Nicolae-Victor Zamfir graduated Faculty of Physics of Bucharest in 1976, and afterwards started his career as a research scientist at the Horia Hulubei National Institute for R&D in Physics and Nuclear Engineering (IFIN-HH), in Magurele, getting his Ph.D in Nuclear Physics at the Central Institute of Physics in Bucharest, in 1984. From 1990 to 2004 he worked and taught in prestigious institutions in Germany and in the United States of America, as follows: 1990-1992, Visiting Scientist at the University of Cologne in Germany; 1992-1997: Physicist at the Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, New York; 1997-2004: Senior Research Scientist at the Wright Nuclear Structure Laboratory, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA. After the outstanding career abroad, Professor Zamfir return to the country and in 2004 became the General Director of the IFIN-HH, at the present holding the same position. Since 2012 Nicolae-Victor Zamfir is the Director of Extreme Light Infrastructure - Nuclear Physics (ELI-NP), a major European Infrastructure project, part of the Roadmap of the European Strategic Forum for Research Infrastructure (ESFRI). Research activity conducted by Professor Zamfir has spanned a wide range of topics in Nuclear Physics, Nuclear structure and Gamma-ray spectroscopy, being published in over 300 articles, with more than 5,000 citations and presented at more than 200 invited lecturers and contributions at International Conferences. Synergistic Activities: president of the Romanian Physical Society (since 2009) and the Romanian representative at CERN (since 2009), vice-chair of FAIR Scientific Council (2011-2015) and, starting with 2016, member of the Board of Directors of the Romanian – U.S. Fulbright Commission and member of the European Physical Society Executive Board, referee for Physical Review Letters, Physical Review C, Physics Letters B, Nuclear Physics A, International Journey of Modern Physics and Journal of Physics G. Member of four Editorial Board Physics Journals and of more than 30 Advisory Committees for various International Conferences, as well as member of Programme Advisory Committees of various research facilities, co-organizer of more than 20 International Conferences, Workshops and Summer Schools in Nuclear Physics, co-editor of eight Proceedings of International Conferences. Awards: Hurmuzescu Prize of the Romanian Academy (1984), Member of the Romanian Academy since 2006, Knight, Romanian Order of Faithful Service (2008), Member of Academia Europea (2012), Honorable Doctor of Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, Dubna (2015), Officer, Romanian Order of Faithful Service (2015), Officer, Legion d’Honneur (2016).

Plenary Lecture:          Nuclear and Laser Engineering – Component of Physics Research.

Abstract: Aspects of nuclear and laser engineering contribution to physics research at ‘Horia Hulubei” National Institute of Physics and Nuclear Engineering (IFIN-HH) and at the new international center for scientific research Extreme Light Infrastructure – Nuclear Physics (ELI-NP), Bucharest – Magurele, Romania, will be presented.

Alexandru Stancu graduated the Faculty of Physics with Honors in 1980, the master degree in Optics, spectroscopy and plasma physics in 1981 and the PhD in physics (magnetism) in 1995, all at the “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University in Iasi. He currently is a Professor at the Faculty of Physics, “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University, ROMANIA and the Director of the Centre of Applied Research in Physics and Advanced TecHnologies (CARPATH) which is organized within the University. He is also the Director of the Integrated Platform for Advanced Studies in Molecular Nanotechnologies (AMON). He was Head of Department between 2000 and 2006 (Electricity and Physical Electronics 2000-2004, Solid State and Theoretical Physics 2004-2006). He is currently the Chair of the Romanian IEEE Magnetics Society, a Senior IEEE member and was member in the Administrative, Technical and in the Educational Committees of IEEE Magnetics Society. He is the Editor for the journal IEEE Magnetics Letters. He was keynote or invited speaker for many national and international conferences. He was invited professor in France, USA, Japan and Taiwan. He co-authored more than 300 ISI papers with more than 2000 independent citations in the domains of magnetism, hysteresis theory, and magnetization processes modelling. He is Knight of the Order “Merit in Education” in 2004 (Romanian Ministry of Education) and received in 2010 the “Stefan Procopiu” Award from the National Romanian Academy. His main scientific interest is on magnetism and magnetic materials. He is internationally recognized for the results he obtained in the study of non-linear physical processes with hysteresis in magnetic, ferroelectric and other types of materials. He contributed significantly to the development of the Preisach modelling and to the profound understanding of the physical basis of the phenomenological models of hysteresis.

