Colloquium
Upcoming Colloquium
Topology and Mechanics of Kinetoplast-Inspired Olympic Gels
Dr. Alex Klotz, CSU Long Beach
October 19, 2026
11:00am-12:00pm in HSCI-102
An Olympic gel is a type of material consisting of topologically linked ring polymers, predicted to have interesting nonlinear mechanical properties. Kinetoplast DNA is a type of naturally occurring Olympic gel, best described as "molecular chainmail," which consists of thousands of linked circular DNA molecules and is found in the mitochondria of trypanosome parasites. Olympic gels may be assembled in the same manner as kinetoplast DNA, or through other synthetic means. In this talk I will discuss computational efforts to understand the formation of Olympic gels and the relationship between their network topology and their mechanical properties, exploring whether these different assembly processes lead to unique topological and physical features in Olympic gel networks.
About the Colloquium
The Colloquium is a unique opportunity for students to learn about new developments in physics and what physicists do after they graduate. Hosted by the Physics and Astronomy Department at California State University, Long Beach, the weekly meetings invite guests from universities, research laboratories, and industry to present and discuss current topics in physics. All students are encouraged to attend for a well-rounded experience and training in physics.
Colloquium Coordinator
For information and suggestions about the colloquium please contact the colloquium coordinator:
Dr. Sarah Grefe
Sarah.Grefe@csulb.edu
Schedule
The schedule for Fall 2026 is posted below.
| Date | Title | Speaker and Affiliation |
|---|---|---|
| October 19, 2026 | Topology and Mechanics of Kinetoplast-Inspired Olympic Gels | Dr. Alex Klotz, CSU Long Beach |
| October 26, 2026 | (topic: quantum materials experiment) | Dr. Jing Xia, UC Irvine |
| November 2, 2026 | (topic: astrophysics) | Dr. Brad Hansen, UCLA |
| November 9, 2026 | (topic: bose-einstein condensation) | Dr. Maren Mossman, University of San Diego |
| November 16, 2026 | (topic: quantum sensing techniques) | Dr. Darmindra Arumugam, JPL |
| November 30, 2026 | (topic: AI in mathematics) | Dr. Michael Mulligan, UC Riverside |
| December 7, 2026 | Student Presentations | students, CSU Long Beach |
| December 9, 2026 | Student Presentations | students, CSU Long Beach |
Previous Colloquia
| Date | Title | Speaker and Affiliation |
|---|---|---|
| October 12, 2026 | Determining the Radiative Properties of Anthropogenic Halocarbons by Integrating Experimental FTIR Spectroscopy with Quantum Chemistry Calculations | Dr. Karine Le Bris, CSU Los Angeles |
| October 5, 2026 | Detecting the Secrets of the Cosmos with Quantum Materials | Dr. Elizabeth A. Peterson, Los Alamos National Laboratory |
| September 28, 2026 | Faculty Presentations | department faculty, CSU Long Beach |
| September 21, 2026 | Metamagnetic Materials as Switchable MRI Cell Tracking Micro-Labels | Dr. Barbic Mladen, Caltech |
| September 14, 2026 | Unravelling the hidden state of a kagome magnet | Dr. Yona Soh, Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen, Switzerland |
The Colloquium Archive has the Colloquia from previous semesters.
Sponsors
We acknowledge with gratitude donations and support from the following present sponsors:
- H.E. and H.B. Miller and Family Endowment
- Benjamin Carter
- Mary L. Bresnan
- K. Y. Shen
- American Physical Society
- Anonymous
We also acknowledge with gratitude our past donors: The Forty-Niner Shops, Inc., The Northrop Grumman Foundation, Sandra Dana, Anonymous.
If you wish to support the Colloquium, please contact the colloquium coordinator or the department chair. Thank you!
