The 2024 COPCA conference in Valletta

Abstract

The physical and chemical changes induced by collision processes are of indisputable significance to various fields of scientific inquiry. Indeed, the transfer of energy during a collision needs to be investigated over multiple spatial and energetic scales, ranging from the nanoscale (e.g., nanolithographic fabrication techniques during focused electron beam induced deposition) (De Teresa et al., 2016; Huth et al., 2012) to the cosmic scale (e.g., cometary or asteroidal impacts with planetary bodies in the Solar System) (Gisler et al., 2011; Toon et al., 1997). The evident multidisciplinary nature of collisions research therefore means that experimental and theoretical methodologies used in one particular field of research may prove useful to solving outstanding problems in another (Solovyov et al., 2024), and thus cross-disciplinary collaborations should be encouraged and fostered in order to further advance the current status of investigative research work. Such was the primary motivation of the inaugural Collisions Physics and Chemistry and their Applications (COPCA) Conference, held in Valletta in 2022: to bring together researchers from apparently disparate fields whose work relates broadly to collisions on the nano-, meso- and macroscales so as to provide new insights into ongoing research projects as well as foster the establishment of new collaborations. (Excerpt)