Dr. Sébastien R. Mouchet, winner of the 2018 Biomimetics Travel Award, is a postdoctoral fellow conducting research in the Natural Photonics group led by Prof. Pete Vukusic at the University of Exeter, UK, in collaboration with his former Ph.D. supervisor, Prof. Olivier Deparis, at the University of Namur, Belgium. His research focuses on fluorescence emission and coloration changes in natural photonic structures with the aim to develop bioinspired technological solutions for chemical sensing and biosensing.

Dr. Mouchet was awarded a 500 CHF prize to support his participation at the Living Light 2018 Conference in Cambridge, UK, 11–14 April 2018. The Living Light 2018 conference was organized this year by Dr. Silvia Vignolini (University of Cambridge, UK), an Editorial Board member of Biomimetics.

This biennial, interdisciplinary conference gathered together biologists, physicists, engineers, and chemists working in the field of natural photonics and bioinspired optics for four days of outstanding and insightful presentations. Dr. Mouchet presented his work on controlled fluorescence in beetles’ scales and structural color in Diptera, contributing both an oral and a poster presentation.

Read more about Dr. Mouchet’s research and his experience as an early-career researcher in our ‘Next Generation’ interview https://www.mdpi.com/2313-7673/3/2/10.

Dr. Sébastien R. Mouchet on controlled fluorescence in beetles’ scales. Image courtesy of Benjamin Droguet.

Dr. Sébastien R. Mouchet (left) on structural coloration in Diptera receiving his Travel Award certificate from Dr. Silvia Vignolini (right). Image courtesy of Miranda Sinnott-Armstrong.