Solange Di Napoli (CONICET); poster presentation: “Thermomagnetic properties of mixed-valence manganite films near the x ≈ 0.2 phase transition”; authors: Dante Peluso, Miguel A. Rengifo, José Santiso, María A. Barral, Myriam Aguirre, Mariano Quintero and Solange Di Napoli
Ana Mª Llois (CONICET); poster presentation: “Switching electronic properties in a 2D CrI ₂/α-In₂Se₃ heterostructure via ferroelectric polarization”; autores: Jhon F. Ospina, Solange M. Di Napoli, Myriam Aguirre, Ana M. Llois and María A. Barral
Dates:Monday, 30 March – Wednesday, 1 April. (Note that from the last communication the dates have been extended one day, Wednesday 1 April, to avoid tightness of the schedule).
Program Highlights (see the attached agenda, already including most of the presentation titles)
Invited Speakers (Mariela Menghini-IMDEA, Madrid; Anna Palau– ICMAB-CSIC, Barcelona, Jordi Sort-UAB-ICN2, Barcelona) 1h (50min presentation + 5 min questions)
Scientific Sessions: Progress reports from Senior Researchers and group updates for the Final EU reporting. 30min (25 min presentation + 5 min questions)
Young Researchers Sessions: PhD students and early-stage researchers are strongly encouraged to present their individual work. 20min (15 min presentation + 5 min questions)
Technical Tours: Guided visits to the ALBA Synchrotron installation and the ICN2 laboratories. (ALBA visit scheduled for Monday 30 March in the afternoon)
Logistics & Funding (only for registered ULTIMATE-I members)
Accommodation: All attendees from outside Barcelona will be lodged at the Yugo-ALBA Viu residence (individual rooms with Breakfast included, funded by the project budget, from Sunday 29 night, until Wednesday morning, 3 nights). Please inform us of your itinerary, so we can make the proper booking
Meals:All meals*, including a Gala Dinner on Tuesday 31st March evening(place: Masia Casa Fuster in Sant Cugat del Valléshttps://casafuster.net/), are covered by the project for all attendants. Let us know if you are interested in having dinner on Sunday 29 March evening upon your arrival? * except for Monday evening Dinner: we are still considering covering also Monday evening dinner (this is at the moment subject to ULTIMATE budget availability and EU projects limitations)
Transportation: Most of the places are walking distance, however for those who don’t like walking, transportation between Yugo Residence and ICN2, as well as to the Gala Dinner, will be offered by the organizers.
Travel Grants: The project will fund travel expenses for all attendants from European institutions and those visitors carrying out secondments in European laboratories. (Read policy for travel expenses reimbursement in next paragraph)
Registration (free for all ULTIMATE attendants and invited speakers)
Important Deadlines & Action Items
Confirmation: Please confirm your participation by emailing the organizer: jose.santiso@icn2.cat. Those of you that haven’t confirmed your participation, please do it as soon as possible. Let us know also your tentative itinerary, so we can arrange the accommodation.
Travel expenses reimbursement: Those attendants (not coming from Zaragoza) will be covered by ICN2 budget. The reimbursement will follow typical conditions: low fare tourist class travel tickets, plus local transportation (taxi, metro,etc) Please keep harcopy of boarding pass to hand to ICN2, and all tickets for travel expenses. We will ask you to fill some reimbursement form with your personal data: Name, Passport / identity Card number, Bank account details fro transfer.
Title Submission:Submit a tentative title for your presentation no later than February 26. (Abstract is not necessary at this stage)
We look forward to seeing you in Barcelona for this final milestone!
On January 13, 2026, we organized the Workshop on Integrating Simulations and Experiments for Advanced Applications at the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts (SANU) in Belgrade. The event, supported by Enterprise Europe Network, brought together researchers from academia and industry to discuss how multiscale simulations and advanced experimental methods can jointly accelerate materials innovation.
The workshop covered recent results from the European Union-funded projectsULTIMATE-I, BLESSED, andHIP-2d-QM, with a strong focus on fuel cells and functional materials, advanced atomistic and continuum simulations, and applications spanning spintronics, ferromagnetism, energy conversion, optics, and space technologies.
The scientific program highlighted the role of molecular dynamics, reactive force fields (ReaxFF), density functional theory, and discrete element methods in understanding complex material behavior. Topics included interactions of small molecules with graphene and MoS₂ nanonetworks, hydration-controlled transport in Nafion membranes, multiscale modeling of enzyme–substrate interactions, and degradation mechanisms in PEM fuel cell electrodes. Industrial perspectives were provided by Freudenberg Technology Innovation, demonstrating how digital modeling is increasingly embedded in materials and process development.
Beyond individual presentations, the workshop fostered open discussion on how simulation-driven insights can guide experiments, improve material design, and shorten development cycles. The interdisciplinary and international character of the meeting underlined the importance of close collaboration between academic institutions and industrial partners.
We thank all speakers and participants for their contributions and the lively scientific exchange. Events like this reinforce the value of integrating simulations and experiments to address current challenges in energy, functional materials, and advanced applications.
Muhammad Awais Aslam, Igor Stanković, Gennadiy Murastov, Amy Carl, Muhammad Zubair Khan, Zehao Song, Kenji Watanabe, Takashi Taniguchi, Alois Lugstein, Christian Teichert, Roman Gorbachev, Raul D. Rodriguez & Aleksandar Matković
Jelena Pešić, Simon Leitner, Joseph Neilson, Igor Stanković, Muhammad Zubair Khan, Dragana Tizić Matković, Adam G.Kelly, Tian Carey, Jonathan Coleman & Aleksandar Matković
