Programme MESA+ Meeting 2026

08.30

Doors open 

09.00

Opening by prof.dr.ir. Hans Hilgenkamp (MT MESA+) and prof.dr. Tom Veldkamp (Rector Magnificus)

09.15

Prof.dr. Rao Vutukuri (University of Twente (Active Soft Matter group)
Designing Life-Like Matter: From Swimming and Swarming to Shape-Shifting Vesicles

Biography
I am an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Science and Technology at the University of Twente, where I lead the Active Soft Matter Group. My group explores how simple physical principles generate life-like behaviours such as autonomous motion, dynamic self-organization, and adaptability. To address these questions, we develop biomimetic model systems, including artificial microswimmers and active lipid vesicles, to study matter far from equilibrium. By combining soft matter physics, biophysics, materials science, and real-space imaging, we aim to uncover fundamental mechanisms and translate them into reconfigurable, adaptive, bioinspired materials. Supported by prestigious grants including an ERC Consolidator Grant and an NWO-M1 grant, our research has been published in leading journals such as Science, Nature, PNAS, Nature Physics, Nature Communications, and ACS Nano.

10.00

Prof. dr. Clivia M. Sotomayor Torres (International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory)
Title: tba

10.45

Poster session and coffee/tea 

11.40

Parallel session on 

• Deep Tech Materials, chaired by Gertjan Koster & ….. (tba)
• BioMicroSystems, chaired by Mathieu Odijk & Liliane Moreira Teixeira (tbc)

13.00

Lunch and poster session 
Please ensure that you place your sticker on the poster of your choice before the end of the lunch break.

14.10

Parallel sessions on:

• Future of Compute, chaired by Wilfred van der Wiel
• Energy & Sustainability, chaired by Guido Mul (tbc) & Frederik Wurm
• NanoLab, chaired by Roald Tiggelaar & Peter Linders

15.30

Poster session and coffee/tea

16.30

Prof. Peter Budd (University of Manchester)
Polymers of Intrinsic Microporosity (PIMs) and their applications

Biography
Peter Budd is a Professor of Polymer Chemistry at the University of Manchester. He studied at Manchester for his BSc in Chemistry (1978) and his PhD in Polymer Chemistry (1981). After eight years as a research chemist at the BP Research Centre, Sunbury-on-Thames, he returned to Manchester in 1989. His research involves the development of novel polymers for a variety of applications, including molecular separations by membrane processes. He is a co-inventor of the class of polymers referred to as Polymers of Intrinsic Microporosity (PIMs).

https://personalpages.manchester.ac.uk/staff/Peter.Budd/

17.15

Presentation MESA+ poster prizes / MESA+ Outreach Award / MESA+ photo contest

17.45

Drinks and finger food and concert by MESA+ Houseband