Two-dimensional nanomaterials, such as graphene, MoS2 and graphitic carbon nitride, have been offering effective solutions to global challenging issues of water, energy and environment. The purpose of this symposium is to promote communications between researchers working on computational modeling and experimental fabrication of two-dimensional nanomaterials for environmental and energy solutions in a wide range of topics including but not limited to: water desalination, hydrogen storage, gas separation, blue energy production, water splitting, nanostructure design/fabrication,and advanced modeling techniques.

This symposium is for discussion and exchange of the state-of-the-art researches and developments on coatings and thin films for biomedical & healthcare applications. As one of the most interdisciplinary research area, topics of interests in this symposium include but not limited to:

1. Design, construction and characterization of the surface of various biomaterials’, such as metals, ceramics, polymers, composites, as well as their bio-interfaces;
2.  New ideas on biomedical & healthcare related applications;
3. Biological responses of coatings and thin films.

This symposium provides a platform for exchange of experimental and theoretical investigations into protective coatings for mechanical (deformation, fracture, fatigue, delamination), tribological, anti-corrosion, anti-oxidation at high temperatures, as well as wetting & anti-wetting (e.g. anti-fogging, self-cleaning, anti-icing) applications. The focus is on the protection effectiveness via materials design, selection, simulation, process development, microstructural characterization, and optimization. The above list is by no means exhaustive – other relevant topics for surface protection are welcome.

This symposium aims to provide an international forum for discussion and exchange of ideas on the state-of-the-art research and development of thin films for energy conversion and storage. It covers a wide spectrum of energy-related topics, including solar cells, fuel cells, lithium-ion batteries, flow batteries, supercapacitors, and so on. Researchers are welcome to present their recent studies on materials and devices pertinent to the above-mentioned topics. 
* Organized sessions with special topics including Fuel Cells, Energy, and broad aspects of engineering topics that do not fall in the categories of other symposia. 

This symposium is for discussion and updates on technological inventions/developments in industrial applications of various thin films and coatings, including processing and characterization equipment as well as technologies for post-treatment of the waste liquids or gases in fabrication of films or coatings. We welcome participants from industries, universities, and research laboratories to submit papers with real case industrial applications. The presentation and discussion should focus on applied technologies.

Accelerated design of novel materials for various applications via an integrated approach of experiments, materials simulation and artificial intelligence has been a hot topic recently. This symposium provides a platform to understand advanced simulation approaches, exchange ideas and promote collaboration between experimentalists and theorists. The topics of interests may include but not limited to:

1. Atomistic or multi-scale simulation of ceramics, polymer, alloys, composites and various interfaces;
2. Structure/composition ~ Property relationship;
3. High throughput simulation & materials design;
4. Intelligent design of materials via machine learning;
5. Intelligent materials design & CALPHAD;
6. Defects and defect control;
7. Additive manufacturing;
8. Materials degradation and lifetime estimation.

The structural and functional applications of nanostructured and nanocomposite thin films and coatings will be the focus of this symposium. The nanocomposite films that will be discussed are composed of a matrix and an embedded nanocrystalline phase where the matrix can be either polycrystalline or amorphous. Nanostructured films also include those composed of isotropic/anisotropic nanoparticles (e.g. spheres, wires, tubes, fibers, plates, etc.). This symposium will also discuss processing techniques, properties, and applications of thick and thin nanostructured and nanocomposite films and coatings. Non-vacuum/vacuum (e.g. HiPIMS), chemical and solution processing techniques are all included.

This symposium is highly interdisciplinary and crosses the boundaries of thin films in the field of physics, chemistry, materials science and optics, and will address fundamental questions as well as applications. Topics of interests may include but not limited to:

1. Organic optoelectronics: organic semiconducting materials, physics and devices such as OPVs, OLEDs, OFETS, organic sensors, organic thermoelectrics, etc.;
2. Organics photonics: waveguide materials and devices, laser induced photonic structures, electro-optics/nonlinear polymers, etc.;
3. Perovskite optoelectronics: perovskite materials, physics and devices such as inorganic and organic-inorganic hybrid perovskite solar cells, perovskite LEDs, perovskite photodetectors, perovskite photocatalysts, etc. 

Optical thin films are one of the core technologies in modern optical research field. This symposium aims to bring together global researchers working at this field and discuss the developing trends and recent progress, including following topics:

1. Design, analysis, optimization and reverse engineering methods for research and mass production.
2. Novel deposition, on-line process monitoring and control techniques, pre- and post-treatment for thin films and substrates.
3. Characterization and property technologies such as weak absorption, laser resistance, environmental stability, stress, etc.
4. Composite, metal, organic, metamaterial and microstructure material for thin films and substrates.
5. Applications in the fields of telecommunication, laser, EUV to FIR, astronomy, aerospace, etc.

The objective of this symposium is to bring together researchers working in the new and exciting area of smart film materials and surface issues, which include the following topics:

1. Shape memory, piezoelectric and responsive materials/polymers, thin films and coatings;
2. Surface processing of shape memory, piezoelectric and responsive materials/polymers (plasma treatment, ion beam, electron beam, laser treatment, oxidation, coatings, etc.);
3. Surface related issues of shape memory, responsive and piezoelectric materials (corrosion, wear, friction, surface mechanics, cell growth, biocompatibility, biomimetic, etc.).
4. Surface wrinkling and bio-inspired surface structures, micro and nanoengineering on smart surfaces;
5. Smart MEMS actuators, micro devices, and microsensors.

A variety of electronic devices are directly constructed with thin films ranged from single atomic layers to a few micrometre thick materials. The categories of the devices cover field effect transistors, logic gates, memories, actuators, energy converters, sensors, etc. The thin films can be achieved with many physical and chemical approaches. Further developments of the devices and the thin films strongly depend on the state-of-the-art knowledge of thin film technologies. This symposium serves as a platform on which the participants can share among themselves the recent advances of the technologies.