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davidasivak.bsky.social

@davidasivak.bsky.social
119 followers 96 following 36 posts

Professor & Canada Research Chair @SFUPhysics Nonequilibrium statistical biophysics

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davidasivak.bsky.social @davidasivak.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
What do thermodynamic dissipation, electrical resistance, random-walk commute times, and optimal transport have in common? They describe the same geometry on Markov networks! Beautiful work by Jordan Sawchuk, a Letter and Editors' Suggestion @PhysRevE: doi.org/10.1103/bhr1...
doi.org
Thermodynamic geometry of friction on graphs: Resistance, commute times, and optimal transport
Geometric ideas play a role in areas such as stochastic thermodynamics, spectral graph theory, and optimal transport. In this Letter, the authors link a thermodynamic friction metric that governs diss...
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davidasivak.bsky.social @davidasivak.bsky.social · 29/05/2026
Videos of all the talks from this dynamic workshop are now up: www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...
youtube.com
Luca Cocconi: Nonequilibrium energetics of sensing and actuation by smart active particles
YouTube video by Workshop on stochastic thermodynamics (WOST)
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APS DSNP @aps-dsnp.bsky.social · 29/05/2026
📆 Join us next Tuesday, June 9 at 12 PM EST for the next klogW seminar featuring Jonas Veenstra (ENS Lyon) and Matthew Leighton (Yale University). Don’t miss this chance to hear from two outstanding early-career researchers! Please sign up and find more details here: engage.aps.org/dsnp/resourc...
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davidasivak.bsky.social @davidasivak.bsky.social · 26/05/2026
Postdoc search ongoing! Apply by May 31 for full consideration.
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Cell - a Cell Press journal @cp-cell.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
Now online! D-SPIN constructs regulatory network models from scRNA-seq that reveal organizing principles of perturbation response
dlvr.it
D-SPIN constructs regulatory network models from scRNA-seq that reveal organizing principles of perturbation response
D-SPIN is a computational framework for constructing mechanistically interpretable, generative models of cellular regulatory networks from single-cell mRNA-seq data. The framework models how perturbations change cell states by reconfiguring the underlying regulatory interactions, revealing global organization and key regulators of perturbation responses, as well as mechanisms of combinatorial drug responses.
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davidasivak.bsky.social @davidasivak.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
Hiring a postdoc! Join us in heavenly Vancouver to develop nonequilibrium statistical mechanics, thermodynamics, and information theory to understand free-energy transduction in biomolecular machines, in close collaboration with experimentalists. Details: sfu.ca/physics/siva...
sfu.ca
Postdoc Ad
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davidasivak.bsky.social @davidasivak.bsky.social · 27/04/2026
Reminder: online Workshop on Stochastic Thermodynamics May 18-22 Registration deadline May 17 Detailed schedule now available: wostmeeting.org/programme/
wostmeeting.org
Programme
Workshop programme is available here: wost7detailedDownload The workshop runs from approximately 3pm to 6:30pm on each day (CEST, or UTC+2).
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davidasivak.bsky.social @davidasivak.bsky.social · 27/02/2026
Reminder of the upcoming abstract deadline (March 7) for the Workshop on Stochastic Thermodynamics!
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mleighton.bsky.social @mleighton.bsky.social · 10/02/2026
Out today in @physrevresearch.bsky.social: "Information Thermodynamics of Cellular Ion Pumps", led by Julián Jiménez-Paz (@cornelluniversity.bsky.social), with @davidasivak.bsky.social (@sfuphysics.bsky.social)!
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davidasivak.bsky.social @davidasivak.bsky.social · 28/01/2026
This design modularizes the functions of fluctuation harvesting and energy storage, pointing to its incorporation in more practical devices.
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davidasivak.bsky.social @davidasivak.bsky.social · 28/01/2026
He elegantly shows how to convert horizontal thermal jiggles (‘fluctuations’) into vertically raising a weight against gravity. Remarkably, the horizontal fluctuations are more valuable than the vertical ones! (image credit: Jasper Zhang)
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davidasivak.bsky.social @davidasivak.bsky.social · 28/01/2026
Out in @physrevlett.bsky.social: @sfuphysics.bsky.social postdoc Antonio Patrón Castro (in tight collaboration with my colleague John Bechhoefer) pushes our information engine to higher dimensions! doi.org/10.1103/xwjd...
doi.org
Harnessing Higher-Dimensional Fluctuations in an Information Engine
We study the optimal performance of an information engine consisting of an overdamped Brownian bead confined in a controllable, $d$-dimensional harmonic trap and additionally subjected to gravity. The...
