Mathematics and Computer Science in Modeling and Understanding of Structure and Dynamics of Biomolecules (19w2257)

The Banff International Research Station will host the "Mathematics and computer science in modeling and understanding of structure and dynamics of biomolecules" workshop in Banff from August 9, 2019 to August 11, 2019.

Understanding the principles that make biological molecules form unique structures that ultimately shape all forms of life on the Earth, and how they move to power the complex cellular machinery is of key importance not only because of the continuous quest of mankind to understand the world but also for purely utilitarian reasons: fighting cancer and hereditary diseases, producing better and more resistant crops, and designing techinques to produce goods and energy in a way that would not lead to the destruction of Earth' biosphere. Numbers and principles of geometry, which essentially constitute the basics of Mathematics, have since ancient times been proved to be the most compact and poweful language to describe Nature.

However, mathematicians and natural scientists often speak different languages, sometime mutually un-intelligible as Mandarin Chinese and Latin, this being one of the major obstacles to the development of natural sciences. The aim of this workshop is to bring together mathematicians, chemists, biologists, computer scientists, physicists so that they could exchange ideas and share experience. Mathematicians and computer scientists could see where their expertise is needed and, consequently, set the directions for the development of new theories and algorithms. Conversely, natural scientists will possibly find ready-to-use methods to apply to solving the problems they are woking on.

We believe that the best science emerges when various disciplines interact and combine their ideas. Advances of sciences are never isolated achievements, but only possible when various disciplines come together. The proposed workshop will become the best place for this to happen in the context of studying biomolecules.

The Banff International Research Station for Mathematical Innovation and Discovery (BIRS) is a collaborative Canada-US-Mexico venture that provides an environment for creative interaction as well as the exchange of ideas, knowledge, and methods within the Mathematical Sciences, with related disciplines and with industry. The research station is located at The Banff Centre in Alberta and is supported by Canada's Natural Science and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), Alberta's Advanced Education and Technology, and Mexico's Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACYT).