Arvind Murugan

Arvind Murugan is an Associate Professor in the Department of Physics at the University of Chicago and a member of the Committee on Computational and Applied Mathematics (CCAM). His research focuses on quantitative biology, non-equilibrium dynamics, and theoretical computer science, particularly in understanding how physical and biological systems can learn and adapt through collective dynamics.

• Affiliations: Gordon Center for Integrative Science, U Chicago Center for Living Systems

Research Interests:

• Physical learning mechanisms in non-equilibrium systems
• Molecular self-assembly and error correction
• Active matter and biological regulation
• Associative memory in molecular networks
• Interdisciplinary approaches combining physics, biology, and computer science

Publication Trends: His recent work explores soft modes in biological systems, temporal contrastive learning in physical systems, and error correction mechanisms in molecular processes. These studies bridge physics, computational biology, and materials science, revealing how simple physical systems can exhibit complex learning behaviors.

Scientific Awards & Funding:

• Supported by NSF, NIH, Simons, Sloan, Moore, and Chan Zuckerberg Foundations
• Lab members funded by James S. McDonnell, Hertz, and NSF fellowships

Collaborations & Lab: The Murugan Lab collaborates with the Rust, Tay, Wang, Elowitz, Hwa, Pincus, and Szostak labs. They actively seek researchers with expertise in molecular biology and high-throughput evolution to advance physical learning systems.