On September 3-4, 2026, the second in the series of international conferences “Magnetic Soft Matter for Robotics” took place at the TEK Building, Faculty of Engineering, University of Southern Denmark (SDU), in Odense, Denmark. This conference series was launched within the framework of the EU Marie Skłodowska-Curie MAESTRI doctoral network (project no. 101119614), with the goal of creating a dedicated platform for connecting researchers within the emerging research area of applications of magnetic soft matter for robotics, a field considered very promising for breakthrough technologies in the near future. The conference series serves as a forum for researchers from various disciplines and industrial sectors, where they can meet in person, exchange ideas and present their latest achievements in the field.
The conference was attended by about 30 participants, fostering an international exchange of ideas and expertise, with invited speakers joining from institutions in Denmark, Germany, the United Kingdom, Slovenia and Belgium. The scientific program included 10 invited lectures covering topics such as magnetoactive elastomers, magnetic tunability of material properties, shape adaptation and self-sensing capabilities for robotic applications, alongside a doctoral colloquium poster session featuring short spotlight presentations and discussion over refreshments. The abstracts of all contributions were published in the official Book of Abstracts, available via Zenodo. On Thursday, September 3, a conference dinner was organized in the evening, offering participants a relaxed atmosphere to continue conversations and strengthen professional ties. The event concluded on Friday afternoon with lab visits and individual discussions at SDU, giving participants the opportunity to explore ongoing research firsthand.
Figure 1 Group photo of all MAESTRI 2026 conference participants on the staircase of the TEK Building, SDU.
Figure 2 Participants during a lab visit and hands-on demonstration at SDU.
Day 1 Photos
Day 2 Photos
