IFSM Young Scientist Assembly (YSA/ECR)
The IFSM Young Scientist Assembly (YSA/ECR) brings together 50 early-career scientists recognised for their achievements and the quality of their IMC21 abstract submissions. The YSA/ECR programme also features a prestigious imaging contest, recognising scientifically stunning images from participants, with the entires being on prominent display and a winner being announced at the YSA/ECR dinner.
YSA/ECR attendees will have the opportunity to:
- Participate in round-table discussions with IMC21 plenary speakers, including Q&A sessions.
- Connect with discipline leaders to discuss career planning and development.
- Network with fellow early career researchers and future leaders.
The YSA/ECR programme includes an excursion and dinner on Saturday 29 August 2026, followed by a full-day meeting on Sunday 30 August 2026.
This programme is open to all PhD students and researchers who have completed their degree within the five years previous to IMC21 (i.e. after August 2021). Please note that at least one of your abstracts must be accepted into the IMC21 Congress Programme in order for you to be included in this programme. You must be the first author/presenter of the accepted abstract.
Keynote Speakers
Jessica Wade
Talk title: Navigating academia’s hidden curriculum
Dr Jess Wade is a Royal Society University Research Fellow and Lecturer in Functional Materials in the Department of Materials at Imperial College London. Her research considers new materials for optoelectronic devices and quantum technologies, with a focus on chiral systems and the identification of strategies to control photon and electron spin. Outside of the lab, Jess is involved with several science communication and outreach initiatives. She is committed to improving diversity in science, both online and offline.
Valeria Nicolosi
Valeria Nicolosi holds the position of Professor of Nanomaterials and Advanced Microscopy at the School of Chemistry at Trinity College Dublin. She is a distinguished nanotechnologist whose expertise lies in the realm of low-dimensional nanostructures and high-end electron microscopy.
In 2001, she earned her BSc in Chemistry from the University of Catania, followed by a PhD in Physics from Trinity College Dublin in 2006. She moved to the University of Oxford in February 2008 as a Marie Curie Fellow. In April 2008 she was awarded with a Royal Academy of Engineering/EPSRC Fellowship. In 2012 she returned to TCD as Research Professor. In 2016 she was promoted to Chair of Nanomaterials and Advanced Microscopy. She is the first woman to have reached the position of Chair in the School of Chemistry since the foundation of TCD in 1592.
She is a Principal Investigator in the Science Foundation Ireland funded research centres AMBER (The National Centre for Advanced Materials and BioEngineering Research) and IForm (The National Centre for additive manufacturing).
In 2019,
Prof. Nicolosi is an eight times ERC awardee (StG in 2011, followed by 3 PoC grants to bring results of frontier research closer to the market, a CoG in 2016, followed by 3 further PoC grants in 2019, 2022 and 2025).
Prof. Nicolosi served as an Advisory Board member of the European Innovation Council (EIC) from 2019 to 2021 and she is currently an Ambassador for the EIC.
Prof. Nicolosi's research encompasses the synthesis, exfoliation, and characterization of two-dimensional materials, with a specific emphasis on applications in energy storage. She actively employs advanced electron microscopy techniques, including aberration-corrected transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM), electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS), and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), to investigate material properties. Her prolific contributions to the field are reflected in the publication of more than 250 papers, which have garnered over 55,000 citations, and an H-index of 79. Notably, she has been repeatedly recognized as a Highly Cited Researcher by Clarivate Analytics, receiving this distinction every year since 2018. Aspects of her research have been licensed to companies like Thomas Swann, Samsung, Intel, Lego, Ferrari, etc.
As a recognition of her career achievements, in 2021 Prof. Nicolosi was conferred the honourary decoration of “Cavaliere” in the Order “Stella d’Italia” by the President of the Italian Republic, at the proposal of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
IFSM YSA/ECR Organisers
Distinguished Guests
Key Dates |
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Early to mid-May 2026 |
Notification of decision to talk and poster abstract submitters |
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17 July 2026 |
Early bird registration deadline |
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Successful applicants will receive:
- Attendance to the
- Excursion (Saturday 29 August)
- YSA/ECR dinner (Saturday 29 August)
- YSA/ECR meeting (Sunday 30 August)
- IMC21 Congress welcome reception
- Free registration (Early bird fee, via discount code)
- One night’s accommodation (Saturday 29 August)
- The winning image from the image contest will be published on the cover of the Journal of Microscopy
IFSM Young Scientist Assembly (YSA/ECR) Enquiries
