@davidasivak.bsky.social
Professor & Canada Research Chair @SFUPhysics Nonequilibrium statistical biophysics
Videos of all the talks from this dynamic workshop are now up: www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...
Luca Cocconi: Nonequilibrium energetics of sensing and actuation by smart active particles
YouTube video by Workshop on stochastic thermodynamics (WOST)
youtube.com
@davidasivak.bsky.social · 3mo agoReminder: online Workshop on Stochastic Thermodynamics May 18-22 Registration deadline May 17 Detailed schedule now available: wostmeeting.org/programme/
📆 Join us next Tuesday, June 9 at 12 PM EST for the next klogW seminar featuring Jonas Veenstra (ENS Lyon) and Matthew Leighton (Yale University). Don’t miss this chance to hear from two outstanding early-career researchers! Please sign up and find more details here: engage.aps.org/dsnp/resourc...
Postdoc search ongoing! Apply by May 31 for full consideration.
@davidasivak.bsky.social · 3mo agoHiring a postdoc! Join us in heavenly Vancouver to develop nonequilibrium statistical mechanics, thermodynamics, and information theory to understand free-energy transduction in biomolecular machines, in close collaboration with experimentalists. Details: sfu.ca/physics/siva...
Now online! D-SPIN constructs regulatory network models from scRNA-seq that reveal organizing principles of perturbation response
D-SPIN constructs regulatory network models from scRNA-seq that reveal organizing principles of perturbation response
D-SPIN is a computational framework for constructing mechanistically interpretable, generative models of cellular regulatory networks from single-cell mRNA-seq data. The framework models how perturbations change cell states by reconfiguring the underlying regulatory interactions, revealing global organization and key regulators of perturbation responses, as well as mechanisms of combinatorial drug responses.
dlvr.it
Hiring a postdoc! Join us in heavenly Vancouver to develop nonequilibrium statistical mechanics, thermodynamics, and information theory to understand free-energy transduction in biomolecular machines, in close collaboration with experimentalists. Details: sfu.ca/physics/siva...
Postdoc Ad
sfu.ca
Reminder: online Workshop on Stochastic Thermodynamics May 18-22 Registration deadline May 17 Detailed schedule now available: wostmeeting.org/programme/
Programme
Workshop programme is available here: wost7detailedDownload The workshop runs from approximately 3pm to 6:30pm on each day (CEST, or UTC+2).
wostmeeting.org
@davidasivak.bsky.social · 7mo agoThe seventh annual Workshop on Stochastic Thermodynamics (WOST VII) will be held May 18-22, 2026. This workshop is entirely online and free to attend. 10-minute lightning talks will be chosen from 1-page abstracts, with priority given to early-career researchers.
Reminder of the upcoming abstract deadline (March 7) for the Workshop on Stochastic Thermodynamics!
@davidasivak.bsky.social · 7mo agoThe seventh annual Workshop on Stochastic Thermodynamics (WOST VII) will be held May 18-22, 2026. This workshop is entirely online and free to attend. 10-minute lightning talks will be chosen from 1-page abstracts, with priority given to early-career researchers.
Out today in @physrevresearch.bsky.social: "Information Thermodynamics of Cellular Ion Pumps", led by Julián Jiménez-Paz (@cornelluniversity.bsky.social), with @davidasivak.bsky.social (@sfuphysics.bsky.social)!
Out in @physrevlett.bsky.social: @sfuphysics.bsky.social postdoc Antonio Patrón Castro (in tight collaboration with my colleague John Bechhoefer) pushes our information engine to higher dimensions! doi.org/10.1103/xwjd...
Harnessing Higher-Dimensional Fluctuations in an Information Engine
We study the optimal performance of an information engine consisting of an overdamped Brownian bead confined in a controllable, $d$-dimensional harmonic trap and additionally subjected to gravity. The...
doi.org
The seventh annual Workshop on Stochastic Thermodynamics (WOST VII) will be held May 18-22, 2026. This workshop is entirely online and free to attend. 10-minute lightning talks will be chosen from 1-page abstracts, with priority given to early-career researchers.
Out in @physrevresearch.bsky.social: beautiful and fundamental theory from @sfuphysics.bsky.social PhD student @jrsawchuk.bsky.social doi.org/10.1103/j59j...
