About the lectureThe role of predation in the microbial world is like that in the macroscopic world: it makes energy flow to form food webs, regulates prey population, and is a source of biodiversity. However, mechanistically, predation operates very differently since in the microbial world viscosity impedes predator-prey contact, there is no vision to facilitate prey (and predator) perception, and observed behaviours are often counterintuitive. I will demonstrate how planktonic predators, from few micron-sized nanoflagellates to mm-sized copepods, have overcome the impeding effect of viscosity by a fascinating diversity of adaptations, and how microbial predators have balanced the fundamental problem of eating without themselves being eaten. I will show how this trade-off has driven an evolutionary arms race between diatoms and copepods with important consequences for the biological carbon pump. Finally, I will describe how the functional diversity of foraging in flagellates provides a new lens through which to explore early eukaryotic evolution. The presentation will be light on physics and rich in videos and animations.About the speakerThomas Kiørboe is a professor of Biological Oceanography at DTU Aqua. He has been the founder and leader of VKR centre of excellence Centre for Ocean Life (2012-2024) (www.oceanlifecentre.dk) and leader of a Research network (Trait-based plankton ecology, 1993-2013) supported by the Danish Research Council, and head of section at DTU Aqua (2008-13). His research interests span plankton ecology and biogeography, small-scale biological-physical interactions, microbial ecology, trait-based ecology, marine snow, and early eukaryotic evolution. He has been a visiting professor at MIT, UC Berkeley, and CSIC in Spain, and an adjunct professor at SDU (2006-2010). He is an Elected Fellow of Royal Danish Academy of Science and Letters and The Danish Academy for Technical Sciences, and the recipient of multiple national and international awards and accolades, including the AG Huntsman award and the Carlberg Foundation research prize.The event is organized by Donald Canfield
About the lecture:The concert and lecture will present 300 years of musical history through compositionsfrom the vast and rich piano repertoire. Masterpieces by Johann Sebastian Bach, Ludwig van Beethoven,Franz Liszt, and Claude Debussy will be performed and analysed to deepen both ourunderstanding and emotional perception of the music. Birch’s Astronomic Piano Pieces willtake the audience on a journey into space, thereby demonstrating a highly interesting, innovative,and unorthodox approach to music-making.All aspects of this remarkable instrument and its many possibilities will be explored — notonly the music itself, but also the piano’s technical development in relation to broader politicaland cultural movements throughout history.About the speaker:SVEN BIRCH was born in Denmark and studied piano at the DJM in Aarhus, where he graduated with a soloist diploma. Thanks to numerous scholarships, he was able to continue his studies in Vienna with Prof. Alexander Jenner. In addition, he attended masterclasses with renowned pianists such as Tatiana Nikolayeva, Conrad Hansen, John Lill, and Peter Feuchtwanger.As a sought-after pianist, Birch possesses an extensive repertoire ranging from the Renaissance to contemporary music. He is active as a soloist, chamber musician, accompanist, and composer, and has performed throughout Europe, North and South America, and Asia. Among his major projects is the performance of the complete cycle of Beethoven’s 32 piano sonatas.Since 1992, Professor Sven Birch has been teaching at the Anton Bruckner Private University in Linz. From 1996 to 2004, he also taught at the Mozarteum University in Salzburg.He is a member of the George Crumb Trio Linz and the Georgiadis-Birch flute and piano duo. He regularly conducts concerts and projects, and he serves as the conductor and artistic director of the ensemble Lézard aux Plumes in Linz.He is frequently invited to give masterclasses and workshops (Sibelius Academy Helsinki, Chopin Academy Warsaw, Royal Academy Manchester, as well as universities in Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro, Beijing, Riga, Tallinn, Aarhus, Rome, Milan, and Seville) and has produced numerous CD, television, and radio recordings.The event is organized by Anne-Marie Mai & Andreas Birch
