Summary - 18th International Conference on Surface X-ray and Neutron Scattering (SXNS18)

The 18th International Conference on Surface X-ray and Neutron Scattering (SXNS18) will take place at the Advanced Photon Source (APS) at Argonne National Laboratory in the greater Chicago area from July 20–23, 2026.

The conference will convene an international community of researchers investigating surfaces and interfaces across solid, liquid, biological, and soft and hard condensed-matter systems using advanced X-ray and neutron scattering techniques. The scientific program will highlight recent advances in instrumentation and data analysis, nanostructured surfaces and interfaces, soft-matter and biological interfaces, magnetic thin films and proximity effects, topological and other emergent interfacial materials, and the static and dynamic behavior of surfaces, interfaces, and nanoscale structures.

The conference information, including programs, registration, venue and accommodation, and a list of invited speakers will be forthcoming.

The annual ORSO (Open Reflectometry Standards Organization ) satellite meeting will follow immediately after SXNS18 on July 24, 2026.

The conference will include, but not limited to, the following topics (tentative):

• Advanced instrumentation and methods

• Coherence scattering and imaging for surface and interfaces

• Machine learning and AI for data analysis

• Liquid surfaces and interfaces

• Magnetic thin films and interfaces

• Atomic and nanostructured surfaces and interfaces

• Life processes at Interfaces

• Biological and Soft Matter interfaces and devices

• Environmental science at interfaces

• Materials synthesis and fabrication at Interfaces

• Interfacial engineering

• Dynamics of surfaces, interfaces, and nanostructures.

• Role of Interfaces in chemical separations, reaction and catalysis

Keynote and Invited Speakers:

Sophie Ayscough (Institut Laue-Langevin, France)

Irene Calvo-Almazan (Universidad de Zaragoza, Spain)

Grace Causer (European Spallation Source, Sweden)

Miaoqi Chu (Argonne National Laboratory, US)

Mathieu Doucet (Oak Ridge National Laboratory, US)

Paul Fenter (Argonne National Laboratory, US)

Oleg Konovalov (European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, France)

Tomoaki Kumeda (National Institute for Materials Science, Japan)

Ying Liu (University of Illinois Chicago, US)

Naoya Nishi (Kyoto University, Japan)

Ian Robinson (University College London, UK)

Frank Schreiber (University of Tuebingen, Germany)