Global thermodynamic manifold for conservative control of stochastic systems
Optimal control of stochastic systems plays a central role in nonequilibrium physics, with applications in the study of biological molecular motors and the design of single-molecule experiments. While...
doi.org
Interested in the intersection of nonequilibrium thermodynamics and biophysics? Think Canada might be a nice place for your PhD/postdoc? Talk to me! Brand-new funding opportunity has quick deadline (so likely undersubscribed). nserc-crsng.canada.ca/en/news/laun... SFU internal deadline Feb 11
Launch of new Canada Impact+ Research Training Awards
As announced in Budget 2025 -
nserc-crsng.canada.ca
Come be my colleague @SFU ! Call is out for Canada Impact+ Research Chairs (Assoc Prof/Prof stage) www.sfu.ca/vpacademic/a... Rolling review of initial applications begins Jan 19
Canada Impact+ Research Chairs
sfu.ca
We’re hiring! The Department of Physics @sfuphysics.bsky.social at Simon Fraser U (in beautiful and vibrant Vancouver) seeks applications for an Assistant or Associate Professor in Experimental Biophysics, encompassing all scales of life from molecules to ecosystems. @sfuscience.bsky.social
Out in @physreve.bsky.social: @sfuphysics.bsky.social MSc student Sara Iranbakhsh reveals how symmetry mismatch between the components of nanoscale rotary motors affects their performance doi.org/10.1103/k85p... @sfuscience.bsky.social
doi.org
Is it more efficient to push a molecular motor with a constant force, or at a constant velocity? See our collaborative paper in @physrevlett.bsky.social doi.org/10.1103/b24h... and the Focus article physics.aps.org/articles/v18... to learn the winner and the why (it’s all about the fluctuations).
Efficiently Driving ${\mathrm{F}}_{1}$ Molecular Motor in Experiment by Suppressing Nonequilibrium Variation
Turning a biologically important molecular motor at a constant rate saves energy, according to experiments.
doi.org
Johann du Buisson, Jannik Ehrich, mleighton.bsky.social, davidasivak.bsky.social, and John Bechhoefer introduce a one-coordinate test that infers heat flow to flag “demonic” operation. In kinesin simulations tuned to experiments, the motor grows more demon-like as active fluctuations rise.
Still accepting postdoc applications!
@davidasivak.bsky.social · last yr.Postdoc opportunity! Join us in heavenly Vancouver (Canada) to develop fundamental nonequilibrium stat mech, thermo, and info theory applied to biomolecular machines and in close collaboration with experiment. Details: www.sfu.ca/physics/siva...
New preprint out today: “Information Thermodynamics of Cellular Ion Pumps”. Led by talented undergraduate student Julián Jiménez-Paz, and working with @davidasivak.bsky.social, we explore the thermodynamics of cellular ion pumps like the sodium-potassium pump. arxiv.org/abs/2506.11248
Fun new paper by Callum @sfuphysics.bsky.social, on energetically efficient multi-parameter driving of our favorite molecular motor (shout out F1!). doi.org/10.1103/bm3d...
Multiparameter optimal control of ${\mathrm{F}}_{1}$-ATPase
Biological molecular machines convert free energy between different forms in cells, often at high efficiency. Optimal control theory provides a framework to elucidate design principles governing energ...
doi.org
Congratulations to Matt on his Convocation Medal!
SFU Faculty of Science@sfuscience.bsky.social · last yr.Congratulations to @sfuphysics.bsky.social Dean's Convocation Medal recipient Matthew Leighton. Thesis Title: Stochastic Thermodynamics of Multicomponent Molecular Machines ow.ly/a9pl50W5epx #MySFUGrad
Canada Excellence Research Chairs offer $4-8M over eight years to build a world-class research focus.
Postdoc opportunity! Join us in heavenly Vancouver (Canada) to develop fundamental nonequilibrium stat mech, thermo, and info theory applied to biomolecular machines and in close collaboration with experiment. Details: www.sfu.ca/physics/siva...
Postdoc Ad
sfu.ca
Kudos to Matt for his complete leadership from start to finish on this review, which was invited as a result of his compelling, cohesive, and ground-breaking graduate research!
@mleighton.bsky.social · last yr.Now out in @annualreviews.bsky.social of Physical Chemistry: @davidasivak.bsky.social and I review recent work studying flows of free energy into, out of, and within molecular machines. These nanoscale protein machines convert energy within cells of all living organisms with remarkable efficiencies.
Check out the CUNY-ITS/Princeton-CPBF symposium tomorrow on Information and Irreversibility itsatcuny.org/calendar/202... featuring @fakhrilab.bsky.social, my colleague John Bechhoefer, and yours truly!
Information and Irreversibility — Initiative for the Theoretical Sciences
Friday, 18 April, 2025 10:30 AM - 5:30 PM Skylight room
itsatcuny.org
I have openings for graduate students in @sfuphysics.bsky.social, Chemistry, or MBB. Check out davidsivak.com for our research interests!
davidsivak.com
davidsivak.com
SFU Faculty of Science@sfuscience.bsky.social · last yr.Applications are open for select graduate studies programs at #SFU, including biomedical physiology, chemistry, molecular biology and @sfuphysics.bsky.social. Canadian and US students encouraged to apply by April 25. www.sfu.ca/gradstudies/...
The sixth annual Workshop on Stochastic Thermodynamics (WOST VI) will be held May 12-16, 2025. This workshop is entirely online and free to attend. 10-minute lightning talks will be chosen from 1-page abstracts, with priority given to early-career researchers.