Microstructural Evolution and Stability

Developments in experimental and computational materials science are significantly advancing our ability to analyze and predict the stability and dynamics of microstructures and nanostructures. New microscopies are allowing us to measure materials structures and behavior over an unprecedented range of temporal and spatial scales, and, in some cases, in all three dimensions. Computational advances in first-principles techniques, molecular dynamics, and mesoscale simulation methodologies, have extended the range of materials phenomena that can be simulated in a similiarly dramatic manner. The frontier now is at the intersection of experiment and theory, where the length and time-scales are beginning to overlap without the need for extrapolation; so we can now ask questions that were impossible to answer only a few years ago: How can materials models be experimentally tested and validated? What fundamental materials phenomena or parameters must be better understood experimentally to enable better models? What new insights into experimental analyses can be provided by simulation? In this conference we will explore these questions in detail with a focus on critical microstructural issues in Physical Metallurgy. Topics include grain growth and textural evolution, phase transformations, precipitation and coarsening, development of deformation microstructures, melting and solidification, and interfacial wetting.