Liquid Crystallinity in Soft Matter at and Beyond Equilibrium

The 2015 Gordon Conference on Liquid Crystals will provide a forum for an in-depth discussion of ideas at the frontier of liquid crystal science and technology, broadly defined. Understanding the underlying physics, chemistry, and biology of systems that possess liquid crystallinity will be emphasized.

The conference will bring together an outstanding group of researchers working at the forefront of interdisciplinary topics involving liquid crystals, including (i) active and living systems, (ii) supramolecular chemistry and multifunctional materials, (iii) liquid crystalline glasses and metastable phases, (iv) liquid crystallinity in biological systems, (v) colloids, interfaces and topological defects, (vi) chemical synthesis and characterization of new phases, (vii) plasmonic, electrooptical and sensor applications and (viii) lyotropic phases, including colloidal and chromonic systems. These topics will encompass low molecular weight, polymeric and elastomeric liquid crystalline materials, composites of liquid crystals, and nanostructured and self-assembled systems where concepts in liquid crystallinity are important. The program will include talks that address these topics through experiment, theory and simulation, and it will also integrate fundamental and applied perspectives.

The participants will include invited speakers representing both academia and industry with a wide range of expertise in the topic areas. The group of participants will include a good number of junior scientists and graduate students, who will be given the opportunity to present posters, short talks and join in discussion. Free time and evening sessions will provide the opportunity to foster networking between students and junior researchers, to make connections with many of the leading scientists from a wide variety of fields, and to establish exciting collaborations.