Built Multi-Inter-Trans-Disciplinary Future of Functional Materials!

With the feat of efficacious 24 assemblies, International Association of Advanced Materials (IAAM) organized the Silver Jubilee Assembly of Advanced Materials Congress from 24 – 27 March 2019 at the Conference Center, M/S Mariella, Viking Line,  Stockholm, Sweden.

With the motto of “Advancements of Materials to Global Excellence”, IAAM congresses are committed to delivering a global interdisciplinary platform for the students, researchers, and professionals from academia and industries to confer the advancement of materials to global excellence. The silver jubilee assembly of IAAM Congress was also organized with the same aim.

About the Silver Jubilee Assembly of IAAM Congress

The silver jubilee assembly of IAAM Congress was offered coordination of three contemporary research fields – i) Advanced Functional Materials, ii) Spectroscopy, and iii) Electrochemistry. The goal was to bring together scientific communities, professional researchers, innovative academic and industrial professionals to a common forum for a global cooperation platform.

The 25th assembly called on the theme, “A substantial move towards the multi-inter-trans-disciplinary translational research, innovations, and technology” was aimed to provide the opportunity to highlight the advances in the translation of research into the industries.

The Advanced Materials Congress

The Advanced Materials Congress (AMC) is the premier and most well-established international conference for the advanced materials community and has built multi-inter-trans-disciplinary projects through the sharing of knowledge, the building of joint infrastructures for grants applications, commercial IPRs, high-quality publications and more. The AMC has attracted over 5000 well-known speakers from industry, academe and government organizations in its earlier twenty-four assemblies.

The Congress assemblies catalyze the open and up-to-date discussion on the advanced materials science, engineering & technology.  IAAM is delighted to bring assemblies of Advanced Materials Congress to Europe, Asia, Australia and the United States of America, which are playing key role to provide opportunities to researchers, engineers, students, professionals, and business giants to present their research results, breakthrough innovations, discoveries, path-breaking ideas, experiences, and new products at a truly global platform.

Course of the AMC – Day 1

The silver jubilee assembly of AMC was accomplished with the participation of around 300 delegates from 50 countries. The congress was run with 28 thematic sessions including 96 keynotes/invited lectures, a series of oral & poster presentations, welcome and IAAM felicitation ceremony.

Participation of distinguished researchers from academia and industry to discuss the Advancements of three contemporary research fields – i) Advanced Functional Materials, ii) Spectroscopy, and iii) Electrochemistry. © IAAM Media.

The congress started with the opening lecture by Dr. Ashutosh Tiwari, Secretary-General, IAAM. In the lecture, Dr. Tiwari summarized the activities of IAAM and also give a brief overview of the grand success of the past 24 assemblies of Advanced Materials Congress. He also discussed the challenges and opportunities of advanced materials for empowering society.

Dr. Ashutosh Tiwari, Secretary-General, IAAM: Opening address of 25th assembly of Advanced Materials Congress. © IAAM Media

In the opening talk, Prof. Ibarra delivered Advanced Functional Materials Award Lecture, where highlighted the broad experimental work in the field of magnetic hyperthermia using magnetic nanoparticles and its promising use in tumor treatment at the clinic level.

It was followed by keynote lectures of Prof. Greg Sun from the University of Massachusetts Boston, USA and Prof. Christina Graf, University of Applied Sciences Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany. The parallel sessions highlighted the synthesis, characterization, and application of Functional materials.

Prof. M. Ibarra, Prof. Christina Graf, and Prof. Greg Sun presenting their work during the plenary session 1. ©IAAM Media.

There were some thematic sessions throughout the day, which highlighted the progress and innovations in spectroscopic and electrochemical research for the market. These sessions also witnessed keynote addresses from speakers like Prof. Jacek Wojnarowicz, Prof. Pilar Rivera Gil, Prof. Teng Yong NG, and many more.

Multiple Parallel sessions were highlighted the recent trends of functional materials in translational research and innovations for the market. ©IAAM Media

Multiple sessions were held during the day that went on simultaneously. In total, there were ten sessions organized on the first day, which witnessed keynote lectures by eminent speakers like Prof. H Barr, Prof. Jing Wu, Prof. Osmera Pavel, and many more.

