Opening Remarks: The conference opened with remarks from Rogerio Colaco, President of Instituto Superior Técnico, who highlighted the importance of international collaboration in advancing nanoscience. He praised the scientific community’s efforts in pushing the boundaries of nanotechnology and contributing to real-world applications.

Conference Leadership:

• Conference Chairs:
  • Jose Paulo Farinha, Instituto Superior Técnico, University of Lisbon, Portugal
  • Carlos Baleizão, Instituto Superior Técnico, University of Lisbon, Portugal
  • Ermelinda Maçôas, Instituto Superior Técnico, University of Lisbon, Portugal

Plenary Talks: NanoSeries 2024 featured an impressive array of plenary speakers whose research spanned energy, healthcare, materials science, and beyond:

• Dmitri Golberg, Queensland University of Technology, Australia – “Boron Nitride Nanotubes and Nanosheets: Syntheses, Properties, and Applications”
• Maurizio Prato, University of Trieste, Italy – “Carbon Nanodots: The Missing Link Between the Molecular and the Nanoscale Worlds”
• Pooi See Lee, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore – “Stimuli Responsive Materials and Devices for Soft Robotics and Soft Electronics”
• Salvador Pané i Vidal, ETH Zurich, Switzerland – “Magnetic Micro- and Nanorobots”
• João F. Mano, University of Aveiro, Portugal – “Nanobiomaterials in Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine”
• Luisa De Cola, University of Milan, Italy – “Hybrid and Supramolecular Nanomaterials for Biomedical Applications”
• Kazunari Domen, The University of Tokyo, Japan – “Particulate Photocatalysts for Water Splitting to Produce Solar Hydrogen”
• Jacob Sagiv, Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel – “Unusual Nanoscale Electrical Conduction via a Novel Monolayer Surface Patterning Methodology”

Keynote Talks: In addition to plenary sessions, NanoSeries 2024 presented specialized keynote talks covering advanced materials processing, bioengineering, and energy solutions:

• Nicola Pinna, Humboldt University of Berlin, Germany – “Novel Materials Chemistry for Energy and Environmental Applications”
• Josep Puigmartí-Luis, University of Barcelona, Spain – “Revolutionizing Materials Engineering and Processing with Microfluidic Tools”
• Julia Pérez Prieto, University of Valencia, Spain – “Singlet Sensitization of a BODIPY Rotor Triggered by Marriage with Perovskite Nanocrystals”
• Denys Makarov, Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Germany – “Magnetic Nanomembranes: From Soft Robotics to Eco-sustainable Magnetoelectronics”
• Uri Banin, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel – “Colloidal Quantum Dot Molecules: Fusion Chemistry, Multiexciton Spectroscopy, and Color Switching”
• Manja Kubeil, Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Germany – “Radiolabeled Nanomaterials and Nano-objects for Imaging Applications”
• Emilio Palomares, The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Spain – “The Contact Makes the Device: Molecules that Rule Solar Cells Efficiency”
• Andres Castellanos-Gomez, Material Science Institute of Madrid, Spain – “Scalable High-throughput Mechanical Exfoliation for Cost-effective Production of van der Waals Nanosheets”
• Shelley A. Claridge, Purdue University, USA – “Plenty of Room at the Top: Designing Soft Matter from Molecular to Macroscopic Scales”
• Clivia M. Sotomayor Torres, International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory, Portugal – “Next-generation Light-matter Interactions: Optoelectronics and Optomechanics”
• Javier Garcia Martinez, University of Alicante, Spain – “Nanoengineering Catalysis for Clean Energy Solutions”
• Markus Niederberger, ETH Zurich, Switzerland – “Engineering of Aerogel Photocatalysts from Nanoparticulate Building Blocks”
• Erwin Reisner, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom – “Integrated Solar-powered Nanotechnologies for Sustainable Chemical Synthesis”

Session Chairs: Distinguished session chairs facilitated dynamic discussions on cutting-edge topics, enhancing the collaborative spirit of the conference. Key session chairs included:

• Dmitri Golberg, Tito Trindade, Andres Castellanos-Gomez, Pooi See Lee, Nicola Pinna, Maria Aseniso, João F. Mano, Larysa Baraban, Maurizio Prato, Erwin Reisner, Jerome Claverie, Nicolás Agrait, Juan P. Martínez-Pastor, Mika Pettersson, M.H. Godinho, Carlos Franco Pujante, Julia Pérez Prieto, Teresa Gatti, Kazunari Domen, Radek Zbořil, and Marinella Striccoli.

Award Winners: To recognize outstanding contributions, NanoSeries 2024 presented awards across several categories:

• Wiley-VCH Poster Winners:
  • Jakub Copak – Nanodiamonds Coated with Thermoresponsive Polymers for Intracellular Thermometry, Czech Republic
  • Joana Soeiro – Simultaneous Photothermal Therapy and Temperature Mapping with Fe₃Se₄ Nanoparticles, Portugal
  • Gabriel Garcia Carvalho – Highly Porous Ni-Fe and Ni-Fe-Cu Nanofoams for Hydrogen Production, Portugal
• NanoScale RSC BEST Poster Presentation Winners:
  • Maria João Álvaro-Martins – Surface Engineering Silica Nanoparticles for Enhanced Biocompatibility, Portugal
  • Carolina Neca – Nanowarriors Charged with Therapeutic Deep Eutectic Systems for Colorectal Cancer, Portugal
  • Yendry Corrales – Understanding of the Velvet Worm Anti-adhesive Skin Mechanism as a Model for Biodegradable and Low Protein Adsorption Coatings, Costa Rica
• Nanoscale RSC Best Early Career Researcher (ECR) Presentation Winners:
  • Zhiyi Wu – Rational Design of Efficient Catalysts for Photothermal CO₂ Hydrogenation, China
  • Alan R. Bowman – Probing Plasmonic Chemistry at the Nanoscale, Switzerland
  • Valentina Castagnola – Nano-biomimetic and Molecular Strategies to Cross the Blood-brain Barrier, Italy
  • Domenica Convertino – Interaction of Graphene and WS₂ with Neural Cells, Italy