One place, six conferences covering hot science trends. The main focus will be on Nanoscience & Nanotechnology in the fields of Graphene, Bio/Medicine, Optics, Photonics, Chemistry, Toxicology. Internationally renowned speakers will offer the attendees exceptional opportunities. The latest trends and discoveries in N&N from some of the world´s leading players in the field will be discussed.

Graphene2015

• Other 2 dimensional materials (Transition metal dichalcogenides, phosphorene, silicene, BN, topological insulators,....)
• Growth, synthesis techniques and integration methods
• Spectroscopies (Optics, Raman, EELS) and microscopies (HRTEM, STM, AFM)
• Chemistry of Graphene
• Quantum transport
• Magnetism and Spintronics
• Nanoelectromechanical systems
• Applications (gas sensors, composites, nanoelectronic devices...)

NanoSpain2015

NanoSpain Conference has been organized over the past 11 years and is a reference meeting of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (N&N) in Spain. Over the past years, NanoSpain conference became more and more multidisciplinary and 2015 won’t be an exception. Nanospain 2015 will change its format and will be divided into 4 thematic conferences in order to deepen the current research in different themes. The conference NanoSpain 2015 will also serve as a link between industry and researchers.

PPM2015: Photonics, Plasmonics, Magneto-Optics

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Topics

Nanomaterials and Biomaterials
Metallic and Inter-metallic materials
Electronic and Optoelectronic materials
Magnetic and Semiconductor materials
Electronic structure of materials
Thin films and applications
Ion beam irradiation on matters
Crystal Growth and Characterization
Ceramics, Polymeric & Composites materials
Smart materials and Sensors
Materials Characterization
Computational Modeling
Ionic and Catalytic materials
Structure of Organic and Inorganic materials

For further information is given in NCHSM2015.pdf. For a registration form click here

The Macromolecular Materials Gordon Research Conference (formerly "Polymers West") has a long-standing tradition as a GRC that features a breadth of the most exciting and state-of-the-art aspects of macromolecules. This tradition will continue in the 2015 Conference and discussion of new macromolecules that are stimuli responsive and even made from sulfur will be highlighted. Macromolecular assemblies, biomaterials and even textiles will be considered. The invited speakers represent a variety of disciplines from chemistry, physics and engineering who will consider macromolecular material synthesis, processing, properties, characterization and theory and simulation. An emphasis of topics considered in this meeting will be rheological properties and processing of macromolecular materials.

Macromolecules: From Synthesis to Application

The Gordon Research Seminar on Macromolecular Materials is a unique forum for graduate students, post-docs, and other scientists with comparable levels of experience and education to present and exchange new data and cutting edge ideas.

The focus of this meeting is to showcase innovative research from early career scientists working on novel materials synthesis routes, characterization methods or direct applications related to macromolecular materials research. The Macromolecular Materials GRS will provide an interdisciplinary forum for interaction and collaboration among colleagues in the areas of materials synthesis, characterization and processing.

This workshop is intended to capture current research interests regarding interfaces, domains, domain walls, vortices and skyrmions in ferroics as an emerging field in solid state physics and materials science.

Thematic areas

• Domains and domain walls
• Skyrmions
• Vortex, anti-vortex and vertex structures in ferroics
• Nanoelectronics using domain wall logic
• Nanoscale characterisation of ferroelectric, ferroelastic, magnetic and multiferroic materials
• Interface studies of ferroics

Functional materials, smart materials, intelligent materials â€" whatever your chosen terminology - will be a key pillar of 21^st century technology. In recent years, nanostructured materials and nano-composites have become increasingly important because of their remarkable properties and growing areas or practical application. Various aspects of the mechanical properties of nano-materials, plus analytical and computational modelling in combination with comprehensive experimental analysis of mechanical behavior, are yet to be fully explored. In spite of the rapid progress in this field, the mechanical properties of nano-materials and composites remain terra incognita in materials science. In the field of massive and complex manufacturing we are now in need of materials, with properties, that can be manipulated according to our needs.

This conference aims to comprise a cross disciplinary summit that transcends departmental, institutional, industrial, public and private research organizations and global barriers and lends itself to the integration of research and education in the vital field of advanced materials. The conference will focus on the sectors of advanced processing, material characterization, modeling and simulation, properties, performance and device fabrication.

Topics include:

• Characterization
• Amorphous materials
• Composites
• Computation and theory
• Electronic properties
• Materials chemistry
• Mechanical properties
• Metals and alloys
• Polymers and soft materials

As a part of the commemoration of the International Year of Crystallography, the Centre for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (CNSNT), Sathyabama University, is conducting this workshop.

