Ideas in conversation · Recorded talks
Talks
From black holes and the collective behaviour of matter to the meeting points of science, society and culture. Explore my recorded research seminars, public talks, conversations and interviews.
Public talks
3 recordings
15 minFrom science to society and back
TEDxAUCollege · Amsterdam
A personal journey through research, art, culture and nightlife, and the connections that can bring science into a closer dialogue with society.
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30 minGravity: a physics perspective
Act of Gravity · Science & Cocktails
From Newton and Einstein to string theory: an invitation to explore gravity alongside an artistic performance. Part of a series of four public talks in Copenhagen and Aarhus in June and September 2022.
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20 minScience & Cocktails
Science Communication LIVE · FENS
How can science become part of a night out? A presentation of Science & Cocktails and its approach to bringing research, music and nightlife together, recorded at the FENS neuroscience conference.
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6 recordings
RecordingBringing life to high-energy physics and back
Simons Center for Geometry and Physics · Stony Brook
Hydrodynamics for driven open systems: connecting high-energy methods with non-equilibrium physics, energy exchange and steady states that continually produce entropy.
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78 minMagnetohydrodynamics and higher-form symmetry
Galileo Galilei Institute · Florence
A research seminar on dissipative hydrodynamics, magnetohydrodynamics and higher-form symmetry, recorded during the Relativistic Fluid Dynamics workshop.
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91 minHydrodynamics at all scales: from relativistic to Carroll
Erwin Schrödinger Institute · Vienna
A review of hydrodynamics as an effective field theory, exploring how symmetries and their breaking organize fluid behaviour, from relativistic systems to Carrollian and fractonic theories.
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74 minTowards a hydrodynamic theory for condensed matter systems
HoloTube · Online seminar
A framework for electronic crystals and other materials that brings together disorder, pinning, diffusion and plasticity, with a focus on the transport signatures of dislocations.
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82 minFluid membranes in Newton–Cartan geometry
Indian string theory network · Online seminar
Connecting black-hole physics and soft matter through non-relativistic geometry. The recording is titled “From black holes to soft matter systems using non-relativistic geometry”.
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RecordingBlackfolds
Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics · Santa Barbara
A joint discussion with Niels Obers on blackfolds, the effective description of thin black branes, during the programme Bits, Branes, Black Holes.
Watch recording ↗Panels & conversations
2 recordings
119 minBlack Hole Mysteries
Science & Cocktails · DR Koncerthuset, Copenhagen
A public conversation about black holes with Clifford Johnson, Sera Markoff, Alessandra Buonanno, Vitor Cardoso and Alexandru Lupsasca. I organised, moderated and narrated the event.
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168 minThe case of the (still) mysterious universe
CERN 70 · Strings 2024
A journey through what physics has revealed about the universe and the mysteries that remain. I joined as moderator, narrator and speaker for this public event marking CERN’s 70th anniversary.
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4 recordings
1:08Act of Gravity: gravity, spacetime and dance
Recoil Performance Group · Act of Gravity
In this short interview accompanying the dance performance Act of Gravity, I explain gravity as the geometry of spacetime and connect these ideas to movement and our perception of the world.
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1:57The importance of black holes
Science & Cocktails · Black hole documentary series
Why do black holes matter? A short documentary interview exploring their importance for our understanding of gravity and the universe.
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9:06What is inside a black hole?
Science & Cocktails · Black hole documentary series
What lies beyond the event horizon? A short interview exploring the question of what is inside a black hole.
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5:07Explanation of a Penrose diagram for a Schwarzschild black hole solution
Science & Cocktails · Black hole documentary series
How can a diagram capture the structure of a black hole? I explain the Penrose diagram of the Schwarzschild solution and what it tells us about spacetime.
Watch interview ↗Talks archive
Research seminars, invited lectures, journal clubs, public talks and panel appearances from my CV, from 2009 onwards. Event and recording links are included where available.
