Glass Transition and Relaxation (2025)
Doctoral School of Engineering and Science at Aalborg University
Welcome to Glass Transition and Relaxation
Description: Glasses are non-crystalline solids, which continually relax toward their equilibrium liquid state due to their non-equilibrium nature. They are prepared by rapid quenching from the molten state, since the viscosity increase during cooling prevents crystallization and thus promotes glass formation. However, despite the recent progress, the understanding of the origin of the glass transition remains as one of the most important unanswered questions in condensed matter. This is important since glass relaxation influences a wide variety of applications. For the planned Ph.D. course, we will introduce the fundamental aspects of the glass transition and relaxation, including dynamics and thermodynamics, liquid fragility, structural and dynamical heterogeneity, and various relaxation phenomena. Several distinguished lecturers will be invited to present the fundamental principles of various methods (experimental, modeling, and theory) for studying these phenomena as well as their recent progress in applying these methods to different glass-forming systems (oxide, non-oxide, metallic, organic-inorganic hybrid). The students will communicate with both fellow students and lecturers, read the pre-assigned literature, and do assignments from lecturers through group work.
Organizer:
Professor Morten M. Smedskjær, mos@bio.aau.dk
Professor Yuanzheng Yue, yy@bio.aau.dk
Lecturers: External speakers
ECTS: 2
Time: 25 - 27 August 2025
Place: Aalborg University (Room: TBA)
Zip code: 9220
City: Aalborg
Maximal number of participants: 30
Deadline: 4 August 2025