===C. OBJECTIVES AND BENEFITS=== ==C.1 Aim== // Standard text as first item of this section (as this sentence will be quoted word for word in point 2 of the Memorandum proper, it should be extremely concise): "The aim of the Action is... (please add)" The impact of COST comes from concrete outcomes, not just activity. Therefore indicate clearly ** what should be achieved ** through the Action. Given that all COST Actions are networks of scientists, the objectives should therefore clearly state the purpose of such networking, indicating - where possible - clear expected deliverables, not only research activities to be undertaken. However, if the proposed Action is of specially novel or "high risk" nature so that concrete deliverables are difficult to envisage, this should be explained clearly in the proposal. // The aim of the Action is to advance European expertise in the control and prediction of the thermodynamic and mechanical properties of amorphous materials, by reaching a fundamental understanding of the basic physical mechanisms which control macroscopic behaviour. Special emphasis will be placed on the topic of mechanical response, which includes small and large deformations, homogeneous and inhomogeneous flow, and the transition to failure via strain localization. ==C.2 Objectives== // ** List and explain objectives ** (whenever possible in quantitative terms, which will make it easier to evaluate how well the Action may achieve its goals). // The outcomes of the Action will be primarily in the form of fundamental knowledge, but are directly connected to advanced technological developments and major industries. Acquiring fundamental knowledge about material behaviour is a complex process that requires coordination of research effort across a broad range of techniques of investigation. This research process creates concrete outcomes as listed below: * Understand how control parameters (density, temperature,…) or material composition (atom content for metallic glasses, amount and nature of polymer additives for colloidal glasses) affect the macroscopic response; this knowledge directly helps material formulation. * Identify transition criteria between different deformation regimes – homogeneous to inhomogeneous flow, Newtonian to non-Newtonian; produce deformation maps, which are a key phenomenological tool used by engineers to predict material response. * Construct predictive theories which are based on experimentally and numerically validated physical assumptions, and which are tested against measurements * Derive from these theories constitutive equations linking the stress in the material to its deformation history: these are key tools for engineers who need to predict the material response under complex working condition, via numerical modelling at the continuum scale * Stimulate research on other, still to a large extent unexplored, topics like magnetic and electric properties * Facilitate the transfer of the acquired fundamental knowledge about amorphous materials to applied research communities and to industry ==C.3 How will networking within the Action yield the objectives?== // **Distinguish between objectives ** (aims of the Action) ** and means needed** (manpower, equipment, etc.) ** to achieve these objectives ** (avoid any reference to method and means -- e.g. scientific problems to be solved as well as research tasks -- as they belong to section D (Scientific programme) detailed below). // A major impediment to progress on the fundamental understanding of amorphous materials is the lack of interaction between diverse communities – mechanical engineers, physicists, material scientists, etc. – which are involved in research on this inter-disciplinary topic. Moreover, the field is extremely active and very quickly evolving, leading to: (i) a strong variation in existing expertise among European countries; (ii) substantial hurdles in obtaining access to key experimental methods or theoretical concepts, in particular for early-stage researchers (ESRs). Networking is thus the crux of future developments in the field, in that it will permit to: * develop a common language among traditionally distinct and separate communities * facilitate transversal propagation of theoretical concepts and data analysis techniques * collect experimental and numerical data on diverse systems * transfer knowledge towards more applied research, and ultimately to industry. This will be performed via the organisation of regular meetings, workshops, training schools, and international conferences on amorphous materials. Short-Term Scientific Missions (STSMs) will play an especially important role, as they permit scientific advances on targeted cross-disciplinary questions which are key for the achievement of the Action's objectives. Training schools and STSMs will also play a key part in the education and involvement of ESRs by supporting their mobility and by allowing them, at an early stage in their career, to get acquainted to different methods, viewpoints, and approaches in a topic which has inter-disciplinarity at its core. ==C.4 Potential Impact of the Action== // Describe expected benefits that will stem from the action (with reference to section B). // The potential technological benefits of this Action are enormous. Few research fields so seamlessly span the whole range between the most basic research and the most applied as material physics, as is illustrated by the fact that several experimental groups involved in the Action are both pursuing basic research and actively working on the formulation of new materials in association with major industries. Indeed, there is potentially a large spectrum of industries where the impacts of research under this Action could be felt. The ultimate reason for this is that amorphous materials are so widespread in everyday life as to be almost literally ubiquitous. Colloidal suspensions and colloidal glasses occur, for example, in foodstuffs, paints, and personal care products, and also in clays as in cement. Processing of these soft materials invariably involves flow, and more accurate constitutive equations are much needed to improve efficiency or reliability gains in production. For metallic glasses the broad range of application has become apparent more recently, including e.g. the aeronautics industry where use of these materials could allow the design of stronger and lighter aircraft wings. They are also used in ultra-high voltage power transformers as they permit significant energy-loss reductions. Also in these cases, the material needs to be deformed to create the final product. The better prediction of material response under deformation that will arise from research stimulated by this Action therefore has the potential to feed rather directly into improvements in industrial processes. Other benefits will accrue at the level of basic research, in related topics such as the flow of poly-crystalline materials or the motion of magnetic domain walls (another driven system). ==C.5 Targeted groups/end users== //Reflect on the likely stakeholders and end users that will exploit the expected results. Indicate whether they were involved in the preparation of the proposal.// Participants in the Action (experimentalists and theorists) have active contacts with major industrial groups in a large of manufacturing sectors. Examples include: Lafarge (cement, concrete), Rhodia (paints and coatings, personal care), Saint-Gobain (glass, cement and other building materials), Danone (foodstuffs), or Unilever (personal care, foodstuffs). Several units participating in this Action are even mixed research laboratories co-financed by the public and private sectors on topics related to the formulation and processing of materials. Many more of the participating units – which are fully public institutions – carry out both fundamental and applied research and constantly host PhD or post-doc students who are co-sponsored by the public and private sectors and work on topics of direct interest to industry. These students are easily hired by industry, are are in great demand for the know-how they gain over the course of their research projects – both applied and fundamental – on the topic of amorphous materials. The hiring of ESRs by the private sector, the funding of collaborative public/private projects, and direct consulting or expertise performed in research laboratories are the major routes for the transfer of knowledge towards industry. Therefore, ESRs working on applied research projects, fellow scientists working in applied research, and industrial partners are the key end users targeted by this Action. Other end users would include researchers in related fields in academia, and the general public, as the field lends itself to kitchen table science experiments and provides scientific explanations for experiments even small children might perform to explore the world (e.g. shear thickening observed when stirring a mixture of water and cornstarch). At the higher education level, it is very likely that research findings will be incorporated into taught courses, particularly at Masters’ level, as well as providing PhD training opportunities.