Sana Saeed from the Department for Nanostructured Materials at the Jožef Stefan Institute received the Best Poster Award at the CAMD Summer School 2026, held from 16 to 21 August 2026. Her poster, “Ab-initio and STM Investigation of the Nd₂Fe₁₄B Surface,” presented a combined experimental and computational study of the (001) surface of neodymium–iron–boron, an important material for high-performance permanent magnets. Using scanning tunneling microscopy, low-energy electron diffraction, and density functional theory simulations, the research identified an ordered surface reconstruction with a periodicity of 12.41 Å. The agreement between experimental and simulated STM images supported a reconstructed Nd-rich surface model. The work was carried out in collaboration with researchers from the Institute Jean Lamour in Nancy, France. This award recognizes the scientific quality, relevance, and presentation of the research and strengthens the international visibility of materials research conducted at the Jožef Stefan Institute.

