12 Sep 2013
The British Carbon Group organised the NanoteC13 conference at the University of Surrey on 28-30 August 2013. The event was hosted by the chemistry department in collaboration with the Advanced Technology Institute.
NanoteC is one of the longest running series of international nanoscale carbon conferences in Europe, and has been going since 1998. It brings together scientists working with nanoscale carbon materials: nanotubes, graphene, diamond- and fullerene-related nanostructures. While each of these materials attracts its own dedicated community of researchers, NanoteC draws on common themes and allows researchers to share insight into this unique element at the nanoscale.
Elemental carbon shows remarkable variety in properties via simple covalent bonding, however other systems (for example containing nitrogen or metals) are becoming important and provide alternative components with unique mechanical and electronic properties. Nanotechnology requires an understanding of these materials on an atomic level and this will be the central theme.
The NanoteC conferences are renowned for their relaxed and friendly atmosphere, with emphasis on discussion and participation. We endeavour to achieve as much student participation as possible, and we anticipate that the keynote talks will be strongly influential on the next generation of nanotechnology scientists.
NanoteC13 included sessions dedicated to stimulating new collaborations between experimentalists and theoreticians under the 'Widening Participation' project of Collaborative Computational Project 9 (link below).