Shape formation and control in macro-molecular assemblies has many possible applications – from nano manufacturing of functional nano-machines or novel materials, to synthetic protein design.  A crucial step is understanding the relation between the molecular properties and macro-molecular properties.  To this date, however, there is no general framework in which such problems could be understood and studied.

Part of the difficulty (and much of the interest) in developing such a framework stems from the fact the often, building blocks (molecules) do not fit perfectly together, giving rise to residual stress in these structures. In this talk I will demonstrate how reformulating such problems within the context of incompatible elastic theory, allows us to predict the shape and shape fluctuations of nanometric, shape changing  self-assemblies based on single molecule structure.  Time permitting, I will sketch the outlines of a novel coarse – graining  method that allows us to find the mechanical and structural properties of in a more general case.