The 4th IMPROWYS (2023) was held from October 13th to 15th. This conference was co-sponsored by the China Society for Metals (CSM) and the Nonferrous Metals Society of China (NFsoc) and was co-organized by NEU and the Royal Swedish Institute of Technology. The venue for the conference was NEU. Tian Zhiling, the Executive Vice Chairman of CSM, Zhang Hongguo, the Chief Supervisor of NFsoc, and Zhang Hao, the Vice President of NEU, were present at the inaugural ceremony. Tian Zhiling, speaking on behalf of the organizer, expressed a strong desire for more communication and collaboration among young scholars specializing in metallurgy and materials across the globe. Tang Lixin, a distinguished member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and Vice-President of NEU, Professor Joakim Odqvist from the Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden, and Academician Dong Hongbiao from the University of Leicester in the United Kingdom delivered speeches representing the undertaker and the conference advisory committee, respectively. The seminar has established eight sub-venues dedicated to various themes, namely refining and oxide metallurgy, solidification process, metal forming and joining, microstructure and mechanical properties, sustainable metallurgy, solid-state phase change, additive manufacturing, and new energy materials. Meanwhile, a grand total of 94 oral presentations and 25 poster exchanges were arranged. The seminar garnered participation from a total of 280 young researchers hailing from 21 different countries, including China, Sweden, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Japan, Germany, Singapore, and India. These scholars come from renowned academic institutions, including Harvard University, the University of Tokyo, and the Max Planck Research Institute. Additionally, they have affiliations with prominent corporations across multiple industries, such as Baowu, Anshan Iron and Steel, Apple, and POSCO.
The seminar facilitated comprehensive talks regarding significant topics, areas of research interest, and cutting-edge advancements in the field of metallurgy and materials. The seminar attendees effectively engaged in comprehensive discussions regarding shared concerns and effectively presented novel findings, theories, and concepts within the realm of scientific study. Furthermore, the seminar effectively addresses the challenges encountered in enterprise production and is anticipated to have a constructive impact on advancing the comprehensive collaboration between industry, academia, and research within relevant sectors.
The IMPROWYS has been organized biennially since 2017 with the primary objective of offering a platform for scholars in this area to share their research findings and engage in discourse on contemporary topics. Furthermore, it enhances the comprehension of contemporary topics in the field of metallurgy among domestic and international experts, while also solidifying worldwide connections. Some exceptional papers presented at this conference will be recommended for publishing in special editions of Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A & B, a renowned scholarly journal within this domain.
