Nanomechanical Testing in Materials Research and Development IX

An ECI Conference Series

October 6-11, 2024
Giardini Naxos, Messina (Sicily), Italy

About This Conference

This conference will bring together people working in the field of nano- and micromechanical testing in materials research and innovation. The mechanical behavior of materials is typically controlled by processes that span several length, temperature and time scales. There has been a rapid expansion of available testing strategies in recent years to examine elastic, plastic, fracture and fatigue properties at multiple length scales, with control of loading mode, temperature and atmosphere, including imaging during deformation and using a multitude of available signals. This conference brings together the research community working in the field of experimental mechanics with a focus on nano- and micro-mechanical testing and a special emphasis on bridging observations across multiple length scales, coupling them with modelling and using new methods from data science. In particular, this includes:

  1. Novel Nanoindentation and nanomechanical testing methods
    Using novel nanoindentation hardware and data analysis techniques to explore properties of complex material with improved sensitivity and resolution.
  2. Multiscale deformation and failure mechanisms (from atomic to meso-scale)
    Bridging observations of mechanical deformation and failure across multiple length scales.
  3. In-situ and Operando nanomechanics
    In-situ deformation studies in SEM, TEM, AFM, optical microscopy, X-Ray, neutron and electron characterization (both imaging and diffraction).
  4. Correlative mechanical microscopy
    Correlative mechanical microscopy using different probes (photon, phonon, electron, ion, or combinations), to understand deformation processes in advanced structural materials.
  5. Nanomechanics in extreme conditions
    Nano- and micromechanical tests in extreme environments (e.g., high temperature, cryogenic, etc.) or non-conventional loading conditions (e.g., high strain rate, nano-tribology), including testing under service conditions (operando).
  6. Complex strain measurement methods and advanced data analysis
    The post processing of the data, including full field measurements by image and volume correlation, as well as time-resolved experiments to unravel dynamic processes far from equilibrium.
  7. Integrated modelling and characterization
    Integration with modeling for mechanistic discovery, experimental interpretation, parameter calibration, or model validation.
  8. Artificial Intelligence for nanomechanics
    Application of artificial intelligence, data-driven methods and materials informatics in materials science in the context of materials’ deformation at the nano- and microscale.
  9. Application of nanomechanics to industrially relevant materials and devices
    Application of novel micro-nanoscale mechanical testing methods to emerging and/or industrially relevant materials (energy materials, advanced composites and polymers, advanced coatings, biomedical and bio-mimetic materials, 3D printed materials).

Besides hardness, time dependent properties, phase transformations, fracture phenomena and toughness can be quantitatively evaluated with the new test methods. For many applications, the temperature and rate dependence and other environmental parameters, such as exposure to aggressive atmosphere or radiation, are of great interest. These nano- and micromechanical testing techniques will help in the development of design concepts for materials based on their local mechanical properties and underlying deformation mechanisms. 

This conference will bring together scientists and industrial stakeholders working in the field of nano- and micromechanical testing in materials research. It will provide a forum for discussion of the latest activities in application of nano- and micromechanical testing methods.

Conference Organization

Conference Chair

Marco Sebastiani, Universita degli studi Roma Tre, Italy

Steering Committee

Gerhard Dehm, Planck Institute for Iron Research, Germany
Karsten Durst, Technical University Darmstadt, Germany
Mathias Göken, University Erlangen-Nurnberg, Germany
Sandra Korte-Kerzel, RWTH Aachen University, Germany
Marc Legros, CEMES-CNRS, France
Johann Michler, EMPA, Switzerland
Jon Molina-Aldareguia, IMDEA Materials Institute, Spain
George M. Pharr, Texas A&M University, USA

Plenary and Invited Speakers

Plenary Speakers

Irene J. Beyerlein
Engineering II, Room 2339 
University of California, Santa Barbara 
Santa Barbara, CA 93106-5070

Gerhard Dehm
Director,  Max-Planck-Institut für Eisenforschung 
Department Structure and Nano- / Micromechanics of Materials

Invited Speakers

Erik Bitzek
Computational Materials Design – Microstructure & Mechanics 
Max-Planck-Institut für Eisenforschung 
Germany

Daniel Gianola 
Mechanical Engineering
Johns Hopkins University
USA

Diletta Giuntini 
Mechanical Engineering
Eindhoven University of Technology
Netherlands

Andrea Hodge
Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering Chemical Engineering and Materials Science
University of Southern California
USA

Ulrich Kerzel
Data Science and Artificial Intelligence in Materials and|
Geoscience Fakultät  für Georessourcen und Materialtechnik 
RWTH Aachen University
Germany

Daniel Kiener 
Department of Materials Science
Montanuniversität Leoben
Austria

Benoit Merle
Institute of Materials Engineering
Mechanical Behavior of Materials
University of Kassel
Germany

Atsutomo Nakamura 
Department of Mechanical Science and Bioengineering
Osaka University
Japan

Thomas Pardoen 
Research Center in Architectured and Composite Materials, ARCOMAT
Universite´ Catholique de Louvain
Belgium

Sudarshan Phani 
International Advanced Research Centre for Powder Metallurgy & New  
Materials (ARCI), Balapur
India

Carlos Portela
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
USA

Barbara Putz
Department of Materials Science
Montanuniversität Leoben
Austria

Rajaprakash Ramachandramoorthy 
Max-Planck-Institut für Eisenforschung GmbH
Structures and Micro/Nano  Mechanics Department
Germany

Jean-Charles Stinville 
Materials Science and Engineering
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
USA

Steven Van Petegem 
Paul Scherrer Institut 
Switzerland

Céline Varvenne
Centre Interdisciplinaire des Nanosciences de Marseille
UMR 7325 CNRS – Aix Marseille Univ.
France

Jeffrey Wheeler
Laboratory for Nanometallurgy, Department of Materials
ETH Zurich
Switzerland

MecaNano Tutorial Session

Verena Maier-Kiener
Department of Materials Science
Montanuniversitat ¨ Leoben
Leoben 8700, Austria

Edoardo Rossi
Università degli studi Roma Tre
Department of Civil, Computer Science and Aeronautical Engineering
Rome, Italy

MecaNano Tutorials

A tutorial session about nanomechanical testing techniques is offered on the morning before the start of the conference. The training session is organized by COST MecaNano (“European Network for the Mechanics of Matter at the Nano-Scale“, www.mecanano.com). COST MecaNano is funded by the European Union and can provide travel refunds to support a number of PhD students and Postdocs. To apply for a travel refund, please send a message to Dr. Marie-Stéphane Colla <marie-stephane.colla@uclouvain.beno later than May 15, 2024. You need to be a member of MecaNano to qualify. Unless already done, please join MecaNano at https://e-services.cost.eu/action/CA21121/working-groups/apply by: 1/ creating a login and password 2/ following the link a second time and applying to at least one working group.  

The travel refunds consist of a refund for your long-distance transportation to and from the conference, as well as a daily allowance for the duration of the training session (one day). The ECI conference fee cannot be refunded by COST MecaNano. Decisions on funding will be made in the weeks following the end of the call and will be guided by the COST recommendations. 

Call for Abstracts

Oral Presentation Abstract Submission Deadline:
March 31, 2024

Poster Presentation Abstract Submission Deadline:
May 15, 2024

Abstracts (one page maximum) that include specific results and conclusions to allow a scientific assessment of the proposed oral presentation or poster are invited.

Please prepare your abstract according to this template: docx or doc and submit it electronically HERE.

Abstracts of all presentations will be made available to conference participants prior to the start of the conference.

Note: Only a limited number of oral presentation slots are available and thus all submissions for oral sessions will be considered for both oral and poster presentation.

Sponsorship Opportunities

Sponsor Packages 

Package A: $1,650 

  • Name of company on Sponsor List in Program 
  • Company logo displayed on screen between sessions 

Package B: $2,750 

  • Half-page ad in program booklet 
  • Name of Company on Sponsor List in Program 
  • Company Logo displayed on screen between sessions 
  • Company logo & link on conference website 

Package C: $3,850 

  • Table to display company information 
  • Full page ad in program 
  • Name of company Sponsor List in Program 
  • Company Logo & link on conference website  
  • Company Logo displayed on screen between sessions 

Package D: $5,500 

  • Table to display company information 
  • Promotional Poster Presentation during conference poster sessions 
  • Large company logo and link on conference website  
  • Full page ad in program  
  • Company logo displayed on screen between sessions 
  • Name of company on sponsor list in program 

ECI Associate Director Kevin Korpics (kevin@engconfintl.org) may be contacted for invoicing or other  questions. Payment can be made via check, bank transfer or credit card*. Please reference the conference  title or code (24-AN) when making payment. 

Please note that none of the sponsor packages include free or discounted registrations for  attendees from sponsor companies. Attendees from sponsor companies are required to pay the conference fee as well. 

*A 3.5% processing fee will be applied to credit card payments

Conference Venue

UNAHOTEL Giardini Naxos

Sicily: Sicily is the largest and most populous island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 20 regions of Italy.  The Strait of Messina divides Sicily from the “toe” of Italy’s boot.  Sicily offers exceptional beaches, charming villages and towns, warm waters of the Mediterranean as well as a multitude of ancient ruins and archeological sites.  Its geography is mostly hilly, with little flat land. Throughout history, Sicily has been at the crossroads of cultures, landscapes and cuisine.

