Published December 2012
| public
Journal Article
Theory of Algorithmic Self-Assembly
- Creators
- Doty, David
Abstract
Self-assembly is the process by which small components automatically assemble themselves into large, complex structures. Examples in nature abound: lipids self-assemble a cell's membrane, and bacteriophage virus proteins self-assemble a capsid that allows the virus to invade other bacteria. Even a phenomenon as simple as crystal formation is a process of self-assembly. How could such a process be described as "algorithmic?" The key word in the first sentence is automatically. Algorithms automate a series of simple computational tasks. Algorithmic self-assembly systems automate a series of simple growth tasks, in which the object being grown is simultaneously the machine controlling its own growth.
Additional Information
© 2012 ACM. I thank Damien Woods, Matt Patitz, and Scott Summers for helpful suggestions. The author was supported by a Computing Innovation Fellowship under NSF grant 1019343 and NSF grants CCF-1219274 and CCF-1162589, and by the Molecular Programming Project under NSF grant 0832824.Additional details
- Eprint ID
- 36613
- Resolver ID
- CaltechAUTHORS:20130128-095141913
- CNS-1019343
- NSF
- CCF-1219274
- NSF
- CCF-1162589
- NSF
- CCF-0832824
- NSF
- Created
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2013-01-28Created from EPrint's datestamp field
- Updated
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2021-11-09Created from EPrint's last_modified field