Plenary Lecture:          First-order Reversal Curves (FORC) Diagram Characterization Technique of Hysteretic Processes

Abstract: One of the most significant contributions to the development of characterization techniques in magnetism is based on the measurement of a special category of minor loops known as first-order reversal curves (FORC) instead of the well-known use of the data from the major hysteresis loop. Typically, 100 FORCs that cover the surface of the major hysteresis loop are sufficient to produce an experimental FORC diagram. This diagram was for many years seen as a sort of magnetic sample fingerprint and was used to identify various phases present in the magnetic materials. This initial success was the fundament for the effort to transform the method from a virtually qualitative one to a powerful quantitative tool able to identify not only the presence of different phases but also to give information about the distribution of the coercive fields and of the intensity of interactions between the ferromagnetic particles/domains. The method was recently applied in other fields of physics and gradually became the standard characterization tool of hysteretic processes observed in ferroelectricity, geology, archeology, spin-transition materials, etc. The main research effort in the last few years is focused on the developing of the tools to improve the strength of the FORC diagram technique as a quantitative one able to provide a wealth of physical information in various technological problems. The talk will present the state-of-the-art in the FORC technique and the main recent developments in this area.

Octavian Popescu graduated Faculty of Science, University of Belgrade, in 1976, and received the PhD degree from the University “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” Iassy, in 1985. His professional carrier began at Laboratory of Human Genetics, County Hospital Cluj, Cluj-Napoca. In 1981, he moved to the Department of Cell Biology, University of Medicine and Pharmacy Cluj-Napoca, as Lecturer and Senior Lecturer (1990). From December 1990 to end of 1992, he was Associate Scientist at the Institut Pasteur Paris, France. From January 1993 to December 1996 he was Associate Scientist in the Department of Research, University Hospital Basel, Switzerland, in 1996 Visiting Professor (6 months) at Biozentrum, University of Basel, Switzerland, and in 1998 Visiting Scientist (9 months) at INSERM U42, Villneuve d'Ascq, France. In 1997 he was appointed Professor of Genetics and Recombinant DNA Technology at the Babes-Bolyai University, Faculty of Biology and Geology, Cluj-Napoca. Dr. Popescu is the author of three textbooks in the field of biochemistry and molecular biology (Electrophoresis, Editura Tehnica, Bucuresti, 184 pp., 1988; Protein electrophoresis on polyacrylamide gels, Editura Tehnica, Bucuresti, 268 pp., 1990; Dictionary of general microbiology and molecular biology, Editura Academiei Romane, 1347 pp., 2011). Over 90 peer reviewed research papers in journals indexed by Web of Science (Nature, Science, PNAS-USA, J Biol Chem, J Mol Biol, Eur J Immunol, Biochemistry-USA, J Membrane Biol, Electrophoresis, J Cell Biochem, Mol Pharmacol, FEBS Lett, Nanotechnology, Nanoscale, Biochimie, Zootaxa, etc.), 15 chapters in books and co-author of 6 patents. Main research activities: Erythrocyte membrane proteins and water transport. Production of heterologous proteins in Escherichia coli. Proteoglycan mediated cell recognition and adhesion in marine sponges. Biochemical characterization of glyconectins, a new class of cell adhesion molecules. Atomic force microscopy and cell adhesion. Cloning and expression of different microorganism genes. Human genotyping. Molecular taxonomy and phylogeny. Human and hominoid retrotransposons. Expression of a specific transcription factor in mouse retina. Bionanotechnology. Member of the Romanian Academy since 2000 (Full member, 2010).

Plenary Lecture:          Measuring Biological Interactions at the Single-Molecule Level by Atomic Force Microscopy

Abstract: Long- and short-range interactions between life macromolecules are very important for the energetic comportment of biological systems. The investigation of these interactions by thermodynamic and kinetic approaches does not provide an accurate evaluation of the intermolecular binding because the well-defined quantitation of the force (the derivative of energy with respect to separation distance) is not possible. In order to obtain in-depth data concerning the distribution of interaction energy, i.e. binding strength, between two biological structures, we have used atomic force microscopy (AFM). The atomic force microscope is a proper device for quantifying intermolecular forces between nanometer-scale entities. The intrinsic interactions can be measured in real time with a high three-dimensional resolution. By means of AFM we investigated the interaction between cell adhesion macromolecules in well-defined physiological conditions. We selected the glyconectin 1 (GN1) as a model system (a cell adhesion proteoglycan isolated from the marine sponge Clathria prolifera). The GN1 mediates in vivo cell recognition and adhesion via homophilic, specific, polyvalent, and calcium ion-dependent glycan-glycan interactions.

