Systems biology researchers at UCSB are applying the principles of engineering to our understanding of the metabolic, genetic, and regulatory networks underpinning biology, with the goal being the development of quantitative, predictive descriptions of living organisms. At UCSB, researchers in this area employ both computational and experimental methods to characterize the dynamics of natural and artificial swarms, the flocking of cells, as well as the super molecular assembly of proteins. Multiscale simulation methods are also being developed to analyze biochemical and genetic networks and to experimentally implement new networks in living cells.