2026
September 2026Public engagement
Moderator, organiser, and narrator of the panel discussion Emergence, Cosmic Origins and Collective Patterns at Science and Cocktails, held at Paradiso, Amsterdam, September 2026.
August 2026Public engagement
Moderator, organiser, and narrator of the panel discussion Black Hole Mysteries at Science and Cocktails, held at DR Koncerthuset, Copenhagen, August 2026.
June 2026Research
Talk, Dissipative magnetohydrodynamics with higher-form symmetry for high-energy astrophysics and the quark-gluon plasma, Belgian high-energy physics annual meeting, Antwerp, June 2026.
June 2026Research
Talk, Fluctuating hydrodynamics of driven open systems, part of the workshop on Correlated quantum systems near and far from equilibrium, Institut Pascal, Orsay, June 2026.
May 2026Research
Talk, Social matter: hydrodynamic modelling of social behaviour, Complexity Science Hub Vienna, May 2026.
May 2026Research
Talk, Social matter: hydrodynamic modelling of social behaviour, SODAS, University of Copenhagen, May 2026.
May 2026Public engagement
Talk, Developing large scale science cultural events, Science Museum Amsterdam (NEMO), part of the Science Communication Workshop organised by NIKHEF, May 2026.
January 2026Research
Talk, Hydrodynamics at zero temperature, Nordita, Stockholm, January 2026.
January 2026Research
Colloquium, Hydrodynamics and collective behaviour across scales, Nordita Niels Bohr Colloquium, Stockholm, January 2026.
2025
October 2025Research
Talk, Interdisciplinary physics, Kaleidoscope talk for MSc students at the University of Amsterdam, October 2025.
May 2025Research
Talk, Bringing life to high-energy physics and back, talk at workshop Black Holes and Strongly Coupled Systems, Simons Center, Stony Brook, USA, May 2025, Recording.
May 2025Research
Talk, Conversations on Quantum Gravity, talk at the Dutch History and Philosophy of Science meeting, Amsterdam, May 2025.
April 2025Research
Talk, Magnetohydrodynamics and higher-form symmetry, talk at workshop Relativistic Fluid Dynamics, GGI Florence, Italy, April 2025, Recording.
March 2025Research
Talk, Chiral anomaly from spin hydrodynamics, talk at workshop on Chiral and Spin hydrodynamics, Trento, Italy, March 2025
March 2025Public engagement
Public talk, Emergence, at the InScience Festival, Nijmegen. Also part of the speed dating with film and art industry, March 2025.
February 2025Research
Talk, A new theory for the hydrodynamics of open driven systems, Leiden institute seminar, February 2025.
February 2025Research
Talk, Hydrodynamics across scales, inaugural lecture at the Niels Bohr Institute, February 2025.
2025Public engagement
Talk Developing large scale science communication platforms, Focus session at Physics@Veldhoven, Veldhoven 2025.
2024
November 2024Research
Talk, Hydrodynamics of Thermal active matter, seminar, Niels Bohr Institute, Biocomplexity seminar, November 2024.
September 2024Research
Talk, Odd viscosity, seminar, TU Eindhoven, September 2024.
July 2024Research
Talk, A dual formulation of magnetohydrodynamics, Astrocoffee seminar, U. Frankfurt, July 2024.
June 2024Public engagement
Moderator, narrator and speaker for the The case of the (still) mysterious universe, CERN, June 2024 in the occasion of the Strings 2024 conference and the 70th Anniversary of CERN.
April 2024Research
Review talk, Hydrodynamics at all scales: from relativistic to Carroll, part of the Thematic Programme: Carrollian Physics and Holography, ESI Vienna, April 2024, Recording.
April 2024Research
Talk, What is matter?, AMEP master students lunch, University of Amsterdam, April 2024.
March 2024Research
Talk, DIEP current activities, FAEME Sandpit, IAS, March 2024.
