The Swiss French Final of the competition \"Ma thèse en 180 secondes (MT180)\" will take place this year at EPFL with 12 to 14 PhD students from Higher Education Institutions, among which three from EPFL. Their challenge ? Present their research in just 3 minutes to a non-specialist audience, in French, effectively and in an engaging way, all with just a single slide !
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\r\nThe winners of the EPFL Final Ali Mehdi Gadiri, Camille Lambert and Antoni Gralak will be present at the event. Save the date of 21 May and come to cheer on them !
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\r\nThe name of all Finalists and their Thesis will be known after the local Finals; you can find the dates on the website mt180.ch.\r\n
Thesis Directors: Prof. G. Boero, Dr H. Furci
\r\nMicrosystems and Microelectronics doctoral program
\r\nThesis Nr. 11256
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\r\nTo take part in the public defense, please contact directly the speaker
A hands-on introduction to the key concepts in image analysis for your everyday research!
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\r\nOpen to PhD students from all doctoral programs at EPFL, Swiss academic institutions and ETH domain.
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\r\nJune 8 to 12 2026
\r\nPalace de Caux, Montreux
\r\nPre-summer school Workshop will take place on June 4, 2026 (afternoon)
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\r\nMore info
\r\nApplication Deadline: March 1, 2026
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\r\nAre you a PhD student at EPFL, at another swiss academic institution or within the ETH domaine who regularly faces questions regarding the analysis of your images ? Do you want to learn more about practical concepts and tools to help you in this endeavor? Then our summer school in image analysis is for you! Throughout the week, a series of lectures will provide you with the essential concepts in image analysis – from the nature of digital images through the physics of image acquisition to the basics of deep learning, and more. In addition to these lectures, you will learn to use some popular image-analysis software during practical sessions.
You can apply to participate and find all the relevant information (speakers, abstracts, program,...) on the event website: https://www.cecam.org/workshop-details/complex-fluids-at-interfaces-structure-stability-and-molecular-effects-1492.
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\r\nRegistration is required to attend the full event, take part in the social activities and present a poster at the poster session (if any). However, the EPFL community is welcome to attend specific lectures without registration if the topic is of interest to their research. Do not hesitate to contact the CECAM Event Manager if you have any question.
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\r\nDescription
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\r\nComplex fluids are ubiquitous in biology, geophysics, and industry [1]. These materials are challenging to characterize and predict [1–4], particularly when they incorporate multiple interfaces, as in colloidal suspensions [4], foams [5–7], or nanoporous membranes [8–10]. Many of these interfaces are micro- or nano-scale and evolve over short times, which can obscure them to observation and pose challenges to experimentalists [2–5, 11, 12]. This opens exciting opportunities for a strong partnership between the development of novel theoretical, computational, and experimental techniques.
\r\nProbing interfaces presents unique challenges compared to probing complex fluids in the bulk. The interfacial structure and constitutive behavior then depend on the composition of two fluids as well as the interfacial configuration [13, 14]. Translating this increased complexity to a computational framework involves developing reliable models describing molecular interactions near fluid-fluid or fluid-solid interfaces [15–17], as well as models for continuum stresses [18]. Molecular modeling is necessary to reveal the physics of chemically-complex structures [17], but is computationally expensive, and it can be challenging to identify the relevant physics to include [19]. Yet the interface also provides unique opportunities for control: in liquid crystals, for example, interfacial stresses can be transmitted through the bulk, leading to novel pattern formation [20] and optical materials exploiting interfacial control [21]. Finally, interfaces are prone to instabilities, which can make flows unpredictable, but opens opportunities to exploit unstable growth for spontaneous patterning.
\r\nTo underscore the present challenges, even for a “simple” Newtonian fluid, the presence of an interface may hinder understanding of flow mechanics. For example, mechanisms for contact during drop impact are still debated [22]: molecular dynamics (MD) simulations can clarify which effects dominate among interfacial instabilities, electrostatic charge, gas-kinetic effects, and other driving forces [22–26], in addition to liquid/surface chemistry [27, 28]. Diffusive processes at interfaces [29] and nanoscale membrane flows, where osmotic and phoretic effects are significant [11, 30], also require further development in MD or coarse-grained models.
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\r\nThis workshop aims to foster exchanges around the following broad questions:\r\n