Academic Workshop:Illness, Narrative, and the Politics of VulnerabilityReflections on professor Tore Rem's book, Tidligere frisk mann, Previously Healthy Man: A Story of Illness, 2025We warmly invite scholars, researchers, healthcare professionals, and graduate students to participate in a workshop devoted to the literary, cultural, and political dimensions of illness narratives, taking Tore Rem's remarkable book Previously Healthy Man: A Story of Illness as its point of departure. The book is written in Norwegian, but the workshop will take place in English, and the workshop is open to all interested participants, regardless of whether they have read the book. After collapsing during a football match in 2014, Rem was diagnosed with the rare autoimmune disease cardiac sarcoidosis, an experience that transformed him from a healthy and active citizen into what he describes as a member of "the realm of the sick." Through his account of living with uncertainty, intensive treatment, bodily change, and repeated encounters with mortality, Rem develops a powerful literary reflection on illness, vulnerability, care, and the meaning of being human. The workshop will explore questions such as:[list][*]How does serious illness reshape personal identity and self-understanding?[*]In what ways are illness and vulnerability social and political rather than merely individual conditions?[*]How can literature and reading contribute to medical practice and public discussions of health?[/list] Through interdisciplinary discussion, we aim to bring together perspectives from literary studies, medical humanities, narrative medicine, sociology, cultural studies, and healthcare practice.We look forward to an engaging exchange of ideas on one of the most fundamental yet often overlooked dimensions of human existence: our shared vulnerability. Tore Rem will open the workshop by a short introduction. Moderator: Professor Anne-Marie Mai Tore Rem is professor of English Literature at the University of Oslo and one of Norway’s most distinguished biographers and literary scholars. He is the author of acclaimed biographies of Jens Bjørneboe, King Olav V, and Knut Hamsun: Journey to Hitler. He is director of UiO:Democracy, the University of Oslo's interdisciplinary research initiative dedicated to the study of democracy, public discourse, citizenship, and democratic culture.
Quantum Advantage to AI Supremacy by Volodymir Zenin, Shailesh Kumar and Torgom YezekyanAbout the event:In the series of three presentations by young scientists, Volodymir Zenin, Shailesh Kumar and Torgom Yezekyan from SDU Nano Optics, we intend to illustrate the basic underlying concepts involved in quantum optics, especially quantum computing and communications, by using a simple (pedestrian level) language and conducting real and gedanken experiments. We’ll endeavor to answer, or at least start answering, questions like:What is quantum about light? Can one see/feel any signs of quantum light in real life? What is so special about quantum computing/communications? Do we really need quantum computing/communications? How does AI come into all this?The idea is to make the realities of quantum revolution we are witnessing nowadays just a bit more understandable and tangible, i.e., more real. About the speakersShailesh Kumar is an Associate Professor at SDU Nano Optics, University of Southern Denmark. His research focuses on quantum nanophotonics, particularly solid-state single-photon emitters, metasurfaces, nanoantennas and integrated photonic structures. He develops ways to control the emission rate, directionality, polarization and spatial modes of quantum light, with the aim of creating compact sources of structured and entangled photons for quantum technologies. Dr. Vladimir Zenin received his Ph.D. in Energy and Environmental Technologies from the University of Southern Denmark in 2014. Since joining the Nano Optics group, his research has focused on scanning near-field optical microscopy (SNOM), progressing from fiber-based collection-mode SNOM with in-house fabricated probes to advanced scattering-type SNOM.His work applies SNOM to precise nanoscale characterization of optical properties in advanced materials, including gold monocrystals and van der Waals materials. Dr. Zenin has published extensively in high-impact journals and regularly presents his research at international workshops and conferences. Dr Torgom Yezekyan is an Assistant Professor at the Centre for Nano Optics, University of Southern Denmark (SDU). He received his PhD in Physics in 2019 from Yerevan State University where his work focused on the theoretical investigation of interactions between quantum emitters and plasmonic structures. His current research centers on experimental studies of nanoscale light–matter interactions, with an emphasis on passive and active plasmonic and photonic systems.The event is organized by Sergey I. Bozhevolnyi.