March 2024Public engagement
Public Talk, From science to society and back, TEDxAUCollege, Amsterdam, March 2024.
February 2024Public engagement
Public Talk, string theory, Science Cafe Wageningen, February 2024.
2023
December 2023Public engagement
Talk Building Science and Cocktails, Institute of Physics Symposium, Amsterdam, December 2023.
August 2023Research
Talk, Hydrodynamics and symmetries, Workshop on Emergent Dynamics, VU, Amsterdam, August 2023.
June 2023Research
Talk, Risk aversion promotes cooperation, DIEP seminar, Institute of Advanced Study Amsterdam, Netherlands, June 2023.
May 2023Research
Talk, Risk aversion promotes cooperation, Radboud Interfaculty Complexity Hub, University of Radboud Nijmegen, Netherlands, May 2023.
April 2023Research
Talk, Ideal fracton superfluids, University of Wurzburg, Germany, April 2023.
March 2023Research
Talk, Conversations on Quantum Gravity, University of Urbino, workshop on Quantum Gravity Epistemology at the Edge, Italy, March 2023.
March 2023Public engagement
Public talk On Emergence: from cells to black holes, Science Club of the Biology Department of the University of Copenhagen, March 2023.
February 2023Research
Talk, Towards a hydrodynamic theory for condensed matter systems, workshop on Beyond Lorentzian Geometry II, Edinburgh, February 2023.
November 2022 & February 2023Public engagement
Public talk From 10101010 to the whole universe in connection with theatre performance DATA DATA, and Science and Cocktails, November 2022, February 2023.
January 2023Research
Talk, Conversations on Quantum Gravity, Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, Berlin, January 2023.
2022
November 2022Research
Talk, Towards a hydrodynamic theory for condensed matter systems, HoloTube, Madrid (virtual), November 2022, Recording.
October 2022Public engagement
Public talk on The Physics of the Didgeridoo (half concert/half lecture) at the Thomas Bolander 50 year Symposium, DTU, October 2022.
June & September 2022Public engagement
Public talk Gravity: a physics perspective in connection with dance performance Act of Gravity, CPH stage and Science and Cocktails, June 2022 and September 2022 in Aarhus (total of 4 talks).
August 2022Research
Talk, A causal model of magnetohydrodynamics, Workshop What's new in Gravity?, Denmark, Aug 2022.
May 2022Research
Talk, Conversations on Quantum Gravity, Master students lunch University of Amsterdam, May 2022.
March 2022Research
Talk, A causal model of magnetohydrodynamics, Princeton Gravity Initiative, March 2022.
2021
November 2021Research
Talk, Magnetohydrodynamics, Netherlands Theory High-Energy Seminar, November 2021.
October 2021Research
Talk, Conversations on Quantum Gravity, International Society for Quantum Gravity, October 2021.
October 2021Research
Talk, Conversations on Quantum Gravity, NBI, October 2021.
March 2021Research
Talk, Topological hydrodynamic modes on curved surfaces, KEK, Japan (virtual), March 2021.
March 2021Research
Talk, Conversations on Quantum Gravity: philosophical issues, history and philosophy of science journal club (virtual), UvA, March 2021.
February 2021Research
Talk, Conversations on Quantum Gravity: a Teaser, string theory journal club (virtual), UvA, February 2021.
February 2021Research
Talk, Fluid membranes in Newton-Cartan geometry, Indian string theory network (virtual), February 2021, Recording.
2020
November 2020Research
Talk, An index theorem for topological hydrodynamic modes, Max Planck Institute, Dresden (virtual), November 2020.
November 2020Research
Talk, From black holes to fluid membranes via Newton-Cartan geometry, Non-Lorentzian virtual seminar series, November 2020.
August 2020Research
Talk, Higher-form hydrodynamics: from metastable branes to magnetohydrodynamics and viscoelasticity, IIT Kanpur, India (virtual), August 2020.
