Yang Song , University of Western Ontario, Department of Chemistry, University of Western Ontario, 1151 Richmond Street, London, ON, CA, N6A 5B7 | Ian Butler | Riad Manaa | Yongjae Lee

Pressure plays a critical role in regulating the structures and properties of materials. Over the past few years, high-pressure chemistry and materials research has undergone great advances with the discovery of numerous exotic structures and properties. Brand new classes of inorganic materials of unusual stoichiometries and crystal structures, which have a wide range of optical, mechanical, electronic and magnetic properties, have been produced at high pressures. Pressure-induced phase transitions between crystalline and amorphous materials, as well as among insulators, conductors and even superconductors, have been extensively documented. Most significantly, the high-pressure development of functional materials with potential industrial applications, such as high-energy density materials, superhard materials and hydrogen storage materials, has become a vibrant area of high pressure research. Overall, high pressure has become a unique and powerful tool for the discovery of new materials and the understanding of new phenomena with important implications in chemistry, physics, biology, materials and earth sciences. The symposium will feature such a unique theme that provides a platform to exchange new ideas and to foster new international collaborations among the Pacific Rim countries. Currently planned sub-topics are: 1) Reactions, synthesis and kinetics; 2) Structures, properties and transitions; 3) Theoretical and computational modeling; 4) Functional materials and applications; 5) Earth materials and geochemistry; and 6) Advances in high-pressure techniques. Symposium delegates are invited to contribute a paper to a special issue in the Journal of Physical Chemistry (an ACS Journal) as symposium proceedings.

Please see the following symposium website maintained by the organizers:
http://minime.chem.uwo.ca/~pacifichem/