Topics to be covered

• Crystallography and powder diffraction
• Characterization of nanomaterials using XRD
• Thin films (polycrystalline and epitaxial) and their characterization using XRD
  
• High temperature and high pressure XRS in materials science and metallurgy
  
• Applications of X-ray synchrotron radiation
  
• Grazing incidence X-ray reflectivity (XRR)
• Small molecule crystal structures
• Recent advancements in XRD
• XRD software for data analysis

The continuously growing interest in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (inducing the European Commission to consider them Key Enabling Technologie) well merges the new challenges they are able to foster, through the design of novel engineered nanomaterials, their structural aspects and multifunctional applications at a multiple scale, and the need for the development of highly focused, advanced physico-chemical characterization tools. The complexity of state-of-art nano-objects requires the synergistic collaborations of all actors differently contributing to the appealing Nanoworld.
To.Sca.Lake aims at stimulating such a synergy by inviting chemists, physicists, material scientists, biologists, mineralogists and all the interested scientists, from the Academia and the Industry, to join in the fascinating context of Villa del Grumello, a superb location overlooking the Como Lake. This workshop is mainly intended to draw the attention of the “nano” community towards the potentiality of Scattering Methods, spanning from Small and Wide Angle X-ray (SAXS and WAXS) to Low and Wide Angle Light Scattering (LALS and WALS) Techniques. Particular emphasis will be given to innovative Wide Angle X-ray Total Scattering (WAXTS) methods, in the form of the Debye Function Analysis of nanomaterials proposed in the DebUsSy Suite of Program. Theoretical lessons will be dedicated to fundamentals, experimental and computational aspects of the methods, and will illustrate advanced cases of application in strategic fields. Demos and hands-on sessions will constituite a relevant portion of the whole program.
Participation will be limited to a maximum number of 40 attendees on the basis on “first come first served” criterion.

Monday Afternoon:
* Hans-Beat Bürgi (University of Bern, Switzerland)
    The Origin of Diffuse Scattering, Single Crystal Approaches (1.5 h)
* Norberto Masciocchi (University of Insubria, Como, Italy):
    Basics of Powder Diffraction and Non-Bragg Scattering (1 h)
* Antonio Cervellino (Paul Scherrer Institut, Villigen, CH ):
    Physics of X-ray Scattering and the Debye Equation (1 h)
Tuesday Morning:
* Ruggero Frison (ETH Zurich, Switzerland):
    Data Collection Procedures, Instrumental Requirements, Data Reduction Analysis (1 h)
* Antonietta Guagliardi (IC-CNR, Como, Italy):
    The Debussy Approach (Debye Function Analysis) (1 h)
* Maksym Kovalenko (ETH Zurich, Switzerland):
    Inorganic Nanomaterials, Synthesis, Characterization and Applications (1.5 h)
Tuesday Afternoon:
* Hands-on Session on Data Reduction and Database Generation (3 h)
Wednesday Morning:
* Nora Ventosa (CSIC-ICMAB Barcelona, Spain):
    Nanovesicle-based materials: synthesis, characterization and applications (1.5 h)
* Antonietta Guagliardi (IC-CNR, Como, Italy):
    Applications of the Debye Function Analysis (1 h)
* Jan Skov Pedersen (University of Aarhus, Denmark):
    Basics of Small Angle X-ray Scattering, SAXS (1 h)
Wednesday Afternoon:
* Hands-on Session on Model Simulation and Refinement by Debussy 2.0 (3 h)
Thursday Morning:
* Fabio Ferri (University of Insubria, Como, Italy):
    Basics of Light Scattering and Applications (1.5 h)
* Jan Skov Pedersen (University of Aarhus, Denmark):
    Applications and Demo on SAXS Data Analysis (2 h)

Organised by the IOP Electron Microscopy and Analysis Group (EMAG)

The bi-annual conference series 'Microscopy of Semiconducting Materials' has a long tradition in focusing on the most recent advances in the study of the structural and electronic properties of semiconducting materials by the application of transmission and scanning electron microscopy. The latest developments in the use of other important micro-characterisation techniques including scanning probe microscopy and X-ray topography and diffraction will also be featured.

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Contributions are sought in the fields of metallurgy and materials forming; energy materials in realistic conditions; response of functional materials under parametric load; materials under extreme or exotic conditions. Particularly contributions using an innovative approach in their application or from the novel upcoming facilities with unprecedented possibilities are desired.
The methods shall cover time and lengths scales from sub-picoseconds to days and sub-angstrom to meters, respectively.

