Metamaterials UK Conference & Forum 2026

Come together to shape the future of metamaterials at the Metamaterials UK Conference & Forum 2026!

Commitment Fee (payable via University of Exeter link on confirmation of place):

International delegate (non-UK institution): £1000

Standard Delegate (UK institution): £600

Early Career Research (UK Institution) £300)

The fee includes accomodation on the 16th and 17th June (checking in on the 16th and checking out on the 18th), meals (including the Gala Dinner, 17th June)and access to Tortworth Court's facilities for the duration of your stay.

Target audience: academics (including Early Career Researchers (ECRs)), postdocs, representatives from industry & non-academic research organisations. All career stages (early stage post-doc level onward) are warmly encouraged to attend. Please note there are a limited number of places available and you may be placed on a reserve list of delegates if expressions of interest exceed places.

Conference Vision: Our mission for the Metamaterials Conference & Forum 2026 is to bring the metamaterials community together to this flagship event, across academia, field leaders and government representatives. The annual Conference & Forum supports the collaborative academic community at the heart of the UK Metamaterials Network. Through the event the community shapes the future strategy for metamaterials in the UK offering a unique event creating a confluence of domains building towards a self-sustaining metamaterials ecosystem. This three day event aims to enhance the UK's leadership in science and innovation.

Format: In person only. The conference & forum will be based on keynote talks to introduce the respective topics, round-table and panel discussions. Individual scientific work and demonstrators will be displayed in the evening showcase sessions.

Scientific Interest:

This Metamaterials UK Conference & Forum is not a traditional subject-specific event with a focus on technical talks.

It aims to give an UK overview of the breadth of metamaterials research to foster awareness and innovative ideas to tackle large-scale materials and technology challenges of the future.

We would very much like to encourage participants who would like to learn more about metamaterials research outside of their own scientific area, to plant the seeds for new approaches that may bring experts together who currently don't know about each other's capabilities.

We therefore hope for attendance of all conference & forum participants at the various sessions.

Demonstrators & Posters

• During the event, there will be key note talks to outline our key challenges, and largely discussion group based work to foster ideas development and collaboration formation.
• We deem it critical that attendees can highlight at least one key element of their current work, and that they can make their group's expertise available at a glance. Therefore, we encourage all participants to: a) bring some showcase material, e.g. a technical poster, a demonstrator, a simulation, other; b) submit an abstract about the work that is being undertaken by the group you are working in/leading.*

If you wish to submit a poster or demonstrator to the Conference & Forum Showcase, please complete this Poster or Demonstrator Template for inclusion in the booklet. You may submit this by emailing it to info@metamaterials.network

A dedicated showcase session is planned for 16th June (Tuesday) night.

*If multiple members of one group register an interest, please liaise with each other to identify who will submit this on behalf of the whole group to avoid varying texts from the same place. The information will be printed in the conference booklet to provide an easy access overview to the capabilities of the participants.

The Metamaterials UK Conference & Forum 2026

The Metamaterials UK Conference & Forum 2026 marks the fifth annual gathering of the UK’s metamaterials community – uniting academia, industry and government for three days of collaboration, insight and strategic discussion. Our theme this year is ‘Tomorrow’s Metamaterials: Shaping the Future’.

This unique networking forum aims to strengthen the national ecosystem and capture the emerging opportunities that will define the metamaterials of tomorrow. Delegates will also hear first?hand from leading researchers and innovators as they present the latest breakthroughs and the most exciting emerging science and technologies shaping the future of metamaterials.

Spanning Tuesday 16th to Thursday 18th June 2026, the programme features expert talks, roundtable sessions and panel discussions aligned with the UK Metamaterials Network’s four challenge areas – manufacturing, health, space & aviation, and sustainability – as well as wider priorities such as the evolving UK metamaterials landscape and the fundamental science driving future metamaterials technology.

Day One (Tuesday 16th June)

The conference opens with a welcome from UK Metamaterials Network co-leads, Professor Alastair Hibbins (University of Exeter) and Dr Claire Dancer (University of Birmingham).
This plenary talk will review the year and the upcoming priorities, alongside the evolving UK metamaterials landscape. These include the funding calls from the Henry Royce Institute and Innovate UK, the inclusion of metamaterials within the Government’s Modern Industrial Strategy, theNetwork’s activities and publications, and its role in the broader advanced materials ecosystem.

This will set the scene for Metamaterials Landscape session the following afternoon, and focus minds for a pivotal year ahead – capturing the momentum and promising trajectory of the UK community.

The morning continues with short feature presentations from the UK Metamaterials Network Pump Prime awardees (Rounds 1 and 2). These projects showcase the breadth, creativity and potential of metamaterials research across the UK, serving as exemplars for early stage innovation.stage innovation.

The afternoon will be led by the Manufacturing Challenge Area, focusing on advancing metamaterials technologies with manufacturing considerations embedded from the outset. This session will explore how metamaterials researchers can best identify and collaborate with others currently outside or on the fringes of the metamaterials community who possess foundational knowledge relevant to the metamaterials manufacturing value chain. Invited presentations will be followed by a panel discussion and round-table work on identifying and recording key facilities and expertise for metamaterials manufacturing in the UK.

The day concludes with the annual JustaMinute poster session, where poster presenters have one minute to introduce their work to the community, to fuel the appetite for discussions into the evening.

Day Two (Wednesday 17th June)

Day Two opens with a session on fundamental science, featuring the conference keynote delivered by Professor Andrea Alù. A connected morning programme of academic talks and a scientific panel discussion will further explore emerging metamaterials research and looking towards its real world translation.

The afternoon turns to the national metamaterials landscape, featuring:

• Presentations on major UK metamaterials programmes

• Insights into emerging funding and policy priorities

• Discussion on shaping the future of the UK metamaterials ecosystem, including the future of the Network.

The closing session brings together short updates from the UKMMN’s six Special Interest Groups, highlighting their achievements and activities over the past year.

The evening closes with the conference gala dinner—an opportunity to connect with colleagues across disciplines and institutions, and a dinner-speech from our plenary speaker, Prof Andrea Alu.

Day Three (Thursday 18th June)

Applications, Challenges & the Road Ahead

The final day focuses on the Health, Space & Aviation, and Sustainability challenge areas. This co-led session will feature keynote presentations followed by a panel discussion, then a roundtable to identify ‘killer applications’ and priority opportunities that can drive the metamaterials agenda into 2026/27 and beyond.

The conference will close early afternoon with a final expert panel reflecting on the discussions and priorities identified across the past three days, focusing on the challenges ahead, the opportunities for impact and innovation, and the key wins within reach for researchers and industry.

---------------

Please see the conference website for further information on the conference & forum content and commitment fees (to be confirmed): Conference Website. Payment will take place through the Exeter Storefront. This form is for Expressions of Interest only.

***

We strongly encourage registration with the Network's membership database (free of charge): https://metamaterials.network/signup/