19th Society and Materials
(SAM) International Conference
We are looking forward to seeing you in Liège, 2026!
May 6 – 7th, 2025
About SAM19
The 19th Society and Materials (SAM) International Conference took place on May 6-7, 2025, in the historic buildings of University of Alcalá in Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain.
This conference serves as a global forum for discussing new methodologies, concepts, and issues connecting materials and society from various perspectives, fostering interdisciplinary research and innovation.
For more than 19 years, SAM conferences have been an international forum for exchanging on new methodologies, new concepts and new issues that connect materials and society from different perspectives, ranging from social to engineering sciences, from thermodynamics over life cycle assessment to ethics and economy..
As such, they are a laboratory for thought and for knowledge experiments, which have produced about 800 papers and introduced some of the best intuitions in these areas. Issues and questions sitting at the heart of contemporary societal challenges and of expected paradigm shifts are also being covered as a kind of application lab.
Disciplines like Material Flow Analysis or Life Cycle Assessment have traditionally been an important part of the meetings, focusing mainly on new directions and methodologies, but with room also for innovative case studies.
Other important thematic pillars are approches rooted in social science, economics or materials science, being the focus of SAM Conferences always on pluridisciplinarity and interdisciplinarity. Works that combine different disciplines or approaches in an innovative way are therefore particularly welcome.
The 19th edition reflected the same level of curiosity, inquisitiveness, intellectual boldness and innovative thinking as the previous ones!
A Huge Thank You!
Over two days, nearly 70 participants from 14 countries (Germany, Spain, Belgium, Norway, France, Switzerland, Italy, Luxembourg, UK, Czechia, Finland, Canada, the US, Bangladesh, and Japan) engaged in intensive discussions on materials, society, and sustainability.
Topics included: New methodologies beyond LCA and MFA, Social sciences and systems/materials evaluation, Batteries and sustainability issues, Methodological innovations and original applications of LCA and MFA, and Critical Raw Materials.
The program featured 31 oral presentations, 25 posters, and 3 keynote lectures delivered by scholars from NTNU (Trondheim), MIT (Cambridge, MA), and the University of Freiburg (Germany). You can consult the full program in the “Program” section of our website!
The conference fostered lively exchanges, meaningful networking, and interdisciplinary connections in a welcoming atmosphere, with excellent local food and a unique cultural setting — but above all, thanks to the outstanding engagement of all participants!
The Jean-Sébastien Thomas Award for the best paper presented at the conference was attributed this year to Takuma Watari, of NIES, Tsukuba, Japan and the Award for the best poster, to Nils Dittrich of NTNU, Trondheim, Norway. Congratulations!
We extend our sincere thanks to:
All our brilliant speakers and poster presenters.
Our keynote speakers and session chairs: Romain Billy, Christine Ortiz, Ph.D., Ellan Spero, Ph.D., Stefan Pauliuk, Jean-Pierre Birat, Andrea Declich, Marcel Weil, Jens Peters, Anne-Laure Hettinger, Julio L. Rivera, Leiv Kolbeinsen.
The University of Alcalá and its Department of Economics (Facultad de Económicas, Empresariales y Turismo) for their generous support.
Our on-site organizing team, whose dedication made this event possible: Jens Peters, Claudia Hidalgo, María del Carmen Ramos, Mercedes Burguillo.
A detailed reflection on the conference by Jean-Pierre Birat is available here: Read the summary and insights on LinkedIn
Looking ahead to SAM20
We’re excited to announce that the next edition of the conference, SAM20, will take place on May 26–27, 2026, in Liège, Belgium, hosted by the University of Liège.
Mark your calendars and stay tuned for updates via our official channels and website: Society and Materials (SAM) International Conference on LinkedIn
We hope to see you there!
Main conference themes
- New developments in Life Cycle Assessment, Material Flow Analysis and other methodologies
- New social, economic, environmental and sustainability indicators
- Internalization of societal and environmental externalities into the economy
- Eco-design and eco-innovation
- Circular economy and sustainable business models
- Responsible research and innovation on materials
- Governance, public and social engagement
- Gender issues, material culture and society
- Open science, citizen science, scientific citizenship and materials research
- SSH contributions about energy and materials, including History, Geography, Archeometallurgy, Humanities, Archeoanthropology, etc.
Key Dates
- Abstract Submission Deadline: December 31, 2024 – Extended until Jan 31, 2025
- Acceptance Notification: March 14, 2025
- Registration Deadline: March 31, 2025
- Conference Dates: May 6-7, 2025
Jean-Sebastian Thomas Award
In memoriam of Jean-Sébastien Thomas, who contributed to the success of SAM conferences, ArcelorMittal created in 2015 the Jean-Sébastien Thomas Award and it comprises a trophy, certificate and financial reward to the best presenter at SAM conferences.
All the presentations and all posters at SAM19 will be evaluated in real time by the SAM Scientific Committee and a winner will be announced at the end of Day 2.
The posters will be voted by all conference participants and the best poster will be recognized publicly at the end of the conference.
Contact Information
For inquiries, contact the SAM Organizing Committee:
Email:
sam.conference@arcelormittal.com
Jean-Pierre Birat: jean-pierre.birat@ifsteelman.eu