Corrections appended.

A Brandeis undergraduate student worked with researchers at New York University to create a model for the biological phenomenon known as "self-organization," according to a Jan. 31 New York University press release. The model, detailed in an article in Science published the same day, uses light to activate small particles, causing them to move and assemble themselves.

Asher Preska Steinberg '13, along with NYU Professors in the Department of Physics David Pine and Paul Chaikin and Post-Doctoral Fellows in NYU's Center for Soft Matter Research Jeremie Palacci and Stefano Sacanna, was named as an author of the article. Steinberg was enrolled in a summer research program at NYU.

Common examples of self-organization are seen in flocks of birds or schools of fish that travel together in formation, as well as colony formations of bacteria. The authors of the paper studied this phenomenon by developing a "system of self-propelled particles" that were controlled by turning a blue light on or off. When the light was off, the particles were spread out with no order but when the light was turned on, the researchers saw that the particles formed crystallite structures. These structures were dynamic and would "actively translate and rotate, collide, join, and split," leading the scientists to call them "living crystals." After the blue light was turned off, the crystals dissolved back into colloidal particles.

After performing follow up experiments, the researchers concluded that the self-organization of colloid particles was a result of both self-propulsion and an "attractive interaction" that could be activated by light, magnets and chemicals.

These controls allow the same organization seen in biological phenomena to be used in materials and could "enhance the design of a range of industrial products," according to the press release.

The press release also stated that understanding self-organization can help physicists create "new and enhanced materials."

Preska Steinberg did not respond to requests for interviews by press time.

The article has been edited to correct the following mistakes: Asher Preska Steinberg's full last name is Preska Steinberg, not Steinberg and he belongs to the Class of 2013, not 2014.
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