Sean Marks
Research interests
I study ice nucleation and inhibition using atomistic Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations in conjunction with enhanced sampling techniques. In particular, I seek to understand how the nanoscale characteristics of kinetic inhibitors enable them to recognize, bind to, and inhibit the growth of ice in a vast excess of liquid water. My ultimate goal is to use physical insight gleaned from molecular simulations to guide the design of next-generation antifreeze materials.
Publications
- S Marks and AJ Patel. "Antifreeze Protein Hydration Waters: Unstructured Unless Bound to Ice", Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 115, 8244-8246 (2018).
- E Xi, S Marks, S Fialoke, and AJ Patel Sparse Sampling of Water Density Fluctuations Near Liquid-Vapor Coexistence, Molecular Simulation, 44:13-14, 1124-1135 (2018).