Seminars

The NCCR organizes regular seminars during the autumn and spring semesters of the academic year. Top specialists from around the world are invited to present their research to NCCR staff and other interested parties. These seminars are held at the different partner institutions.

2024-2025

Date Speaker Institution Title Location Time
October 17, 2024 Prof . Mark Tibbitt ETH Zürich, Switzerland Engineering dynamic polymer networks with reversible bonds AMI 11:00
October 29, 2024 Prof. Walter Richtering RWTH Aachen University, Institute of Physical Chemistry, Aachen, Germany Microgels: Soft matter where softness matters AMI 15:00
November 7, 2024 Prof. Sonja Schmid University of Basel The timing of life at the nanoscale – new tools for new insights AMI 11:00
November 21, 2024 Prof. Gregor Kozlowski Botanical garden, University of Fribourg, Switzerland Mushrooms, snails and edelweiss: Nature as an endless source of bio-inspiration AMI 11:00
December 12, 2024 Prof . Ursula Keller ETH Zürich, Switzerland Navigating governance challenges in academia: Addressing increasing hostility towards excellent women in leadership AMI 15:00
  • 2023-2024
    Date Speaker Institution Title Location Time
    September 20, 2023 Prof. William Shih Harvard University, USA Multi-micron crisscross structures grown from DNA-origami slats Physics, UniFR 17:00
    October 5, 2023 Dr. Ora Hazak University of Fribourg, Switzerland Dynamic signaling mechanisms in plant root development AMI 16:00
    October 23, 2023 Prof. Steve Eichhorn Bristol Composites Institute, United Kingdom Water iteractions with cellulose: Driving the assembly of composites EPFL 13:15
    November 8, 2023 Prof. Davis Norris ETH Zürich, Switzerland Optical and electronic Fourier surfaces Physics, UniFR 16:50
    November 10, 2023 Dr. Helga Rietz ETH Zürich, Switzerland From lab to headlines: The challenges of science communication AMI 13:30
    November 30, 2023 Prof. Pete Vukusic University of Exeter, U.K. Biological photonics: a holistic perspective AMI 16:00
    December 18, 2023 Prof. Kunal Masania Tu Delft, Netherlands Additive manufacturing of bio-inspired materials EPFL 13:15
    December 20, 2023 Prof. Stefano Saccana New York University, USA Crystal Clear: enabling 3D real space analysis of ionic colloidal crystallization Physics, UniFR 16.50
    January 11, 2024 Prof. Ana Akrap University of Fribourg, Switzerland Scientist demystified: Let's unfold the stereotypes together AMI 16:00
    February 6, 2024 Prof. Julia Nentwich University of St Gallen, Switzerland Male Professors’ and lecturers’ commitment to gender equality at Swiss universities and ETHs AMI 14:00
    February 20, 2024 Prof. Frauke Graeter HITS institute, Heidelberg, Germany Mechano-sensing biomolecular systems AMI 15:00
    February 22, 2024 Dr. Fun Man Fung National University of Singapore Building bridges, not beaker walls: Digital learning communities for inclusive chemistry education AMI 13:30
    February 28, 2024 Prof. David Leigh University of Manchester, U.K. Giving Chemistry Direction AMI 14:00
    March 14, 2024 Prof. Luisa De Cola Università degli Studi di Milano Statale, Italy Hybrid and supramolecular (nano)materials for biomedical applications AMI 16:00
    March 28, 2024 Prof. Emily Pentzer Texas A&M University Polymers, Particles and Printing: Architecting Soft Matter for Energy Management AMI 14:00
    April 11, 2024 Prof. Bilal Kaafarani American University of Beirut (AUB), Lebanon Ex-ducere transformative education: Creating unique life-changing opportunities for the young minds and empowering tomorrow’s leaders AMI 15.00
    May 3, 2024 Prof. Anja Palmans Eindhoven University of Technology, The Netherlands Folding single polymer chains in functional single chain polymeric nanoparticles AMI 11:00
