Conference Archive

Ferroelectrics UK 2007

Introduction

Ferroelectrics UK 2007 will be the seventh annual meeting designed to bring together industrial and academic communities involved with ferroelectric and related materials to exchange knowledge and expertise on the state of the art.

All aspects of ferroelectricity and ferroelectric materials fall within the scope of the conference. In addition the conference will cover the related topics of piezoelectric, pyroelectric and multiferroic materials and their applications in sensors, actuators and electronics.

Previous meetings have been held in Birmingham, Paisley, Cranfield, Belfast, Leeds, and Sheffield. They have attracted delegates from the USA and Europe as well as the UK, giving a valuable opportunity for participants to present their work and seek out new materials, update their knowledge and enhance interactions within the ferroelectrics community.

Bursaries
Two PhD student bursaries are available from the IOP Materials and Characterisation Group, these will cover the registration fees for the meeting, however, you must be a member of, or join, the IOP Group to be eligible. If you wish to apply for one of these you required to send a copy of you abstract along with a few hundred words (under a side of A4) detailing our own work and how you expect to benefit from the meeting to the organisers (d.j.keeble@dundee.ac.uk and finlay.morrison@st-andrews.ac.uk).

Organisers
Dr David Keeble, University of Dundee
E-mail: d.j.keeble@dundee.ac.uk
Tel: 01382 383 461

Dr Finlay Morrison, University of St Andrews
E-mail: finlay.morrison@st-andrews.ac.uk

Conference Organiser
Dawn Stewart
The Institute of Physics
76 Portland Place
London W1B 1NT
E-mail: dawn.stewart@iop.org
Tel: +44 (0)20 7470 4800
Fax: +44 (0)20 7470 4900

General Information

Venue
West Park, with its prime location in the City’s west-end, holds the enviable reputation as one of the most renowned Conference and Special Events providers in Scotland.
Not only does it boast an impressive 300 delegate Auditorium, West Park has recently added the contemporary, spacious Balbeggie Suite to its portfolio as well, offering space for some 120 delegates.

A major refurbishment programme has also seen many of the meeting and function rooms within the delightful Mansion House, restored to their former glory. With some 17 different areas of varying capacities and room layouts within which to hold large conferences, meetings, workshops, private functions or exhibitions, West Park is certainly a venue worthy of consideration.

Directions from Aberdeen:
Travel Time about 1 hour
Entering Dundee from the A90, at roundabout take the 2nd exit onto Forfar Road - A929 (signposted City Centre). At traffic signals continue forward (signposted City Centre). Continue forward onto Blackscroft and continue forward onto Seagate. At East Port Roundabout take the 1st exit onto East Marketgait - A991 (signposted Tay Bridge, Arbroath). At traffic signals turn right onto the A991 (signposted Tay Bridge/Perth). At Bridge Roundabout take the 2nd exit onto Marketgait - A991. At Riverside Roundabout take the 3^rd exit onto South Marketgait - A991 (signposted City Centre, Coupar Angus). At West Port Roundabout take the 1st exit onto Hawkhill. Bear right onto Perth Road and turn right onto West Park Road.

Directions from Edinburgh
Travel Time about 90 minutes
Start out going Northwest on Turnhouse Road. Turn right onto Meadowfield Road. Turn right onto Craigs Road for 0.5 miles. Turn left onto Maybury Road, pass through 1 roundabout, turn slight left onto Whitehouse Road and slight left onto Queensferry Road (A90). Stay straight to go onto M90. Turn slight right onto A90 and follow directions below from Perth.

Directions from Perth:
Travel Time about 40 minutes.
From the A90 go Northeast for approximately 16 miles. At the first roundabout on the approach to Dundee and take the third exit on your right (Riverside Drive). Continue along Riverside Drive (A85) for about one mile until you reach the next roundabout. Take the first exit (up a steep hill). Take the first right onto the Perth Road. Continue along the Perth Road, passing Fernbrae Hospital on your left – travel a further few hundred yards and West Park is located on the left hand side.

By Air
Dundee Airport is 3 miles to the west of the city centre (only five minutes drive from West Park . From Riverside Drive (A85) turn left out of the airport. When you reach the roundabout take the third exit (up a steep hill). Take the first right onto the Perth Road. Continue along the Perth Road, passing Fernbrae Hospital on your left – travel a further few hundred yards and West Park is located on the left hand side.

By Rail
Dundee is on the main East Coast route with direct services to Newcastle, York and London, and to Carlisle, Preston, Coventry, Birmingham, Oxford, Bristol, Reading, Southampton, Bournemouth and Plymouth. Rail journeys to the other major cities in Scotland (Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow) take approximately 11/4hrs. The railway station is only a 5 minute drive from West Park.

By Car
Dundee is best approached from the south via the A90 for traffic coming from Edinburgh (M90) and Glasgow (A9) and beyond. From the outskirts of Dundee the route into West Park is well signposted and relatively easy to follow. There is also a scenic route from Edinburgh along the Fife coastline and into Dundee via the Tay Road Bridge.

City of Dundee
Dundee - City of Discovery is the jewel of North East of Scotland (www.cityofdiscovery.com).

Modern Dundee is a city of discovery, diversity and dynamism, qualities encapsulated by world leading research in the life sciences, a burgeoning digital media sector, a vibrant arts and cultural life and a successful local economy.

In a setting on the banks of the River Tay described by actor and raconteur Stephen Fry as 'ludicrously ideal', Dundee offers a peerless quality of life. Dundee derived its name either from Dondie from the Latin Donum Dei meaning Gift of God or from the Gaelic Dun Deagh, Fort of Fire.

Dundee has a rich scientific heritage and has played host to the pioneers of aspirin, electric light, wireless telegraphy, manned flight, X-Rays, the adhesive postage stamp, keyhole surgery and radar.

Dundonian Admiral Adam Duncan - a contemporary of Lord Nelson - masterminded the defeat of the Dutch navy at the Battle of Camperdown in 1797 and became a national hero. The Royal Research Ship Discovery - which was captained by Robert Falcon Scott on his journey to the Antarctic - was built in the city. Dundee was a great whaling port whose ships and crew criss-crossed the world's oceans.

Flights to Dundee
The Scot Airways (www.scotairways.co.uk) London City flight can be very expensive; currently a return on the most convenient flights is £203.80.

Whoosh (www.flywhoosh.com) have started services with Birmingham and Belfast City, the Birmingham price for example is currently £107.17 return. In practice the Belfast flights are not very convenient for the meeting.

Flights via Edinburgh Airport
This is the next best choice. A number of budget airlines fly to Edinburgh from various UK and European cities (www.edinburghairport.com). Using public transport you get the Airport Express 100 bus to Edinburgh Haymarket (or Waverly) Railway Station and then the train to Dundee. The train journey typically takes 1hr 20mins, the bus journey ~ 20 mins.

An alternative, particularly for larger groups may be to hire a car at the airport. The run is under 60 mins in good driving conditions, but is very traffic dependent. There is a chauffeur drive service (www.centretravel.co.uk), but is rather expensive costing ~£45 each way per person and needs to be booked in advance.

Flights via Aberdeen Airport
This is approximately the same distance as Edinburgh Airport but the travel times, either by road or rail, tend to be longer. The traffic in Aberdeen can be surprisingly bad. An option is to get a taxi to Dyce railway station then a train to Dundee via Aberdeen.

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