Tapan Goel is a biophysicist broadly interested in how complex behaviors emerge in biological systems from relatively simple “inter-particle” interactions. To answer this question, Tapan uses tools from non-linear dynamics and statistical physics. He received his undergraduate degree in physics from the Indian Institute of Science (Bangalore, India). There, Tapan worked with Dr. Vishwesha Guttal on developing theoretical models for how animals move in coherent groups in the absence of leaders and global information. Tapan got his Ph.D. from UC San Diego where he worked with Dr. Eva-Maria Collins and Dr. Patrick Diamond on problems of non-linear tissue mechanics. In the Weitz group, Tapan will be working to develop models of virus-host interactions to understand how viral strategies evolve over time. In his spare time, Tapan likes to cook, gather trivia, and is an avid swimmer.