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davidasivak.bsky.social @davidasivak.bsky.social · 22/01/2026
Detailed information, including invited speakers: wostmeeting.org Abstract submission (deadline March 7): tinyurl.com/yjzxxxt7 Registration (deadline May 17): tinyurl.com/z8cup9fx
wostmeeting.org
Workshop on Stochastic Thermodynamics
An online platform for the stochastic thermodynamics community to present and discuss their current research
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davidasivak.bsky.social @davidasivak.bsky.social · 22/01/2026
The seventh annual Workshop on Stochastic Thermodynamics (WOST VII) will be held May 18-22, 2026. This workshop is entirely online and free to attend. 10-minute lightning talks will be chosen from 1-page abstracts, with priority given to early-career researchers.
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davidasivak.bsky.social @davidasivak.bsky.social · 20/01/2026
Kudos @mleighton.bsky.social
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davidasivak.bsky.social @davidasivak.bsky.social · 08/01/2026
Any partial control (say through a few control parameters) is easily derived as a submanifold of this global manifold. Through this we can tractably compare hundreds of different control sets to identify sparse methods for efficient control.
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davidasivak.bsky.social @davidasivak.bsky.social · 08/01/2026
From this we derived decompositions of the metric tensor that drastically improve numerical calculation (replacing infinite-time integration with matrix multiplication) and connect driving costs to undriven dynamics (through projection of control protocols onto underlying dynamical modes)
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davidasivak.bsky.social @davidasivak.bsky.social · 08/01/2026
We formulated a global thermodynamic manifold whose metric tensor quantifies the dissipation associated with complete dynamic control of a system’s energy landscape
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davidasivak.bsky.social @davidasivak.bsky.social · 08/01/2026
Out in @physrevresearch.bsky.social: beautiful and fundamental theory from @sfuphysics.bsky.social PhD student @jrsawchuk.bsky.social doi.org/10.1103/j59j...
doi.org
Global thermodynamic manifold for conservative control of stochastic systems
Optimal control of stochastic systems plays a central role in nonequilibrium physics, with applications in the study of biological molecular motors and the design of single-molecule experiments. While...
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davidasivak.bsky.social @davidasivak.bsky.social · 06/01/2026
Interested in the intersection of nonequilibrium thermodynamics and biophysics? Think Canada might be a nice place for your PhD/postdoc? Talk to me! Brand-new funding opportunity has quick deadline (so likely undersubscribed). nserc-crsng.canada.ca/en/news/laun... SFU internal deadline Feb 11
nserc-crsng.canada.ca
Launch of new Canada Impact+ Research Training Awards
As announced in Budget 2025 -
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davidasivak.bsky.social @davidasivak.bsky.social · 18/12/2025
Come be my colleague @SFU ! Call is out for Canada Impact+ Research Chairs (Assoc Prof/Prof stage) www.sfu.ca/vpacademic/a... Rolling review of initial applications begins Jan 19
sfu.ca
Canada Impact+ Research Chairs
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davidasivak.bsky.social @davidasivak.bsky.social · 05/12/2025
@biophyscanada.bsky.social
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davidasivak.bsky.social @davidasivak.bsky.social · 05/12/2025
Applications received by January 15, 2026 will receive full consideration. For a full description and application instructions, see www.sfu.ca/physics/abou... Ping me if you want to discuss!
sfu.ca
Employment Opportunities
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davidasivak.bsky.social @davidasivak.bsky.social · 05/12/2025
We’re hiring! The Department of Physics @sfuphysics.bsky.social at Simon Fraser U (in beautiful and vibrant Vancouver) seeks applications for an Assistant or Associate Professor in Experimental Biophysics, encompassing all scales of life from molecules to ecosystems. @sfuscience.bsky.social
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davidasivak.bsky.social @davidasivak.bsky.social · 26/11/2025
Out in @physreve.bsky.social: @sfuphysics.bsky.social MSc student Sara Iranbakhsh reveals how symmetry mismatch between the components of nanoscale rotary motors affects their performance doi.org/10.1103/k85p... @sfuscience.bsky.social
doi.org
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davidasivak.bsky.social @davidasivak.bsky.social · 06/10/2025
This was a stimulating and thoroughly enjoyable melding of experiment and theory. Special salute to lead author Takahide Mishima and the rest of Shoichi Toyabe’s group at Tohoku, former postdoc Deepak Gupta, and current grad student Callum Wareham @sfuphysics.bsky.social @sfuscience.bsky.social
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davidasivak.bsky.social @davidasivak.bsky.social · 06/10/2025
Is it more efficient to push a molecular motor with a constant force, or at a constant velocity? See our collaborative paper in @physrevlett.bsky.social doi.org/10.1103/b24h... and the Focus article physics.aps.org/articles/v18... to learn the winner and the why (it’s all about the fluctuations).
doi.org
Efficiently Driving ${\mathrm{F}}_{1}$ Molecular Motor in Experiment by Suppressing Nonequilibrium Variation
Turning a biologically important molecular motor at a constant rate saves energy, according to experiments.
