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Solvay Workshop - "Bridging the gaps at the PCB interface" Multiscale Modelling in Physics, Chemistry and Biology


Brussels, 19 - 21 April 2016

ULB - Campus Plaine - Solvay Room


It is commonly agreed that the most challenging problems in modern science and engineering involve the concurrent and non-linear interaction of multiple phenomena, acting on a broad and disparate spectrum of scales in space and time. It also understood that such phenomena lie at the interface between different disciplines, such as physics, chemistry, material science and biology. The multiscale and multi-level nature of these problems commands a paradigm shift in the way they need to be handled, both conceptually and in terms of the corresponding problem-solving computational tools.

The triple interface between biology, chemistry and physics provides a most fertile ground for these kind of phenomena; the design of environmental friendly catalytic devices or smart-drug delivery devices for nanomedicine purposes, being just two examples in point, where atomic-scale details organize coherently across the hierarchy of scales, all the way up to the macroscopic level which dictates the functional operation of the actual device.

The above phenomena take place far from equilibrium, where the organizing power of non-linearity is fully exposed and universality must be (partially) com-promised with the necessary degree of microscopic (molecular) individualism. Indeed, the ability to sensibly integrate universality and molecular individualism is possibly the most challenging frontier of modern multi-modelling science. Computer technology, a key enabling technology for the quantitative modeling of such complex phenomena across scales, has experienced an extraordinary and relentless growth in both computational speed and memory, along with dramatic cost reductions. At the same time, the last decades have also witnessed tremendous progress in modelling methodologies at all levels of scales, e.g. ab initio MD and QM/MM techniques for atomic and nano-scales, Lattice Boltzmann and Dissipative Particle Dynamics for mesoscales and various gridbased methods for macroscales, culminating with the 2013 Chemistry Nobel Prize for "multiscale modelling of complex chemical system".

The Solvay Symposium will be centered about the rising multi-modelling paradigm, with special focus on emergent phenomena flourishing at the PCB interface, and should not only help to gain focus on the present state of the art in the field, but, most importantly, also to foster and shape up new cooperative research efforts to advance this exciting forefront of modern science.

There will be an accompanying publication under the same title as a Theme Issue of Proceedings of the Royal Society of London (Series A). We welcome submissions for consideration for publication in this issue from participants in the workshop and the wider scientific community. Submission details will follow shortly.

Speakers

S. Abe (Tsu, JP)

R. Benzi (Rome, IT)

R. Delgado-Buscalioni (Madrid, ES)
D. Frenkel (Cambridge, UK)
U. Frisch (Nice, FR)
H. Herrmann (Zurich, CH)
A. Hoekstra (Amsterdam, NL)
S.C.L. Kamerlin (Uppsala, SE)
R. Kapral (Toronto, CA)

 

G. Karniadakis (Cambridge, USA)

K. Kremer (Mainz, DE)
J.F. Lutsko (Brussels, BE)
S. Melchionna (Rome, IT)

T. Miller (Pasadena, USA)
J. Tegnér (Stockholm, SE)
J. Wettlaufer (New Haven, USA)
P. Wolynes (Houston, USA)

Organising and Scientific Committee

J.P. Boon (ULB, Belgium)
P.V. Coveney (UCL, UK)
P. Gaspard (ULB, Belgium)
S. Succi (CNR, Rome)

Practical information for registrants

Fee

Registration will take place on Tuesday 19 April from 8.45 a.m. in front of the Solvay Room.
There is no registration fee. However registrants need to cover their accommodation and catering costs.

Banquet

A banquet will be held on Wednesday 20 April at 8:00 p.m.
For those who wish to attend, there will be a 50 Euro banquet fee to be paid cash on the first day of the workshop.

Poster session

A poster session will be organized, poster presentation from registrants is strongly encouraged. A title and a short abstract
(maximum 500 words including references) of the proposed contribution should be sent in a Word document format to

Dominique Bogaerts by email at dominique.bogaerts@ulb.ac.be, before 15 March 2016.

Some posters will be selected for oral presentation, please indicate whether you wish to be considered for a contributed talk.

Location

The workshop will be held at ULB (Université Libre de Bruxelles)
Campus Plaine - Bld de la Plaine - 1050 Brussels (Building N.O. - 5th Floor - Solvay Room).

Click HERE for the map of the Campus.

Getting here

Metro line 5 (direction "Hermann Debroux") - Station "Delta". Delta is the metro station on the campus.
Click HERE for the map of the metro.

For more information about public transport in Brussels go to the STIB's website.

If you come by car, please click HERE for directions.

Accommodation

Hotel reservations must be made directly by the registrants.

Please see below links that might help you find accommodation in Brussels:

Hôtel Astrid - Hôtel Atlas - Sleep Well - Bed & Brussels - Visit Brussels - Booking.com - Hotel Bloom!

 

***For any enquiries, please contact Dominique Bogaerts (dominique.bogaerts@ulb.ac.be)