A sandpile model for proportionate growth

An interesting feature of growth in animals is that different parts of the body grow at approximately the same rate. This property is called proportionate growth. In this paper, we review our recent work on patterns formed by adding $N$ grains at a single site in the abelian sandpile model. These simple models show very intricate patterns, show proportionate growth, and sometimes having a striking resemblance to natural forms. We give several examples of such patterns. We discuss the special cases where the asymptotic pattern can be determined exactly. The effect of noise in the background or in the rules on the patterns is also discussed.