    May 23, 2024 Prof. Tiffany Abitbol EPF Lausanne, Switzerland Nature-inspired hybrid biocomposites AMI 16:00
    June 13, 2024 Dr. Sakshi Schmid EPF Lausanne, Switzerland Symmetry breaking drives protein assembly into a forbidden liquid-crystal phase AMI 16:00
    July 4, 2024 Dr. Nicole Kleger Sallea, Switzerland Where Medtech and Food Science Meet - A Startup Journey AMI 15:00
  • 2022-2023
    Date Speaker Institution Title Place Time
    September 20, 2022 Prof. Nasim Annabi UCLA, United States Microengineered bioadhesive hydrogels for drug delivery and tissue engineering AMI 16:00
    October 26, 2022 Prof. Erica Eiser University of Cambridge, United Kingdom DNA blocks and tethers for colloidal assembly and tuneable hydrogel Physics, UniFR 16:15
    October 27, 2022 Prof. Joris Sprakel Wageningen University, Netherlands Tiny Green Ninjas: How plant killers exploit soft matter mechanics to infect their hosts AMI 16:00
    December 13, 2022 Prof. Johan Hofkens KU Leuven, Belgium The Power of One: From single molecule investigations to materials research and beyond Physics, UniFR 11:00
    February 2, 2023 Prof. Damiano Genovese University of Bologna, Italy Luminescent (nano)probes for quantitative imaging AMI 16:00
    February 16, 2023 Prof. Eric Dufresne ETH Zürich Living Droplets Get to Work AMI 16:00
    March 2, 2023 Prof. Catarina Esteves Eindhoven University of Technology, Netherlands Functional polymer coatings with designed interactions with water AMI 15:30
    March 16, 2023 Prof. Adria LeBoeuf University of Fribourg, Switzerland Lessons from ants on collectively developing systems AMI 16:00
    March 17, 2023 Dr. Rosa Poetes McKinsey, Switzerland Why consulting? – A perspective AMI 15:00
    June 1, 2023 Prof. David Gonzalez Rodriguez University “Autónoma” Madrid, Spain Noncovalent synthesis: From chemically programmed "simple" molecules to complex, self-organized matter AMI 16:00
    June 2, 2023 Mr. Fernando Gomollón-Bel Agata Communications, UK Scicomm in a nutshell: learn how to maximize your impact AMI 11:00
    June 12, 2023 Dr. Giulio Ragazzon Institut de Science et d’Ingénierie Supramoléculaires, Strasbourg, France What are molecular ratchets and how might we use them? AMI 16:00
  • 2021-2022
    Date Speaker Institution Title Place Time
    September 29, 2021 Prof. David Pine New York University, USA Self-assembly of colloidal diamond for photonics UniFR-Physics 16:50
    November 12, 2021 Prof. Augustin Mihi Institut de Ciència de Materials de Barcelona (ICMAB-CSIC), Spain Creating photonic architectures by nanoimprinting unconventional materials UniFR-Chemistry 14:00
    November 18, 2021 Prof. Cecilia Leal University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, USA Synergistic behavior of polymer-lipid hybrid membranes Online 16:00
    December 2, 2021 Dr. Gioele Balestra, Raphaël Wenger iPrint, School of Engineering and Architecture of Fribourg, Switzerland Challenges and opportunities of the inkjet technology and its application to bioprinting AMI 16:00
    December 13, 2021 Rafic Hanbali Kromatix, Switzerland Technology and sustainability - the architecture of tomorrow AMI 16:00
    April 13, 2022 Prof. Jasna Bruijic Center for Soft Matter Research, New York University, New York, USA Folding made easy UniFR-Physics 16:50
    April 14, 2022 Prof. Matthew Baker MERLN Institute, Netherlands Macromolecular design for biofabrication AMI 16:00
    April 21, 2022 Prof. Wilhelm Huck University of Nimegen, Netherlands Towards big chemistry AMI 16:00
    April 27, 2022 Dr. Emanuela Zaccarelli CNR-ISC and Dipartimento di Fisica, Sapienza Università di Roma, Italy Silico synthesis of microgel particles UniFR-Physics 16:50
    May 12, 2022 Prof. Mathias Kolle Massachusetts Institute of Technology Manipulating light and color with soft and structured matter Online 16:00
