The Mahadevan group uses experiments, theory and computation to study motion and matter at the human scale, where phenomena are robust and easy to observe, yet not always easy to explain. Areas of interest include the patterns of shape and flow of inanimate matter on scales ranging from the supramolecular to the planetary, and the dynamics of sentient living matter that can self-organize, perceive and act. In all cases, the aim is to get at a qualitative understanding using quantitative methods, and get at general principles, if there be such, from answers to specific questions. In neuroscience, our interests focus on how the use of statistical geometry and topology in data analysis, and in cognition, our interests are in understanding how organisms perceive shape and motion in a noisy setting.

Source: https://www.seas.harvard.edu/softmat/index.html