Conference Description
This first Gordon Research Seminar (GRS) on Conductivity and Magnetism in Molecular Materials
is designed to support the themes of the
associated Gordon Research Conference (GRC).
The aim of this GRS is to provide
a unique forum for exclusively young scientists at the graduate student,
postdoctoral (or comparable) level to share new results and address the challenges
of designing, understanding and utilizing organic materials in both fundamental
and applied research areas.
As a result of their high tunability and typically
low energy scales, molecular systems have emerged not only as an ideal
playground for the realization of exotic states and phase transitions in the
bulk, but also as functional materials, the properties of which can be
specifically designed at the local molecular level. Control is exerted through targeted
chemical synthesis, as well as the application of pressure, irradiation, or
strong external fields. In this way, nearly all energy scales, such as
spin-orbit coupling, orbital splitting, and kinetic/potential energy may be directly
modified, allowing optimization of e.g. transport properties, magnetic
couplings, and optical response. The significant challenges and opportunities
in this field stem from its interdisciplinary nature, with advancements often achieved
through close collaboration between synthetic, experimental, and theoretical
groups. It is for this reason that a secondary focus of the GRS will be to empower
the young participants to build such collaborations, as well as outline the diverse
topics to be covered later in the GRC in order to make connections between
different areas more apparent.
Topics that will be emphasized mirror those of
the associated GRC, and include:
molecular spin qubits and quantum information; organic and molecular magnets; single-molecule
spintronics devices; organic photovoltaics; quantum electronic materials;
organic conductors and superconductors; photo-switchable materials; magnetic/conducting
hybrid materials; materials in extreme environments and far from equilibrium;
and ultrafast light matter interactions.
