Science by the sea: how nanoengineering met mechanobiology in Camogli

A late summer evening of four years ago I was sitting on a small, stony beach in Camogli, a few kilometers east of Genova, on the coast of the Ligurian Sea. A line of stairs had led me to that corner of paradise through the narrow space between two tall and lightly colored buildings. Facing the sea. Lingering under the last rays of sun, I looked up above. Large windows on a wall were framing what appeared to be a small conference room. I could see a man at the far side of it. From his gestures I realized he was giving a seminar, the audience hidden to me. After few minutes, I distinguished a handclapping and more people came in sight. A man and a woman, attracted like I was by the sunset in front of us, appeared on the front terrace, directly hanging on the sea. Light faded, and the streets behind claimed me back to the village. A few days later I left Camogli, the sea, and that summer. The image of the conference and the pair on the terrace very vivid in my memory. Later that year, at a dinner in Zurich, I was introduced to Massimo Vassalli, friend of a friend and fellow scientist visiting from Genova. Our shared research interests became immediately evident. We both were leading groups that developed engineering technologies for the application to biological and medical investigations. Mechanobiology was our common field. How we never met at a conference? At the time Massimo was applying advanced Atomic Force Microscopy methods to the study of membrane mechanosensors (Soattin et al. 2016) while I was excited about the development of a nanoprinting technology to generate a novel Traction Force Microscopy platform (Bergert et al. 2016). So, Force Microscopy was for both, yet a single foreword divided our two scientific communities. We realized that technology developers, i.e. the engineers, and their adopters, the biologists and medical doctors, had very little occasions to meet and discuss at international congresses. Each category attended specialized meetings, where different scientific languages are spoken, further marking the divide. Based on that dinner chat, Massimo had the brilliant idea of creating a venue where researchers in nanoengineering with interest in biological applications and biologists open to innovative technologies could meet, discuss and develop new ideas. Yes - said I - but where? We have some facilities in Camogli. - Massimo replied. The couple on the terrace was now smiling at me. A year later, Aldo Ferrari and Massimo Vassalli made it real. At the verge of Spring 2016, the picturesque venue of the fishermen village was ready to open its doors to the first Nanoengineering for Mechanobiology (N4M) symposium. A nascent community of more than 40 scientists, interested in advanced technologies to study the role of forces and mechanics in biology, gathered to Camogli. Since those early days, the atmosphere of the conference was maintained very informal, fostering interactions and leaving much space for questions and plenary discussions. In keeping with this philosophy, N4M evolved from the first pioneering experience to a broader event. In March 2017, it was organized in collaboration with the European project NICHOID (ERC Consolidator Grand led by Maria Teresa Raimondi at Politecnico di Milano) with the participation of 26 speakers and 60 attendees from more than 10 different countries. In 2018 and 2019, the N4M symposium further expanded, counting 70 and 80 attendees, respectively. Each event left us with a feeling of scientific enthusiasm, already looking forward to the next edition. We were not alone. In these years, several participants returned to Camogli. Their attendance to multiple editions contributed to set what is now a traditional scientific event. At