.  The findings are relevant to non-equilibrium physics, active matter engineering and microbial physiology.

Please contact phweb@ust.hk should you have questions about the talk.