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FQxI @fqxi.org · 27/09/2025
Johann du Buisson, Jannik Ehrich, mleighton.bsky.social, davidasivak.bsky.social, and John Bechhoefer introduce a one-coordinate test that infers heat flow to flag “demonic” operation. In kinesin simulations tuned to experiments, the motor grows more demon-like as active fluctuations rise.
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davidasivak.bsky.social @davidasivak.bsky.social · 24/06/2025
Still accepting postdoc applications!
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mleighton.bsky.social @mleighton.bsky.social · 17/06/2025
New preprint out today: “Information Thermodynamics of Cellular Ion Pumps”. Led by talented undergraduate student Julián Jiménez-Paz, and working with @davidasivak.bsky.social, we explore the thermodynamics of cellular ion pumps like the sodium-potassium pump. arxiv.org/abs/2506.11248
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davidasivak.bsky.social @davidasivak.bsky.social · 11/06/2025
Fun new paper by Callum @sfuphysics.bsky.social, on energetically efficient multi-parameter driving of our favorite molecular motor (shout out F1!). doi.org/10.1103/bm3d...
doi.org
Multiparameter optimal control of ${\mathrm{F}}_{1}$-ATPase
Biological molecular machines convert free energy between different forms in cells, often at high efficiency. Optimal control theory provides a framework to elucidate design principles governing energ...
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davidasivak.bsky.social @davidasivak.bsky.social · 10/06/2025
Congratulations to Matt on his Convocation Medal!
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davidasivak.bsky.social @davidasivak.bsky.social · 09/06/2025
Deadline June 30 for initial application. Happy to discuss. Details: tinyurl.com/4zkdasr9
tinyurl.com
Canada Excellence Research Chairs (CERC) 2026 Competition
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davidasivak.bsky.social @davidasivak.bsky.social · 09/06/2025
@sfuscience.bsky.social in Vancouver seeks world-leading applicants in strategic areas that include Biophysics (featuring an internationally recognized and highly collaborative group of researchers centered in @sfuphysics.bsky.social).
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davidasivak.bsky.social @davidasivak.bsky.social · 09/06/2025
Canada Excellence Research Chairs offer $4-8M over eight years to build a world-class research focus.
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davidasivak.bsky.social @davidasivak.bsky.social · 02/06/2025
Postdoc opportunity! Join us in heavenly Vancouver (Canada) to develop fundamental nonequilibrium stat mech, thermo, and info theory applied to biomolecular machines and in close collaboration with experiment. Details: www.sfu.ca/physics/siva...
sfu.ca
Postdoc Ad
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davidasivak.bsky.social @davidasivak.bsky.social · 12/05/2025
Kudos to Matt for his complete leadership from start to finish on this review, which was invited as a result of his compelling, cohesive, and ground-breaking graduate research!
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davidasivak.bsky.social @davidasivak.bsky.social · 17/04/2025
Check out the CUNY-ITS/Princeton-CPBF symposium tomorrow on Information and Irreversibility itsatcuny.org/calendar/202... featuring @fakhrilab.bsky.social, my colleague John Bechhoefer, and yours truly!
itsatcuny.org
Information and Irreversibility — Initiative for the Theoretical Sciences
Friday, 18 April, 2025 10:30 AM - 5:30 PM Skylight room
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davidasivak.bsky.social @davidasivak.bsky.social · 17/04/2025
I have openings for graduate students in @sfuphysics.bsky.social, Chemistry, or MBB. Check out davidsivak.com for our research interests!
davidsivak.com
davidsivak.com
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davidasivak.bsky.social @davidasivak.bsky.social · 29/01/2025
Detailed information, including invited speakers: wostmeeting.org Abstract submission (deadline March 7): tinyurl.com/28lrpwbx Registration (deadline May 11): tinyurl.com/mr5k3hxh
wostmeeting.org
Workshop on Stochastic Thermodynamics
An online platform for the stochastic thermodynamics community to present and discuss their current research
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davidasivak.bsky.social @davidasivak.bsky.social · 29/01/2025
The sixth annual Workshop on Stochastic Thermodynamics (WOST VI) will be held May 12-16, 2025. This workshop is entirely online and free to attend. 10-minute lightning talks will be chosen from 1-page abstracts, with priority given to early-career researchers.
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