The day ended with the IAAM Felicitation ceremony and the poster sessions. The poster session provided the maximum opportunity for maximum interaction and global networking among the young and experienced researchers from academia and industry.

Poster Presentation during the silver jubilee assembly ©IAAM Media

IAAMs Awards and Felicitation Ceremony

The IAAM awards and felicitation are aimed at recognizing and also honoring pioneer researchers for their outstanding achievements and notable contributions to the advancement of functional materials and also achieving it at a global scale.

During the IAAM award assembly, the association takes time to honor the organizations and individuals for their outstanding and notable contribution towards the advancement of materials for global excellence.

Advanced Functional Materials Award 2019: Professor M. Ricardo Ibarra was awarded with IFM 2019 award. ©IAAM Media.

In the 25th IAAM felicitation ceremony, Professor M. Ricardo Ibarra from the University of Zaragoza, Spain was awarded the “Advanced Functional Materials Award” for his contribution towards the advanced functional materials research and innovations.

Professor Greg Sun, University of Massachusetts Boston, USA; Prof. Maria Mitkova, Boise State University, USA; Prof. Carla Cannas, University of Cagliari, Italy; Prof. Rongshan Qin, The Open University, UK; Prof. Yuri Rostovtsev, University of North Texas, USA; Prof. Bingyang Cao, Tsinghua University, China; Prof. Yizhak Marcus, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel; Prof. Helena Vasconcelos, Azores University, Portugal; and Prof. Bahruddin Saad, Petronas University of Technology, Malaysia was awarded the prestigious IAAM Medal.

Group photo of IAAM awardees at 25th IAAM award assembly. © IAAM Media

Professor Christophe A. Serra, University of Strasbourg, France; Professor Nicola Daldosso, University of Verona, Italy; Professor Xinhua Zhu, Nanjing University, China; Dr. Hadas Shtrikman, Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel; Dr. Nobuyuki Matsuki, Kanagawa University, Japan and Dr. Hong Ngee Lim, University Putra Malaysia, Malaysia were recognized with the popular IAAM Scientist Medals.

The Young Scientist Medals were also awarded to Dr. Ali Nourdine, University of Savoie Mont-Blanc, France; Dr. T.Y. Ng, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore; Dr. Mao Li, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China, Dr. Yasushi Kanai, Osaka University, Japan and Dr. Monika Gosecka, Polish Academy of Sciences, Poland during the felicitation ceremony.

Course of the AMC – Day 2

The next day of the Congress started with a plenary session, where Prof. Noam Agmon, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel; Prof. Maria Mitkova, Boise State University, USA and Christophe A. Serra, University of Strasbourg, France highlighted the latest research, challenges, and innovations.

Prof. Noam Agmon, Prof. Maria Mitkova, and Christophe A. Serra presenting their work during the plenary session 2. ©IAAM Media.

The second day on the cruise was no different from the first one. Again, there were ten parallel sessions organized on a wide range of topics, such as Recent Developments in Electrochemistry, Functional Materials- Innovation and Technology, and many more.

Eminent speakers and personalities like Prof. Daisuke Kiriya, Prof. Yoshiki Nakata, Prof. J.M.R. Genin, and others delivered keynote lectures and enlightened the audiences. A lot of Invited Lectures were also delivered as well, by speakers like Prof. Fabrice Audonnet, Prof. Gonzalo Romas, Prof. Raj Kishora Dash, and many more.

Recent trends of functional research and innovations for market-New results presentations from leading researchers.  © IAAM Media

The second day ended with an international consortium on the ‘Functional Materials’ Spin-Off Idea with the major aims to create a global cooperation platform to build multi-inter-trans-disciplinary projects by sharing knowledge, building joint infrastructures for grants applications, commercial IPRs, high-quality publications, etc. by the active participation from academia and industry.

