Coherence and low temperature collective behaviour in atomic gases and semiconductors have received increasing attention within the last decade. From fundamental questions to optoelectronics applications, a multitude of research directions have managed to bring together both experimentalists and theorists.

In September 2009, a week long workshop will be held in the Institute of Theoretical and Applied Physics (ITAP) in Turunç/Marmaris in Turkey, succeeded by a 3-day international conference (September 27-29, 2009). The aim of this organisation is to bring together leading experts on various related topics and highly motivated young researchers in a series of blackboard-style lectures on fundamental concepts, technical challenges and stateof- the-art research. Hands on training on the fundamentals will be followed by a selected set of research problems studied in exercises, tutorials, homeworks and journal club activities. The school will be geared primarily for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows but exceptional senior undergraduates are highly encouraged to attend.

We hope that this international workshop and the conference that follows will serve to enhance the productivity of young researchers as well as strengthen their grasp of the underlying physical concepts in the areas of electronic/optical coherence and collective effects at low temperatures in atomic gases and semiconductors.

Peter Littlewood (University of Cambridge, UK)
Mete Atature (University of Cambridge, UK)
Tugrul Hakioglu (Bilkent University and ITAP, Turkey)