|text: Iwona Lazar|
|photos: Matylda Klos|
The 15th European Meeting on Ferroelectricity (EMF-15) international conference, combined with the Polish-Lithuanian-Ukrainian (PLU-7) conference, organized by the Ferroelectric Physics Team (ZFF) from the Institute of Physics at the University of Silesia in Katowice, took place from August 31 to September 5 this year at the International Congress Centre (MCK) and, for the first time, in the European City of Science Katowice. The recognition shown to Professor Krystian Roleder by the international community of ferro-physicists, combined with the attractiveness of the city of Katowice and the MCK, resulted in a unanimous decision by the EMF Conference Advisory Committee to entrust the organisation of EMF-15 to the ZFF team led by him. Although European, this scientific event also attracted distinguished scientists from the USA, Japan, and China. It was held under the honorary patronage of many institutions, including the Ministry of Science and Higher Education, the Rector of the University of Silesia in Katowice, the mayors of Katowice and Chorzów, the scientific publisher Taylor&Francis, and the Polish and European Physical Societies. The special guest was the winner of the 1987 Nobel Prize in Physics for superconductivity and a doctor honoris causa of the University of Silesia, Dr. J. Georg Bednorz.
During the opening ceremony, conference participants were welcomed by the rector of our university, Professor Ryszard Koziołek, the dean of the Faculty of Science and Technology, Seweryn Kowalski, PhD, Professor UŚ, and the director of the Institute of Physics, Professor Sebastian Pawlus. The conference began with a plenary lecture by J. Georg Bednorz entitled Four decades of development towards an efficient technology. A total of 15 plenary lectures and 61 invited lectures were given. Throughout the conference, participants had the opportunity to learn about new measurement systems and methods offered by aixACCT Systems, Nextron, and MeasLine. On the first evening of the conference, participants attended an organ concert at the Archcathedral of Christ the King in Katowice performed by Professor Julian Gembalski. In addition, two sessions were prepared to commemorate the work and scientific achievements of Professor Bożena Hilczer from the Institute of Molecular Physics of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Poznań, who died this year, and Professor Ekhard Salje from the University of Cambridge, who also died this year, both of whom had a significant influence on the scientific community of ferro-physicists in Europe.
The quality of the conferences organised can be measured by the examples of favourable opinions of participants on their scientific level and organisational aspects, provided below:
- Thank you very much for the invitation to the conference. It was masterfully organised, just the right size, with a very interesting program. I have had a great time, made some new connections, reactivated old ones, and overall thoroughly enjoyed it. I know how much work goes into it, and you and your team can be proud of the result.
- Thank you for your perfect organisation of the conference, and please find enclosed a few photos from Katowice.
- I was in Katowice about 20 years ago and thought it was a grey, uninteresting, and polluted city. During the conference, I saw how it had changed and felt like I was in Manhattan.
- A very well-organised conference. It was my first time in Katowice and I didn’t know it was such a beautiful city.
- I would like to warmly congratulate for the fantastic meeting and perfect organisation. I think it has been one of the best EMF for me with plenty of excellent talks, a very good audience and incredible number of constructive discussions.
Organising Committee and Dr. J. Georg Bednorz with his wife | Fot. Sandra Gołąbek
The team that earned such opinions is as follows::
- General Chair: Krystian Roleder
- Deputy Chair: Iwona Lazar
- Deputy Chair: Andrzej Soszyński
Local Logistics and Organising Committee:
Galop Business Service Krystyna Gołąbek
Engineering and technical support:
Łukasz Scheller, Bogumił Trzcionka, Kamil Wójcik, Robert Zelosko
Conference internet address is as follows: https://emf15-katowice2025.org/
It is worth noting that the group of physicists from Katowice and Chorzów affiliated with the Institute of Physics is currently the only one in the country that has organized two of the most important and traditional conferences in Poland, the International IMF in 2013 and the European EMF in 2025, in the field of ferroelectric materials research, which has numerous applications in medicine, electronics, sports, the automotive industry, and in the construction of sophisticated scientific and research equipment.
