INERA Workshop 2016: Membrane and Liquid Crystal Nanostructures (MELINA 2016)

Abstract

We are pleased to introduce the Proceedings of the INERA Workshop “Membrane and Liquid Crystal Nanostructures” (MELINA 2016). This meeting was held from 3th to 6th of September 2016 in Varna (Bulgaria) and was organized by the Institute of Solid State Physics, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (ISSP-BAS) in the frames of the Project INERA “Research and Innovation Capacity Strengthening of ISSP-BAS in Multifunctional Nanostructures” REGPOT-2012-2013-1 NMP (http://www.inera.org). The workshop venue was the “Saints Constantine and Helena” Resort - a beautiful complex on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast within a landscaped park 10 km north of downtown Varna, close to the Euxinograd royal summer palace, park and winery.The aim of this workshop was to bring together researchers with interests in interdisciplinary areas in order to report the recent results of their scientific work, to discuss the state-of-the-art & perspectives and communicate new ideas. Several experimental & theoretical streams in the field of nanostructured liquid crystal systems and nanocomposites; soft and living matter physics; membrane biophysics; nanostructures in polymer and lipid membranes; characterization of soft nanomaterials were merged and directed towards a constructive discussion & solutions of a wide variety of actual problems in these important scientific areas. Participants from 9 countries presented 20 oral and 15 poster presentations in 5 topical areas.INERA Workshop MELINA 2016 provided very good opportunities for direct contacts, interesting discussions and interactive exchange of ideas between the participants. It also became a meeting point where INERA partners could plan and organize their future efficient collaborations and joint research projects of common interest.The editors would like to thank all authors for their high-quality contributions. The papers submitted for publication in the Proceedings were refereed according to the publishing standards of the Journal of Physics: Conference Series. The proceedings of conferences and workshops organized in the frames of INERA Project are regularly published by the Journal of Physics: Conference Series. The Editorial Committee members are very grateful to the journal’s staff for providing us this opportunity, as well as for the continuous support for the publication of these Proceedings.Managing Editor: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Julia GenovaCo-editors:Prof. DSc. Diana NeshevaProf. DSc. Isak BivasAssoc. Prof. Dr. Yordan MarinovAssoc. Prof. Dr. Victoria VitkovaAssoc. Prof. Dr. Georgi Hadjichristov