Spotlight
Wui Ip
Professor Carl Franck and student Wui Ip (who is at Cornell as part of the NSF's Research Experiences for Undergraduates program) are studying how cells interact and signal each other to form complicated structures. For example, cells communicate when conditions are good, and they exchange growth factors. Franck and Ip are focusing on the question "Why do cells need company to grow?" It is well known that a minimum culture is needed to grow cells. What determines that minimum? And how can we model this behavior mathematically? Franck and Ip have been growing cultures, measuring them, and creating theories. You might be wondering why a physics lab is studying microbes. "Biological explanations are missing the math," says Franck. "And I find that biology is exciting. Cornell physicist Hans Bethe said that 'today is the golden age of biology.'"