Sixth International Conference on the Electrical Transport and Optical Properties of Inhomogeneous Media; July 15-19, 2002; Snowbird, Utah

University Of Utah, Salt Lake City UT

Investigators

Abstract

Proposal: DMS-0211211 PI: Kenneth Golden Institution: University of Utah Title: Sixth International Conference on the Electrical Transport and Optical Properties of Inhomogeneous Media ABSTRACT The "Sixth International Conference on the Electrical Transport and Optical Properties of Inhomogeneous Media" (ETOPIM 6) will be held in Snowbird, Utah, July 15-19, 2002. The conference will mark the 25th anniversary of the first ETOPIM conference, which was held in Columbus, Ohio, in 1977, and will be the second ETOPIM conference held in the US. The electrical transport and optical properties of composites and inhomogeneous media are of fundamental importance to a broad range of highly interdisciplinary problems throughout science and engineering. Photonic crystals and band-gap structures, semiconductors, porous media and rocks, conducting polymers, electrical activity in the heart and brain, composites with negative index of refraction, electrorheological fluids, optical networking, smart slime molds, optimal design of composite microstructures, imaging in geophysical, medical and industrial applications, transport in nanostructures, and the role of sea ice microstrucural and optical properties in polar biology and climate, are all examples of such problems. ETOPIM 6 will address a broad array of active areas in the physics and engineering of inhomogeneous materials and expand the coverage of previous ETOPIM conferences to include problems of current interest in the biological, geophysical and mathematical sciences. The conference is expected to have over 100 participant, representing 22 countries throughout Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Oceania, as well as North and Latin America. Within the USA, 21 states will be represented. The program will consist of more than 30 invited lectures, about 60 contributed papers, and 20 posters. Most of the talks, invited and contributed, will be in series. Parallel minisymposia have been scheduled to focus on mathematical methods in homogenization, porous media and percolation problems in hydrology, and experimental results on random lasers and conducting polymers. Through planned activities at the conference as well as recruiting, the conference organizers will try to maximize the participation of younger researchers, from postdoctoral associates to graduate and undergraduate students, provide career development opportunities for them, and encourage interactions between junior and senior researchers.