The second network-wide training activity, organised by the University of Cambridge, took place from the 5th to the 8th of September at Corpus Christi College in Cambridge, UK. This symposium was a significant event mainly for two reasons: it was celebrated in memory of Prof Mark Warner, FRS, and it was the first in-person STORM-BOTS network-wide event.
The symposium was organised as a hybrid event, in which sessions were held presential and online for those members and external attendees who could not join in person. As in the previous symposium, the structure of the symposium was organised into two segments:
- The open part included training activities for project members and external attendees. Members of the STORM-BOTS consortium and renowned invited speakers offered lectures and courses on the theory of Liquid Crystal Elastomers, digital science, and computational tools for soft robotics, as well as workshops on transversal skills such as science communication and dissemination.
- The internal part was dedicated to presentations of the ESRs, meetings with the ESR Supervisory Teams (ESTs) and collaborative and management activities. There was also a joined session on Liquid Crystals and LC Elastomers, celebrated in the memory of Prof Mark Warner, organised with the 6th Edwards Symposium at the Centre for Mathematical Sciences, Cambridge.
The agenda for the open segment of the symposium can be found here:
Monday 5th Sept 2022
Parker Room, Corpus Christi College
09:00 – 09:15 Welcome (John Biggins, UCam; Carlos Sánchez Somolinos, CSIC)
09:15 – 10:45 Theory of LCEs by Dr John Biggins, UCam, UK
11:00 – 12:30 How to give a talk by Ms Nicola Cavaleri, UCam, UK
13:30 – 14:30 Digital Science by Ms Penelope Jones, UCam
14:30 – 15:30 Biomimetic-based robotics by Prof Antonio DeSimone, SSSA, Italy
16:00 – 17:00 How to write a paper by Prof Tim Wilkinson, UCam, UK
17:00 – 18:00 Biomimetic-based robotics by Prof Antonio DeSimone, SSSA, Italy
Tuesday 6th Sept 2022
Parker Room, Corpus Christi College
09:00 – 11:00 Theory of LCEs by Dr John Biggins, UCam, UK
11:00 – 12:30 Workshop: Experimental Design by Dr Daniel Curulla, ViD, Spain
13:30 – 15:00 Science communication and outreach by Dr Lisa Jardine-Wright, UCam, UK
15:00 – 16:00 Experimental Design by Dr Daniel Curulla, Value in Data, Spain
16:30 – 17:30 Theory of LCEs – Optical effects by Prof Peter Palffy, Kent State Univ., USA
These have been four important and productive days for all the Network members, especially the ESRs. It was the first in-person network-wide event and an excellent opportunity to bond the network lines and disseminate the project. We all look forward to the next Network-wide event in Pisa, Italy.
