15 participants from Leoben (from undergraduate student up to professor) delivered oral presentations or posters corresponding to the three symposia Small scale and in-situ testing, High-resolution multiscale characterization and Bulk ultrafine- and nanostructured materials. The first two symposia were co-organized and partially chaired by Verena Maier-Kiener from the Department of Physical Metallurgy and Materials Testing and Daniel Kiener from the Department of Materials Physics, respectively.
The numerous presentations demonstrated the importance of understanding materials in small scales: From all over the world countless nanoindents and TEM studies were performed, FIB-milled cantilevers tested, materials severely deformed and atoms evaporated and detected. Many talks provided a deep look into the material structure, especially into deformation mechanisms/fracture, which were observed during in-situ tests. Many questions were asked – mostly not directly after talks but during social interaction in the evenings. Especially the MSE-party with live music and excellent catering provided a perfect platform for networking.