Another long day on Thursday, but the end was in sight. Amongst the 19 talks of the day a few themes stood out.
- Three talks dealt with the interaction of metal ions with DNA: Jens Müller (University of Münster) spoke about metal-mediated (artificial) base pairs; Andrew Houlton (University of Newcastle) uses DNA to make metal nanowires, while Miguel Galindo (also at the University of Newcastle) studies the binding of metal complexes in the minor groove.
- A related topic is that of metal ions and nucleobases, discussed by Angel Terrón-Homar (University of the Balearic Islands) and Pablo Sanz Miguel (University of Zaragoza).
- Materials also occupied a large place during the day: Juan Herrera (University of Granada) showed bifunctional silica nanoparticles; Françoise Quignard (ENSC Montpellier) demonstrated the potential of hybrid catalysts based on polysaccharides; Christoph Janiak (University of Düsseldorf) presented MOFs for “useful cold” (using a cycle of water adsorption and desorption).
At the end of the afternoon, conference chair Jorge Navarro closed the meeting with a brief history of this series of conferences.
- This 5th edition follows ones in Alghero (1992), Como (1996), Camerino (2004) and Garmisch (2008). The 6th is tentatively scheduled for 2015 somewhere in France.
- There were about 260 participants from all over the world in this 5th edition; 65 talks over three and a half days and well over 100 posters in 2 sessions.
Three poster prizes were awarded: I presented the NJC Poster Prize to Irene Bassanetti (University of Parma) while the organizers recognized the work of Núria Aliaga-Alcalde (University of Barcelona) and Fawzia M.S. Al-Sogair (College of Basic Education, Kuwait).
Santiago Alvarez, speaking as the last session chair, listed the 3 ingredients necessary for a successful conference—good science, active participants, efficient organization—and judged that all three had been present in Granada. (I might add a 4th ingredient: an attractive location and venue.)
Congratulations to organizers Elisa Barea and Jorge Navarro! They were rewarded during that evening’s banquet with gifts presented by the organizing committee.
What’s this picture doing here you might ask?
Hint: what is the name of this fruit in Spanish?