April 2020Research
Talk, Consistent Blandford-Znajek expansion, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen (virtual), April 2020.
February 2020Research
Talk, Geometries and instabilities of higher-dimensional black holes, Rencontres theoriciennes, Paris, February 2020.
February 2020Research
Journal club, A certain improvement of the Blandford-Znajek mechanism, U. Amsterdam, Amsterdam, February 2020.
2019
November 2019Research
Talk, Metastable antibranes and higher-form hydrodynamics, ICTP, Trieste, Nov 2019.
October 2019Research
Talk, Generalised global symmetries of magnetohydrodynamics, liquid crystals and holography, Nordita, Oct 2019.
May 2019Research
Talk, Instabilities of Black Rings, Utrecht, Workshop on Large-D black holes, Netherlands, May 2019.
May 2019Research
Talk, Hydrodynamics at all length scales: from black holes to biomembranes, Dalfsen, Trends in Theory, Netherlands, May 2019.
February 2019Research
Journal club, Non-extremal effective actions and metastable states, Amsterdam, string theory journal club, Netherlands, Feb 2019.
2018
December 2018Research
Talk, Hot electromagnetism and magnetohydrodynamics, NBI, Copenhagen, Dec 2018.
July 2018Research
Talk, MG15, Bending Energies for Lipid Membranes via Newton-Cartan Methods, Rome, Jul 2018.
May 2018Research
Talk, DIEP session during NWA Route 2 community building day, On the DIEP structure and concept: philosophy of emergence, Utrecht, May 2018.
May 2018Research
Talk, workshop Topology in Complex Fluids, Bending Energies for Lipid Membranes via Newton-Cartan Methods, Lorentz Center, Leiden, May 2018.
April 2018Research
Seminar, Tor Vergata, Black branes in Supergravity, Rome, Apr 2018.
April 2018Public engagement
Talk: Science & Cocktails: a new model for science outreach platforms, IoP lunch talks, UvA, Apr 2018.
March 2018Public engagement
Moderator of the panel debate for the world premiere of the documentary The Most Unknown during the CPH:DOX Science festival opening together with BBC journalist Britt Wray, March 2018.
2017
November 2017Research
Seminar, LMU Munich, Black hole horizon geometries and topologies in higher dimensions, Nov 2017.
November 2017Research
Seminar, ULB Brussels, Extremal black hole horizons, Nov 2017.
July 2017Research
Talk, conference String Theory and Quantum Gravity, Effective theories for black branes in supergravity and fluids carrying q-brane charge, Ascona, Jul 2017.
June 2017Public engagement
Talk at Anna Keersmaeker's dance studio about gravity and the universe for the elaboration of a dance performance together with Thomas Hertog, June 2017.
2016
October 2016Research
Journal club, ULB, Black holes at large D, Belgium, Oct 2016.
October 2016Public engagement
Talk: How to create a scientific cultural event?, Kulturtarnet, Copenhagen Oct 2016.
September 2016Research
Seminar, KUL, Effective theories for black branes in supergravity, Belgium, Sep 2016.
August 2016Research
Talk, conference Inward Bound, Effective theories for black branes in supergravity, Nordita, Stockholm, Aug 2016.
July 2016Public engagement
Talk: Science & Cocktails, invited by videnskab.dk – the biggest science news agency in Denmark – during the FENS conference on neuroscience, Jul 2016.
May 2016Research
Seminar, University of Durham, Effective theories for bubbles, branes and black holes, England, May 2016.
May 2016Research
Seminar, University of Southampton, Effective theories for bubbles, branes and black holes, England, May 2016.
April 2016Public engagement
Talks: a series of two inspirational talks given at Manuel de Arriaga High School, Horta, Azores Apr 2016.
March 2016Research
Seminar in Philosophy of Science: How to Interview Scientists, and Have Fun While You’re at It’ together with Associate Prof. Rasmus Winther, Copenhagen Mar 2016.
