The 12th International Conference on Nanophotonics (ICNP 2024) was successfully held from September 8 to 12, 2024, at the Shenzhen Daning International Hotel. The conference was co-founded by two renowned experts in the field of nanophotonics: Professor Paras N. Prasad from the State University of New York and Professor Joseph W. Haus from the University of Dayton, USA. With a history of 11 previous editions, the conference has become an important academic platform for communication in the global nanophotonics field. This year’s event was hosted by Shenzhen University, with Professors Qu Junle from the College of Physics and Optoelectronic Engineering, Shenzhen University, and Anderson Gomes from the Federal University of Pernambuco, Brazil, serving as co-chairs. The conference was co-organized by the Shenzhen University Key Laboratory of Radio Frequency Heterogeneous Integration, the College of Physics and Optoelectronic Engineering at Shenzhen University, and the Biomedical Photonics Research Center.

This was the first off-line conference held after the pandemic and attracted nearly 300 experts and scholars from over 10 countries and regions, including the United States, France, Germany, Australia, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, and Brazil.

The conference received strong support from Shenzhen University. Vice Dean Wei Yang of the Institute of Scientific and Technological Development at Shenzhen University delivered a welcoming speech at the opening ceremony, warmly welcoming the experts and introducing recent developments at the university. He also invited the experts to visit the university and encouraged long-term cooperation between the participants and the university, wishing the conference great success. During the welcome dinner, Vice President Li Yonghua of Shenzhen University addressed the guests, offering a warm welcome to the experts. As the event coincided with Teachers' Day, Vice President Li extended sincere holiday greetings to the teachers attending the conference and encouraged young faculty and students, expressing hopes for fruitful outcomes from the conference.

The conference featured a rich agenda, with seven distinguished keynote speakers, including Nobel Laureate Professor Stefan W. Hell, Professor Paras N. Prasad from the State University of New York, Academician Tang Benzhen from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Academician Luo Yi from the Chinese Academy of Engineering, Professor Liu Xiaogang from the National University of Singapore, Professor Masaya Notomi, Senior Expert at NTT Corporation in Japan, and Professor Andrea Cavalleri from the Max Planck Institute for Structural Dynamics and the University of Oxford, Germany. In addition, there were 15 thematic lectures and 67 invited talks, covering cutting-edge fields such as nanophotonics, nano-plasmonics and metamaterials, nanofabrication and characterization, and nano-biophotonics. Experts and scholars engaged in in-depth discussions on these topics, sharing their latest research findings and future development trends. Compared with previous conferences, this year’s event saw particularly active participation from researchers in the field of nano-biophotonics, with several young domestic scholars showcasing their latest work, which garnered significant attention. The conference also included a poster session, with nearly 50 posters displayed, highlighting innovative research from young scholars and students. After a review, six outstanding posters were selected to receive the Excellent Poster Award.

After the conference, several international experts visited the College of Physics and Optoelectronic Engineering at Shenzhen University, where they highly praised the college’s development and research achievements and discussed the possibilities for long-term collaboration.

The successful hosting of this conference provided a broad platform for communication and cooperation for researchers in the global field of nanophotonics. Attendees highly praised the academic level and organization of the event, considering it a solid foundation for future scientific cooperation and technological development. In the future, research in the field of nanophotonics is expected to make significant breakthroughs in several application areas. The conference organizing committee extends its heartfelt thanks to all the guests, speakers, poster presenters, sponsors, and volunteers. It is through everyone’s collective efforts that the conference has achieved such success. We look forward to gathering again at the next International Conference on Nanophotonics to continue advancing and innovating in this field.