The conference will be organized to include plenary sessions on the different topics of the conference. Each session will start with a keynote lecture given by an internationally-recognized expert on a predetermined topic and will be followed by oral presentations on the same topic. Poster sessions will be scheduled between oral presentation sessions so graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and young researchers can present their work. No parallel sessions are planned. Time will be included in the program for ad hoc meetings, informal discussions, and/or outings to local cultural attractions. This format is designed to promote dialogue and enhance the exchange of ideas among the participants.

All participants are expected both to attend the entire conference and to contribute actively to the discussions. The conference will take place in an informal atmosphere.

Confirmed Keynote Speakers:
D. Bahr, Purdue University, USA
R. Dauskardt, Stanford University, USA
M. Demkovicz, Massachusets Institute of Technology, USA
J.E. Greene, University of Illinois, USA
P. Ho, University of Texas at Austin, USA
L. Hultman, Linköping University, Sweden
O. Kraft, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany
K. Lu, Shenyang National Laboratory for Materials Science, China
A. Misra, Los Alamos National Laboratory, USA