January 2016Research
Talk, workshop on Spacetimes with Anisotropic Scaling Symmetries and Holography, Effective theories for bubbles, branes and black holes, Chile, Jan 2016.
2015
December 2015Research
Talk, ULB end of year meeting, Effective theories for bubbles, branes and black holes, Brussels, Dec 2015.
October 2015Research
Seminar, University of Copenhagen, Effective theories for bubbles, branes and black holes, Oct 2015.
September 2015Research
Seminar, University of Witwatersrand, Effective theories for bubbles, branes and black holes, South Africa, Sep 2015.
September 2015Research
Seminar, University of Amsterdam, Effective theories for bubbles, branes and black holes, UvA, Sep 2015.
September 2015Research
Talk, conference The String Theory Universe, Membrane Hydrodynamics and Black Soap Bubbles, Leuven, Sep 2015.
July 2015Research
Talk, MG14, New Geometries for Black Hole Horizons, Rome, Jul 2015.
March 2015Public engagement
Talk: How to go beyond the cafe scientifique?, at science communication meetup, Copenhagen, Mar 2015.
2014
July 2014Research
Talk, conference Recent Developments in String Theory, Black holes and Biophysical membranes, Ascona, Jul 2014.
May 2014Research
Journal club, Black biology: black holes as cellular membranes, Bern, May 2014.
April 2014Research
Seminar, NIKHEF, Equilibrium partition functions and black probes in supergravity, Amsterdam, Apr 2014.
April 2014Research
Seminar, University of Groeningen, Equilibrium partition functions and black probes in supergravity, Apr 2014.
March 2014Research
Talk, conference New Frontiers in Dynamical Gravity, The Elastic expansion for Higher-Dimensional black holes, Cambridge, Mar 2014.
2014Public engagement
Talk: A night culture revolving around knowledge, at the 1st European Conference of Science Journalists, ESOF Copenhagen 2014.
2013
October 2013Research
Seminar, University of Barcelona, Hydrodynamics on embedded surfaces, Oct 2013.
September 2013Research
Seminar, conference String Theory Universe, Brane effective actions and Black Hole Elasticity, Bern, Sep 2013.
May 2013Research
Journal club, Black biology: black holes as cellular membranes, NBI, May 2013.
February 2013Research
Seminar, Kyoto University, (Electro)elasticity from Gravity, Feb 2013.
February 2013Research
Seminar, IPMU, (Electro)elasticity from Gravity, Feb 2013.
February 2013Research
Seminar, Nagoya University, Hot and Spinning Giant Gravitons, Feb 2013.
2012
October 2012Research
Talk, conference The Holographic Way, (Electro)elasticity from Gravity, Nordita, Oct 2012.
June 2012Research
Journal club, Superfluids from gravity, NBI, Jun 2012.
April 2012Research
Talk, workshop Bits, Branes and Black Holes, Blackfolds, KITP, Apr 2012.
March 2012Research
Talk, inaugural meeting of Models of Gravity, Elasticity of Black Strings, Bremen, Mar 2012.
2011
November 2011Research
Talk, Nordic meeting,The Young Modulus of Black Strings, NBI, Nov 2011.
May 2011Research
Journal club, Dipole Corrections to the Blackfold Approach, NBI, May 2011.
February 2011Research
Seminar, HRI, Blackfolds, India, Feb 2011.
February 2011Research
Seminar, TIFR, Blackfolds, India, Feb 2011.
2010
October 2010Research
Talk, conference on black holes in higher-dimensional gravity, Rod Structure of Asymptotically (A)dS Space-Times, Imperial College London, Oct 2010.
2009
November 2009Research
Talk, Nordic String Meeting ,Uniqueness Theorem for Black Hole Space-times with Multiple Disconnected Horizons, Nordita, Nov 2009.
May 2009Research
Journal club, Maximal Analytic Extension of the Black Ring, NBI, May 2009.