Abstract booklet
The book of abstracts is now available to download [pdf].
Ben Sturgeon Lecture:
The Ben Sturgeon Lectureship is awarded by the BLCS in memory of Ben Sturgeon, who worked along with George Gray at BDH on some of the earliest liquid crystal materials to be used in displays.
The 2012 Ben Sturgeon Lecture will be given by Prof. Alejandro Rey (McGill): Capillary Models for Liquid Crystal Fibers, Membranes, Films, and Drops [abstract].
G.W. Gray Medal Lecture:
The G.W. Gray Medal is awarded from time to time for outstanding contributions to research in the field of liquid crystal science and technology, with the single criterion that nominations must be for seminal research contributions of international quality.
The 2012 G.W. Gray Medal is awarded to Prof. Noel Clark (Boulder, Colorado). Prof. Clark's lecture at the BLCS meeting is entitled: Hierarchical Self Assembly in Liquid Crystal Science: from the Origin of Life to Renewable Energy [abstract].
Yound Scientist Award Lecture:
The BLCS Young Scientist Award is presented for significant research contributions to the field of liquid crystals. Candidates must normally be within 10 years of beginning their PhD and should be active members of the Society, working in the UK at the time of their nomination.
The 2012 Young Scientist Award is presented to Dr Apala Majumdar (Oxford). Dr Majumdar's lecture at the BLCS meeting is entitled: The Mathematics of Liquid Crystals - Analysis, Computation and Applications [abstract].
C. Hilsum Medal
The C. Hilsum Medal is awarded from time to time to members of the Society, normally working in the UK. The medal is awarded for overall independent contributions to liquid crystal science and technology.
The 2012 C. Hilsum Medal is presented to Prof. Doug Cleaver (Sheffiled Hallam).
Invited lectures:
Prof. Carl Brown (Nottingham Trent): Azimuthal nematic liquid crystal alignment - with and without sidewalls
Prof. Richard Bushby (Leeds): Developing themes in Discotic Liquid Crystal research
Prof. John Goodby (York): Structure and Topology in the Utilisation of Form and Function
Prof. Tanniemola Liverpool (Bristol): Active liquid crystals : microscopics, hydrodynamics and rheology
Dr Tim Wilkinson (Cambridge): Towards liquid crystal metamaterials
Dr John Lydon (Leeds): Feat of Clay - mesophases of colloidal mineral particles
Programme
Monday 2nd April 2012
| 12:00 | Registration |
| 12:30 | Lunch |
| 13:50 | Introduction: Nigel Mottram |
| Session 1: Chair - Iain Stewart | |
| 14:00 | Invited 1: Carl Brown |
| 14:50 | Oral 1: Benjamin Outram |
| 15:10 | Oral 2: Damian Gardiner |
| 15:30 | Coffee/tea |
| Session 2: Chair - Nigel Mottram | |
| 16:00 | Invited 2: Tanniemola Liverpool |
| 16:50 | Oral 3: Adam Rigby |
| 17:10 | Oral 4: Keith Daly |
| 17:30 | BLCS Annual General Meeting |
| 19:00 | Dinner |
Tuesday 3rd April 2012
| Session 3: Chair - Mark Wilson | |
| 09:00 | Invited 3: John Goodby |
| 09:50 | Oral 5: Linan Tian |
| 10:10 | Oral 6: Ana Ferreira |
| 10:30 | Coffee/tea |
| Session 4: Chair - Doug Cleaver | |
| 11:00 | Ben Sturgeon Lecture: Alejandro Rey |
| 11:50 | Oral 7: Andre Sonnet |
| 12:10 | Oral 8: Tiffany Wood |
| 12:30 | Lunch |
| Session 5: Chair - Ingo Dierking | |
| 13:40 | GW Gray Award: Noel Clark |
| 14:30 | Oral 9: Grzegorz Pajak |
| 14:50 | Oral 10: Flynn Castles |
| 15:10 | Oral 11: Jill Miscandlon |
| 15:30 | Coffee/tea |
| Session 6: Chair - Chris Newton | |
| 16:00 | BLCS Young Scientist Award: Apala Majumdar |
| 16:50 | Oral 12: Ingo Dierking |
| 17:10 | Oral 13: Craig MacDonald |
| 17:30 | Poster session - wine reception |