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Topics will include:

In-Situ Processes Â

• Time resolved
• Complex environments
• Extreme conditions

Single Grain Resolved Studies Â

• Embedded grain characterization
• Grain statistics
• Orientation relationships
• Subgrains

Strain Scanning Â

• Strains and residual stresses
• Multiple length scales
• Grain resolved strain

Texture Â

• Three-dimensional reciprocal space mapping
• Texture evolution
• Local texture

Liquid, Amorphous, Nanocrystalline and Distorted Materials Â

• Pair distribution function
• Diffuse scattering
• Phase transformations
• Local structure

Materials Imaging / Tomography Â

• Real time imaging
• High resolution tomography
• Combined diffraction tomography

Exotic and Novel Experimental Developments Â

• Coherent beam diffraction
• Fourier reconstruction
• X-ray photo-correlation spectroscopy
• Ultrafast processes
• The future arrived: X-ray free electron lasers

Course of specialization for learning the Pair Distribution Analysis method, a very useful tool for studying glasses, liquids and amorphous materials, as well as crystalline or partly crystalline materials.

Addressed to scientists working in the structural characterization of materials. The course is aimed at present and future users of the Materials Science and Powder Diffraction beamline (MSPD) at ALBA who are interested in getting experience with the Pair Distribution Function method:from sample preparation to analysis of the experimental Pair Distribution Function. The hands-on course will also present the possibilities of the data taken at laboratory sources.

Participants are expected to bring their own laptops. The following programs will be used: pfgetx3 and pdfgui. Attendees are encouraged to install the software in advance (please contact Inma Peral to solve any technical issues with the installation)

To be held at Resort Hotel Schwielowsee, Werder (near Potsdam)

In research and development of solar cells, the issue of microstructure and its impact on the device performance is often regarded inadequately, mostly because of insufficient knowledge about analysis and simulation methods. Apart of the microstructural properties of completed thin films in semiconductor devices, it is also of concern how the microstructure develops during growth.The school aims at giving insight into various techniques for microstructural analysis as well as simulation methods of the growth of crystalline materials, apart from a session on electrical materials and device characterization. Each session will comprise a keynote lecture of an expert in the corresponding field, followed by a 2-3 hours hands-on tutorial, giving the participants the possibility to get deeper into the topic, with the help of a specific question to be solved in teamwork practices. Two poster sessions are also planned as evening events, which intensify the discussions and scientific exchange between experts and participants.

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Confirmed invited speakers

• Thomas Kirchartz, FZ Jülich, Germany (electrical characterization of
  solar-cell materials and devices)
• Joachim Mayer, RWTH Aachen, Germany / Ernst-Ruska Center,
  FZ Jülich, Germany (transmission electron microscopy)
• Anthony D. Rollett, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, U.S.A.
  (electron backscatter diffraction)
• Juan Rodriguez-Carvajal, ILL Grenoble, France (Rietveld refinement of
  diffraction data)
• Ingo Steinbach, Ruhr University Bochum, Germany (Phase-field theory and application to solidification of multi-crystalline solar cell materials)
• Xiaowang Zhou, Sandia National Laboratories, U.S.A. (molecular dynamics)

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Confirmed lecturersÂ

Dott. Samuele Ciattini (Centro di Cristallografia Strutturale, Università di Firenze), Il CRIST ai raggi-X

Dott. Giorgio Guastella (Agenzia delle Dogane e dei Monopoli, Direzione Regionale per la Lombardia, Laboratorio e Servizi Chimici, Milano), Applicazioni della diffrazione a raggi X in ambito doganale

Dott.ssa Chiara Vladiskovic (Dipharma Francis S.r.l., Baranzate, Milano), Principi Attivi Farmaceutici: a cosa serve la diffrazione da polveri?

Dott.ssa Laura Chelazzi (Dipartimento di Chimica «Giacomo Ciamician», Università di Bologna), Oltre i confini del cristallo singolo: aspetti applicativi della determinazione strutturale da polveri microcristalline

Introduction

Recently crystallography and spectroscopy have reached a level of experimental sophistication and theoretical and computational advancements such that it is possible to understand the structure of even the most complex molecular systems, such as, proteins. One community derives information from average atomic charge densities from X-ray data and the other from valence orbital electron densities based on vibrational spectroscopy data. The modern generation of synchrotrons and the powerful free electron lasers (X-FEL) offer new opportunities and exciting challenges in structural science, but they will require a coordinated approach of complementary methods if they are to achieve maximum impact. We are constantly improving technical and computational methods to accelerate and automate characterisation processes and this is crucial to the fields to be explored in this meeting.

This Faraday Discussion will bring together world experts in computational, crystallographic, spectroscopic, chemical, biological and numerous characterisation methods to share and enhance their expertise.

