Talks

All talks

2026

1. 21 Oct Using cellular phase transitions to understand cancer Seminar, Center for Anatomy and Cell Biology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
2. 25 Sep The life cycle of a research idea: how research actually happens Young Minds Scholar Day, Joint Meeting of the Austrian Physical Society and the EPS Condensed Matter Division (ÖPG-CMD 2026), Graz, Austria Invited
3. 8 Sep ShearView: an open-source compact rheometer for integrated rheo-microscopy ECIS 2026 (European Colloid and Interface Society conference), Granada, Spain
4. 28 Jul Differential dynamic microscopy: fundamentals and applications Summer School Soft Matter Systems: from Fundamentals to Sensory Perception, Cargèse, France
5. 30 Jun Using cellular phase transitions to understand cancer MST Days, PhD school in Materials Science and Technology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy Invited
6. 12 Jun Scattering information from real space microscopy: doing light scattering without a light-scattering setup 17th European Summer School on Scattering Methods Applied to Soft Condensed Matter (Bombannes 2026), Carcans-Maubuisson, France
7. 4 Jun Multiscale dynamics in inert and living soft matter TSU Seminar, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR), Bangalore, India
8. 3 Jun Using cellular phase transitions to understand cancer Special colloquium, Raman Research Institute (RRI), Bangalore, India
9. 2 Jun Differential dynamic microscopy of soft matter and biological systems Seminar, IIT Hyderabad, Hyderabad, India
10. 28 May Non-universality of jamming in cellular monolayers International Soft Matter Conference (ISMC 2026), Goa, India
11. 24 May Probing soft matter dynamics with light: from DLS to DDM ISMC 2026 Mini-school, Microscopy and Imaging, Goa, India
12. 24 Feb Using cellular phase transitions to understand cancer IBI-4 seminar, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany
13. 10 Feb Differential dynamic microscopy: extracting scattering information from microscopy data Physics Colloquium, University of Guelph, Guelph, Canada

2025

1. 3 Dec Phase transitions in cell tissues and the physics of cancer progression Physics Colloquium, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland
2. 25 Sep Non-universality of jamming in cellular monolayers Workshop Coarse-graining tissue mechanics, Ljubljana, Slovenia Invited
3. 18 Sep Non-universality of jamming in cellular monolayers CECAM workshop Statistical physics of living systems, Lausanne, Switzerland Invited
4. 11 Sep Hydrodynamic fluctuations in sedimenting colloids: following in Perrin's footsteps to the International Space Station Seminar, PMMH, ESPCI Paris, Paris, France
5. 4 Sep Watching soft matter under stress: coupling rheology and microscopy Saint-Gobain Research Paris (closing talk of the Chaire Saint-Gobain, ESPCI Paris-PSL), Aubervilliers, France
6. 22 Aug Using cellular phase transitions to understand cancer Joint Annual Meeting of the Austrian and Swiss Physical Societies (ÖPG-SPS), Vienna, Austria Plenary
7. 24 Jun Using cellular phase transitions to understand cancer Physikalisches Kolloquium, University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth, Germany
8. 13 Jun One- and two-particle micro-rheology of soft materials based on optical-flow image analysis Shining Light on Squishy Stuff (workshop in honour of Luca Cipelletti), Montpellier, France Invited
9. 10 Jun Hydrodynamic fluctuations in sedimenting colloids: following in Perrin's footsteps to the International Space Station 16th International Meeting on Thermodiffusion (IMT16), Milan, Italy Keynote
10. 14 May Using cellular phase transitions to understand cancer Molecular and Statistical Biophysics Seminars, SISSA (online), Trieste, Italy
11. 9 May Tracking-free microrheology in complex fluids: DDM and beyond 1st Tunisian School of Rheology (online), online
12. 9 Apr Rheology meets microscopy: a multiscale study of sheared soft materials Anton Paar webinar, online Invited
13. 31 Jan Biophysical aspects of carcinoma progression SIBPA XXIX School of Pure and Applied Biophysics, Venice, Italy
14. 22 Jan Extracting scattering information from microscopy data Physics@Veldhoven (NWO Physics 2025), Veldhoven, Netherlands Invited
15. 20 Jan Extracting scattering information from microscopy data ImPhys Colloquium, TU Delft (joint with R. Robertson-Anderson), Delft, Netherlands

