2008 Thin Film And Small Scale Mechanical Behavior Gordon Research Conference; Colby College, Waterville, Maine; July 27 to 1 August, 2008

关于“薄膜和小规模机械行为”的戈登研究会议(GRC)将于2008年7月27日至8月1日在缅因州沃特维尔的科尔比学院举行。这项研究的学术价值有两个方面：一是学科对力学和材料学科的重要性，二是学科的跨学科性质。小尺度力学行为的研究一直是材料力学基础研究和现代技术广泛应用之间的关键纽带。推动这一领域的重大电流活动的原因是需要了解弹性、塑性、随时间变化的变形和断裂在许多现代技术中使用的小结构中的关键作用，包括微电子、光学和MEMS器件的薄膜、燃气轮机的热障和摩擦学涂层。人们认识到，当试件尺寸与某些物理和微结构长度尺度相比较小时，材料性能可能会发生巨大变化。此外，纳米或微米尺度的机械测量提出了重大的新挑战，但也提供了与原子或微观机械模型进行直接比较的机会。此外，小规模生物结构中的力学现象为材料科学和应用力学的研究人员提供了诱人的机会，他们正在用源于传统材料界的概念和方法来研究这些现象。因此，小尺度力学行为的研究一直是材料科学和应用力学领域研究的前沿。研究的主题是跨学科的，导致力学和材料学科与邻近学科之间的人员、思想和工具的流动，如材料科学、凝聚态物理、微电子学，以及最近的生物学。因此，这次会议汇聚了对薄膜系统的变形和破坏以及小型材料与散体材料的力学行为的根本差异有共同兴趣的研究人员。之前的会议为许多与会者提出了新的、意想不到的研究方向。2008年的会议将突出对该领域具有持久意义的主题(小结构中的弹性、变形和断裂)，以及日益重要的主题(小规模生物力学行为和新兴的现场测量技术)。GRC在知识传播和智力基础设施的刺激方面具有广泛的影响。一个典型的GRC将来自许多学科和国家的国际专家聚集在一起。它还让年轻的学者在非正式的气氛中与这些专家直接接触。努力邀请不同背景、性别和种族的演讲者和其他参与者。2008年，所有发言者将首次出席本次会议。每一次受邀演讲都将以清晰的背景描述开始，将与会者带到研究的前沿，并允许更长的讨论时间。讨论负责人将代表一个经验丰富的小组，他们可以提供最重要的观点。最后，在每届会议结束时，将由一群非常有经验、工作出色、善于提出激动人心的问题的报告员主持总结讨论。在为期一周的时间里，来自学术界、国家实验室和工业界的研究生、年轻教职员工和经验丰富的研究人员将住在新英格兰一个小校园的廉价宿舍里，在报告厅、餐桌和海报前讨论刺激的话题。GRC的经历是独特的，也是令人难忘的：它为许多人开启并维持了持久的科学友谊，对相当多的人来说，这是他们参加的最令人兴奋的会议。

The Gordon Research Conference (GRC) on "Thin Film and Small Scale Mechanical Behavior" will be held from 27 July to 1 August 2008, at Colby College, in Waterville, Maine. Financial support is requested to help to defray the travel costs and conference fees for invited participants, graduate students, postdocs and junior faculty members.The intellectual merit of the research is twofold: the significance of the subject to the disciplines of mechanics and materials, and the cross-disciplinary nature of the subject. The study of small-scale mechanical behavior has been a critical link between fundamental research in mechanics of materials and broad-ranging applications in modern technologies. The impetus for the significant current activity in this area comes from the need to understand the critical roles of elasticity, plasticity, time-dependent deformation, and fracture in small structures used in many modern technologies, including thin films for microelectronic, optical and MEMS devices, thermal barriers in gas turbines, and tribological coatings. It is recognized that material properties may change drastically when the specimen dimensions are small compared to certain physical and microstructural length scales. Furthermore, mechanical measurements at the nanometer or micrometer scale present significant new challenges, but also opportunities for direct comparisons to atomistic or micromechanical models. In addition, mechanical phenomena in small-scale biological structures offer enticing opportunities to researchers in materials science and applied mechanics who are investigating these phenomena with concepts and methods originating in the conventional materials community. As a result, the study of small-scale mechanical behavior remains at the forefront of research in the fields of materials science and applied mechanics.The topic of study is cross-disciplinary, resulting in fluxes of people, ideas, and tools between the discipline of mechanics and materials and neighboring disciplines, such as materials science, condensed matter physics, microelectronics, and more recently, biology. As such, this Conference draws together researchers who share common interests in the deformation and failure of thin film systems, and in the fundamental differences in the mechanical behavior of small-scale versus bulk materials. Prior meetings initiated new, unexpected research directions for many attendees. The 2008 Conference will highlight topics of lasting significance to the field (elasticity, deformation, and fracture in small structures), as well as topics of growing importance (small-scale biomechanical behavior and emerging in-situ measurement techniques).The GRC has a broad impact on knowledge dissemination and stimulation of intellectual infrastructure. A typical GRC brings together international experts on a subject from many disciplines and countries. It also brings young scholars into direct contact with these experts in an informal atmosphere. Effort is made to invite speakers and other participants who are diverse in background, gender, and race. In 2008, all speakers will be presenting at this meeting for the first time. Each invited lecture will begin with a lucid description of the background, bring the attendees to the forefront of research, and enable an extended period of discussion. The discussion leaders will represent a seasoned group who can provide overarching perspective. Finally, a group of rapporteurs very experienced people who have done distinguished work and are good at raising stimulating questions will lead summary discussions at the end of each session. For a week, graduate students, young faculty members, and seasoned researchers from academia, national laboratories, and industry will live in inexpensive dormitories on a small New England campus, and discuss stimulating topics in the lecture hall, over meals, and in front of posters. The GRC experience is unique and unforgettable: it initiates and sustains lasting scientific friendship for many people, and for quite a few it is the most stimulating meeting they attend.