A report on the workshop by Gregory B. McKenna is available here.

JUST PUBLISHED: EPJ - Special Topics on Progress in Dynamics in Confinement

The dynamical properties of condensed matter confined in space deviate appreciably from those of the bulk state. In recent years a growing number of experimental, computational and theoretical studies aimed at investigating these confinement phenomena and at disentangling those from effects which are induced by the confining media (e.g. surface interactions). The origin of studies of dynamics in confinement lies in the field of supercooled liquids and glasses where spatial confinement allows some control of the ‘cooperativity length’. By now the scope of the ‘confinement concept’ has widened: polymer dynamics in composites and blends, molecular dynamics in the ‘crowded environment’ of living cells etc. Besides the understanding of the fundamental aspects of confined matter, there is now also a wide interest in its properties for industrial application.

The fourth international workshop on ‘Dynamics in Confinement’ aimed at summarizing the status of research by spectroscopic methods, theoretical concepts and computer simulations. Like the previous three workshops it promoted collaboration among scientists working in this field.