ImPhys colloquium | Roberto Cerbino & Rae Robertson-Anderson

Herewith we like to invite you for a combined ImPhys/BN seminar by Roberto Cerbino (University of Vienna) and Rae Robertson-Anderson (University of San Diego)

Extracting scattering information from microscopy data (Cerbino)

Microscopy experiments extract quantitative data from samples in direct space, including structural (e.g., shape and spatial distribution of objects) and dynamic (e.g., object trajectories) information. In this talk, I will introduce a framework for analysing microscopy videos to derive insights in reciprocal space, similar to light scattering experiments. The focus will be mostly on differential dynamic microscopy (DDM), explaining its principles and highlighting key applications from the past ~15 years, such as protein and colloid sizing, colloidal gel and glassy dynamics, as well as bacterial and tissue dynamics.

Using Differential Dynamic Microscopy to probe dynamics of out-of-equilibrium biopolymer networks across spatiotemporal scales (Robertson)

Biopolymer networks are ubiquitous in living systems, providing mechanical and dynamical properties essential for myriad processes from mitosis to chemotaxis. How these networks respond, reconfigure, and adapt in response to internal and external forces is at the heart of their ability to perform diverse biological functions and inspire next-generation autonomous materials manufacturing. I will discuss how we couple differential dynamic microscopy with multi-spectral confocal microscopy and optical tweezers to elucidate the dynamical response of networks of biopolymers, including actin, microtubules and DNA, subject to internal motor-driven forces as well as external optically-driven strains. I will highlight emergent properties and unsolved mysteries.