Statistical Mechanics of Design

The design of complex behaviors is a challenge that exists in systems from the molecular- to the macroscale. In this talk, we will demonstrate that statistical mechanics techniques that were developed recently to meet design challenges in colloidal nanomaterials can be leveraged to gain new understanding into analogous design challenges that arise in the design of systems that are larger by ten orders of magnitude. We will give examples of the kind of design understanding that statistical mechanics can provide, which we term "systems physics", and point to large classes of new problem spaces where these approaches can be applied.