Structure-property relationships are the heart of materials science. As nanoscientists, we are fascinated by how downscaling materials can give rise to new properties that differ strikingly from the bulk, offering opportunities for innovative and sustainable technologies. Yet, uncovering the structural origins of such properties can be challenging, as investigations are hindered by the small sizes, stability issues, and evolving structural dynamics typical of nanomaterials.
This symposium brings together cutting-edge expertise from different fields to advance
our structural understanding of nanomaterials across all scales, from local atomic coordination to supramolecular assemblies. We welcome contributions ranging from scattering techniques (X-ray, neutron, and electron diffraction) to electron microscopy and structure-oriented spectroscopies like NMR, Raman, and XAS, with the goal of revealing the hidden intricacies of nanomaterials and their impact on properties.
Special attention is given to:
1) Linking structural features with tangible consequences on the properties and applications of nanomaterials.
2) Exploring the complementarity of different structure-oriented techniques to foster collaboration across research communities.
3) Advancing nanomaterials characterization through state-of-the-art techniques (e.g., time-resolved structural dynamics, AI-powered data
analysis, etc).
- Structure-property relationships in nanomaterials
- X-ray and neutron scattering (XRD, PDF, SAXS, SANS, …)
- Transmission Electron microscopy and diffraction (4D STEM, 3D-ED, ...)
- Time-resolved structural dynamics (ultrafast diffraction and microscopy)
- Structure-oriented spectroscopies (NMR, EXAFS, XANES, Raman …)
- Multi-technique integration, complementary experiments
- AI-powered breakthroughs in structural characterization
Simon BillingeScientific Interests
Investigating relationship between local atomic structure/short range order and physical properties of complex quantum and functional materials vis-à-vis charge, orbital and spin sectors. Characterization of electronically driven nanoscale heterogeneities and their role in systems displaying emergent phenomena such as strongly correlated electron oxides and related compounds with colossal responses, charge density wave systems, materials displaying topological behaviors, novel high performance thermoelectric systems, and other structurally disordered and crystallographically challenged materials. On technical side, my interests include pushing the boundaries of the available applicable tools and development of new ones for structural studies on a nanoscale.
Expertise
Advanced Fourier methods. Neutron and X-ray powder total scattering and associated atomic pair distribution function (PDF) analysis, single crystal X-ray total and differential 3D-PDF, time-resolved X-ray PDF, utilization of various data processing and data analysis software for reciprocal and direct space structure modeling.
Yaşar Krysiak studied chemistry at the Goethe University in Frankfurt, followed by a PhD in electron crystallography of layered materials at the University of Mainz. After a post-doctoral period at the Technical University of Darmstadt, followed by a two-year stay in Prague at the Department of Structure Analysis of the Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, he founded the research group Advanced Structural Chemistry at the Institute of Inorganic Chemistry of the Leibniz University of Hannover. Yaşar is part of the conference organising committee of the German Society for Crystallography. While he started his scientific studies in structure determination by powder diffraction, he drifted into the field of 3D electron diffraction. Initially, he specialised in the quantitative determination of stacking defects in layered materials, before devoting himself to the general introduction of electron diffraction into the field of materials chemistry. His research involves the structure determination of a wide variety of materials, including hybrid perovskites, solid-state ionics, nanoporous materials such as MOFs and zeolites, biominerals and organic compounds.
Philipp Pelz received Bachelor degrees in Physics (2011) and Informatics (2012), and Master degrees in Applied & Engineering Physics, Materials Science & Chemistry (2013). In 2018 he obtained his Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Hamburg & The Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter, Germany. Subsequently, he spent three years as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, Berkeley and the National Center for Electron Microscopy. Since August 2022 he is Tenure-Track Professor for Computational Materials Microscopy at FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg.
Raymond Schaak09. 2020 - current - Project leader (group of Prof. F. Schreiber), Institute of Applied Physics, University of Tübingen
09.2018-08.2020 - Postdoctoral research assistant (group of Prof. O. Shpyrko). University of California, San Diego (La Jolla, USA)
11.2017-08.2018 - Postdoctoral research assistant (group of Dr. Ivan Vartaniants). Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY (Hamburg, Germany)
10.2017 - PhD at National Research Nuclear University “MEPhI” (Moscow, Russia)
10.2013 - 04.2017 - Doctoral candidate (group of Dr. Ivan Vartaniants). Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY (Hamburg, Germany)
02.2013 - Diploma (with distinction)
09.2007 - 02.2013 - Undergraduate studies in physics at National Research Nuclear University “MEPhI” (Moscow, Russia)