Invited speakers

Emily CARRINGTON, University of Washington, USA

Dr. Emily Carrington is a professor of Biology at the University of Washington and studies the mechanics, physiology, and ecology of organisms on wave-swept shores. 

Jacques DUMAIS, Adolfo Ibañez University, Chile

Jacques Dumais (Ph.D., Stanford University, 2001) is Professor in the Bioengineering Center at Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Chile.  Over the last two decades, research in the Dumais’ laboratory has focused on the biomechanics of plant movements and the development of new water acquisition technologies inspired by the unique plants found in the hyperarid Atacama Desert of Chile.

Michaela EDER, Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, Germany

Michaela Eder leads the research group Adaptive Fibrous Materials in the Department of Biomaterials, MPI of Colloids and Interfaces. She is interested in interactions between plant materials and the environment.

Andrew GROOVER, USDA Forest Service, USA

Andrew Groover is a Research Geneticist with the United States Forest Service and Adjunct Professor in the Department of Plant Biology at the University of California Davis. His lab investigates the growth and development of forest trees with an emphasis on wood formation.

Kaare JENSEN, Denmark Technical University, Denmark

Kaare H. Jensen is an Associate Professor in the Department of Physics at the Technical University of Denmark. He investigates plant biophysics and fluid-structure interactions.

Yuling JIAO, Institue of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Beijing, China

Yuling Jiao is a Research Group Leader at CAS Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology and investigates plant organ morphogenesis, including its biomechanical regulation.

Naomi NAKAYAMA, Imperial College London, UK

Naomi Nakayama is an associate professor in the bioengineering department of Imperial College London. She studies the design principles of plant structures at multi-scales, especially focusing on their structural functions.

Sarah ROBINSON,University of Cambridge, UK

Sarah Robinson is a David Sainsbury Career Development Fellow and Royal Society University Research Fellow at the Sainsbury Laboratory at the University of Cambridge. Her group is interested in understanding how plant growth is coordinated at a biomechanical level. A current focus is on how cell division changes the mechanical properties and mechanical stresses in the tissue and how this feeds back on to development.