Conference report - Meg Coleman, Physical Aspects of Polymer Science 2024

At the start of September, I had the opportunity to attend the IOP Physical Aspects of Polymer Science Conference in sunny Edinburgh. While at this conference, I was fortunate to give my first conference talk on our research, titled "Reprogrammable 3D Printed Liquid Crystal Elastomer Actuators." The response to this was extremely positive and it was great to receive further questions about my research. It was lovely to be so warmly welcomed into a research area that was previously unfamiliar to me.

Whilst at the conference, I enjoyed networking with the other attendees, and I also thoroughly enjoyed learning about the exciting research currently happening in the field of polymer physics. Notable highlights included hearing talks about using polymers in areas such as medicine and sustainable energy.

A big thank you to the conference organizers for this opportunity, and to the Soft Matter Physics group for helping to fund this opportunity. I'd also like to extend my gratitude to my supervisors Johan Mattsson, Robert Kay, Jaemin Lee, and Devesh Mistry for their support leading up to this event.