The 3rd International Conference on Computational Design and Simulation of Materials (CDSM2026) was successfully held in Shenyang, Liaoning Province, from August 28 to 30. The conference was co-sponsored by The Chinese Society for Metals (CSM), the Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences (IMR, CAS), and The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society (TMS). The conference was co-chaired by Academician LI Dianzhong (IMR, CAS) and Dr. Song-Mao (Simon) Liang (TMS representative). Academician LI Yiyi, Chair of the 1st CDSM, was invited to attend. The conference was also supported by the Central Iron and Steel Research Institute, Northeastern University, and the Shenyang Association for Science and Technology.
At the opening ceremony, Prof. LIU Gang, Director of IMR, delivered a welcome address on behalf of the organizers. Prof. SHANG Chengjia, Chair of the Foreign Exchange Committee of CSM, addressed the conference on behalf of CSM. Dr. Song-Mao (Simon) Liang spoke on behalf of TMS. SUN Xiaohui, Secretary of the Party Leadership Group and Vice Chair of the Shenyang Association for Science and Technology, also attended and delivered a welcome speech. The opening ceremony was chaired by Prof. CHEN Xingqiu, Secretary of the Party Committee and Deputy Director of IMR, who served as the Executive Chair of the conference.
The conference featured plenary sessions and two parallel thematic symposia: "AI-Enabled Multi-Scale Materials Computing" and "Materials Processing Simulation and Applications." Participants engaged in in-depth discussions on topics including computational methodology innovation, paradigm shifts in materials R&D, and the deep integration of artificial intelligence with traditional materials science and technology.
Twelve distinguished domestic and international experts delivered plenary presentations, including Academician ZHANG Tongyi (Shanghai University), Academician Long-Qing Chen (Pennsylvania State University), Academician Alan Luo (The Ohio State University), Academician Hongbiao Dong (University of Birmingham), Prof. Matthias Scheffler (Founding Director, Theory Department, Fritz Haber Institute, Germany), as well as Prof. LIU Zikui, WANG Yunzhi, XU Can, SUNZhimei, CAO Weisheng, CHEN Xingqiu and XU Wei. They shared the latest advances across fundamental theory, computational methods, and engineering applications. Additionally, 50 invited experts, scholars and technical leaders from domestic and international universities, institutes and technology companies presented talks in the two symposia. The conference provided an excellent platform for cross-disciplinary exchange. Five Best Poster Awards were presented to encourage young scholars to showcase and discuss their work.
This conference further strengthened exchange and collaboration between China and the international community in computational materials science. It showcased the latest progress in computational design, materials simulation and AI-empowered materials research. By bringing together expertise across fundamental research, computational methods, software tools and industrial applications, the conference provided an important platform for advancing the deep integration of computational materials science with advanced materials R&D, accelerating the transition from experience-driven to data- and intelligence-driven materials research. The first two CDSM conferences were held in Shenyang (2015) and the United States (2018), respectively.