Giardini Naxos

Giardini Naxos: The small coastal town of Giardini Naxos is situated along a sandy beach that is quite popular for those seeking the sun.  The area is very historic with the very first Greek settlers in Sicily landing here and colonizing what they called Naxos in 734 BC.  (Naxos is a Greek island where, according to legend, Zeus, the king of the Olympian gods grew up.)   The  town was destroyed about 300 years later by neighboring Siracusa.  The Naxos survivors then establish Taormina on the cliff, deeming it a safer location.  There is a small archeological museum in Naxos that is surrounded by a park.  Naxos has beautiful views of Mount Etna. 

UNAHOTEL, Giardini Naxos

UNAHotel Naxos Beach:  (Via Recanati 26, 98035 Giardini Naxos) The conference hotel has an excellent location in Giardini Naxos with extensive meeting facilities, several swimming pools, and a private beach o the Ionian Sear.  The conference room has theater style seating (but with an adjustable tray for a laptop or a notepad).  The meeting room boasts natural light and modern AV equipment.  Conference participants will be housed in mini-villas (each having 4-units) that are spread through the private garden/citrus park on the property.  There is ample space for posters and table-top exhibits.  The hotel boasts a variety of guest services including free onsite parking, wireless internet, cable/satellite TV, refrigerator, mini-bar, fitness center, daily maid service, concierge, laundry/dry cleaning services, several shops, two tennis courts and a soccer field.

The nearest airport is the Catania “Fontanarossa” International airport that is approximately one hour from the hotel.  When registration opens, ECI will make available through a local provider private shuttle transportation from and back to the airport for conference participants.

Theater
Greek-Roman Theater

Conference Excursion: The conference excursion will be to Taormina with a visit to the Greek-Roman theater and free time to stroll the beautiful narrow streets and to have dinner own your own in one of the many restaurants in the city.  The original theater was built by the Greeks in the third century BC, but much of what is visible today is a Roman upgrade.  The most striking feature of this theater is how its stage frames the view of Mount Etna.  The theater sits atop a rocky hill (earth), overlooking the sea (water), with a gentle breeze (air), and a volcano in the distance (fire).  The semicircular rows of seats are arranged to give everyone an equally good view of the performers and to enhance the acoustics.  The Romans removed the first ten rows of seas to create an area large enough for gladiator battles and also added a wall to protect spectators from the wild animals used in the games.  The theater is still in use today.  ECI will provide a list of recommended restaurants in Taormina.

UNAHOTEL, Giardini Naxos

Previous Conferences in this Series

Instrumented Indentation Testing in Materials Research & Development
October 9 – 15, 2005 – Crete, Greece
Conference Chairs:
George M. Pharr, University of Tennessee, USA
Carl McHargue, University of Tennessee, USA

Nanomechanical Testing in Materials Research & Development II
October 11 – 16, 2009 – Barga, Italy
Conference Chair:
Mathias Göken, University Erlangen-Nurnberg, Germany

Nanomechanical Testing in Materials Research & Development III
October 9 – 14, 2011 – Lanzarote, Canary Islands, Spain
Conference Chair: Gerhard Dehm, University of Leoben, Austria

Nanomechanical Testing in Materials Research & Development IV
October 6 – 11, 2013 – Albufeira, Portugal
Conference Chair: Johann Michler, EMPA, Switzerland

Nanomechanical Testing in Materials Research & Development V
October 4-9, 2015 – Albufeira, Portugal
Conference Chair: Marc Legros, CEMES-CNRS, France

Nanomechanical Testing in Materials Research & Development VI
October 1-6, 2017 – Dubrovnik, Croatia
Conference Chair: Karsten Durst, Technical University of Darmstadt, Germany

Nanomechanical Testing in Materials Research & Development VII
September 29-October 4, 2019 – Torremolinos/Malaga, Spain
Conference Chair: Jon Molina-Adlareguia, IMDEA Materials Institute, Spain

Nanomechanical Testing in Materials Research & Development VIII
October 2-7, 2022 – Split, Croatia
Conference ChairSandra Korte-Kerzel, RWTH Aachen University, Germany

General Information about ECI

Engineering Conferences International (ECI) is a not-for-profit, global engineering conferences program, originally established in 1962 that provides opportunities for the exploration of problems and issues of concern to engineers and scientists from many disciplines.

The format of the conference provides morning and late afternoon or evening sessions in which major presentations are made. Poster sessions will be scheduled for evening discussion as well. Available time is included during the afternoons for ad hoc meetings, informal discussions, and/or recreation. This format is designed to enhance rapport among participants and promote dialogue on the development of the meeting. We believe the conferences have been instrumental in generating ideas and disseminating information to a greater extent than is possible through more conventional forums.

All participants are expected both to attend the entire conference and to contribute actively to the discussions. The recording/photographing of lectures and presentations is forbidden. As ECI conferences take place in an informal atmosphere, casual clothing is the usual attire.

Smoking is prohibited at ECI conferences and conference functions.

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