Prof. Corinne Vebert, Université de Genève

Colloidal dispersions are ubiquitous in everyday life (e.g. ink, milk or blood) and
consist of mesoscopic particles, typically somewhere between ten nanometers and one
micrometer in size, suspended in a solvent. Since the experiments of Robert Brown
in 1827, in which he observed the irregular 'Brownian motion' of small suspended
particles through his microscope, colloidal systems have proved a constant attraction
to theorists from various disciplines (Einstein, Langevin, Smoluchowski, Onsager ...).
Much of the appeal of colloidal systems arises from the fact that, in many ways, they
behave like giant atoms, but with length- and time-scales which are much more accessible
to experiment than their atomic counterparts. Colloidal dispersions provide flexible
model systems, which enable fundamental phenomena both in and out of equilibrium to be
addressed.

In this talk I will discuss some recent progress in my ongoing theoretical effort to
understand the nonequilibrium behaviour of simple model colloidal systems, with emphasis
on the use of mechanical shearing as a means to drive the system out of equilibrium. 
Of particular interest will be the nature of the two-point correlation functions in the
nonequilibrium steady state and the stress relaxation of colloidal glasses following the
cessation of flow.

Prof. François Diederich, ETH Zürich

Laura Menotti & Tobias Kuhnt, Adolphe Merkle Institute

Prof. Marco Lattuada, Adolphe Merkle Institute, Marly

Prof. Carl Lineberger, University of Colorado @ Boulder

Prof. Michael Maskos, Mainz University/Institut für Mikrotechnik Mainz GmbH, Germany

Prof. Oliver Wenger, Universität Basel