The conference takes place in Aachen, located at the northern end of the Hohes Venn and the Eifel mountains. The city has a population of about a quarter of a million and is the westernmost city in Germany, bordering the Netherlands and Belgium. Having once been the main residence of Charlemagne’s Frankish Empire it is full of history and centered in the center of Europe. A notable sight is the Aachen Cathedral which was chosen as the first UNESCO World Heritage Site. In addition, the historic city hall and the old town are reminders of the imperial past, while the Elisenbrunnen, a neoclassical fountain, and the thermal spa in the Carolus Thermen offer a taste of Aachen’s famous thermal springs.

 The city is home to the RWTH Aachen University which is one of the leading universities for engineering and science in Germany. With over 40,000 students, the cityscape is heavily influenced by the academic people with many restaurants and bars around the campus. At the center of the campus, the modern university building “SuperC” is located directly next to the university’s main building. It is the conference venue and offers a stunning view of Aachen directly from the auditorium. Therefore, it is perfectly located for the conference in the center of the city and the academic environment.

Aachen is well connected by train, with regular services to major cities such as Cologne, Düsseldorf, and Brussels via the Aachen Central Station (main train station) and Aachen West Station. The conference venue is located 800m from the train station Aachen West. Within the city, there is a bus transportation network stops at “Technische Hochschule” (lines 13A and 13B) and “Driescher Gässchen” (lines 33, 73, 13A, 13B and others).