Telluride Workshop 2011

One of the most compelling themes to emerge in materials science recently is the degree to which materials properties are dramatically enhanced in the presence of finely balanced competing interactions. Nowhere is this more evident than in transition metal oxides and related compounds, which display a remarkable variety of phenomena that may be ascribed to the intense competition between spin, charge, orbital, and strain degrees of freedom. These systems display not only a wide range of ground states, but also an extreme responsiveness to external fields resulting in properties as diverse as colossal magnetoresistance and relaxor ferroelectricity. Understanding the novel ways in which materials respond and self-organize on a variety of length scales in the presence of such competition is a key challenge in condensed matter physics, and forms the subject of the workshop on "Competing Interactions and Colossal Responses in Transition Metal Compounds".

This workshop is the fourth in a highly successful series of workshops that have been held in Telluride every two years since 1998. Initially, they focussed on the physics of colossal magnetoresistive manganites, but as the subject has evolved, the links with the physics of other transition metal oxides and related compounds have become clearer and so the scope of the workshops has broadened.

Workshop Goals

The goals of the workshop are as follows:

To disseminate the most recent results in the physics of transition metal oxides and related compounds.
To provide a forum to discuss the underlying principles that govern the colossal response of materials subjected to strongly competing interactions.
To identify future directions for research in these materials.
To encourage new collaborations and strengthen ongoing collaborations between experimental and/or theoretical programs and between universities and national laboratories.

Format

The workshop format will be similar to the popular Gordon Research Conferences, allowing for intensive discussion of each presentation, as well as for general topical discussions. The schedule will consist of morning sessions with 30-minute presentations, followed by free afternoons and informal evening discussion periods. The experience from the previous workshops demonstrated that this approach was not only highly effective, but also extremely well-received by participants. By all accounts, the environment in Telluride is ideal for fostering free and open interactions.

Venue

Telluride Intermediate School [Map]
725 West Colorado Ave, Telluride CO 81435