In the following you will find a summary of the main research topics I am interested in. For a deeper dive into each topic, please explore the dedicated pages.
Active matter
Microorganisms, humans, and even robots share the capability of consuming energy to perform actions such as movement. This property leads to emergent collective behaviours seen in flocks, schools, and crowds, which sets these systems apart from those in thermodynamic equilibrium and earning them the designation of active matter. One important question in studying active systems is understanding how collective phenomena depend on the characteristics of the environment. In my research I aim on using light to create controllable environments and study their effect on the group dynamics of active colloids. Moreover, I am also interested in leveraging optical environments to study more fundamental aspects of phototaxis in microalgae.
figure credits:
- most of the icons for this figure are from the Noun Project;
- the idea of this figure was inspired by this review.
Optical computing
Optical computing takes advantage of the speed of light to process and transmit data much faster than traditional electronic computers. In particular, using wavefront-shaping tools and a scattering medium, it is possible to solve complex computational (NP) problems that otherwise would have intractable solve-times with classical computers. NP-problems are important in many fields of study from the physical to social sciences, with an archetypal example in finding the ground-state of an Ising spin-system. In my research, I focus on how to exploit optical tools to simulate Ising hamiltonians with controllable interactions.
figure credits:
- animation by Louis Delloye.
Fundamental optics
The study of light propagation in disordered media has attracted the interest of many researchers for its relevance to fundamental and applied problems, ranging from imaging through turbid media to the fabrication of white paint. Scattering in a disordered system is determined by the spatial distribution and the scattering properties of its building blocks. Historically, most efforts on scattering optimisation have focused on isotropic, high refractive index systems. In my research, I investigate the importance of anisotropy in increasing the scattering efficiency of a system, with a particular focus on low refractive index media and their use as sustainable materials.
figure credits:
- 3D image by Johannes Haataja.
Biological and bioinspired photonics
In nature, many organisms exploit microscale structures crafted from transparent materials to generate vivid colourations. Such colours result from the interaction of light with these architectures and span the entire visible spectrum without the need for pigments or colourants. By understanding the strategies designed bybiological systems, we can use biopolymers to fabricate materials that are sustainable and biocompatible.
