by Angela Wenzik, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Germany
The SoftComp/EUSMI Annual Meeting 2025 took place in Venice-Mestre (Italy) from May 19 to 22, 2025. With 140 participants from 31 of the 36 SoftComp groups and four external speakers, the event was a lively forum for scientific exchange, international networking and new collaborations in the field of soft matter.
SoftComp Annual Meeting 2025 Group Photo
Diversity of topics – with a focus on artificial intelligence
In terms of content, this year’s meeting offered a broad spectrum of classic SoftComp topics, including glasses, colloids, self-organization, biological and (bio)polymer-based systems, gels and networks, new methods, interfaces and synthesis processes. A particular focus this year was on the growing influence of artificial intelligence and machine learning in soft matter research – a topic that was discussed intensively in a separate session.
A total of 90 scientific lectures were held and 25 posters were presented. Seven invited and/or plenary speakers provided insights into current research topics: Laura Filion (University of Utrecht, Netherlands), Peter Lang (Forschungszentrum Jülich, Germany), Michael M. Lerch (University of Groningen, Netherlands), Christos Likos (University of Vienna, Austria), Wilson Poon (University of Edinburgh, UK), Stefano Sacanna (New York University, USA), Nicholas Vogel (University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany).
Full programme: 20250517_Programme.pdf
International exchange and new impetus for soft matter research
The participants came from a total of 13 countries. Italy (31 participants), Germany (25), France (22), the United Kingdom (18) and the Netherlands (12) were particularly well represented. However, researchers from Belgium, Poland, Switzerland, Sweden, Spain, Austria, Greece and the USA also took part.
In addition to the packed scientific agenda, the social program was also a highlight: the festive gala dinner in the historic Forte Marghera provided an opportunity for informal discussions in an exceptional atmosphere.
Awards for outstanding young researchers
Outstanding contributions by young researchers were recognized for the second time this year as part of the Young Scientists Session. The prize for the best lecture (€1,000) went to James Richard (University of Edinburgh, UK) for his presentation “Anomalous particle transfer between immiscible liquids in concentrated suspensions”. The two poster prizes (500 € each) were awarded to Orlane Froment (UCLouvain, Belgium) with the contribution “Introducing vitrimers in Electrolytes for Lithium-metal Batteries” and Emilia Cruz Arias (Univ. Lyon St. Etienne, France) with the poster “Tuning a soft repulsive glass with hard colloidal fillers”.
Venue and organization
The event took place at the Scientific Campus of Ca’ Foscari University in Mestre, organized under the leadership of meeting chairs Achille Giacometti (Ca’ Foscari University, Italy) and Alfons van Blaaderen (University of Utrecht, Netherlands).
More information on the meeting’s programme: https://eu-softcomp.net/news/meetings/annual-meeting-2019/
More photos from the meeting coming soon.
