This year we are looking forward to welcoming you in person and in addition we are encouraging everyone to think outside the box for their presentation and consider

• New and unusual applications of liquid crystal research.
• Liquid crystals beyond low molecular weight.
• Liquid crystals as art
• How to make liquid crystals interesting for non-experts

Abstract submissions for both oral and poster presentations are now open with specific details on how to submit an abstract on the conference website.

Deadline for abstract submission: Saturday 12 March 2022

The workshop, being funded by the UK’s Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), is intended to provide education and training for the next generation of researchers in the highly interdisciplinary area of liquid-crystal research, highlighting its recent advances in the wider context of soft and biological matter.

The 2022 event will be held as a physical event in the summer. The three-day event will start at noon on the 15th June and finish in the late afternoon of the 17th, and will include lectures, practical training sessions and a mini-symposium “Liquid-Crystal Research in the 2020s”; the mini-symposium will discuss emerging questions and open problems in liquid-crystals research and at its interfaces. The workshop is intended for early-stage researchers (primarily PhD students, but also post-doctoral research associates and researchers in industry, who are relatively new to the field of liquid-crystal research, irrespective of their academic disciplines) and can offer limited number of places.

For further details and to register your interest please download this Expression of Interest form. Note the deadline for expressions of interest is 28 February 2022. There are no registration fees for accepted participants.

Programme
The final programme will be made available here in due course. The list of speakers confirmed so far is as follows:

At the next BLCS annual meeting in Aberdeen 2021 we are looking for nominations for Secretary, Treasurer, Communications Officer and for Ordinary members onto the steering committee.

Nominations for committee must be sent to the Secretary by 15th June 2021. Both nominees and nominators should be members of the Society and permission of the nominee must be obtained. Nomination forms are on the last page of this letter which you can download from this link: committee nominations.

I would encourage you all members to consider nominating for this great opportunity. For further details of current committee members you can view the Information Pages.

Abstract submission for both oral and poster presentations and Registration are now open via the conference website.

**New Extended Deadlines**

• Deadline for abstract submission: Mon 7 June 2021
• Deadline for late registration: Sun 20 June 2021

Important:

If you had registered previously for BLCS 2020, you should have received an email from our colleagues at CPD services regarding full or partial refunds and registration for this year: do not register again until you’ve spoken to CPD services! If you have not received the email and believe you should have, please get in touch with them directly at cpdservices@abdn.ac.uk. Please resubmit an abstract via the website even if you submitted one previously.

For those who did not register last year: More information can be found at our website https://www.blcs2020.org

Registration fees are: £20 (students) and £30 (non-students).

For further details and to register your interest please download this Expression of Interest form. Note the extended deadline for expressions of interest is 16th December 2020.

Programme
The final programme will be made available here in due course. The list of speakers confirmed so far is as follows: