The biophysics community gathered for a symposium to celebrate the life of former UCLA faculty member Alex Levine from Nov. 4 to Nov. 6.

The event consisted of presentations from soft matter physicists and engineers, including some of Levine’s closest friends. The speakers shared particular projects they worked and their current applications, along with memories of Levine, who died in 2022.

Levine was appointed as an assistant professor of physics and astronomy in 2005 and the director of the Center for Biological Physics at UCLA, which he founded in 2011.

“What set Alex apart … was he was always on the top of newest biological discoveries, and he found the holes between the rules of the physical world to what was observed in biology,” said Elliot Botvinick, a professor at UC Irvine and one of the organizers of the symposium.

Botvinick said he worked with Robijn Bruinsma, a professor of physics and astronomy and Levine’s mentor, to plan the event. He added that the event’s aim was to instigate an exchange of ideas and debate, as well to highlight Levine’s creativity and humor.

Bruinsma said the symposium’s purpose was also to inspire students interested in biophysics through talks from physicists with expectational academic accomplishments. He added that by honoring Levine, he hoped to show students that leadership in the physics community requires the right personality, which Levine demonstrated.

“The aim of biophysics is to provide life scientists with the tools and methods to do work better,” he said. “(Biophysics is) a riskier enterprise, and I would like to encourage students to take that.”

At the three-day symposium, guest speakers gave 23 presentations, each lasting 45 minutes. Each day had a general physics-based theme, but the talks were sorted among three categories – the physics of cells and tissues, active systems and soft matter, and the physics of neuroscience and learning.

The event’s keynote speaker was David Nelson, professor of physics and applied physics at Harvard University, who shared his research on flows of fluids and the reproduction of microorganisms.

Bruinsma said the guests he invited to speak at the symposium were all friends of Levine’s who expressed interest in having a symposium in honor of the former professor.

One such speaker, Jeremy Schmit, a professor of physics at Kansas State University, said he was Levine’s first mentee. His presentation focused on uncovering unexpected results that came through mixing large biological molecules together to look at how diseases including Alzheimer’s function, adding that this research was heavily influenced by Levine.

Schmit also said that, in addition to science, Levine taught him to be a great friend.

“I can count at least two trips to the hospital that he made on my behalf,” he said. “I can’t overstate how much he did for me.”

In addition to the numerous contributions Levine made to his field, several speakers also said they remembered Levine for his unique character. Wolfgang Wall, a professor at the Technical University of Munich’s School of Engineering and Design, said Levine was special for his curiosity, honesty, authenticity and humor.

“When you said something stupid, he would tell you,” Wall said.

Wall then presented his research in computational biomechanics, sharing a new technique for treating lung diseases through an interactive, personalized computer-generated model of lungs that physicians could use to predict how to best treat their patients, a model he collaborated with Levine to develop.

“Alex was immediately understanding of our approach,” he said. “He was really interested in the subject, and so he was bombarding us with questions, and it was amazing.”

Many of the symposium’s attendees said Wall’s speech inspired them.

Helen Huang, a graduate bioinformatics student, said she also uses models to represent physical systems and found it interesting to view modeling done from a physics perspective. The event was a good opportunity for students interested in science to network with the speakers, she said.

”It’s such a rare event that so many worldwide, well-known physicists all gathered together,” Huang said.

One recurring complaint with the symposium, however, was the lack of advertising. Huang said the event should have been broadcasted more, adding that she did not see any undergraduate students the first or second day.

Bruinsma said he hoped students would come to learn about research opportunities but that few had been in attendance.

“Everywhere I put posters,” he said. “I didn’t see many students unfortunately, but then again, this is in the middle of the quarter – people don’t have an infinite amount of time.”

The symposium’s limited budget also restricted the amount of advertising and outreach the organizers were able to do prior to the event, Bruinsma said.

Despite this lack of outreach, many attendees and speakers said the event had an impact on them. Botvinick said he wanted participants to leave the symposium with new ideas, collaborations and, most importantly, new confusion.

“We all loved him,” said Botvinick. “These intimate meetings usually lead to new ideas. Alex would have loved that.”