Beneath the Vapor, Into Science: Highlights from the LeidenForce Winter School 2026
02/2026
A droplet placed on a scorching surface might seem doomed to vanish instantly. Yet under certain conditions, it does the opposite: it levitates on its own vapor layer, moves with surprising mobility, and reveals a physics both elegant and complex. This is the essence of the Leidenfrost effect, spectacular, but crucial for many industrial processes, from cooling to cryogenic storage.
Centered on this phenomenon, the LeidenForce Winter School 2026 took place at Resort Bad Boekelo (University of Twente, Netherlands). For four days, PhD students, postdocs, senior researchers, and invited speakers gathered for an intense scientific immersion, at the crossroads of experimental, theoretical, and numerical approaches.
A Program of Fundamentals, Methods, and Open Questions
The Winter School was designed as a scientific journey: laying foundations, exploring modeling frameworks, and above all surfacing the open questions that shape current research.
On the first day, David Quéré (ESPCI) provided a comprehensive overview of the Leidenfrost effect through a series of emblematic cases, and Detlef Lohse (University of Twente, Physics of Fluids) highlighted the diversity of Leidenfrost impacts, connecting impact regimes, key parameters, and modeling challenges.
The following days broadened the perspective on methods and approaches. Stéphane Dorbolo (Université de Liège, FNRS, Physics of tiny hydrodynamical experiments – PtYX) traced, with a timeline of discoveries, the major milestones in Leidenfrost research and presented the vision and structure of the consortium. Maria Fernandino (NTNU, Thermal Two-Phase Flow Laboratory) introduced the main evaporation modeling frameworks, focusing on the Navier–Stokes–Korteweg model. In a particularly interactive session, Jacco Snoeijer (University of Twente, Physics of Fluids) led a journey through lubrication, Landau–Levich flows, and scaling laws, deriving equations together with the audience.
Afternoon sessions highlighted numerical approaches and spreading regimes. Dominique Legendre (Institut de Mécanique des Fluides de Toulouse - IMFT) offered a comprehensive view of moving contact line modeling, connecting microscopic mechanisms, spreading laws, and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations. Christian Diddens (University of Twente, Physics of Fluids) presented sharp-interface finite element simulations, while Benoît Scheid (Université Libre de Bruxelles - ULB, TIPS Laboratory) explored heat–mass transfer in antibubbles, opening perspectives towards encapsulated droplets.
The Winter School concluded with presentations on particularly stimulating experimental systems. Benjamin Sobac (CNRS – UPPA, LFCR) discussed modeling linking shape and levitation, from deformed to spherical droplets. David Paulovics (University of Twente, Physics of Fluids) addressed impacting Leidenfrost jets, using precise vapor layer measurements and exploring the transition to contact boiling. Finally, Alexis Duchesne (Université de Lille, IEMN) offered a broader perspective, showcasing striking experiments beyond the consortium, illustrating how the physics of Leidenfrost continues to influence unexpected domains.
Doctoral Presentations: At the Core of LeidenForce
Central to the Winter School were the presentations by LeidenForce PhD students, complemented by invited contributions. These talks highlighted the current state of knowledge, initial findings, and the experimental and numerical challenges often sparking the most productive discussions.
The event gathered 8 out of 10 PhD students, nearly the full team, with position DC9 still open.
Present PhD students included:
- Vahid Taheri (NTNU – Thermal Two-Phase Flow Laboratory)
- Gauri Patki (Université de Liège & Université de Lille – PtYX & IEMN)
- Lorena V. Garcia (Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 – Institut Lumière Matière)
- Mélanie Bulois (ULB – TIPS Laboratory)
- Pablo Gil Gonzalez (ULB – TIPS Laboratory)
- Maxim de Wildt (University of Twente – Physics of Fluids)
- Cheikh Tidiane Dioum (Université de Liège – PtYX)
- Tomas Cerda (ISTA – SEML, incoming PhD student)
A special thought for Arghya Mukherjee (UPPA & Université de Liège – LFCR & PtYX), who could unfortunately not attend this year.
Invited contributors whose talks enriched scientific exchanges included:
- Apurav Tambe (University of Waterloo – Pan Lab)
- Tristan Simon (CNRS Saint-Gobain – MSC Laboratory)
- Aymeric Allemand (ULB – TIPS Laboratory, postdoc)
- Senthil Kumar Parimalanathan (ULB – TIPS Laboratory)
Boiling Bowling Night
Because a Winter School is also a collective adventure, a bowling night brought together PhD students, postdocs, speakers, and the LeidenForce team, reminding everyone that in science, as in bowling, success is a matter of angle, control… and a bit of luck.
Building Bridges for Future Discoveries
We warmly thank the local organizers from the University of Twente, with a special mention to Joanita Leferink, for ensuring excellent conditions throughout the week at Resort Bad Boekelo. Thanks also to all speakers and participants for their energy, the quality of exchanges, and the collective spirit that made this Winter School a success.
This event highlighted the importance of staying connected, sharing ideas, experiments, and best practices around the Leidenfrost effect. These interactions embody the Horizon Europe program’s ambition to build international scientific communities of excellence. The discussions, experiments, and collaborations initiated over these four days are seeds for the next generation of researchers and for advancing fluid dynamics science.
