The British Liquid Crystal Society Annual Training Workshops (2019-21)

液晶是一类重要的软材料，因为它们不仅是我们对软材料的基本理解的关键，而且对经济具有各种关键的技术应用。液晶显示器（LCD）技术是全球平板显示器市场的支柱，目前该市场价值超过1000亿英镑。其具有吸引力的光电和刺激响应特性也使其适用于非显示应用。特别是液晶显示技术的发展，是在物理、化学、数学和工程等传统学科交叉的基础研究和应用研究相结合的胜利，由英国的开创性工作发起。为了满足21世纪的需要，新型液晶技术的发展需要在液晶跨学科研究领域的强大知识基础的基础上进行创新。毫无疑问，为了充分利用这一令人兴奋的研究领域的潜力，英国液晶界继续保持对其竞争对手的优势，继续提供在核心液晶研究以及在更广泛的软物质和生物物质的界面方面具有专业知识的训练有素和熟练的研究人员是国家的重要事项。在此提案中，我们建议代表英国液晶学会在伯明翰大学连续三年（2019-21）举办年度培训研讨会。拟议的讲习班每年举行一次为期三天的活动，目的是为液晶研究领域的新手提供必要的跨学科背景，并接触与液晶研究范围扩大有关的软物质和生物物质领域。这种接触对于确保知识的广度至关重要，特别是在新兴应用领域工作和促进跨学科合作是必要的。研讨会将汇集来自学术界、工业界和其他领域的早期和经验丰富的研究人员，在一个跨学科的平台上交流知识、发展实用技能和培育新思想。我们设想早期的研究人员主要是博士生，但他们也可以是博士后研究助理和液晶研究领域相对较新的行业研究人员，无论他们的学术背景如何。虽然前两天的讲座和实践培训课程将主要集中在核心液晶研究方面，但第三天的课程将在此基础上建立，并强调在更广泛的软物质和生物物质领域内液晶研究界面的最新发展。下午将有一个名为“2020年代液晶研究”的小型研讨会，讨论液晶研究及其界面中的新兴问题和开放问题。

Liquid crystals are an important class of soft materials, because they not only have been key to our fundamental understanding of soft materials, but also have a variety of technological applications critical to the economy. Liquid crystal display (LCD) technology provides the backbone of the global market of flat-panel displays, which is currently worth over £100 bn. Their attractive opto-electrical and stimuli-responsive properties also make them suitable for non-display applications. The development of the LCD technology, in particular, is a triumph of combined basic and applied research at the crossroads of traditional disciplines of physics, chemistry, mathematics and engineering, initiated by pioneering work in the UK.The development of new liquid-crystal technologies to meet the need of the 21st century requires innovation underpinned by a strong knowledge-base in the interdisciplinary field of liquid-crystal research. It is undoubtedly a matter of national importance to continue the supply of highly trained and skilled researchers with expertise in core liquid-crystal research as well as in its interfaces in the broader context of soft and biological matter for fully harnessing the potential of this exciting field of research and for the UK liquid-crystal community to continue to hold an edge over its competitors. In this proposal, we propose to organise an Annual Training Workshop on behalf of the British Liquid Crystal Society at the University of Birmingham for three consecutive years (2019-21). The proposed workshop, a three-day event held annually, is intended to provide novices in the field of liquid-crystal research with the necessary interdisciplinary background and an exposure to the field of soft and biological matter relevant to the widening scope of liquid-crystal research. Such an exposure is critical to securing the breadth of knowledge, which, in particular, is necessary to work in the areas of emerging applications and foster collaboration across disciplines. The workshop will bring early-stage and experienced researchers, drawn from academia, industry and beyond, together on a cross-disciplinary platform for exchange of knowledge, development of practical skills and fostering of new ideas. We envisage the early-stage researchers to be primarily PhD students, but they could also be post-doctoral research associates and researchers in industry relatively new to the field of liquid-crystal research, irrespective of their academic backgrounds. While the lectures and practical training sessions in the first two days will be predominantly focused on aspects of core liquid-crystal research, the third day's programme will build on this foundation and highlight recent developments at the interfaces of liquid-crystal research within the broader field of soft and biological matter. There will be a mini-symposium in the afternoon, called "Liquid-Crystal Research in the 2020s", which will discuss emerging questions and open problems in liquid-crystal research and at its interfaces.