Scientific Programme of the SoMaS Summer School 2011
Master classes
Enthusiastic young researchers will have the opportunity to expose, during a round table discussion with two distinguished scientists, Prof. Tom Witten and Prof. Philip Pincus, their current research projects and future directions in soft matter science. This discussion will be held on the stage of the lecture hall, with the participation of all attendees of the summer school, who will be invited to contribute to these discussions through questions and comments.
A limited number of 5 to 10 young researchers (PhD students or post-docs) shall be selected for these master classes by the scientific committee of the school. Young researchers interested in these master classes have to send an extended abstract (1 to 2 pages) explaining the scientific background of their research project. The abstract should make clear that the presented research is of high quality, significant novelty and (ideally) also of broad interest to the community of soft matter science. Abstracts not meeting these criteria cannot be considered for the master classes.
All young researchers selected for the master classes will be awarded by publication of their CV and project on the IRTG Website.
Some of the participants may be offered a post-doc position at one of the Universities of the Rhine Valley.
The closing date for abstract submission is June 15th, 2011. For further details please see the registration section.
Lectures and the research seminars
Lectures and the research seminars are grouped together in 4 sections:
- Introduction to soft matter physics (S. Obukhov, Gainesville, USA)
Definition of soft matter systems. Polymers (single chain models; semi-dilute solutions; polymer brushes). Colloidal suspensions (steric, electrostatic stabilization). Supramolecular self-assembly (surfactants; micelles, vesicles, membranes). - Principles of macromolecular chemistry (R. Mülhaupt, Freiburg, Germany)
Introduction (types of polymers, molecular weight distributions). Polymerization methods (step, radical, emulsion, ring opening). Stereo-chemistry of polymerization. Reactions of polymers. - Surfaces in soft matter materials and their characterization (J. Rühe, Freiburg, Germany)
Introduction to surface analytical methods (XPS, TEM, FTIR, UPS, SEM, AFM, SPR, GIR, ATR, STM): concepts and applications to soft matter materials. - Biomacromolecules and Bioengineering of Materials (S. Schiller, Freiburg, Germany)
Overview of biomacromolecules: nomenclature. Synthesis/biosynthesis. Properties and applications, combined with chemical and biological methods to change their properties by enzymatic methods and molecular biology approaches (bioengineering of molecules and cell function).
Poster sessions
All students shall present a poster at the school.
There are four poster sessions every afternoon from 14:00h to 15:00h. All posters shall be put up on Monday morning and will be up for the whole time of the school.
Regarding the poster sessions please send an abstract (one page) presenting the results and the main questions of your research project and the strategies to solve them.
The best posters presented during the summer school will be awarded by an invitation to the master classes on Wednesday afternoon.
The closing date for abstract submission is June 20th, 2011. For further details please see the registration section.
Professional opportunities
The school will also provide two presentations about professional opportunities after the PhD in order to help students to widen their choice and to optimize their career perspectives. The first part will be devoted on the perspectives of “academic researcher in France and Germany”. The second one will concern scientists in industry as well as the career opportunities for scientists who would not like to continue in research.