Institute of High Pressure Physics

On January 26–27 and February 2, 2026, a scientific event of international significance - the 4^th Polish–Slovenian International Seminar (PSIS) on Soft Matter (SM) & Young4SoftMatter Day: Faces of Soft Matter 2026 – ONLINE EDITION - took place.

This scientific initiative was founded by dr hab. Aleksandra Drozd-Rzoska, Prof. IHPP PAS, and its first edition was held in 2021. More about: https://young4softmatter.pl

Directors of 4^th PSIS on SM & Young4SoftMatter Day: Faces of Soft Matter 2026:

• Dr hab. Aleksandra Drozd-Rzoska, Prof. IHPP PAS (Poland)
• Red. Prof. Dr. Samo Kralj (Slovenia)

It is worth noting that Professor Samo Kralj, an outstanding scientist in the field of physics, has received numerous awards in recent years for his scientific and educational achievements. For example, in 2022 he received an award for outstanding scientific discoveries from the Faculty of Natural Sciences, and in 2023 he was honored by the University of Maribor for excellence in both scientific research and education.

The first and second days of the 4th PSIS on SM & Young4SoftMatter Day 2026 were opened by our distinguished guests and renowned Soft Matter specialists:

• Prof. dr hab. Ewa Górecka (University of Warsaw, Poland) and
• Red. prof. dr. Aleš Iglič (University of Ljubljana, Slovenia).

more: https://www.facebook.com/Young4SoftMatter/https://young4softmatter.pl/

The first two days — marked by lectures delivered by eminent scientists from Poland and Slovenia, as well as by our distinguished and honored guests from Italy, Mexico, the USA, and Japan — were concluded with a lecture by Prof. dr hab. Sylwester J. Rzoska, a world-class specialist in high-pressure and complex systems physics. He presented the challenges and unique opportunities emerging in the latest high-pressure research, as reflected in the title of his lecture: “Soft Matter Under Compression – The New Philosopher’s Stone.”

The third day, Young4SoftMatter Day 2026 — dedicated to young scientists and researchers contributing to the understanding of Soft Matter — was opened with a lecture by dr hab. Aleksandra Drozd-Rzoska, prof. IHPP PAS.

The commitment of the young researchers from the NL10 Laboratory of IHPP PAS “Unipress” was particularly noteworthy, as they delivered six presentations addressing issues related to Soft Matter as an exceptionally interdisciplinary and fascinating field of science as well as the high scientific standard of the research presented by young scientists from Slovenia.
Young4SoftMatter Day 2026 provided early-career researchers with an opportunity to exchange experience and knowledge in the field of Soft Matter. Importantly, it also enabled participants to view their own research through the lens of the achievements of other young scientists. The posters are avaialable under this link: https://young4softmatter.pl/posters-_-2026

Full scientific program can be accessed here: 4th Polish–Slovenian International Seminar (PSIS) on Soft Matter (SM) & Young4SoftMatter Day: Faces of Soft Matter 2026

We would like to express our sincere appreciation to the Director of the Institute of High Pressure Physics of the Polish Academy of Sciences (IHPP PAS) in Warsaw for enabling the organization of this scientific event.

Sincerely,

Directors and Agata Angelika Sojecka — Chair of the Organizing Committee of the
4th PSIS on SM & Young4SoftMatter Day: Faces of Soft Matter 2026