XVII B-MRS Meeting: Highlights of the symposia.

Symposium K

The symposium on “Degradation of materials and solutions to increase its lifespan” was a success, for the second consecutive year. We had almost 100 abstract submitted, with 24 talks and 70 posters presented during the event. At the end of the symposium, we had a fruitful roundtable were we discussed challenges and solutions on studies and development of materials, collaboration versus productivity, innovation, applied research and the development of multi-user centers. In the end, all researchers agreed that it is necessary to improve the collaboration to reduce segregation and increase productivity.

Prof. Polyana Alves Radi Gonçalves (symposium organizer)

Symposium M

The highlights of symposium M were the oral presentations of all invited speakers: Dr. Elisabeth Dickey (University of North Carolina, USA), Prof. J. A. Eiras (Federal University of S. Carlos, Brazil), Dr. D. Gouvea (University of S. Paulo, S.P., Brazil), Dr. I. F. Machado (University of S. Paulo, S.P., Brazil), Dr. J.C. M`Peko (University of S. Paulo, S. Carlos, Brazil), Prof. E. N. S. Muccillo (Energy and Nuclear Research Institute, Brazil), Dr. A. L. G. Prette (Lucideon, UK), Prof. V. M. Sglavo (University of Trento, Italy). They presented the state of art of novel sintering techniques of materials (Spark Plasma Sintering and Electric Field-Assisted Flash Sintering), sintering mechanisms and modeling, with profitable discussions with the attendees.

Prof. Reginaldo Muccilo (symposium organizer)

Symposium P

The highlights of the symposium in our opinion were the amount of works submitted and the technical and scientific quality of them. We had 110 contribution, of which 14 were oral and the rest in poster form, plus four invited speakers. The students’ oral work showed excellent quality, and most of them were presented in English. The oral sessions were well attended by the participants of the event. Finally, we were extremely satisfied with the outcome of the symposium and the event as all in the scientific sphere and in the organization by the organizing committee.

Prof. Mary Cristina Ferreira Alves (symposium organizer)

Symposium R

Our symposium joined experimentalists and theoreticians to discuss several current problems in Materials Science with over 100 contributions. Three distinguished invited speakers participated in the event: Timmy Ramírez Cuesta (Oak Ridge National – USA); Ignacio Sainz Díaz (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas – Spain); and Juan Andres, (Universitat Jaume I – Spain). They highlighted the technical quality of the oral and poster presentations. We realize that this was a remarkable opportunity to meet experimentalists and theoreticians currently working on fruitful ongoing collaborations and also to devise new challenges.

Prof. Miguel A. San-Miguel, Julio Ricardo SambranoEdison Zacarias da SilvaElson Longo (symposium organizers)

Symposium S

The symposium on Nanofibers, Applications and Related Technology was organized by Prof. Cicero R. Cena (UFMS), Prof. Claudia Merlini (UFSC), Prof. Deuber L. S. Agostini (UNESP), Prof. Annelise K. Alves (UFRGS) and support of Prof. Roselena Faez (UFSCar). We received 81 abstracts, 7 oral presentations and 4 invited speakers. The invited speakers were Prof. You-Lo Hsieh (UD-Davis – USA), Prof. Abdellah Ajji (École Polytechnique-Canadá), Prof. Juan R. Rodriguez (Universidad Nacional de Ingeniería-Peru) and Prof. Florencia M. Ballarin (INTEMA-Argentina). The invited speakers, all experts and distinguished professors in the field of Nanofibers, have made important contributions to the scientific community that work in this field. The Symposium was financial supported by CAPES (edital PAEP) and CNPq (edital ARC). Interesting and highly quality works were presented in two days of the symposium. This was the first time that a Symposium devoted exclusively to Nanofibers and Applications was organized in the SBPMat Meeting, and the numbers of participants was expressive. Then we meet you at II Symposium Nanofibers, Applications and Related Technology on the XVIII SBPMat meeting to held in Camboriu in 2019.

Prof. Cicero Rafael Cena da Silva (symposium organizer)

Symposium T

This new edition of the Symposium in Surface Engineering covered topics of technological interest. 107 contributions were approved for oral and poster presentation. Two invited speakers came from high tech plasma-based industries. Also, a Technology Forum about Surface Engineering in Biomedical Applications and Diamond-like carbons was included in the technical program for the first time with a god enough number of attendees for the open debate. The interaction and networking between representatives of both academia and industry were a plus. Finally, one must notice that the works presented in our Symposium may be published in an special section of the Elsevier journal “Surface and Coatings Technology”.

Prof. Carlos A. Figueroa (symposium organizer)