Highlights from CMD31 Conference and INL’s Contributions

The European Society of Physics, an organisation dedicated to advancing the understanding of physics across Europe, encompasses various specialised divisions, including the Condensed Matter Division (CMD). This division is renowned for its biennial international conference, which became annual after the COVID pandemic but will return to a two-year schedule, with the next event scheduled for 2026.

This year’s CMD31 conference, held from September 2-6, 2024, took place at Forum Braga, Portugal. The event was organised in collaboration with the Portuguese Society of Physics, marking a significant partnership between the two institutions. With over 900 participants, the five-day international conference brought together leading minds in condensed matter physics and materials physics, addressing various topics including quantum physics, superconductivity, magnetism, and biophysics.

The CMD-General Conference is structured to accommodate a diverse set of discussions and presentations. The 2024 edition featured four plenary and ten semi-plenary lectures delivered by internationally recognised scientists. The CMD31 program was further enriched by forty-eight “bottom-up” mini-colloquia, which allowed attendees to split into smaller, focused sessions in the afternoons. These parallel sessions covered a wide range of contemporary issues in condensed matter physics, proposed by the participants themselves. Additionally, a special session was dedicated to the Europhysics Prize 2024 ceremony, underscoring the importance of recognition within the physics community.

INL’s Role and Contribution

This year’s conference saw a strong presence of researchers from the INL – International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory. One of the highlights was the semi-plenary lecture by Joaquín Fernández-Rossier, who spoke in the Grand Auditorium on two key problems in modern condensed matter physics. First, how to design artificial quantum matter endowed with non-trivial emergent properties such as flat-bands, entanglement and fractionalization, through the assembly of simpler building blocks such as nanographenes and second discussed how to probe the resulting emergent properties in these fascinating systems using scanning probes. Adding to this inspiring and unique talk INL also led and participated in 12 mini-colloquia, covering a wide range of topics including Quantum Plasmonics, Magnetism Impact, Neuromorphic Computing, and Novel Energy Materials Characterisation.

In addition, INL hosted two key events during the week to showcase its cutting-edge research and foster international collaboration. On Tuesday, September 3rd, the INL hosted a networking event sponsored by the FUNLAYERS project, attended by 100 participants. The event featured a tour of INL’s facilities and aimed to promote INL’s visibility and its capabilities in material growth and characterisation.

To further engage young scientists, INL hosted a second event on Friday, September 6th, following the CMD31 conference’s closure. Forty early-career scientists were invited to the INL, where presentations by key researchers, including Margaret Costa currently Chief Officer for INL Research Core Facilities and Head of the Micro and Nanofabrication Facility and Enrique Carbó-Argibay Head of the Advanced Electron Microscopy, discussed projects such as NFFA, Ascent+, and INFRACHIP. Paula Galvão, Chief Business and Strategic Relations Officer provided an overview of funding opportunities under the Horizon Europe framework, offering valuable insights into securing support for future research endeavours.

Networking and Future Collaboration

The combination of CMD31’s rich scientific program and INL’s hosted events offered a unique opportunity for networking, collaboration, and exchange of ideas among physicists and materials scientists. The CMD31 conference, with its nearly 1,000 attendees, emphasised the importance of interdisciplinary research and the continued development of research infrastructure across Europe. The event also underscored Portugal’s growing influence in the international physics community, setting a strong foundation for future collaboration in condensed matter and materials physics.

As the conference cycle reverts to its biennial format, anticipation is already building for the next edition, which will take place in 2026.

Text by Gina Palha, Communication, Conferences & Marketing Officer
Photography by Mariam Debs, Chief Operations Officer for RTI