Assistant Professor · UC San Diego

Pearson W. Miller

I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mathematics at UC San Diego. My research explores the behavior of continuum models of developing organisms, aiming to understand how self-organizing behavior driving morphogenesis is regulated. I approach these questions with tools from nonlinear dynamics, continuum mechanics, and scientific computation.

Formerly, I was a Flatiron Research Fellow at the Center for Computational Biology, Flatiron Institute (2020–2024), where I worked in Stas Shvartsman's Developmental Dynamics group. I received my PhD in Physics from MIT in 2020, working with Prof. Jörn Dunkel in the Physical Applied Math group.

Headshot of Pearson W. Miller
03

Publications

2025
2025

Formation of Drosophila germ cells requires spatial patterning of phospholipids

M.D. Kilwein, P. Miller, K.Y. Lee, M. Osterfield, A. Mogilner, S.Y. Shvartsman, E.R. Gavis

Current Biology 35, 1612–1621

2023

Development shapes the evolutionary diversification of rodent stripe patterns

M. Staps, P.W. Miller, C.E. Tarnita, R. Mallarino

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 120, e2312077120

2023

Morphogens enable interacting supracellular phases that generate organ architectureScience

S. Yang, K.H. Palmquist, L. Nathan, C.R. Pfeifer, P.J. Schultheiss, A. Sharma, L.C. Kam, P.W. Miller, A.E. Shyer, A.R. Rodrigues

Science 382, eadg5579

2023

A multifunctional Wnt regulator underlies the evolution of rodent stripe patterns

M.R. Johnson, S. Li, C.F. Guerrero-Juarez, P. Miller, B.J. Brack, S.A. Mereby, et al.

Nature Ecology & Evolution 7, 2143–2159

2023

Generation and motion of interfaces in a mass-conserving reaction-diffusion system

P.W. Miller, D. Fortunato, M. Novaga, S.Y. Shvartsman, C.B. Muratov

SIAM J. Applied Dynamical Systems 22, 2408–2431

2022

Forced and spontaneous symmetry breaking in cell polarizationFeatured

P.W. Miller, D. Fortunato, C. Muratov, L. Greengard, S. Shvartsman

Nature Computational Science 2, 504–511

2021

Topological braiding and virtual particles on the cell membrane

J. Liu, J.F. Totz, P.W. Miller, A.D. Hastewell, Y.C. Chao, J. Dunkel, N. Fakhri

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 118, e2104191118

2020

Topological turbulence in the membrane of a living cell

T.H. Tan, J. Liu, P.W. Miller, M. Tekant, J. Dunkel, N. Fakhri

Nature Physics 16, 657–662

2020

Gait-optimized locomotion of wave-driven soft sheets

P.W. Miller, J. Dunkel

Soft Matter 16, 3991–3999

2019
2018

Geometry of wave propagation on active deformable surfaces

P.W. Miller, N. Stoop, J. Dunkel

Physical Review Letters 120, 268001

2017

Actomyosin-based tissue folding requires a multicellular myosin gradient

N.C. Heer, P.W. Miller, S. Chanet, N. Stoop, J. Dunkel, A.C. Martin

Development 144, 1876–1886

2014

Fragmentation of model flocks

P.W. Miller, N.T. Ouellette

Physical Review E 89, 042806

2013

Scaling exponent for incremental records

P. Miller, E. Ben-Naim

J. Statistical Mechanics: Theory and Experiment P10025

2013

Oscillations in a turbulence-condensate system

P. Miller, N. Vladimirova, G. Falkovich

Physical Review E 87, 065202

2012

Mushy-layer dynamics in micro and hyper gravity

J.G. O'Rourke, A.J. Riggs, C.A. Guertler, P.W. Miller, et al.

Physics of Fluids 24, 103305

Google Scholar profile ↗
05

People

Current Members

Pearson W. Miller

Pearson W. Miller

Principal Investigator

Assistant Professor of Mathematics, UC San Diego.

Xiaolong 'Harry' Chen

Xiaolong 'Harry' Chen

PhD Candidate

Jamshaid Ali

Jamshaid Ali

Undergraduate

NN

Nidhi Noronha

Undergraduate

NN

Ridhi Chandrasekar

Undergraduate

06

Curriculum Vitae

Positions

Assistant Professor of Mathematics

University of California, San Diego

Flatiron Research Fellow

Center for Computational Biology, Flatiron Institute, New York

Education

PhD, Physics

Massachusetts Institute of Technology · Advisor: Prof. Jörn Dunkel

BS, Physics

Yale University

Teaching

Math 170A — Numerical Linear Algebra
Math 170B — Numerical Analysis
Math 171A — Mathematical Programming
Math 270A — Numerical Linear Algebra (grad)
Math 270B — Numerical Optimization (grad)

07

Contact