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Preface: Ninth International Workshop on Subsecond Thermophysics
Twenty five years ago, the First Workshop on Subsecond Thermophysics was held at the National Bureau of Standards (presently the National Institute of Standards and Technology) in Gaithersburg, Maryland, USA. It was organized by Ared Cezairliyan, an internationally acclaimed pioneer in this field, in order to “provide a forum for discussions on both experimental and theoretical aspects of thermophysical behavior of matter subjected to thermal changes in short times (millisecond to picosecond time regimes)”. This has clearly remained the main objective of the, now well-established, series of Workshops that followed. Strong emphasis continues to be placed on measurements at high temperatures “where rapid pulse-heating techniques provide a unique approach to obtaining much needed properties data and to understanding the fundamental mechanisms governing the behavior of matter under conditions near and far removed from equilibrium”. Nevertheless, while maintaining pulse-heating as one of its strongest pillars, the Workshop has not remained static. It has evolved in order to adapt to the interests and needs of the Subsecond Thermophysics community by expanding its scope to closely linked subject areas. For instance, it has embraced transient techniques in a broader sense, such as modulation and laser flash techniques, as well as containerless and drop-assisted techniques for properties of liquid metals and alloys, to name just a few examples.
This special issue contains the proceedings of the Tenth International Workshop on Subsecond Thermophysics, held in Karlsruhe, Germany, on June 26-28, 2013. The Workshop was organized by the Institute for Transuranium Elements of the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre. It hosted fifty two participants representing twenty nine organizations in five EU countries, Canada, Japan, Russia, Serbia, Ukraine, and the USA. Thirty seven oral presentations were delivered in eleven regular sessions. Five poster presentations remained on display throughout the duration of the Workshop. As always, an informal and friendly atmosphere was chosen to stimulate vivid discussions and encourage exchange and cooperation among participants. It is my impression that the attendees had an enjoyable stay in Karlsruhe.
Organization of the Workshop was greatly supported by the members of the International Organizing Committee, Michel Boivineau, Iván Egry, Erhard Kaschnitz, Gernot Pottlacher, and Mikhail Sheindlin. Iván Egry is additionally acknowledged in his function as Co-Editor-in-Chief of High Temperatures- High Pressures for managing the timely publication of this issue. The support of Thomas Fanghänel, Director of the Institute for Transuranium Elements, Rudy Konings, Head of the Materials Research Unit, Paul van Uffelen, Action Leader “Safety of Nuclear Fuels and Fuel Cycles”, Eric Colineau, Action Leader “Fundamental Properties of Actinides and Nuclear Materials”, and the Local Organizing Committee is gratefully acknowledged. Special thanks to Petra Strube, Workshop Secretary. The Workshop was funded in part by the “Enlargement and Integration” Action of the European Commission.
The Eleventh International Workshop on Subsecond Thermophysics will be held in 2016 in Cracow, Poland. It will be chaired by Natalia Sobczak, Head of the Centre for High Temperature Studies at the Foundry Research Institute in Cracow. I look forward to this event and hope to meet there again many colleagues from this very special community.
Konstantinos Boboridis
Chairman of the Tenth International Workshop on Subsecond Thermophysics