Elastic Manipulation and Dynamics of Quantum Materials

The workshop and seminar Elastic Manipulation and Dynamics of Quantum Materials, held at the Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems (MPIPKS), marked an essential gathering of researchers in this vibrant field of hard condensed matter research. Their focus: to advance our understanding of physical phenomena that are the result of a strong coupling between electronic quantum orders and the crystalline lattice, over a wide range of time and length scales. This event achieved resounding success, a testament to the unwavering dedication and superb organization led by Mandy Lochar.

Over 80 participants from diverse backgrounds listened to captivating and enlightening presentations by renowned experts and emerging talents in the field. It was the nucleus for numerous discussions that included researchers from all generations.  

Topics covered spanned spectroscopy of strain-tuned quantum materials (Bernhard Keimer, Marie-Aude Measson, Thais Trevisan, Michaela Souliou, Olena Fedchenko ), the physics of driven systems (Andrea Cavalleri, Sangeeta Sharma, Peter Oppeneer, Premala Chandra), as well as states of complex order  and superconductivity (Abhay Pasupathy, Rafael Fernandes, Clifford Hicks, Erez Berg, Andrey Chubukov, Sananda Biswas, Malte Grosche) and prospective theoretical directions guiding future experiments (Piers Coleman, Alex Levchenko, Francesco Ferrari). A significant number of these speakers were postdocs who impressed with wonderful and inspiring talks. Particular highlights of the event were the beautiful talks by Hilary Noad and Elena Gati and, last but not least, by Grgur Palle, who is a PhD student. A particularly inspiring moment transpired during a colloquium talk by Paul Canfield from the Ames Laboratory and Iowa State University, who unveiled his vision on the design and discovery of new correlated electron systems.

The workshop featured 23 invited talks and 11 contributed talks, shedding light on recent experimental advancements, some of which were disclosed for the first time, and pioneering theoretical concepts. Two highly interactive poster sessions accompanied by plenary sessions with concise 1-minute flash talks provided a platform for young researchers to showcase their work and engage with the audience.

We are thrilled with the workshop's resounding success and are pleased to report overwhelming and exclusively positive feedback from both seasoned experts and emerging researchers. Comments such as "this was the top workshop of the year for me…", "A great workshop – it boosted my enthusiasm of my ongoing PhD thesis work," and "Thanks to the MPI-PKS for this outstanding facility" resonate deeply.