    May 19, 2022 Prof. Kerstin Koch Hochschule Rhein-Waal, Germany Plant surface structures and wettability under static and dynamic impact of oil and water droplets Online 16:00
    May 23, 2022 Prof. Lara Estroff Cornell University (US) Bio-inspired crystal growth: Harnassing confinement and patterned surfaces to direct crystallization Online 15:00
    June 3, 2022 Prof. Joan Simon University of Southern Mississippi Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue AMI 15:00
    June 13, 2022 Prof. Bartosz Grzyboski UNIST/IBS, South Korea & Polish Academy of Sciences Reactions, materials and assemblies under rotation Online 11:00
  • 2020-2021
    Date Speaker Institution Title Place Time
    October 29, 2020 Prof. Wanda Kukulski University of Bern The molecular landscape of growing human axons AMI 16:00
    December 04, 2020 Dr. Olga Vvedenskaya DragonFly Mental Health Mental health in pandemic online 13:00
    January 28, 2021 Prof. Albert Schenning Eindhoven University of Technology, NL Bio-inspired polymer sensors and actuators online 16:00
    February 11, 2021 Prof. Maria Helena Godinho New University of Lisbon, Portugal Hierarchical cellulose-based chiral structures AMI 16:00
    May 5, 2021 Dr. Marco Manca University of Fribourg, Chemistry Introduction to an experimental platform for time resolved spectroscopy online 16:00
    June 10, 2021 Dr. Guillaume De Bo University of Manchester, UK Controlling reactivity under tension online 16:00
  • 2019-2020
    Date Speaker Institution Title Place Time
    July 9, 2019 Prof. Gerd Schröder-Turk Murdoch University, Perth, Australia What makes for a 'good' disorder: a simple mechanism that leads to hyperuniform order AMI 16:00
    July 11, 2019 Prof. Anja Palmans TU Eindhoven, The Netherlands Folded amphiphilic polymers in aqueous media: towards enzyme-like catalysis AMI 10:00
    September 25, 2019 Prof. Romain Quidant ICFO – The Institute of Photonic Sciences, Castelldefels, Spain Putting Nanoplasmonics to work! UniFR Phys 17:15
    October 3, 2019 Prof. Mike Zaworotko University of Limerick, Ireland Crystal Engineering: Then, Now and Next UniFR Chem 17:15
    February 13, 2020 Prof. Katharina Maniura EMPA Soft biomaterial interfaces to steer cell and tissue response AMI 16:00
    February 20, 2020 Prof. Véronique Michaud EPFL Tough and healable structural composite materials AMI 16:00
    TBA Prof. Laura De Laporte DWI - Leibniz-Institut für Interaktive Materialien Synthetic building blocks to mechanically direct cell behavior EPFL TBA
    TBA Prof. Maxwell Robb California Institute of Technology, USA TBA AMI 16:00
    April 29, 2020 Prof. Eli Yablonovitch UC Berkeley, USA The Electromagnetic Spectra of Ordinary Objects Webinar 17:30
  • 2018-2019
    Date Speaker Institution Title Place Time
    September 24, 2018 Prof. Christoph Weder Adolphe Merkle Institute, Switzerland Stimuli-responsive supramolecular polymers EPFL 13:15
    October 23, 2018 Prof. Claudia Bagni University of Lausanne, Switzerland Gender equality in academia - Myth and reality AMI 16:00
    November 5, 2018 Prof. Paolo Arosio ETHZ, Switzerland Protein phase transition: from biology towards new protein materials AMI 11:00
    November 12, 2018 Prof. Stephen Mann Bristol University, UK Proto-living materials? EPFL 13:15
    November 19, 2018 Prof. Marleen Kamperman Groningen University, Netherlands Bioinspired complex coacervate-based adhesives AMI 16:00
    November 29, 2018 Prof. Giulia Rossi University of Genoa, Italy Nanoparticle-protein and nanoparticle-lipid interactions AMI 11:00
    December 13, 2018 Prof. Kaori Sugihara University of Geneva, Switzerland Can antimicrobial peptides be an antibiotic alternative? - fundamental studies and tool development AMI 11:00
    March 11, 2019 Prof. Craig Broderson Yale University, USA The role of surface tension in the formation, spread, and removal of gas bubbles in the xylem of plants ETHZ 11:30
