The topics of 3S*26 will cover all aspects of surface science, including, but not limited to

• Surface geometric and electronic structure
• Surface adsorption and desorption
• Reactions and dynamics at surfaces
• Particle-surface interactions
• Epitaxial growth and heterostructures
• 2D materials
• Applied surface and interface science

The scientific program will include about 30 – 40 oral presentations (20-minutes talks including discussion), selected from the submitted extended abstracts. All other contributions will be presented as posters. Poster boards are 180 cm high and 90 cm wide. Poster sessions will be preceded by short oral poster introductions, where authors will have the opportunity to highlight their work in “2-minute commercial”.

All participants will be accommodated in the Ski Austria Academy St. Christoph am Arlberg close to St. Anton am Arlberg (Austria) in single and two-bed rooms (all with shower/bath, WC and TV). We have only a limited number of rooms at our disposal and therefore urge you to fill out the online-registration form as soon as possible. If possible please indicate a room mate (another participant), with whom you would like to share your room. Accompanying persons are welcome, but will have to pay the full fee. The number of single rooms is very limited. Please note that you need to confirm their availability by e-mail to the organisers before choosing this option when registering. All registrations will be handled strictly on a first come – first serve basis. Since in previous years all available rooms were typically booked well ahead of the registration deadline, we strongly advise early registration.

The symposium will start in the evening of Sunday, February 22nd, 2026. You should therefore plan to arrive on Sunday afternoon the latest. However, arrival on Saturday, February 21st, 2026 is possible for an additional fee. Full board starts on Sunday evening with dinner. The scientific program runs from Sunday evening to Friday evening. Departure is on Saturday, February 28th, 2026 after breakfast. In addition to the scientific program, an important purpose of this symposium is to enable informal contacts and networking during daily skiing activities. Therefore, lectures, poster introductions and poster presentations will take place during the morning and evening hours. A typical symposium day will have the following format:

The all-inclusive conference fee for 3S*26 is:

To guarantee your participation please transfer the full fee before November 24, 2025 the latest. Registration without receipt of payment at this date will be automatically cancelled. Please note the additional information for payment.

Abstract submission will open on October 1^st, 2025, and closes on January, 5^th, 2026. Please use our abstract submission form, which will be linked here in due time.

Please use the provided abstract template (Word, opens an external URL in a new window or PDF, opens an external URL in a new window), export the final version as a PDF and upload it on the abstract submission page. 

Oral presentations will be selected from submitted abstracts before January 31, 2026. All other contributions will be presented as posters. Poster sessions will be preceded by poster introductions, where authors will have the opportunity to orally present highlights of their work as a “2-minute commercial”.

Peter Varga, opens an external URL in a new window (1946 – 2018) was one of the founding fathers of the 3S workshop series. In his memory the Peter Varga 3S-Poster Prize is awarded every year starting with 3S*19. For more information please refer to the Obituary, opens an external URL in a new window, the Curriculum vitae, opens an external URL in a new window and the List of Publications, opens an external URL in a new window of Peter Varga as well as the article “Highlights of the science and life of Peter Varga”, opens an external URL in a new window by W.D. Schneider, F. Aumayr and U. Diebold. All previous winners can be found on the web page of the Peter Varga Poster Prize.

The conference takes place at the Ski , opens an external URL in a new windowAustria, opens an external URL in a new window Academy, opens an external URL in a new window (Ski Austria Academy, St. Christoph, opens an external URL in a new window, A-6580 St. Anton am Arlberg, Austria, Phone: +43 5446 2627).

For information how to reach St.Anton am Arlberg by train (recommended) or car (not recommended for various reasons) please visit the web page of St. Anton am Arlberg, opens an external URL in a new window, which contains railway time-tables and fares, airport and shuttle bus connections as well as instructions for travelling by car.

St.Christoph is located 6 km (uphill) from the center of St. Anton am Arlberg. A regular bus (Bus No. 760) connects St.Anton with St.Christoph. It runs at least every hour (11 minutes past the full hour, full schedule, opens an external URL in a new window) and starts at the west-terminal (about 150 meters west of the train station in St.Anton). The bus ride takes 17 minutes and the bus stops in St.Christoph very close to the Bundesskiakademie. Alternatively you can take (maybe share) a taxi (approx. 30 Euro during daytime, but more expensive at night).

The nearest airports (which also have a good train connection to St.Anton am Arlberg) are:

Train schedules for going to St. Anton from various cities/airports (including Innsbruck, Munich, Zurich) can be found on the web page of St. Anton am Arlberg, opens an external URL in a new window If you want to search for train connections yourself (and buy the ticket) you can do this on the web page of the Austrian Rail Service (ÖBB), opens an external URL in a new window. Additional travel 

Maps of St.Anton and St.Christoph, snow report, livecams and other infos on our conference location can be found at Ski Arlberg, opens an external URL in a new window and Ski Arlberg Panorama, opens an external URL in a new window.

• Fritz Aumayr
• Anna Niggas
• Ulrike Diebold
• Markus Valtiner

Institute of Applied Physics, TU Wien, Austria

• A. Arnau (Donostia, Spain)
• F. Aumayr (Vienna, Austria)
• U. Diebold (Vienna, Austria)
• H. Dil (Lausanne, Switzerland)
• P.M. Echenique (Donostia, Spain)
• K.-H. Ernst (Zürich, Switzerland)
• R. Fasel (Dübendorf, Switzerland)
• S. Hasegawa (Tokyo, Japan)
• J. Kunze-Liebhäuser (Innsbruck, Austria)
• E. Lundgren (Lund, Sweden)
• M. Messing (Lund, Sweden)
• K. Morgenstern (Bochum, Germany)
• P. Müller (Marseille, France)
• F. Netzer (Graz, Austria)
• K. Reuter (Munich, Germany)
• M. Rocca (Genova, Italy)
• W.D. Schneider (Lausanne, Switzerland)
• T. Sikola (Brno, Czechia)
• M. Valtiner (Vienna, Austria)