The main motif of the consortium was to build a bridge between academia and industry for commercialization of translational research. Eminent researchers like Professor M. Ricardo Ibarra from University of Zaragoza, Spain and scientific advisor of three industry NanoScale Biomagnetics, Nanoimmunotech and Graphene Nanotech; Professor Pavel Osmera from Brno University of Technology, Czech Republic, Professor Carlos Semino Founder and CEO, Hebe Biolab, Dr. Silvia De Dea, Principal Chemical Engineering Architect at ASML, USA and Dr. Ashutosh Tiwari,  Chairman and Managing Director, Institute of Advanced Materials and VBRI, Sweden participated in this consortium.

The international consortium was organized to discuss the key challenges and possible solution of functional materials spin-off ideas. ©IAAM Media

The open discussion ended with the fruitful remarks towards providing the setting for advances in materials’ technology to percolate to the end user.

Congress provided a great opportunity for the promotion of intensive discussions and collaborations amongst the participants with the aim of enhancing and widening the knowledge of materials science. It also ignited a surge towards innovation and responsiveness for international needs.

Through the conference, delegates managed to explore new ideas and collaborations within the field of advanced functional materials. Some of the highlights for the congress included gaining access to a series of keynotes and invited lectures alongside a comprehensive and oral poster session on different topics in functional materials science and technology.

The congress brought the amazing experience of high-quality speakers, research presentations, global networking, cruise hospitality, social activities in two capital cities, with the allusion of the beautiful views of Stockholm archipelago having nearly 30,000 islands, islets, and rocks. It encouraged the highest level of interactions with most vibrant discussions that took place while cruising across the Baltic Sea. Delegates had full access to the concurrent conference tracks that helped with maximizing networking.

The delegates had also had the opportunity to explore the historical places, the food, culture, and other social activities as they enjoyed the exotic Scandinavian capitals with its beautiful scenic views.

Social activity at two Scandinavian capitals (Helsinki & Stockholm). ©IAAM Media

Besides the social activity at two Scandinavian capitals, there were exclusive cultural programs in day 2 and 3. The exclusive cultural programs provide an overview of the Scandinavian culture, their songs, and dances.

Cultural program during the congress © IAAM Media

Cultural Aspect of the Congress

In summary, the comprehensive forum delivered on the set goals as the platform provided the participants with a conducive atmosphere to not only discuss and share information and ideas on advanced functional materials; but also, to network and enjoy fun moments. The conference was more of a meeting of minds with innovative professionals from academia and industries attending it.

From the Viking Line Cruise to all the parties involved; the organizers did a wonderful work in regards to conducting a smooth and excellent meeting on board. At the closing of the ceremony, Mr. Peo Walin throws light on the association between Viking Line and IAAM and also shared some glimpse regarding 1st Edition of the “Knowledge Experience at Sea” organized in 2015 During his speech, he was also highlighted the efforts done by Dr. Ashutosh Tiwari and IAAM to provide recognition to advance material at global scale. He also shared his own experience of learning that “knowledge is the key to empower the Society” after association with IAAM. Dr. Ashutosh Tiwari acknowledged the delegates for their active participation and efforts in making silver jubilee assembly such a grand success.

The Best Oral and Poster Presentation awards were also presented during the closing ceremony. Yun Qian from Shanghai Jiao Tong University affiliated Sixth People’s Hospital, China and Ronny Hanich from Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology, Germany were awarded the Best Oral Presentation Award.

Yun Qian receiving the Best Oral Presentation Award from Dr. Ashutosh Tiwari, Secretary-General, IAAM. ©IAAM Media

Dr. Abdul Shakoor from Center for Advanced Materials (CAM), Qatar University, Qatar; Ulrich Schadeck from University of Bayreuth, Germany and Ruixue Xu from Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Spain were awarded the Best Poster Presentation Award.

Dr. Ashutosh Tiwari, Secretary-General, IAAM presenting the Best Poster Presentation Awards. ©IAAM Media

Conclusion

The congress ended with deliverables, interdisciplinary thoughts and was concluded with fruitful outcomes towards the advancement of the new age innovation and technology. Delegates left satisfied as to the conference delivered beyond what they had envisioned. The closing ceremony was concluded with the announcement of the Advanced Functional Materials Congress 2020, which will be held during 22 – 25 March 2020 in Singapore.