The Forces and Tunneling Conference celebrates its 25th anniversary with the co-inventor of the microscope that opened the doors to the nanoworld

The event is co-organized by the Materials Science Institute of Madrid and is held in Zamora from 3 to 5th of July.

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The Forces and Tunneling Conference (Fuerzas y Túnel, in Spanish), a biennial symposium considered one of the main events in the field of Scanning Probe Microscopy (SPM) in Spain, celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2023 with a special edition in the historic city of Zamora. The event, which will take place from July 3rd to July 5th, will bring together experts and enthusiasts of SPM from across the country to explore the latest advancements.

"After a long hiatus due to the pandemic, we gather once again under the auspices of a 16th-century monastery in Zamora, the exact place where this conference adopted the name 'Forces and Tunneling' 21 years ago," explains Pablo Merino, a researcher at the Materials Science Institute of Madrid (ICMM), CSIC, and one of the organizers of the event.

This edition of 'Forces and Tunneling' features the presence of one of the co-inventors of the microscope that opened the doors to the nanoworld, Professor Christoph Gerber, who not only discovered the instrument but also introduced it to Spain almost four decades ago. "He brought it in the trunk of a car, on a journey full of adventures that he will share with the younger generations of SPM," Merino anticipates. "His participation in the event is a testament to the high international recognition that the Spanish community has in this field," defends the researcher.

"We remember with admiration the unique arrival of the scanning probe microscope in Spain in 1984. Thanks to his commitment and audacity, Spain became the second country in the world, after Switzerland, to have this revolutionary technology," continues Merino. "This was undoubtedly the seed from which the proximity microscopy community in Spain has become one of the most powerful and prominent worldwide, enriching scientific research and advancing knowledge of materials and nanotechnology," highlight the organizing committee.

Gerber, who has received numerous awards, will speak about the origins and discovery of the scanning probe microscopy technique. "His speech will provide a unique insight into the beginnings of this revolutionary technology and its role in the development of nanoscience and nanotechnology," highlights Merino. The professor will be accompanied in a roundtable discussion by other pioneers in this field in Spain: José Ángel Martín Gago, director of ICMM-CSIC; Rubén Pérez, director of the Condensed Matter Physics Center, IFIMAC-UAM; and Rodolfo Miranda, director of IMDEA Nanoscience.

The Forces and Tunneling Conference has played a crucial role in the development and promotion of scanning probe microscopy in Spain. Since its creation in 1998, the event has become an essential meeting for all SPM microscopists in the country and has traveled to different cities such as Santiago de Compostela, Vic, Murcia, Segovia, Tarragona, El Escorial, San Sebastián, Gerona, and Jaca.

"We are delighted to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Forces and Tunneling in Zamora, the city where we adopted this name over two decades ago," notes the organizing committee, consisting of Guilherme Vilhena (IFIMAC-UAM), Manuela Garnica (IMDEA Nano), Miriam Jaafar (IFIMAC-UAM), and the aforementioned Pablo Merino from ICMM-CSIC. "The great versatility of SPM makes it a fundamental technique in the field of nanoscience and nanotechnology, with applications in a wide range of research fields, from materials science to virology," the committee emphasizes. Specifically, this edition will focus on the use and development of SPMs for the study of materials (from the atomic level to the nanoscale), understanding different phenomena (electronixc, optical, magnetic, mechanical) under various conditions (from ultra-high vacuum to liquid media). The goal: the development of materials with novel properties aimed at addressing different social challenges.

-- Ángela R. Bonachera - ICMM Communication Unit --