    March 18, 2019 Prof. Craig Broderson Yale University, USA A multi-method approach for studying leaf optics and the effect of diffuse vs. direct light on photosynthesis AMI 11:30
    March 18, 2019 Prof. Pupa Gilbert University of Wisconsin-Madison USA Nanoscale amorphous precursors and their phase transitions in diverse biominerals EPFL 13:15
    April 15, 2019 Prof. Helmut Cölfen University of Konstanz, Germany Nanocrystals as chemical building blocks EPFL 13:15
    April 25, 2019 Dr. Judit Horvath University of Sheffield, UK Chemical and Chemomechanical Morphogenesis in Far-From-Equilibrium Systems ETHZ 11:00
    April 29, 2019 Prof. Li-Zhu Wu Chinese Academy of Sciences, China Artificial photosynthesis for chemical transformation UniFR Chem 15:15
    May 16, 2019 Prof. Helmut Schlaad University Potsdam, Institute of Chemistry, Germany Functional polymers from amino acids and sugar UniFR Chem 16:00
    June 6, 2019 Prof. Stefan Salentinig University of Fribourg, Switzerland Food- and digestion-inspired nano-biointerfaces for drug delivery AMI 16:00
  • 2017-2018
    Date Speaker Institution Title Place Time
    September 26, 2017 Dr. Andreas Herrmann Firmenich SA, Switzerland Photolabile Profragrances - from Organic Chemistry to Material Sciences AMI 16:00
    October 10, 2017 Prof. Cordt Zollfrank Technical University of Munich, Germany Biotemplating as a route to advanced structural and functional materials AMI 16:00
    November 7, 2017 Prof. Andreas Walther Albert Ludwigs University of Freiburg, Germany Static and dynamic bio-inspired self-assembled material systems AMI 16:00
    November 21, 2017 Dr. Claire Hansell Nature, London, UK Publishing science in Nature - an editor's perspective AMI 16:00
    November 29, 2017 Prof. Korin Wheeler Santa Clara University, California, US Insights into biomolecular interactions of engineered nanomaterials Dept of Chemistry, UniFR 17:15
    January 23, 2018 Dr. Erik Thiele DuPont Performance Materials, Geneva, Switzerland R&D in a global science company: How things work AMI 16:00
    May 23, 2018 Prof. Monika Ritsch-Marte Medical University of Innsbruck, Austria How SLM-based wavefront shaping impacts biophotonics, from holographic optical micro-manipulation to programmable microscopy AMI 16:00
    May 29, 2018 Prof. Niels Holten-Andersen MIT, Cambridge, MA, USA Bio-inspired metal-coordination crosslinking: easy access to broad dynamics when engineering polymer gel mechanics AMI 16:00
    June 5, 2018 Prof. Jochen Feldmann Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany Metal halide perovskite nanocrystals: 2D materials and supercrystals AMI 16:00
    June 29, 2018 Prof. Herbert Waite University of California Santa Barbara, US Long-term mussel adhesion depends on intricate extracellular redox controls AMI 16:00
  • 2016-2017
    Date Speaker Institution Title Place Time
    August 16, 2016 Prof. Ivan Huc University of Bordeaux, France Designing foldamers with predictable structures and dynamics AMI 16:00
    September 28, 2016 Prof. Timo L.M. ten Hagen Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands Nanoparticle-mediated drug delivery to treat cancer PER02 12:15
    December 13, 2016 Dr. Erika Eiser University of Cambridge, U.K. DNA driven colloidal aggregation at a liquid-liquid interface AMI 16:00
    December 20, 2016 Prof. Dr. Volker Mailänder Center for Translational Nanomedicine, Universitätsmedizin der Johannes-Gutenberg Universität Mainz, Germany Interaction of nanoparticles with proteins: the miracle of the stealth effect AMI 16:00
    February 21, 2017 Dr. Frederik Wurm Max Planck for Polymer Research Mainz, Germany Living polymerization to phosphorus-based or sequenced polymers AMI 16:00
