FEMS Junior EUROMAT 2026 brought 188 participants from 35 countries to Trikala, Greece, from 12 to 16 July. Organised by the Hellenic Metallurgical Society (HMS), the conference featured 192 scientific presentations and gave early career researchers a platform to share their work, exchange ideas and build connections across the materials community. More than half of the participants (57.4%) were pre-doctoral researchers.
The scientific programme opened with a plenary lecture by Prof. David Collins on structural alloys. Plenary lectures by Prof. Antonios Kontsos, Prof. Matteo Seita and Prof. Maria Katsikini followed during the week, alongside parallel sessions and two poster sessions covering a broad range of materials research.
Celebrating emerging researchers
A highlight of the conference was the 2026 FEMS Master Thesis Award Final. Eight finalists nominated by FEMS Member Societies presented their research to a jury. First place went to Andrada-Ioanna Damian-Buda (DGM) for her work on scaffolds for wound healing. Sophia Soupiou (HMS) received second place for research on welded stainless steel for liquid hydrogen storage, and Cristian Cascioli (AIM) took third place for work on recycled aluminium alloys. FEMS congratulates all eight finalists on the quality and breadth of their research.
At the closing ceremony, the Best Poster Awards recognised three further contributions, presented by Cecilia Alvares (University of Warwick), Antonios Baganis (École Polytechnique) and Srna Stojanovic (University of Belgrade).
A community beyond the conference sessions
FEMS President Prof. Paula Vilarinho spoke about the importance of advanced materials for Europe and encouraged young researchers to pursue collaboration, interdisciplinary work and international mobility. The FEMS Board and General Assembly also met in Trikala, bringing Member Societies together to discuss the Federation’s activities and future priorities.
The programme created time to connect beyond the lecture rooms, including a visit to Meteora and the conference dinner. The opening ceremony also paid tribute to Brett Suddell, followed by a minute of silence in recognition of his contributions to FEMS.
FEMS warmly thanks HMS, Conference Chairs Prof. Alexis Kermanidis and Prof. Abílio M. P. de Jesus, the organising team, speakers, sponsors, volunteers and every participant who made Junior EUROMAT 2026 possible.
We look forward to continuing the conversations and collaborations begun in Trikala at FEMS EUROMAT 2027 in Graz, Austria, from 12 to 16 September 2027.