The XXI International Materials Research Congress (IMRC) 2012, to be held on August 12–17, 2012 in Cancun, Mexico, is a joint meeting of the Sociedad Mexicana de Materiales (SMM) and the Materials Research Society (MRS). The Meeting Chairs are Orlando Auciello of Argonne National Laboratory, USA; Sandra Rodil Posada of the Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Mexico; J. Gerardo Cabañas Moreno of the National Polytechnic Institute, Mexico; and Francesco Stellacci of École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland; and the chair of the Congress is Sergio Mejia Rosales of Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo Léon. The Congress will feature 27 symposia, some of which will be co-organized by SMM and MRS; oral and poster presentations; tutorials; and an equipment exhibition.

Among the plenary speakers are Nobel laureate Ada Yonath (Weizmann Institute Rehovot, Israel), presenting a lecture on “The ribosome: An energetic cellular nano machine”; Monica Olvera de la Cruz (UNAM), “Platonic and Archimedean geometries in elastic membranes”; Manish Chhowalla (Rutgers University, USA), “Solution processable two-dimensional materials for energy applications”; Carlos A. Paz de Araujo (University of Colorado, USA), “Materials science and device technology from laboratory to real world applications”; and Bao-Lian Su (University of Namur, Belgium), “Living hybrid materials for green energy production, environmental remediation and smart cell-therapy.” During a Science Luncheon, Luis F. Rodríguez (UNAM) will present a talk on “Radio astronomy: The achievements and the challenges.”

The list of symposia is as follows (*designates symposia co-organized by SMM and MRS).

Nano Science and Technology

1. 1A: Low-Dimensional Bismuth-based Materials*

2. 1B: Nanostructured Carbon Materials for MEMS/NEMS and Nanoelectronics*

3. 1C: Nanostructured Materials and Nanotechnology

Materials Characterization

1. 2A: The Role of Surfaces and Interfaces in Materials Processes*

2. 2B: Novel Characterization Methods for Biological Systems*

3. 2C: Quantitative Measurements with Atomic Force Microscopy in Fluids*

4. 2D: Structural and Chemical Characterization of Metals, Alloys, and Compounds

Materials for Energy Production

1. 3A: Materials for Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells*

2. 3B: Photocatalytic and Photoelectrochemical Nanomaterials for Sustainable Energy*

3. 3C: Photovoltaics, Solar Energy Materials, and Technologies

4. 3D: New Catalytic Materials

5. 3E: Renewable Energy and Sustainable Development

Biomaterials

1. 4A: Nanotechnology-enhanced Biomaterials and Biomedical Devices*

2. 4B: Biomaterials for Medical Applications

Polymers

1. 5A: Soft Responsive Materials*

2. 5B: New Trends in Polymer Chemistry and Characterization

Electronics and Photonics

1. 6A: Organic Materials for Electronics and Photonics*

2. 6B: Low-Dimensional Semiconductor Structures*

3. 6C: Advances in Semiconducting Materials

4. 6D: Materials and Devices for Large-Area Electronics*

Fundamental Materials Science

1. 7A: Advances in Computational Materials Science

2. 7B: Concrete with Smart Additives and Supplementary Cementitious Materials*

3. 7C: NACE: Corrosion and Metallurgy

4. 7D: Advanced Structural Materials

5. 7E: Interfaces, Structure, and Domain Engineering in Ferroic Systems*

6. 7F: Solid-State Chemistry of Functional Inorganic Materials*

General

1. 8A: Strategies for Academy-Industry Relationship

For additional information on the Congress, access www.mrs-mexico.org.mx/imrc2012.