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ISAF-PFM-2011 Welcome Message
Welcome to Canada, Bienvenue au Canada!
On behalf of the Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics and Frequency Control Society (UFFC) of the IEEE, the UFFC Ferroelectrics Standing Committee, the PFM International Advisory Board, and the Organizing Committee, it is our great pleasure to welcome all of the participants and their guests to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, for the 20th IEEE International Symposium on Applications of Ferroelectrics (ISAF) and the International Symposium on Piezoresponse Force Microscopy on Nanoscale Phenomena in Polar Materials (PFM), ISAF-PFM-2011.
ISAF is a series of international conferences administrated by the UFFC. It is aimed at providing a forum to present and discuss the state-of-the-art developments in the field of ferroelectrics and related materials and their applications, including theory and modeling, materials preparation and characterization, and device physics and processing. PFM is a relatively new series of symposia focusing on the theoretical background and recent developments of piezoresponse force microscopy and related characterization techniques, and their applications to the studies of nanoscale phenomena in ferroelectrics, multiferroics, biological media and other polar materials.
This is the first time in their history that ISAF and PFM are holding a joint conference and the timing could not be better. Nanoscale ferroelectrics and multiferroics are currently becoming the main focus of electronics, data storage and MEMS/NEMS. Applications of these ferroic materials in nano-, micro- and even macroscopic devices require the capability of probing electromechanical (piezoelectric and electrostrictive) responses, static and dynamic domain configurations, polarization switching and degradation mechanisms on the nanoscale, as well as understanding the role of defects and structural confinement. This joint ISAF-PFM-2011 conference provides an ideal platform to foster scientific interactions and intellectual exchanges among the researchers of both communities. It expands the scopes of ISAF to the studies of conduction, defects, domains and other nanoscale phenomena inherently important to ferroelectrics, while enhancing the impact of PFM and other nanoimaging techniques and promoting their applications to the broader issues of ferroic materials and devices in general.
Over 580 abstracts have been received from 37 countries, covering all 17 topics of ISAF-PFM-2011. Such an overwhelming response has been encouraging and reaffirms our belief that joining these two symposia will significantly and positively impact the development of the field of ferroelectrics. It is particularly motivating to see that a large number of young researchers have responded positively to our invitations or have submitted high-quality contributed papers. We hope this trend will become customary of this series of symposia, which is vital to the future of our field.
We are fortunate to have Dr. Akira Ando (Murata Manufacturing Company, Japan), Professor F. Stuart Foster (University of Toronto, Canada), Dr. Stephen J. Pennycook (Oak Ridge National Lab., USA), Professor Ramamoorthy Ramesh (University of California, Berkeley, USA), Professor Alexander Tagantsev (Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale, Switzerland), and Zhong Lin Wang (Georgia Institute of Technology, USA) as the plenary speakers, and Professor Dragan Damjanovic (Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale, Switzerland) as the IEEE Distinguished Lecturer, of this conference. We will all be enlightened by their talks.
There is much to do in this award winning city of Vancouver and in the beautiful province of British Columbia, both independently and as part of the ISAF-PFM-2011 Program. We hope you will be able to join us for the Welcome Reception on Sunday, July 24 and the Gala Dinner on Tuesday, July 26.
We acknowledge our sponsors for their generous support of our conference. They have allowed us to offer you an exciting and rewarding program.
All of the members of the Organizing Committee of ISAF-PFM-2011, in particular the members of the Local Arrangements Committee from Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, B.C., have been working hard preparing for this conference to make it the best possible. We are excited about the outcome and we wish you a superb conference experience and a memorable stay in Vancouver!
Sincerely, |
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