My name is Benjamin Oliva (La Serena, Chile). My journey in science began when I wanted to become an astronomer because of the beauty of nebulas. In the end, I realized that learning more elemental physics would be the right path to feed my curiosity, and that's why I became a physicist at the Universidad de Chile.

During my formation, I stumbled upon the field of Active Matter, whose interdisciplinary nature made me pay more attention to biology. Finally, attracted again by the beauty of the phenomenon, is that I did my Master's thesis work on the experimental characterization of pattern formation in dense suspensions of magnetotactic bacteria. Then, aiming to apply my experimental experience and physics knowledge towards biological systems, I started my PhD at the Soft BioColloids group, under the supervision of Laura Alvarez. Here I'm studying the adsorption, dynamics and self-assembly of microparticles in lipid monolayers. Luckily, thanks to the coexistence of solid and liquid phases in the monolayer, I'm able to observe beautiful patterns again.

On non-scientific matters, I enjoy charcoal drawing, photography and playing drums. I think that although science is a powerful tool to explain nature, it can't access the subjective experience that each individual being has. That's where art becomes relevant, by serving as evidence of the existence of the inner world in the outside world.