2024

1. 27 Nov Gravitationally TApping Colloids in Space (GTACS) on FLUMIAS-ISS ESA Exploration Science Workshop 2024, Warsaw, Poland Invited
2. 27 Nov Soft matter and biophysics facility definition team (team report) ESA Exploration Science Workshop 2024, Warsaw, Poland Invited
3. 29 Oct Mastering scientific presentations FORGREENSOFT workshop on transferable soft skills, Vienna, Austria
4. 18 Sep Exploring cell tissue dynamics in reciprocal space: a differential dynamic microscopy approach ESI Thematic Programme Linking microscopic processes to the macroscopic rheological properties in inert and living soft materials, Vienna, Austria Invited
5. 6 Sep Using cellular phase transitions to understand cancer CECAM workshop Exploring bio-inspired systems: a synergy between multiscale experimental and computational approaches, Vienna, Austria Invited
6. 2 Aug Multiscale dynamics in inert and living soft matter International Soft Matter Conference (ISMC 2024), Raleigh, NC, USA Plenary
7. 5 Jul Yielding under the microscope Italian Soft Days 2024, Florence, Italy Invited
8. 26 Jun Using cellular phase transitions to understand cancer DLR seminar series, German Aerospace Center, Cologne, Germany
9. 19 Jun Using cellular phase transitions to understand cancer Workshop Dissipative processes in molecular systems, Padova, Italy Invited
10. 8 Jun Scattering information from real space microscopy 16th European Summer School on Scattering Methods Applied to Soft Condensed Matter (Bombannes 2024), Carcans-Maubuisson, France
11. 20 May Microscopy and applications (2 lectures) 2nd FORGREENSOFT short course, Heraklion, Greece
12. 16 May Yielding under the microscope: a multi-scale perspective on brittle and ductile behaviors in oscillatory shear EUROMECH Colloquium 637: a multidisciplinary discussion on binder cohesion, Vienna, Austria Invited
13. 10 May Measuring microscopic dynamics: from dynamic light scattering to differential dynamic microscopy Course Applied Statistical Thermodynamics, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy
14. 19 Apr A (soft) matter of contrasts Commemoration colloquium for Stefan U. Egelhaaf, Düsseldorf, Germany Invited
15. 3 Apr Reciprocal space analysis unveils Brownian yet non-Gaussian diffusion in hard-sphere glasses ESI workshop Transport properties in soft matter systems, Erwin Schrödinger Institute, Vienna, Austria Invited
16. 29 Feb Quantitative microscopy of soft and living matter NASA Soft Matter Seminar Series (online, host S. Sinha-Ray), online

2023

1. 17 Nov Rheo-microscopy and micro-rheology for soft matter Meeting of the Austrian Society of Rheology, Linz, Austria Keynote
2. 13 Oct An active journey in academia through the lens of soft matter physics ActiveMatter meeting, Gothenburg, Sweden Invited
3. 13 Sep Endocytic-mediated tissue fluidification in the progression of breast carcinoma (with G. Scita) EMBO Workshop When biology of endocytosis meets physics: emerging mechanisms and functions, Venice, Italy Invited
4. 3 Aug Quantitative rheomicroscopy of soft matter XIXth International Congress on Rheology (ICR 2023), Athens, Greece
5. 15 Jun Probing multi-scale dynamics in complex fluids and biological systems with differential dynamic microscopy Seminar Series on Modern Concepts in Structural Biology, Vienna BioCenter, Vienna, Austria
6. 8 Mar Probing multi-scale dynamics in complex fluids and biological systems with differential dynamic microscopy PHENIX seminar, Sorbonne Université, Paris, France

