Marc Baaden
Deep inside molecules - digital twins at the nanoscale
When: 14th March, 10 am
Where: Amphitheatre, Bat 660 How to get to there?
Abstract
Digital twins of molecular systems at the nanoscale offer rich potential for exploration in virtual reality. Using interactive molecular simulation approaches, they enable a human operator to access the physical properties of molecular objects and to build, manipulate, and explore their assemblies. Integrative modeling and drug design are important application areas. I report on several membrane-embedded systems of ion channels, viral components, and artificial water channels. My lab has been able to improve and create molecular designs based on digital twins. It is expected that such approaches will become more widespread as the onboarding of VR is simplified and the technology becomes more widely accepted.
Bio:
Marc Baaden, research director at the CNRS in Paris, is a computational chemist working in the field of structural bioinformatics. His research focuses on interactive molecular modeling approaches for biological systems and has included virtual reality approaches since 2007, then Citizen Science, and more recently the Internet of Things. He develops scientific visualization approaches as well as original tools related to Big Data and immersive analytics using virtual reality equipment. Using the Unity game engine, he has designed the UnityMol platform as a development framework for academic contexts and for collaboration with industry partners and the public. His research combines simulations of biological macromolecules and bioinformatics with high-performance computing, virtual reality, visualization, and dissemination activities.