The Dutch national research funding agency NWO, Unilever and AMOLF are joining forces to organize an international symposium on Soft Matter Biomimetics. The symposium will take place on 16 November 2018 at the NWO Institute AMOLF in Amsterdam.

The symposium will focus on the translation of design concepts from living matter to designer soft materials. Cells and tissues comprise soft matter with unique functional properties: they are mechanically durable, adaptive, self-healing, and they can actively change shape and drive motion. In recent years there has been a rapidly growing interest in the physics of biological soft matter. In parallel, there has been a growing interest among the chemistry and materials science community to translate biological design principles to new materials such as ultra-tough hydrogels, stimuli-responsive materials and active materials that dissipate chemical energy. There are many exciting applications of soft matter biomimetics in areas ranging from food-structuring to regenerative medicine, soft robotics, and drug delivery devices.

In this symposium we aim to bring together leading scientists from the areas of soft matter physics, metamaterials, multiscale modelling, supramolecular chemistry, biophysics, and biology. We anticipate an audience of 80-100 scientists from the Netherlands and we are setting up an inspiring programme with around 10 international invited speakers.

Organizing committee:

• AMOLF: Prof. dr. Gijsje Koenderink, Prof. dr. Bela Mulder, Prof. dr. Huib Bakker, Prof. dr. Sander Tans
• Unilever R&D: Prof. dr. Simeon Stoyanov, Prof. dr. John van Duynhoven, Dr. Rob Groot, Dr. Luben Arnaudov
• University of Amsterdam: Prof. dr. Daniel Bonn, Prof. dr. Peter Schall
• Wageningen University & Research: Prof. dr. Jasper van der Gucht, Prof. dr. Frans Leermakers