2022

1. 18 Nov Quantitative rheomicroscopy of soft matter Annual Meeting of the Austrian Society of Rheology, Vienna, Austria
2. 3 Sep Microscopy and applications (2 lectures) ECIS 2022 short course, FORTH, Heraklion, Greece
3. 22 Aug Phase transitions in cell tissues 29th General Conference of the EPS Condensed Matter Division (CMD29), Manchester, UK Invited
4. 21 Jul Cellular jamming and unjamming: a physics perspective Seminar, King's College London (online), London, UK
5. 24 Jun From real to inverse space; Scattering information from real space microscopy 15th European Summer School on Scattering Methods Applied to Soft Condensed Matter (Bombannes 2022), Carcans-Maubuisson, France
6. 13 Jun Differential dynamic microscopy: an introduction with applications Applied and Computational Mathematics seminar, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
7. 27 May Reciprocal space study of Brownian yet non-Gaussian diffusion in a glassy environment Symposium for Francesco Sciortino's 60th birthday (Sciortino Fest), Rome, Italy Invited
8. 13 May Cellular jamming and unjamming: a physics perspective Course Cell Population Dynamics, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
9. 28 Apr Cellular (un)jamming and its relevance for cancer Active Matter meeting (training network), Lisbon, Portugal Invited
10. 31 Mar Cellular jamming and unjamming: a physics perspective Seminar Series on Modern Concepts in Structural Biology, Vienna BioCenter, Vienna, Austria
11. 15 Mar Cellular jamming and unjamming: a physics perspective BuildMoNa conference 2022, Leipzig, Germany Invited
12. 3 Mar Using light to unveil complexity in soft and biological materials SLAM talk, ISTA (host J. Palacci), Klosterneuburg, Austria

2021

1. 22 Sep From single cells to tissues: a geometrical approach Initial Training on Theoretical Methods for Active Matter, training network school organised from Oxford (online), Oxford, UK
2. 23 Jul The physics of glassy epithelia and its relevance to cancer 11th Liquid Matter Conference (online, organised from Prague), Prague, Czech Republic (online) Keynote
3. 16 Jul Amorphous soft matter under oscillatory shear: rheology and microscopic dynamics (2 lectures) XV Summer School Fundamental Problems in Statistical Physics (FPSP XV), Bruneck, Italy
4. 29 Apr Scattering techniques and methods (2 lectures) Course Applied Thermodynamics, Universidad de Guanajuato (online), online
5. 16 Apr Jamming and unjamming of cellular collectives Seminar, BOKU (hosts P. van Oostrum, E. Reimhult), Vienna, Austria
6. 9 Mar Jamming and unjamming of cellular collectives BIOMETRA seminars, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
7. 19 Jan Probing multi-scale activity in complex fluids and biological systems with differential dynamic microscopy Seminar, IISER Pune (online), Pune, India

2020

1. 9 Nov Unveiling the complex dynamics of biological systems by differential dynamic microscopy 32nd International Conference on Science and Technology of Complex Fluids (ICSTCF), Universidad de Guanajuato (online), León, Mexico Invited
2. 27 Oct The physics of glassy epithelia and its connection with cancer International Conference Motile Active Matter, DFG Priority Programme SPP 1726 Microswimmers (online), online Invited
3. 18 Sep Microrheology: a love story of matter and light Materials Summer School, 3rd edition (online), Bari, Italy
4. 16 Jul Jamming and unjamming of dense cellular collectives e-Conference on Soft Matter (ECOSOM 2020), Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology (online), Chennai, India Invited