| 19:30 | Conference dinner |
Wednesday 4th April 2012
| Session 7: Chair - Helen Gleeson | |
| 09:00 | Invited 4: Richard Bushby |
| 09:50 | Oral 14: Bai Jia Tang |
| 10:10 | Oral 15: Sarabjot Kaur |
| 10:30 | Coffee/tea |
| Session 8: Chair - Peter Raynes | |
| 11:00 | Invited 5: Tim Wilkinson |
| 11:50 | Oral 16: Simon Siemianowski |
| 12:10 | Oral 17: Alex Robertson |
| 12:30 | Closing Plenary: John Lydon |
| 13:20 | Lunch |
Oral presentation titles
| Session 1: | |||
| Carl | Brown | Nottingham Trent Univ | Azimuthal nematic liquid crystal alignment - with and without sidewalls |
| Benjamin | Outram | Univ of Oxford | Flexoelectric and dielectric in-plane switching behaviour of Grandjean liquid crystal structures |
| Damian | Gardiner | Univ of Cambridge | Short pitch polymer stabilised chiral nematic liquid crystals: from displays to switchable diffraction gratings |
| Session 2: | |||
| Tanniemola | Liverpool | Univ of Bristol | Active liquid crystals : microscopics, hydrodynamics and rheology |
| Adam | Rigby | Univ of Manchester | Simulation of phase transitions for a fused-disc model |
| Keith | Daly | Univ of Southampton | Efficient Q–tensor modelling of liquid crystal alignment in and around defects |
| Session 3: | |||
| John | Goodby | Univ of York | Structure and topology in the utilisation of form and function |
| Linan | Tian | Univ of Manchester | Bent core nematic liquid crystals with a twist |
| Ana | Ferreira | Univ of Cambridge | Design and investigation of photoactive liquid-crystalline silsesquioxanes |
| Session 4: | |||
| Alejandro | Rey | McGill University, Canada | Capillary models for liquid crystal fibers, membranes, films, and drops |
| Andre | Sonnet | Univ of Strathclyde | Biaxial nematics: Two-director numerical algorithm With tensorial symmetry |
| Tiffany | Wood | Univ of Edinburgh | Colloidal structure in a thermotropic nematic solvent |
| Session 5: | |||
| Noel |
Clark | Boulder, Colorado |
Hierarchical Self Assembly in Liquid Crystal Science: from the Origin of Life to Renewable Energy |
| Grzegorz | Pajak | Univ of Strathclyde | Molecular description of the electroclinic effect in the smectic A phase |
| Flynn | Castles | Univ of Cambridge | Polar electro-optic switching in blue phase I |
| Jill | Miscandlon | Univ of Strathclyde | Instabilities in smectic A liquid crystals with director tilt on the boundaries |
| Session 6: | |||
| Apala | Majumdar | Univ of Oxford | The Mathematics of Liquid Crystals - Analysis, Computation and Applications |
| Ingo |
Dierking | Univ of Manchester | A novel family of rod-like mesogens without flexible chains |
| Craig | MacDonald | Univ of Strathclyde | An adaptive moving mesh method applied to a one-dimensional order reconstruction problem in Q-tensor theory |
| Session 7: | |||
| Richard | Bushby | Univ of Leeds | Developing themes in discotic liquid crystal research |
| Bai Jia | Tang | Univ Hull | Synthesis and Characterization of the self-assembly of mesogen coated gold nanoparticles |
| Sarabjot | Kaur | Univ of Manchester | Anomalous dielectric permittivity measurements in bent-core nematic liquid crystals |
| Session 8: | |||
| Tim | Wilkinson | Univ of Cambridge | Towards liquid crystal based metamaterials |
| Simon | Siemianowski | Merck Chemicals | Microsecond switching of a smectic banana phase: The 'Ideal Display Mode' |
| Alex | Robertson | Univ of Bristol | Colloidal liquid crystalline phase behavior of cylindrical block copolymer micelles |
| John | Lydon | Univ of Leeds | Feat of Clay - mesophases of colloidal mineral particles |