Focus on molecular water science - CMWS Water DAYS 2024

The CMWS Water DAYS 2024 took place at DESY in Hamburg from 26-28 February 2024 as the 7th general CMWS meeting. More than 80 participants discussed the key challenges in molecular water research and the status and future of the Centre for Molecular Water Science (CMWS).

Participants of the CMWS Water DAYS 2024 at DESY. (Photo: DESY, Marta Mayer)

Water is the most important liquid for our life and therefore plays an important role in biology, chemistry, physics, and geoscience with high relevance for many societal challenges such as climate, sustainability, energy, environment, and health. Despite its central role and numerous research efforts worldwide, we are still lacking for instance a comprehensive molecular picture of the hydrogen bonding network believed to be responsible for the unique properties of water. The CMWS initiative brings together key experts to advance the understanding of the fundamental questions about molecular processes in water and at water interfaces systematically. More than 40 partners from different institutes around Europe and beyond are planning to sign this year a declaration to officially form the CMWS consortium.

During the meeting the status and the future perspectives of CMWS were presented. The continued topical calls on water research at DESY’s X-ray source PETRA III and the European XFEL were presented and discussed. A continuation of updated topical calls, possibly even a joint call, would be supported by the scientific network. Beyond the science highlights of invited speakers and from contributed talks of CMWS partners, a poster session gave insight into the latest research results obtained in all CMWS main research topics.

In the framework of the ‘CMWS Science Program’ collaborations between DESY and CMWS network partners have been established. Their aim is to tackle the scientific challenges in water research formulated in the CMWS White paper. More than 30 joint research projects of young researchers have participated in this program. They also had the opportunity to report the status of their projects during the CMWS Water DAYS 2024.

Further Information

CMWS Water DAYS 2024: https://indico.desy.de/event/42863/