Assistant Professor of PhysicsAffiliation:NYU Abu Dhabi Education: BSc Mumbai University; MSc Tata Institute of Fundamental Research; PhD New York University
Arjun Narayanan is a condensed matter physicist who studies the physical chemistry of living matter. His training included work in nanoelectronics at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research Mumbai (M.Sc.) and solid state physics at New York University (PhD) and Oxford University; During this time, he contributed to the understanding of quasi 1-D organic superconductors and topological insulators.
More recently, Arjun has applied methods and concepts from condensed matter physics to understand the unconventional physical chemistry of living cells and tissues. This interdisciplinary work has contributed to our understanding of several aspects of cell biology, including protein quality control and cytoskeletal self-organization.
After positions at the physics departments of Oxford University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Arjun was most recently the ELBE Fellow of the Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems(Germany). Currently, Arjun aims to simultaneously further our understanding of cell biology and non-equilibrium physics by exploring the many beautiful examples of non-equilibrium self-organization that biology provides.
Courses Taught
Our world is a collection of wondrously complex systems. We may wonder why stock markets suddenly crash or how our bodies work so well for so long. We may wonder why climate changes or how our decisions affect others and the ecology we are part of. We may even wonder why we wonder, i.e., how our brain works. What makes systems complex, and what makes some questions particularly difficult to answer? The science of complexity can illuminate all of these apparently disconnected systems and behaviors. It aims to understand how complex behaviors emerge when relatively simple, single elements are brought together into a collective. In this course, we study the science of complexity through examples from the physical sciences, the social sciences, and the arts. We will learn the tools and concepts needed to extract simple insights about complex systems and will use these concepts and tools to better understand our own absorbing questions about the world around us.
Previously taught: Spring 2023, Spring 2024
Spring 2025;
14 Weeks Arjun Narayanan
-
MW 15:35 - 16:50
Taught in Abu Dhabi
Fall 2025;
14 Weeks Arjun Narayanan
-
MW 15:35 - 16:50
Taught in Abu Dhabi
This course appears in...
Core Curriculum > Data and Discovery
Core Curriculum > Quantitative Reasoning
2 credits
The research seminar provides students with an overview of the diverse multidisciplinary research areas that have captured the interest and fascination of NYUAD physicists and others in related fields. Through exposure to NYUAD faculty research, students will identify areas of interest for their own capstone research and develop and write an in-depth research proposal over the course of the semester. The final capstone proposal is due at the end of the seminar series so that students can begin the Capstone Project in the fall semester of their senior year. All science majors are expected to take this course in their junior year.
Prerequisites: Foundations of Science 1-6 and declared Physics major with Junior standing or higher
Previously taught: Fall 2016, Fall 2017, Fall 2018, Spring 2019, Spring 2020, Fall 2020, Spring 2021, Spring 2022, Fall 2022, Spring 2023, Fall 2023, Spring 2024, Fall 2024
Spring 2025;
14 Weeks Arjun Narayanan
-
TR 17:00 - 18:15
Taught in Abu Dhabi