Learning from and for the Planet Earth 1st SIMP-AIC Joint Meeting

The Società Italiana di Mineralogia e Petrologia (SIMP) and the Associazione Italiana di Cristallografia (AIC) welcome you to the first joint meeting of the two societies. The aim of this meeting is to tighten the relations among the Italian petrological, mineralogical and crystallographic communities, to show new points of contacts and to stimulate further synergies. Particular emphasis will be put on the contributions that an atomistic perspective may give to the study of geo-materials, both from the point of view of their stability and systematics and from their role in natural and anthropogenic processes, especially as far as interactions between the geo- and the bio-sphere are concerned.The rationale of the meeting is a journey from the inner towards the surface of the planet Earth, which starts from the present knowledge of mantle processes, focuses on reaction surfaces in minerals and in geo- and nano-materials and ends with the study and engineering of materials relevant for Earth, Materials and Biological Sciences.A number of disciplinary symposia will summarize the state of the art of the Italian research in mineralogy and petrology and to their applications to environmental issues and cultural heritages, as well as of the many facets of the crystallographic researches. Outstanding scientists from different countries and disciplines have been invited to give plenary talks, with the objective to provide an interesting and stimulating melting pot for future research.