1. Statistical Mechanics of biological and material systems
Thomas M. Truskett
Department of Chemical Engineering and
Institute for Theoretical Chemistry
The University of Texas at Austin
Statistical mechanics of biological and complex materials systems
Statistical Mechanics of biological and material systems
Topics of research include:
Protein-protein and protein-surface interactions
Soft materials in confined spaces
Thermodynamics and structural arrest of simple and complex liquids
Current Group Members:
Graduate Students
Jason Cheung (Tufts)
Bill Krekelberg* (Wisconsin-Madison)
* co-advised w/ Professor Ganesan
Jeetain Mittal (IIT-Kanpur)
Post-doctoral Associates
Dr. Pooja Shah (IIT – Delhi)

2. Thomas M. Truskett Selected Publications: Recent News Items:
Department of Chemical Engineering and
Institute for Theoretical Chemistry
The University of Texas at Austin
Selected Publications:
Ideal glass transitions in thin films: An energy landscape perspective,  J. Chem. Phys. 119, , 2003 (w/ V. Ganesan).
The Kauzmann paradox revisited, J. Phys. Chem. B 105, , (w/ F. H. Stillinger and P. G. Debenedetti).
Theory of supercooled liquids and glasses:  Statistical geometry and energy landscape perspectives, Adv. Chem. Eng. 28, 21-79, 2001 (w/ P. G. Debenedetti, F. H. Stillinger, and C. P. Lewis).
Is random close packing of spheres well defined?, Phys. Rev. Lett. 84, , 2000 (w/ S. Torquato and P. G. Debenedetti).
Recent News Items:
The subtleties of water in small spaces, PNAS, September 2, 2003.
No Thaw Flaw in the Third Law, Science, October 5, 2001.
Shake and Pack, Nature, March 13, 2000.
Unpacking a particle problem, BBC News, March 8, 2000.
Random Packing of Spheres, Science News, April 1, 2000.

3. What are proteins?
Chains of amino acids that play a crucial role in all biological processes:
growth and differentiation
transport and storage
coordinate motion
mechanical support
immune protection
signal transmission
enzymes
Polar
Hydrophobic
Sequence
3D Structure
Biological function

4. Developing effective protein interactions
The single protein problem
Heteropolymer collapse
Factors affecting folding
Sequence (mutations)
Temperature
Pressure pH
Environment (Concentration, Interfaces, etc.)
Protein-Protein Interactions
Protein-Surface Interactions

5. How environmental factors affect protein stability
The single protein problem
Protein solutions
Pressure
Aggregation
Denatured T
Liquid
Native
Crystal
Temperature f
These systematic studies not possible with brute force methods

6. Behavior of nano-confined materials
Traditional chemical engineering deals with bulk physico-chemical processes.
Truskett, PNAS (2003).
Different physical mechanisms prevail at the nanoscale that necessitate a statistical mechanical description.

7. Modified properties at the nanoscale
Motivation …
Thermodynamics of films & confined fluids
Effect of confinement on glass transition
Tensile strength and mechanical properties of glasses
Mittal, Shah, & Truskett, to be submitted to Phys. Rev. E
Truskett & Ganesan,
J. Chem. Phys. (2003)
Shah & Truskett, to be submitted to J. Phys. Chem. B