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Bio-inspired and bionic materials for enhanced photosynthesis

Past Events 

 

BEEP Summer School 19-25 September 2022 

After two years of virtual meetings and long-distance collaborations, the BEEP consortium finally met in person for the first time at the BEEP Summer School. The event was held at the Grand Hotel Riviera, located on the seafront of Santa Maria al Bagno, in the province of Lecce, Italy. The ITN members were joined by other researchers from different institutions. The BEEP Summer School has been a great opportunity for researchers of all stages to exchange around the topic of bio-inspired materials from the biology, chemistry and physics points of view to the technological applications. Senior researchers with an established career in science have come together with early-stage scientists during a dynamic and exciting week of workshops, round tables, discussions and activities. It has been a fruitful time for collaboration and exchange between researchers of different horizons and career levels, gathered by a common interest around bio-inspired materials for a novel future where we can help tackle current challenges. Keynote talks from the BEEP industrial partners and from invited speakers have expanded on topics from state-of-the-art scientific instruments to model organisms in photoactive material studies and novel research in bio-inspired materials.

 

BEEP at the Science Festival in Genova 21 October-1st November 2022 

Our students had the great chance to present the BEEP project at the Science Festival in Genova, one of the major international scientific events, which is held every year. At the Festival della Scienza, our researchers could engage with a large audience and stimulate the interest of visitors of all ages and all levels of knowledge. Our ESRs prepared and delivered a workshop 'Comunicate with colours -Structural underwater colours' . They showed the audience some of the most vibrant colours in marine organisms, including the amazing fluorescent anemones,and explained structural colours using soap bubbles and opals. They also showed how to make hydrogels, some cool examples of iridescent marine bacteria and seaweeds, and they offered the opportunity for people to look at the astonishing diatoms architectures under the microscope! Some of our students also gave a short talk focused on structural colour in seaweeds at Palazzo Ducale. 

 

 

BEEP Training Workshop on Career Development and Preparation for Job Applications

13 June 2023, Natural History Museum, London

The workshop had the objective to prepare the fellows for their job searches, by focusing on their skills, exploring options in and outside academia and hands-on application training, delivered by the career advisor Marloes Tijssen.

 

 

 

BEEP Annual Meeting, 14-15 June 2023, Natural History Museum, London

The BEEP consortium met in London, in the stunning setting of the Natural History Museum, to discuss the progress of the research projects and share views on future directions.

We have also had the unique opportunity to visit some of the museum collections, such as the macroalgae, the bryozoa and the herbarium collections.