Detailed Information

Silvia Vignolini
Professor of Physics
Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces
Potsdam, Germany

Abstract
When we think of light management in nature, photosynthetic organisms like plants and algae often come to mind, as they are well-studied for their finely tuned architectures designed to harvest light efficiently. Yet, the reality of light management in living systems is far more intricate. Beyond light capture, organisms must also balance photoprotection, and in many cases, the organism’s survival hinges on cooperation across species to manipulate light.
In this seminar, I will provide examples of the remarkable diversity of light management strategies found in marine ecosystems, ranging from consortia of unicellular algae and bacteria to highly integrated symbiotic relationships in marine slugs and corals. These natural systems reveal how evolution has shaped complex solutions to regulate and exploit light, also in the context of communication across different species. Finally, inspired by these biological systems, I will share our recent advances in designing “artificial symbiotic materials”, possibly enabling new possibilities in light-responsive materials and biohybrid technologies.

Biography
Silvia Vignolini is the Director of the Sustainable and Bio-inspired Materials Department at the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces in Potsdam and a University Professor in Sustainability and Bio-inspired materials at the Chemistry Department in Cambridge. She studied Physics at the University of Florence, Italy. In 2009, she was awarded a PhD in Solid State Physics at the European Laboratory for non-Linear Spectroscopy and the Physics Department at the University of Florence. In 2010, she moved to Cambridge as a post-doctoral research associate working in the Cavendish Laboratory and the Plant Science Department. Her research interest lies at the interface of chemistry, soft-matter physics, optics, and biology. In particular, her research focuses on the study of how biopolymers are assembled into complex architectures within living organisms and how they can be exploited to fabricate a sustainable functional materials.

Location
Leuchs-Russell Auditorium, A.1.500, Staudtstr. 2
Location details