The study of living matter has to be considered as an exciting and substantivepart of the modern definition of physics. Whether a general statisticalmechanics exists for broad classes of of active systems and what is thequantitative predictive power that we could expect from those theories remainstill open and debated questions. Reductionism and approximations, the mostpowerful weapons of theoretical physicists have to face a degree of complexitythat has no analogue in non living matter. That results in a number ofphenomenological parameters whose connection to microscopic quantities israrely supported by experimental data. Moreover some of the most peculiar andpotentially groundbreaking properties of active matter can only be evidenced inthe presence of external force fields and are still largely unexplored.We propose to combine frontier research tools for 3D holographicmicromanipulation and 3D two-photon microfabrication to gain an unprecedentedactive role in probing active matter dynamics, from few bodies interactions upto collective behavior. For example, we will study bacteria interactions bygrabbing, orienting and releasing individual bacteria in a sort ofbacteria-bacteria scattering experiments. On the other hand optical energylandscapes, which can be structured in space and time, will allow to studycollective response to the tunable and smooth fields that are particularlysuited for theoretical treatment. Furthermore two-photon lithography willallow the microfabrication of arbitrarily shaped 3D structures that will beused as probes for the highly non-trivial correlations and response functionsin non equilibrium active baths.Besides providing a playground for theoretical developments in non-equilibriumphysics, this project will explore novel opportunities to exploit activematter as a SMART material, capable of performing useful tasks in micro andnano engineered devices.