The range of phenomena studied by condensed matter scientists worldwide has grown tremendously in recent years, and the diversification is reflected in the scope research carried out within the condensed matter group. Our faculty lead outstanding research efforts in a range of areas including ultrafast processes, the emerging field of quantum computation, composite particle states, and large-bandgap semiconductors, and the physics of biological systems. Our department also hosts research in soft condensed matter physics and biophysical systems. David Jasnow (emeritus) applies the tools of condensed matter theory to biological systems, currently the statistics of rare biological events and the dynamical evolution of neural networks. Andrew Mugler uses theoretical statistical physics to investigage sensing, computation, and collective behavior in cells. Hanna Salman experiments on the collective dynamics of bacterial populations, and scaling laws of epigenetic expression in bacteria. Xiao-Lun Wu experiments on turbulence in two-dimensional films, bacteria dynamics, and stochastic fluctuations in genetic networks.