The possibility to manipulate light-matter interaction and fabricate novel materials with tailored optical response, such as maximum diffuse reflectance (whiteness), uniformly scattered colour response or controlled opacity, are essential for next generation devices and coatings, but also key to understand the fundamentals of light transport in complex media. In this context, nature can be not only a source of inspiration in the design of novel optical structures, but it can also serve as a primary source of materials.

My intrest is to develop an understanding of light scattering and transport behavior in complex systems ranging from natural structures, such as bacteria colonies that assemble to form iridescent colors from bragg scattering, to artificial materials, such as photonic glasses which are random assemblies of colloidal particles showing resonant light transport behavior and angle-independent structural colors.

In my PhD I worked on fundamental multilpe light scattering effects such as Anderson localization and Coherent Backscattering. Now I use my scattering know-how to understand how nature optimises such nanomaterials in order fabricate new bio-inspired materials with biopolymers.