The Mary Ann Mansigh Conversation series focuses of non-strictly technical topics of cultural interest for the simulation and modelling community. The format reflects the informative and informal nature of these sessions, with talks introducing the subject followed by a conversation between the speakers and the audience.
\r\nThe lecture series \"Mary Ann Mansigh Conversation series\" is co-organized by CECAM (https://www.cecam.org) and MARVEL (http://nccr-marvel.ch/) at EPFL.
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\r\nTuesday October 27, 2026, 15:00-18:00 CET
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\r\nArtificial intelligence is changing how algorithms are conceived, how software is written, and how its outputs are verified. This conversation takes stock of where the field of simulation and modelling stands today and opens a discussion on future directions and best practices — how to safeguard reliability and scientific creativity, how to adapt notions of authorship and ownership for AI-assisted code, and how to preserve and ideally enhance the rich commercial and academic software ecosystem that has driven the growth of computational science in research and development.
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\r\nWe invite submissions for contributed talks. If you would like to propose a contribution, please submit your abstract using this form. Deadline October 13, 2026.
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\r\nThe conversation will take place at EPFL, in room BCH 2103 and online.
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\r\nZoom link https://epfl.zoom.us/j/68443642155?pwd=ZPjdZw2KmHzeQ9Pu376iLb0OyMXCV8.1
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\r\nTentative program
\r\n15:00 Welcome and introduction
\r\n15:10 Georg Kresse, University of Vienna, Austria
\r\n15:30 Miguel Marques Ruhr, University Bochum, Germany
\r\n15:50 Michele Ceriotti, EPFL, Switzerland
\r\n16:10 Short break
\r\n16:20 Contributed speaker 1
\r\n16:35 Contributed speaker 2
\r\n16:50 Contributed speaker 3
\r\n17:05 Discussion
\r\n17:30 Apero for in person participants
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\r\nPrevious CECAM and MARVEL lectures can be found at
\r\nhttps://www.materialscloud.org/learn/sections/Btmngu/marvel-events
\r\nhttps://www.cecam.org/lectures
The Holcim Stiftung offers grants to outstanding young scientists to carry out excellent research (fundamental, applied, PoC and/or market-oriented) and scientific teaching in any discipline and field in Switzerland in view of acquiring a lecturer grade qualification or similar.
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\r\nPriority is given to projects:\r\n
The function of many materials, from biological tissues to industrial polymers, depends on how their nanoscale building blocks are arranged and aligned within a macroscopic structure, which is essential to understand but difficult to resolve: established high-resolution techniques typically access only small sample volumes, limiting the ability to capture structural or biological variability across extended, heterogeneous samples.
\r\nSmall-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) imaging probes local nanostructure by raster-scanning a focused synchrotron beam across a sample. This can be extended to resolve nanostructure orientation voxel-by-voxel in three dimensions in a method called SAXS tensor tomography, which we implement in our open-source software package Mumott. In this presentation, I will show how this approach, and its continued development, can be applied across different material systems.
\r\nFor injection-molded polymer packaging, SAXS imaging has resolved the layered anisotropic nanostructure important for its mechanical properties, and, combined with industrial processing simulations, the structure formation during thermal processing. Another example is bone, where resolving structure requires both three-dimensional information and sufficient sampling to capture biological variability. Combining 2D and 3D SAXS imaging, we studied regional differences in the human femoral neck, an anatomical site relevant to hip fractures, and, at higher resolution, resolved alternating chirality between neighboring lamellae within individual osteons, a structural feature proposed on mechanical grounds over a century ago.
\r\nThese examples illustrate how tensor tomography, extended beyond X-ray scattering to wide-angle diffraction and visible-light polarimetry, provides a route to resolving hierarchical structure across a wide range of material systems.
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\r\nBio: Marianne Liebi studied food science at ETH Zurich, where she also completed her PhD in 2013, followed by postdoctoral research at the Paul Scherrer Institute and MAX IV Laboratory, Lund. In 2017, she started her own research group at Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, and was appointed in 2021 as tenure-track Assistant Professor at EPFL, where she heads the Laboratory for X-ray Characterization of Materials (cam-X) within the Institute of Materials, in a joint position with the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI). Her research develops advanced X-ray and optical imaging techniques, centered on small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) in 2D and 3D, to resolve the hierarchical structure of materials ranging from fiber composites to pharmaceutical formulations and bone.