2019

1. 13 Dec Jamming and unjamming in cell tissues CeNS Colloquium, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
2. 4 Dec Differential dynamic microscopy extracts multi-scale activity in complex fluids and biological systems Physics Colloquium, Università dell'Insubria, Como, Italy
3. 31 Oct Quando scienza e design si incontrano Festival della Scienza 2019, Genoa, Italy
4. 10 Sep Differential dynamic microscopy extracts multi-scale activity in complex fluids and biological systems 33rd Conference of the European Colloid and Interface Society (ECIS 2019), Leuven, Belgium Keynote
5. 23 Jul Differential dynamic microscopy extracts multi-scale activity in complex fluids and biological systems International Workshop Microscale Motion and Light, MPI-PKS, Dresden, Germany Invited
6. 18 Jul Tracking-free one- and two-point microrheology of soft materials Soft Matter Workshop Milan-Düsseldorf-Guanajuato, Düsseldorf, Germany Invited
7. 10 Jul Optical techniques for the investigation of soft matter; The jamming and unjamming transitions in dense cell collectives International School Water and Water Systems, 2nd Course: Polymers and Soft Materials: Glasses, Gels and Networks, Erice, Italy
8. 25 Jun Tracking-free one- and two-point microrheology of soft materials 9th Hellenic Society of Rheology Conference (HSR 2019), Samos, Greece
9. 5 Jun Tracking-free one- and two-point microrheology of soft materials 5th International Soft Matter Conference (ISMC 2019), Edinburgh, UK
10. 29 May Tracking-free one- and two-point microrheology of soft materials Symposium Soft Matter, Bioinspiration and Photonics, Messkirch Castle, Messkirch, Germany Invited
11. 16 May Complex fluids, biology and optics: a soft love Physics Department, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
12. 10 Apr Differential dynamic microscopy extracts multi-scale activity in complex fluids and biological systems Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
13. 9 Apr Non-equilibrium fluctuations in complex fluids: the GRADFLEX and Giant Fluctuations projects Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
14. 25 Mar The unjamming transition in dense cell collectives MicroMotility 2019: Biological micromotility and bio-inspired micro-robotics, Istituto Veneto di Scienze Lettere e Arti, Venice, Italy Invited

2018

1. 25 Sep Research-based teaching Jordan University of Science and Technology (JUST), Irbid, Jordan
2. 24 Sep Research-based teaching University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan
3. 6 Sep Toccata e fuga: contatti, forze e movimenti in sistemi di cellule Una Settimana da Bio, Segrate, Italy
4. 24 Jun Extracting scattering information from real space microscopy: a primer 14th European Summer School on Scattering Methods Applied to Soft Condensed Matter (Bombannes 2018), Carcans-Maubuisson, France
5. 6 Jun Optical microscopy and light scattering: reconciliation after infidelity École Normale Supérieure de Lyon, Lyon, France
6. 5 Jun Equilibrium and non-equilibrium fluctuations in soft matter École Normale Supérieure de Lyon, Lyon, France
7. 1 Jun Liquid, glassy and flocking states in epithelial monolayers Institut Lumière Matière, University Lyon 1, Lyon, France
8. 25 May Liquid, glassy and flocking states in epithelial monolayers LIPhy, University Grenoble Alpes, Grenoble, France
9. 15 May Non-equilibrium fluctuations during diffusion in soft matter: the case for microgravity German Aerospace Center (DLR), Cologne, Germany
10. 18 Apr Differential dynamic microscopy microrheology: frequency-dependent moduli without tracking! Annual European Rheology Conference (AERC 2018), Sorrento, Italy Keynote
11. 12 Apr Differential dynamic microscopy extracts multi-scale activity in complex fluids and biological systems Biotechnology Center (BIOTEC), TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany
12. 22 Mar Unjamming by flocking in epithelial cell monolayers Heinrich Heine University, Düsseldorf, Germany
13. 16 Jan Glassy dynamics, unjamming and flocking in dense epithelial cell monolayers Faculty of Science, Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí, San Luis Potosí, Mexico
14. 15 Jan Equilibrium and non-equilibrium fluctuations in soft matter Institute of Physics, Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí, San Luis Potosí, Mexico
15. 10 Jan Unjamming by flocking in epithelial cell monolayers XLVII Winter Meeting on Statistical Physics, Puebla, Mexico Invited

