Record Participation at 2021 Symposium on Piezoelectricity, Acoustic Waves, and Device Applications
The 15th Symposium on Piezoelectricity, Acoustic Waves, and Device Applications (15th SPAWDA21) was held on April 16-19, 2021 in Zhengzhou, Henan province. This major technical conference is held in collaboration of IEEE UFFC-S, the Chinese Society of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics (CSTAM), and the Acoustical Society of China (ASC). The conference was organized by Professor Jiangong Yu and team at Henan Polytechnic University. More than 450 researchers and engineers in the field of piezoelectric and acoustic wave devices from universities, research institutes, and businesses attended the conference which is a record number of participants and institutions.
Due to the Covid-19 epidemic, the SPAWDA was postponed from last year. The theme of the conference focuses on cutting-edge and hot technical issues such as thermal-mechanical-electric-magnetic multi-field couplings and multi-scale mechanics of piezoelectric, ferroelectric, and magnetoelectric materials and devices with emphases on applications in technology innovation and product development. Targeting piezoelectric acoustic wave devices, novel piezoelectric semiconductor materials, ultrasonic nondestructive testing, and biological electromechanical systems, and other emerging technology developments for critical applications, this year’s conference attracted major universities and institutions in the field. Technical personnel participated from nearly 30 high-tech enterprises, such as Huawei, TXC, Timemaker, Sunny Optics, and Sonol Instruments, as well as some leading research institutions. The conference accepted 251 abstracts and organized a program including 9 plenary talks, 17 invited talks, 135 oral presentations, and 90 student paper competition entries. Unfortunately, there was no international participation for this Spawda conference due to the impact of Covid-19.
Professor Ji Wang of Ningbo University made brief remarks in the opening session as the representative of the IEEE UFFC. He stressed that the IEEE UFFC is continuing to support the SPAWDA, and the well-organized conference will expand the global network of the IEEE community.
Nine plenary speakers covered broad subjects of research activities related to the conference themes including piezoelectric devices, wave propagation, ultrasonics, medical devices, and sensors. The participation of some well-known and leading domestic companies in the conference showed the importance of the conference themes and the growing interests for the fields in research. In the critical areas of carbon neutrality, piezoelectric acoustic wave technology also showed its great potential for reducing technology’s impact on the global environment through key contributions such as sensors and catalysis.
According to the tradition, 10 outstanding student papers were honored with honorary certificates and awards at the banquet. After the awards ceremony, Professor Ying Yang from Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics announced that the next SPAWDA will be in Nanjing later this year.