The final works of the Master’s students unfold as the outcome of individual journeys of research, exploration, and design. Each project traces its own path, yet together they open a shared field of questions about architecture today, spanning territory and public space, housing, industrial and cultural heritage, and architecture in the mountains. As the Final Juries take place, each project enters into dialogue with invited critics and faculty, revealing not only proposals, but also the questions, intentions, and explorations that shaped them.
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\r\nDates
\r\nFinal Juries: 07.-14.07.27
\r\nExhibtion: 07.-31.07.27
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\r\nVenue
\r\nRolex Learning Center
\r\nEPFL, Lausanne
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\r\nFinal Juries Timetable ↗︎
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\r\nCredits
\r\nProjects: Master's students in architecture, Exhibition: Zoé Bahy, Sophie Delhay, Corinne Waridel, Graphic design: Sandi Gazic & Roman Karrer, Event: Valérie Jacot-Descombes (MEDIACOM), Setting-up: ISS Team
The EPFL EcoCloud Center is proud to invite you to the Annual Event 2026.
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\r\nOnce again we will be welcoming you to Lausanne Palace.
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\r\nThe Event will feature a keynote presentation:\r\n
The Doctoral School is glad to invite all first-year PhD candidates to join the annual PhD Welcome Event!
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\r\nWhat to expect:
\r\n- Meet the EPFL doctoral community, the administrators of the doctoral school and programs, the PhD associations
\r\n- Discover the many EPFL services dedicated to supporting and counseling students and researchers
\r\n- Get useful insights about your doctoral journey at EPFL, and the resources available to help you
\r\n- Enjoy free food & drinks, and connect with PhD candidates from all our programs and campuses!
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\r\nWho is it for?
\r\n- The event is open to EPFL PhD candidates who enrolled after November 2025. Registration is required.
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\r\nPhD candidates working outside Lausanne are especially encouraged to join. This event is a golden opportunity to discover the Lausanne campus and meet your peers! You may request travel support: please contact us via the registration form.
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\r\nDirect link to the registration form
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\r\nWe look forward to meeting you on November 5th!
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\r\nThe Doctoral School Administration Team (EDOC)
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The brain forms a large recurrent spiking neural network with extremely high connectivity making time-dependent mean-field approaches valuable tools to translate the microscopic level of single-neuron dynamics to the mesoscopic or macroscopic level. In recent years, experimental data as well as simulation studies have highlighted the importance of low-dimensional macroscopic dynamics in large recurrent spiking networks. On the theory side, the notion of low-rank connectivity has shifted into the focus of interest.
\r\nThis meeting will to bring together researchers in mathematical and theoretical neuroscience who address the above topics from different perspectives.
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\r\nPhase 1
\r\nPublic lectures from Monday afternoon – Wednesday end of day
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\r\nPresentations will alternate between speakers with a physics and those with a math background so as to foster links between the two communities.
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\r\nPhase 2
\r\nTutorials for PhD students on Thursday and Friday.
The Swiss Centre for Applied Human Toxicology (SCAHT) has issued a call for proposals under its 2029-2032 Research Program to establish two Swiss regulatory toxicology flagship projects demonstrating how human-relevant New Approach Methodologies, mechanistic biomarkers, and integrated kinetics can support Next Generation Risk Assessment (NGRA).
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\r\nThe SCAHT research programme is focused on advancing applied toxicological research for regulatory use in areas of high concern to human health, with particular emphasis on female reproductive toxicity and chronic neurotoxicity with a focus on neurodegeneration.
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\r\nResearch areas
\r\n• Female Reproductive Toxicity Assessment
\r\n• Chronic Neurotoxicity Assessment with a Focus on Neurodegeneration
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\r\nWho can apply: Project lead must hold a position in research in a Swiss institution.
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\r\nFunding\r\n
The Innovate Cities & Infrastructure programme supports project-based research between researchers and practice partners to develop innovative solutions for sustainable urban development and resilient infrastructure.
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\r\nIt is a collaboration between the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) and ETH Zurich, with three objectives: \r\n
The 2026 Flagship call by Innosuisse and armasuisse supports research and innovation in security and defence, with a focus on dual-use technologies that benefit both civilian and defence applications.
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\r\nThe 2026 call focuses on three complementary technology areas critical to defence and secure mobility:\r\n