2017

1. 4 Dec Interplay of actin and microtubule cytoskeletons in the Drosophila oocyte COST Workshop Dynamics of Self-Organization: from colloids to biomaterials, Barcelona, Spain Invited
2. 26 Oct eXel: experiment of enhanced learning at La Statale LERU meeting, Milan, Italy
3. 4 Oct Unjamming and flocking in jammed epithelia FisMat 2017, Trieste, Italy Invited
4. 29 Sep Tutti in fuga! Come una folla, uno stormo, le cellule MeetMeTonight (European Researchers' Night), Milan, Italy
5. 5 Sep Toccata e fuga: contatti, forze e movimenti in sistemi di cellule Una Settimana da Bio, Segrate, Italy
6. 25 Jul Endocytic reawakening of motility and flocking in jammed epithelia 8th International Discussion Meeting on Relaxations in Complex Systems, Wisła, Poland Invited
7. 18 Jul Reawakening of motility in glassy confluent epithelia 10th Liquid Matter Conference (LIQUIDS 2017), Ljubljana, Slovenia
8. Jul Dynamics, structure and interactions in soft and biological matter IFOM Summer School in Quantitative Biology, Milan, Italy
9. 7 Jun Endocytic reawakening and flocking in jammed epithelia University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy
10. 30 May How research can be linked to/infer from teaching HERE Study Visit, Milan, Italy
11. 3 May Endocytic reawakening of motility and flocking in jammed epithelia CECAM Workshop Cell and tissue motility, Lausanne, Switzerland
12. 10 Feb Endocytic re-awakening of the motility of jammed epithelia 4th Workshop of the Complex Systems Group (FISICO), University of Milan, Milan, Italy

2016

1. 13 Dec Structure and dynamics of epithelial cell monolayers IFOM-BIOMETRA cancer workshop, Milan, Italy Invited
2. 6 Sep Structure and dynamics of epithelial cell monolayers Trends in Nanotechnology (TNT 2016), Fribourg, Switzerland Invited
3. 25 Jul Dynamics, structure and interactions in soft and biological matter IFOM Summer School in Quantitative Biology, Milan, Italy
4. 31 May Equilibrium and non-equilibrium fluctuations in soft matter 12th International Meeting on Thermodiffusion (IMT12), Madrid, Spain Keynote

2015

1. 23 Sep Direct observation of stress relaxation in foams 101st Congress of the Italian Physical Society (SIF), Rome, Italy Invited
2. 10 Jul On the origin of compressed exponential relaxation in soft materials TOSCALAB 1st meeting, Como, Italy Invited
3. 23 Mar Scattering or microscopy? For those who can't decide ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

2014

1. 1 Dec Digital Fourier microscopy: scattering information obtained by optical microscopy Monday Colloquium, Physics Department, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
2. 22 Sep Misurare la materia soffice Officine della Fisica (OFIS 2014), Como, Italy Invited

2013

1. 3 Dec Phase behavior and critical activated dynamics of limited-valence DNA nanostars CECAM workshop DNA-based self-assembly: theory, simulations and experiments, Vienna, Austria
2. 18 Sep Viscoelasticity of nematic liquid crystals at a glance International Soft Matter Conference 2013 (ISMC 2013), Rome, Italy
3. 11 Sep Confocal dynamic microscopy of dense bacteria Workshop FISICO, Milan, Italy
4. 13 May Viscoelasticity of nematic liquid crystals at a glance École Normale Supérieure de Lyon, Lyon, France

