Publications by authors named "David I Spivak"

A Dirichlet polynomial in one variable y is a function of the form d(y)=anny+⋯+a22y+a11y+a00y for some n,a0,…,an∈N. We will show how to think of a Dirichlet polynomial as a set-theoretic bundle, and thus as an empirical distribution. We can then consider the Shannon entropy H(d) of the corresponding probability distribution, and we define its (or, classically, its ) by L(d)=2H(d).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Biological materials, such as proteins, often have a hierarchical structure ranging from basic building blocks at the nanoscale (e.g., amino acids) to assembled structures at the macroscale (e.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

We apply the mathematical framework of category theory to articulate the precise relation between the structure and mechanics of a nanoscale system in a macroscopic domain. We maintain the chosen molecular mechanical properties from the nanoscale to the continuum scale. Therein we demonstrate a procedure to 'protoype a model', as category theory enables us to maintain certain information across disparate fields of study, distinct scales, or physical realizations.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Tailored materials with tunable properties are crucial for applications as biomaterials, for drug delivery, as functional coatings, or as lightweight composites. An emerging paradigm in designing such materials is the construction of hierarchical assemblies of simple building blocks into complex architectures with superior properties. We review this approach in a case study of silk, a genetically programmable and processable biomaterial, which, in its natural role serves as a versatile protein fiber with hierarchical organization to provide structural support, prey procurement or protection of eggs.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

In this paper we introduce the olog, or ontology log, a category-theoretic model for knowledge representation (KR). Grounded in formal mathematics, ologs can be rigorously formulated and cross-compared in ways that other KR models (such as semantic networks) cannot. An olog is similar to a relational database schema; in fact an olog can serve as a data repository if desired.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Materials in biology span all the scales from Angstroms to meters and typically consist of complex hierarchical assemblies of simple building blocks. Here we describe an application of category theory to describe structural and resulting functional properties of biological protein materials by developing so-called ologs. An olog is like a "concept web" or "semantic network" except that it follows a rigorous mathematical formulation based on category theory.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF