Zentrum für interdisziplinäre Forschung

A workshop on the topics of caloric materials and energy conversion technologies for solid-state cooling and heating applications took place at ZiF from 3 - 6 February 2025. It was attended by scientists from many European countries such as Spain, France, Italy, Greece, the UK, Slovenia, Germany as well as from the US. The program was organized around talks covering the scientific foundations as well as latest developments in the fields of magneto-caloric (MC), electrocaloric (EC), and mechanocaloric (mC) materials. Among the 29 attendees were 10 doctoral students of the network "MolCal" belonging to European Marie-Sklodovska-Curie Actions together with local doctoral students from Bielefeld.

Photo: Universität Bielefeld/P. Ottendörfer

The presentations were longer, colloquium-like, with enough time to discuss the raised questions and scientific approaches. This format proved to be very productive. The workshop got a motivating kick-off by the overview talk of Xavier Moya, a renowned expert from the University of Cambridge. Tuesday did span across the whole range of caloric approaches and provided a great input for the doctoral students as well as a good basis for discussions during coffee breaks und lunches. Since the topic has severe experimental implications when characterizing the materials in view of their caloric properties, the presentation by Randy Dumas offered a unique overview on experimental methods as well as state of the art measurement devices.

Wednesday offered a tour on chemical design strategies, theoretical speculations on giant caloric effects as well as on experimental approaches to caloric materials and their characterizations. Two of the convenors, Giulia Lorusso and Luana Caron, presented their physics-driven understanding of magneto-/baro-calorics. Later that day, the whole workshop walked up to the Sparrenburg castle in Bielefeld. The workshop closed on Thursday with a view on the Green Charter of EU activities and a final talk of modeling of quantum spin materials. Before a final lunch and a farewell Luana Caron offered a lab tour to the University building. The event strengthened existing collaborations, built new ones, and allowed for sharing knowledge. There were plenty of opportunities to connect, especially during the dinners and excursions. To quote just two participants: “Thank you very much for the invitation at MolCal in Bielefeld. I really enjoyed my time there, even if it was short.” (Emmanuel Defay). And, “back in the office in Crete! Just wanted to THANK YOU VERY MUCH for everything in Bielefeld!!! All was perfect, and it was an excellent experience!” (Costas Milios).