The objective of this workshop is to bring scientists from different research fields together (academia: experiment, theory, and simulation; industrial research), where charge-charge interactions are important. The various ideas and methods used in the corresponding independently working disciplines will lead to a cross-fertilization and will boost the physics-based understanding that is necessary for the future development of smart soft-materials and to quantify biological processes. The planned research topics are concerned with charge interactions and transport of charged species, where the mobility of small ions often plays an important role. These topics thus range from interactions and transport of small ions, electrons, protons, and intermediate sized colloids, to synthetic macromolecules, proteins and DNA, ion channels, bioelectronics, living cells, and efficient batteries.

Specifically, the following topics will be addressed:

• Field-induced multipolar particle ionic polarizability and release of condensed ions
• Charge regulation, kinetics of proteins, DNA, and other biomolecules
• Functionalization of synthetic, charged particles
• Hydrogel ionic devices and soft-matter biomimetic actuators
• Charge transport in ion channels and proton diffusion
• Mesoscopic dynamics of assemblies of charged particles
• Nanobio-photonics: Bio-sensing displays and interfacial panels
• Efficient catalysis and micro/nano-batteries in automobiles

In order to bring the scientists from the various scientific methodolodical disciplines closer together, we plan to ask the participants to formulate prior to the workshop what they consider as fundamental questions in the field of charge interactions and transport. Accordingly, topics for discussion groups can be defined even before the workshop starts. Other topics might emerge spontaneously during the event.

The workshop is planned to extend over six half-day units (starting on the first day in the early afternoon and finishing on the fourth day around noon). In addition to the invited speakers (see “2. Participant List”) we expect – according to our experience - some 30 additional participants (among those PhD and post-docs), which will have the possibility to show their results in poster-sessions. The actual representations of the invited speakers will be kept to 25 to 30 minutes, offering ample time for discussions (15 to 20 minutes).
The number of invited speakers has been kept intentionally low, offering thereby the possibility of at least one discussion forum for all workshop participants per half day. One of these units will be dedicated to discuss possibilities and to decide on first steps to form in the near future scientific networks in this field, ideally within the Horizon2020 framework, including both academic and industrial research.