    April 15, 2017 Dr. Rer. Nat. Daniel Kümin Institute of Virology & Immunology IVI, Mittelhäusern, Switzerland An Introduction to Biological Safety: AMI 16:00
    May 5, 2017 Prof. Dr. Thomas Scheibel Universität Bayreuth, Germany Engineering, processing and applications of structural proteins: The tale of spider silk AMI 16:00
    June, 13, 2017 Dr. Christiane Löwe University of Zürich, Switzerland Unintentional bias AMI 16:00
  • 2015-2016
    Date Speaker Institution Title Place Time
    September 22, 2015 Prof. Thomas Speck University of Freiburg, Germany Bio-Inspired Materials - Concepts and potential for application AMI 16:00
    October 20, 2015 Claudia Nussberger Partner Heidrick and Struggles, Zürich, Switzerland Women lead differently - is this statement right ? AMI 11:00
    November 3, 2015 Dr. Emmanuel Delamarche IBM Zürich Research Laboratory, Rüschlikon, Switzerland Tissue microprocessing using a microfluidic probe AMI 16:00
    November 12, 2015 Dr. Erwin Reisner Universtity of Cambridge, UK Bio-inspired hybrid materials for artificial photosynthesis AMI 16:00
    November 18, 2015 Prof. Silvia Vignolini University of Cambridge, UK Photonic structures in Nature Physics 0.51 17:15
    February 2, 2016 Prof. Alexandra Radenovic EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland 2D Nanopores from engineering to physics AMI 16:00
    March 10, 2016 Dr. Christof Fattinger Roche Innovation Center, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd, Basel, Switzerland Focal molography: the coherent detection of biomolecular interactions AMI 16:00
    April 12, 2016 Prof. Laura Hartmann University of Düsseldorf, Germany Making sequence-controlled glycopolymers for biomedical applications AMI 16:00
    April 26, 2016 US Ambassador Suzan LeVine Embassy of USA to Switzerland & Liechtenstein Valuing Innovation: Swiss and U.S. Approaches AMI 16:00
    May 11, 2016 Dr. Marco Cantoni CIME - EPF Lausanne, Switzerland State of the art of FIB nanotomography and FIB applications AMI 14:00
    May 11, 2016 Prof. Dr. Jens Gobrecht Laboratory for Micro- and Nanotechnology, Paul Scherrer Institut, Villigen, Switzerland Synchrotron-based EUV radiation for nanolithography and actinic mask inspection Physics 0.51 17:15
    June 28, 2016 Prof. Günter Reiter University of Freiburg, Germany Non-equilibrium properties of polymers in thin films AMI 16:00
  • 2014-2015
    Date Speaker Institution Title Place Time
    October 14, 2014 Prof. Makoto Fujita University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan Crystalline sponge method updated: X-Ray analysis without crystallization on the microgram scale Chemistry 17:15
    November 4, 2014 Prof. Dr. Jesus M. de la Fuente University of Zaragoza, Instituto de Nanociencia de Aragon, Spain Designing inorganic nanoparticles for theraphy and diagnosis AMI 16:00
    December 9, 2014 Prof. Jörg C. Tiller Technische Universität Dortmund, Germany Design of contact-active biocidal materials and bioswitchable antimicrobial polymers AMI 16:00
    December 10, 2014 Prof. Dr. Jan K.G. Dhont Forschunszentrum Jülich, Germany Colloids in electric fields and shear flow Physics 1.50 17:15
    February 24, 2015 Prof. Hans Börner Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Germany Bio-Inspired Polymers : An entire world in between plastics and proteins AMI 16:00
    April 14, 2015 Prof. Hannes C. Schniepp College of William & Marry, Williamsburg, VA, USA Brown recluse spider's nanometer scale ribbons of strong sticky silk AMI 16:00
    April 23, 2015 Prof. Karmen Franinovic Zürich University of the Arts, Switzerland Active materials in design and art research AMI 16:00
    May 29, 2015 Prof. Ulrich Wiesner Cornell University, Ithaca, USA Organic-inorganic hybrids AMI 16:00
    June 19, 2015 Prof. Thorsten Hugel University of Freiburg, Germany Molecular mechanisms of polymer friction and adhesi UniGE 10:30