The 13th Guo Kexin Summer Workshop on Electron Microscopy and Crystallography and the 4th International Symposium on Advanced Structural Materials was held in the Shenghe Hotel in Shapingba District, Chongqing, China from July 14 to 17, 2021.
Prof. Guo Kexin is the famous electron microscopist and crystallographer, who firstly introduced high-resolution electron microscopy into China and started the research of direct observation of crystal structure from atomic scale. Prof. Guo devoted himself to materials science, crystallography and electron microscopy for China and cultivated a large number of outstanding talents. More than 120 of his students are still playing important roles in major research institutions throughout China and the world. To carry on Prof. Guo's legacy, his students have started to hold the annual “Guo Kexin Summer Study Workshop on Electron Microscopy and Crystallography” since 2008, to provide a platform for young scholars and graduate students to communicate and study with experts in electron microscopy. The conference series has become one of the most influential conferences in electron microscopy in China at present.
The conference is co-hosted by Guo Kexin Education Foundation and School of Materials Science and Engineering, Chongqing University (hereinafter referred as School of Materials). The conference lasted for 4 days. There are workshops on electron microscopy characterization, conference presentations, four sessions, a special session for student presentations and a special session for overseas electron microscopy experts who cannot attend the conference in person due to the pandemic in this conference. The theme of the conference covered the frontier research fields of materials science, such as structural materials, functional materials, and materials characterization techniques. Nearly 300 experts, researchers and young students from world-renowned universities and enterprises gathered together in Chongqing to share their latest achievements in electron microscopy and materials science research.
The opening ceremony of the conference was hosted by Prof. Huang Xiaoxu, Dean of School of Materials, Chongqing University. In his speech, Prof. Huang welcomed and thanked all the guests and introduced the basic overview of the conference, as well as a brief overview of the latest developments, opportunities and challenges in the field of advanced structural materials characterization.
In his opening speech, Prof. Ma Xiuliang, Secretary General of Guo Kexin Education Foundation and Research Fellow of Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, delivered a brief introduction of the biography and research achievements of Prof. Guo Kexin. He also introduced the development history of electron microscopy in Institute of Metal Research and the previous Guo Kexin Summer Study Workshop on Electron Microscopy and Crystallography. In addition, Prof Ma proposed three main objectives of this conference: to promote the academic spirit of Prof Guo Kexin, to strengthen academic communication among researchers, and to promote the further development of electron microscopy characterization technology.
The conference focused on the cultivation of postgraduates and young scholars. The conference included a lecture on "Electron Diffraction and Phase Analysis" given by Prof Ma Xiuliang for young students. Young students from all over China learned solid foundation knowledge of electron microscopy from Prof. Ma's nearly four-hour lecture.
More than 20 outstanding PhD and master students reported their research results in the special session. The students said that it was a rare opportunity to make a presentation at such an important national academic conference, and they got good training and improvement through this conference.
The conference was successfully concluded on July 17, 2021.
