Geometric Frustration and the Branched Architecture of Glass Sponge Spicules
Efi Efrati (Weizmann Institute of Science)
In recent years, the study of geometric frustration within continuum frameworks has deepened our understanding of diverse systems including liquid crystals, fiber bundles, and frustrated elastic solids. Parallel advances in the general principles governing frustration have helped clarify the mechanisms that shape the form and behavior of frustrated assemblies more broadly. In this talk, I will show how these advances converge to explain the geometric frustration underlying the protein crystals that template the branched architecture of glass spiculesl, the skeletal elements of marine sponges.