From 15 to 19 July 2014, around 200 plasma physicists came to Greifswald for the ESCAMPIG (Europhysics Conference on Atomic and Molecular Physics of Ionised Gases) symposium. The scientists came from Europe, but also from Japan, South Korea, India, China, the USA and Russia, for example. The symposium focused on topics in the field of plasma physics, ranging from atomic and molecular processes in plasmas to the interaction of plasmas with surfaces and self-organisation in plasmas. Apart from fusion plasmas, the conference thus covers almost the entire spectrum of plasma physics processes in natural and laboratory plasmas. The conference took place in the Greifswald Town Hall. The conference language was English.
Natural plasmas are just as much a subject of the conference as new concepts for the development and application of plasma sources. This means that questions arising from the concrete application of plasmas will also be discussed. For example, the use of plasmas for biomedical applications, the refinement of surfaces using plasmas, such as the production of ultra-hard surfaces or surfaces with low friction, and plasma catalysis in CO2 degradation. Lightning discharges between clouds (in the troposphere) and the ionosphere (the electrically conductive upper atmosphere of the Earth) will also be discussed.
ESCAMPIG is considered one of the most important European conferences on plasma physics. It has been held every two years since 1973. The ESCAMPIG conference last took place in Germany in 1986. Greifswald was also the venue on that occasion. The conference is organised by the Institute of Physics in cooperation with the Leibniz Institute for Plasma Science and Technology (INP) and the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics (IPP).
Plasma physics is an explicit research programme at the University of Greifswald. This is reflected, among other things, in the SFB-TR24 "Fundamentals of Complex Plasmas" based at the Institute of Physics at the University of Greifswald, in which INP working groups are also involved, and in the institute's participation in the Rostock SFB 652 "Strong Correlations and Collective Phenomena in Radiation Fields". Greifswald is also home to the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics, which operates the world's largest stellarator experiment for fusion research. Accordingly, the local organising committee of ESCAMPIG includes members from the University's Institute of Physics, the Leibniz Institute and the Max Planck Institute. The award of the conference to Greifswald underlines the importance of Greifswald's plasma research in an international comparison and is a great recognition.