Viorel Bădescu (born Bughea de Jos, Arges, Romania, 24 September 1953) is Professor of Engineering Thermodynamics and affiliated with Candida Oancea Institute at Polytechnic University of Bucharest. His mainstream scientific contributions consist of more than 300 papers and 40 books related to various fields in science and engineering. Most of his research areas refer to terrestrial and space solar energy applications, including research on photo-thermal energy conversion by flat plate collectors and solar power plants, the physics of radiation, photovoltaic conversion of solar energy and solar radiation properties and solar radiation distribution and forecasting. Other fields of interest are statistical physics and thermodynamics, the physics of semiconductors, and the optimal control of thermal engineering processes. Also, he has theorized on present-day Mars meteorology and Mars terraforming and on several macro-engineering projects. He was/is Associate editor and member of the editorial board of several international journals including Space Power, Energy, Renewable Energy and Journal of Energy Engineering and he is acting as a reviewer for more than 50 international journals. He is member of 8 scientific societies including the International Solar Energy Society and the European Astronomical Society. He received four awards including the Romanian Academy Prize for Physics in 1979. He is member of the Romanian Academy.

Plenary Lecture:          Upper Bounds for Photothermal and Photovoltaic Conversion Efficiency

Abstract: The available work exergy of thermal radiation may be derived ab initio by using a simple statistical thermodynamic approach. A general upper bound exists for the efficiency of thermal radiation conversion into work. This efficiency is different from the Carnot efficiency and generalizes the Petela efficiencylike factor appearing in the available work of blackbody radiation. The maximum efficiencies of photothermal and photovoltaic conversions are particular cases of this general result. One proves by using available work considerations that the maximum efficiency of photothermal conversion is higher than the maximum efficiency of photovoltaic conversion.

Lucian Dăscălescu graduated with first class honors from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Cluj-Napoca, in 1978, and received the Dr. Eng. degree from the Polytechnic Institute of Bucharest, in 1991. He obtained the Dr. Sci. degree in 1994, and then the HDR diploma in physics, both from the University of Grenoble. His professional carrier began at CUG, Cluj-Napoca. In 1983, he moved to the Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, as Ass. Prof. of Electr. Eng. Starting from 1993, after one year as an Invited Lecturer at Toyohashi University of Technology, Japan, he taught a course in electromechanical conversion of energy at IUT 1 Grenoble. In 1997, he was appointed Prof. of Electr. Eng. at the Univ. of Poitiers, IUT Angoulême, where he is the head of the Applied Electrostatics Group. Dr. Dascalescu is the author of several textbooks in the field of electrical engineering and ionized gases. He holds 16 patents, has written more than 250 papers, is member of the steering committee of several international conferences, and Assoc. Editor of IEEE Trans. Ind. Appl., IEEE Trans. Diel. El. Insul., J. Electrostatics and other peer-reviewed scientific journals. He was invited to lecture on the electrostatics of granular materials at numerous universities and international conferences. Prof. Dascalescu is Fellow IEEE, Past Chair of the Electrostatics Processes Committee IEEE, Past-Vice-Chair of IEEE France section, and member of the board of the French Society of Electrostatics. He was awarded the title of Doctor Honoris Causa of the Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, the University of Pitesti and University “Politehnica” of Bucharest.

Plenary Lecture:          Electrostatic Processes Applications of Electrical Discharges

Abstract: Most electrostatic processes involve the action of electric field forces on electrically charged bodies. The corona discharge is frequently used as charging mechanism in such processes. Thus, DC corona-charged dust particles can be captured by the electrodes of electrostatic filters, while the non-conductive constituents of a granular mixture can be separated from the conductive ones in the electric field of a corona-electrostatic separator. DC corona exposure of non-woven textiles for filtering media can significantly enhance their particle collection efficiency. The dielectric barrier discharge can modify the surface state of the materials exposed to it. For instance, this non-thermal plasma treatment may enhance the efficiency of the tribocharging process of granular mixed plastic wastes in view of their electrostatic separation. The presentation will briefly describe recent applications of corona and dielectric barrier discharges developed by the PPRIME Institute of the University of Poitiers, France, in partnership with researchers from “Politehnica” University in Bucharest, Technical University of Cluj-Napoca and University of Sidi-Bel-Abbes, Algeria. R & D of new electrostatic processes can largely benefit from the use of these techniques.