This INSPIRE award is partially funded by the Electronics, Photonics, and Magnetics Devices Program in the Division of Electrical, Communications and Cyber Systems in the Directorate for Engineering; and the Chemical Structure, Dynamics and Mechanisms program in the Division of Chemistry in the Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences. Objective: Recently predicted autonomous oscillations in virus-like particles are investigated via simulation and experiment. Types of biological systems displaying such oscillations will be identified, and implications for pure and applied sciences drawn. Novel multiscale theoretical methods will be developed for the simulations, and nanofluidic coupling structures will be fabricated for high-sensitivity high-resolution GHz-to-THz detection of the oscillations. Intellectual merit: At the boundary between the microscopic and macroscopic worlds, sustained autonomous structural oscillations in nanostructures will be investigated. As the phenomena of interest involve both long- and short-temporal scale processes, novel concepts in multiscale theory will be developed. Coarse-grained variables will be coevolved with the positions and momenta of the N atoms using Trotter factorization with attendant accuracy control. Innovations include: (a) discovery of sustained autonomous oscillations in equilibrium mesoscopic systems; (b) methods in multiscale theory; (c) biosample presentation and spectroscopic identification of autonomous oscillations in virus-like particles; (d) methods for viral threat detection and nanomedical design; and (e) autonomously oscillating molecular circuit elements. Broader impacts: A successful investigation will revolutionize structural biochemistry and the electromagnetics of biological systems, and could provide a radical change in viral sensing for threat-detection and human health. Methods for computer-aided design of nanostructured materials for molecular electronics and nanomedical systems are developed. Opportunities for under-represented groups in STEM education are created. Why Inspire? Electrical engineers understand the importance of nondissipative oscillatory circuit elements. Chemists and physicists have expertise in multiscale theory. Biologists understand the responses of virus-like particles. Few scientists appreciate all these topics.