2012

1. 11 Dec Collective behavior of nanoparticles with limited valence University of Luxembourg, Luxembourg
2. 26 Oct Fourier-space microscopy reveals the dynamic properties of soft materials Slonano 2012, Ljubljana, Slovenia Invited
3. 18 Jul Investigating particle motion with a microscope: real vs Fourier space; Differential dynamic microscopy of bacteria and cells NSERC-CREATE Summer School in Cell Biophysics, Ottawa, Canada
4. 18 Jun Dynamic light scattering and microscopy of interacting nanoparticles Stella International School, Pavia, Italy
5. 3 Feb Measuring viscoelasticity of liquid crystals at a glance Workshop DNA in a Material World, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy Invited
6. 10 Jan Principles of differential dynamic microscopy ESA-ESTEC Workshop on Time Resolved Correlation Spectroscopy and Total Internal Reflection Scattering, Noordwijk, Netherlands Invited

2011

1. 20 Dec All-optical characterization of biological processes: novel concepts in dynamic microscopy and label-free biosensors Quantitative Biology Seminar Series, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
2. 12 Oct Fotoni rimbalzano tra particelle ubriache: un viaggio spaziale in un mondo soffice Seminar for high-school students and physics freshmen, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
3. 20 Sep Dynamic light scattering from colloids, bacteria and liquid crystals by using a commercial microscope Laboratoire des Colloïdes, Verres et Nanomatériaux, University of Montpellier, Montpellier, France
4. 20 Jun Optical microscopy and its use for the characterization of soft materials Stella International School, Como, Italy
5. 9 Jun Dynamic microscopy of soft materials Physics Department, Università dell'Insubria, Como, Italy
6. 12 Apr Reflective Phantom Interface: un nuovo metodo label-free per la rilevazione di interazioni biomolecolari Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, Milan, Italy
7. 11 Feb Differential dynamic microscopy of fluctuating liquid crystals European Conference on Liquid Crystals (ECLC 2011), Maribor, Slovenia
8. 21 Jan Onset of convection in colloidal suspensions Workshop on Thermophoresis, Hydrodynamic Instabilities and Thermoresponsive Particles, Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge, UK Invited

2010

1. 25 Nov Differential dynamic microscopy: a novel tool for food science? Danish Optical Society Annual Meeting, Roskilde, Denmark Invited
2. 18 Nov Light scattering investigation of soft materials by optical microscopy Physics Department, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada
3. 5 Mar Dynamic microscopy of colloids: new results and perspectives Physics Department, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland
4. 2 Feb Dynamics and pattern formation in colloidal suspensions Physics Department, University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth, Germany

2009

1. 20 Mar Differential dynamic microscopy: a simple means to measure dynamics with a microscope APS March Meeting 2009, Pittsburgh, USA Invited
2. 27 Jan Scattering with images: a new tool for soft matter science Physics Department, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany

2008

1. 11 Dec Differential dynamic microscopy: a simple means to measure dynamics with a microscope Physics Department, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany

2007

1. 7 Aug Near field speckles: a new tool for X-ray scientists Gordon Research Conference on X-ray Physics, New London, NH, USA Invited
2. 2 Aug Near field X-ray speckles Physics Department, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA

2006

1. 12 Dec X-ray near field speckles Laboratoire des Colloïdes, Verres et Nanomatériaux, University of Montpellier, Montpellier, France
2. 24 Aug X-ray near field speckles New York University, New York, USA

2005

1. 2 Nov Turbolenza in una scatola Festival della Scienza 2005, Genoa, Italy
2. 21 Oct Convective instabilities in complex fluids Physics Department, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland
3. 20 Oct X-ray speckle techniques Physics Department, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland
4. 22 Sep Giant fluctuations in microgravity: the GRADFLEX experiment ELGRA Biennial Symposium and General Assembly, Santorini, Greece

2004

1. 16 Aug Shadowgraphic study of convection onset in a colloidal suspension Photon Correlation and Scattering Conference (PCS 2004), Amsterdam, Netherlands

2002

1. Aug High Rayleigh number Soret-driven convection in a colloidal suspension heated from above 5th International Meeting on Thermodiffusion (IMT5), Lyngby, Denmark