Welcome
October 1, 2016
The 13th International Symposium on Ferroic Domains & Micro- to Nano-scopic Structures (ISFD-13) will be held on October 2 – 6, 2016 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. On behalf of the Organizing Committee and the International Advisory Committee, I am pleased to welcome you to this exciting event.
Ferroic materials form an important class of functional materials. Central to the ferroic materials research are the domains and micro- to nano-scopic structures which are known to play a crucial role in the macroscopic properties of these materials, but are still poorly understood. As part of a successful series of international conferences in the ferroic community, the ISFD-13 aims to provide a forum to present and discuss the state-of-the-art developments in the basic and applied aspects of phenomena originating from structural changes in condensed matters associated with symmetry breaking, and related micro- to nano-scopic structures. A wide range of topics (For a list of topics see Topics) will be covered with emphasis on the observation and analysis, theory and modeling, and interpretations of ferroic domains and micro- to nano-scopic structures, in order to provide a better understanding of the relationship between the ferroic domains and nano-structures and the macroscopic properties, and to design and synthesize novel and high-performance ferroic materials for energy, medical, electronics, electromechanical and electro-optical applications.
We are delighted that a wide spectrum of researchers in this area are coming and sharing your most recent work. The Speakers section is filled with talented, experienced and successful researchers. We are convinced that your participation will enhance the technical profile and stimulate the discussion in this fascinating research area.
A special session will be organized to pay tributes to three preeminent scientists in our community, Professor Jan Fousek, Dr. Kenji Kitamura and Professor Hans Schmid who passed away recently. Their tremendous contribution to the field of ferroic domains will be remembered forever.
Furthermore, October 4, 2016 marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of Vitaly L. Ginzburg, a Nobel Prize Laureate in Physics in 2003. We are pleased to have Prof. Arkady Levanyuk give a special presentation on the life and science of this great scientist on Oct. 4 at ISFD-13.
As an award-winning city, Vancouver is consistently ranked one of the top most-livable cities in the world. There is much to do in Vancouver and in the beautiful province of British Columbia, before and/or after the conference. See the Accommodations section to reserve your room at our beautiful venue and see the Tourism to help you plan your trip beyond ISFD13!
We acknowledge our sponsors for their generous support of our conference. They have allowed us to offer you an exciting and rewarding program and conference.
By now, some of you are already on your way or have already arrived and all of the members of the Organizing Committee of ISFD-13 from Simon Fraser University would like to extend a warm welcome. We have been working hard to prepare for this conference. We are excited about the outcome and we wish you a superb conference experience and a memorable stay in Vancouver!
Sincerely,
Zuo-Guang Ye
Conference Chair, ISFD-13
Simon Fraser University