Aims

The main aim for this FD is to bring together crystallographers and spectroscopists from chemistry, physics and biology to promote new interdisciplinary research and to benefit from complementary approaches and techniques in the rapidly emerging areas of 'time resolved studies', leading to a greater overall understanding of structural dynamics.Â

We hope to achieve:Â

• cross-fertilization of recent knowledge in time and length scales
• linking structural and dynamical information (derived from both the techniques) to understand function
• understanding non-equilibrium states and their impact on reactivity
• new collaborations towards solving problems jointly. Â

In addition, the discussion meeting is expected to identify future challenges and the novel techniques yet to be developed towards addressing temporally and spatially resolved structure-function relationships in chemistry and biology.Â

Format

The Faraday Division have been organising high impact Faraday Discussions in rapidly developing areas of physical chemistry and its interfaces with other scientific disciplines for over 100 years.Â

Faraday Discussions have a special format where research papers written by the speakers are distributed to all participants before the meeting, and most of the meeting is devoted to discussing the papers. Everyone contributes to the discussion - including presenting their own relevant research. The research papers and a record of the discussion are published in the journal Faraday Discussions.Â

Themes

• Dynamics of the Chemical Bond New experimental and theoretical approaches to understand chemical bonding and the changes that take place in the excited state for a number of biologically and technologically important reactions. Obtaining insights into and recording data from processes associated with changes to chemical bonds, whether that is bond breaking, formation, changes in length or inter-/intra-molecular vibrations, is key to obtaining further understanding of a wide range of chemical and biological reactions.
• Time and Space Resolved Methods Development and exploitation of high resolution time-resolved crystallographic and spectroscopic methods predominantly for reactions occurring in the solid-state and examining processes occurring on a broad range of timescales (ms-fs), including novel methodologies and interdisciplinary approaches which are transferable to the study of a wide range of molecular processes. Combining structural, spectroscopic and theoretical data (in 1D, 2D or 3D) within the reaction energy landscape/surfaces will provide complementary information and give a more complete picture of the underlying the behaviour of chemical reaction or biological process.
• Local and Global Dynamics Understanding the relationship between local and global dynamics is essential to correlate knowledge of a molecular process to those occurring within an extended structure e.g. whether a process is cooperative and affected by the surround lattice or occurs independently of the local environment. A combination of current and emerging experimental and theoretical approaches, most of which are transferable between disciplines, will be discussed to provide maximum insight into the relationship between structure and function for both chemical reactions and biological processes.
• Future Challenges and Emerging Techniques Exciting new directions for combining time resolved spectroscopic and diffraction techniques with modern theoretical approaches and looking forward to how we can exploit lab sources to XFELs in novel ways, bringing together all of the topics and ideas covered in earlier sessions to define new research approaches and inter-disciplinary collaborations. Â

We look forward to welcoming you to Bangalore for this Faraday Discussion.

Understanding and Manipulating Electron and Energy Transfer Processes

For over three decades the Gordon Research Conference on Electron Donor-Acceptor Interactions (GRC - EDAI) has maintained its prominence as a key international forum for the presentation and discussion of cutting-edge ideas and experimental results related to electron and energy transfer reactions. The ever increasing concerns over anthropogenic effects on climate and the sharply increasing demand for energy, has made the study and understanding of these fundamental processes even more important scientific goals than they have been historically. The upcoming 2014 GRC - EDAI will continue a tradition of encompassing a variety of topical areas of current theoretical and experimental importance, ranging from fundamental studies on small molecules to electron and energy transfer in materials. Because of the centrality of electron-transfer processes across biology, chemistry, physics and materials and energy science, the GRC - EDAI attracts conferees with a diversity of the backgrounds representing all of the traditional sub-disciplines of chemistry as well as materials science, biochemistry, and physics. This diversity makes for a stimulating intellectual environment where science at the interface of these areas can be explored.

The 2014 GRC - EDAI will include topical sessions on coupled electron transfer, dye-sensitized solar cells, electron transfer in protein and biological systems, spin and chirality effects, light harvesting, electron transfers in nanostructured systems, as well as emerging ideas on energy conversion. World leaders in all of these areas will be featured as speakers and discussion leaders, making the conference an excellent forum for scientists from different disciplines to meet and initiate new directions; for scientists from different countries to make contacts; and for young scientists to network and establish personal contacts with other members of this scientific community. The meeting also features an interactive atmosphere with lively poster sessions (several of which will be selected for oral presentations). The 2012 conference featured the first Electron Donor-Acceptor Interactions Gordon Research Seminar (EDAI-GRS) which was highly successful. The 2014 GRC-EDAI will again be accompanied by the EDAI-GRS which is to be held immediately prior to the main meeting.