Spin-related effects in metals and in ferromagnetic heterostructures are generally robust and observable at room temperature. Discoveries such as giant and tunnelling magnetoresistance and spin-transfer torque are moving from discovery to applications rapidly. Fundamental spin-dependent transport physics, novel materials and thin film structures are being actively explored in metallic multilayer-based junctions and magnetic tunnel junctions for deeper understanding and potentially new functional materials and devices. This Focus Topic aims to capture new developments in these areas, including experimental and theoretical aspects of spin transport and magnetization dynamics in mostly metal-based systems, such as ultrathin films, lateral nanostructures, perpendicular nanopillars, and tunnel junctions. In particular, contributions describing new results in the following areas are solicited: (i) The interplay between spin currents and magnetization dynamics in magnetic nanostructures; spin-transfer, spin pumping and related phenomena, including current-induced magnetization dynamics in heterostructures and domain wall motion in magnetic wires; (ii) Theoretical predictions and/or experimental discovery of half-metallic band structures, both in bulk solids and at the surfaces of thin films. Spin transport and magnetization dynamics in magnetic nanostructures (e.g. TMR, CPP-GMR and lateral spin valve structures) based on half-metallic materials; (iii) Effects of spin-orbit interaction on steady-state and dynamic properties of nanostructures including: the (inverse) spin-Hall and anomalous-Hall effects, microscopic mechanisms of magnetization damping, the effects of interface spin-orbit interaction, and spin-orbit interaction as a means for spin-current generation; (iv) Electric field control of magnetic properties (e.g. anisotropy, phase transition, exchange bias,…), including but not limited to: hybrid metals/oxide structures, piezoelectric layer coupled to ferromagnetic films, electrolyte/ferromagnetic systems; (v) Ultrafast magnetization response to (and reversal by) intense laser pulses; magnetization dynamics at elevated temperatures and thermally assisted magnetization reversal; (vi) Thermoelectric spin phenomena such as giant-magneto thermopower and Peltier effects, spin-Seebeck effect, spin and anomalous Nernst and Ettingshausen effects (spin caloritronics); (vii) Thermal gradient and/or RF driven magnonic magnetization dynamics in nanostructures including spin wave excitation, propagation, and detection. Interactions between electronic spin-current and magnon propagations in thin film and device structures; (viii) General considerations of spin-angular momentum current flow, energy flow, and entropy flow, conservation laws and Onsagar-reciprocal relationships.Spin Dependent Phenomena in SemiconductorsThe field of spin dependent phenomena in semiconductors shows rapid advances as well as challenges in a widening range of new effects and materials systems (e.g. heterostructures, III-Vs, Si and Ge, diamond, graphene and organics), and new structures (e.g. semiconductor quantum structures and nanostructures, wires and carbon nanotubes, hybrid ferromagnetic/semiconductor structures). This Focus Topic solicits contributions aimed at understanding spin dependent processes in magnetic and non-magnetic structures incorporating semiconducting materials. Topics include: (i) electrical and optical spin injection, spin Hall effects, spin dependent topological effects, spin interference, spin filtering, spin lifetime effects, spin dependent scattering, and spin torque; (ii) growth, characterization, electrical, optical and magnetic properties of (ferro-)magnetic semiconductors, nan composites, and hybrid Ferro magnet/semiconductor structures, including quantum dots, nan crystals, and nanowires; (iii) spin dependent transport, spin dependent thermal effects, and dynamical effects in semiconductors with or without spin-orbit interactions; (iv) manipulation, detection, and entanglement of electronic and nuclear spins in quantum systems such as dots, impurities and point defects; (v) ferromagnetism in semiconductors and semiconductor oxides; and (vi) spin dependent devices and device proposals involving Ferro magnets and semiconductors.Frustrated magnetismSimple antiferromagnets on bipartite lattices have well-understood ground states, elementary excitations, thermodynamic phases and phase transitions. At the forefront of current research are frustrated magnets where competing interactions suppress magnetic order and may lead to qualitatively new behavior.Frustrated magnets may realize novel quantum-disordered ground states with fractionalized excitations akin to those found in one-dimensional antiferromagnets, but with a number of novel features. They are also sensitive to nominally small perturbations and interact in a non-trivial way with orbital and lattice degrees of freedom. This Focus Topic solicits abstracts for presentations that explore both theoretical and experimental aspects of the field. The themes to be represented are united by geometrical frustration: valence-bond solids and other exotic orders, spin ice, quantum spin liquids, order from disorder, magneto elastic coupling, and novel field-induced behavior. Also of interest are the effects of strongly fluctuating spins on properties beyond magnetism including transport, thermal transport and Ferro electricity.Spin-Dependent Physics in Carbon-Based MaterialsResearch at the intersection of several forefront areas in condensed-matter and carbon-based material physics have led to new spin-dependent physics with technologically significant applications. These issues are of great current interest because of advances in spin relaxation times in graphene and breakthrough results in the field of ‘organic spintronics’, a new research area focused not only on the traditional topics of spintronics such as spin-polarization and spin-orbit effects but more importantly on spin-selection rules and spin-permutation symmetry effects. This Focus Topic is on spin transport, spin dynamics and exchange phenomena in carbon-based materials, such as carbon nanotubes, graphene, diamond as well as organic and molecular solids, organic radical systems, and π-conjugated organic/polymeric systems. Subjects such as spin injection at the metallic ferromagnet to graphene and inorganic to organic interface, the degree of spin polarization attainable within organic based solids, the spin coherence and relaxation related to extrinsic spin-orbit coupling effects, the hyperfine interaction between the electronic spin and nuclear magnetic moments, as well as the magnetic exchange, magnetic ordering and correlation effects in these materials are appropriate for this topic. Phenomena, materials of interest and the application for advanced devices include hybrid ferromagnetic/organic structures, spin transport in graphene and carbon nanotubes, spin qubits in diamond, quantum tunneling of the magnetic moment, magnetic field effects (e.g., organic magnetoresistance), singlet/triplet issues, spin resonance in organic semiconductors, organic spin valves and spin-polarized organic light emitting diodes.Low-Dimensional and Molecular MagnetismThe control and manipulation of spin and charge degrees of freedom in nanoscale systems has become a major challenge during the last decades, triggered by exciting applications in emerging technologies such as quantum computation and spin-transport electronics. To meet this challenge, a complete understanding of the quantum behavior of interacting electronic and even nuclear spins in solid state systems is necessary. For conventional three-dimensional magnetic materials a robust framework for describing the low temperature structures, phase transitions, and excitations exists. However, when fluctuations are enhanced by low dimensionality, qualitatively new behavior can emerge. Low dimensional magnetic systems have become prototype systems in this direction. For example, the synthetic flexibility of molecule-based magnets allows the magnetic quantum response of the system to be engineered. This Focus Topic solicits abstracts that explore inorganic and organic molecule-based as well as solid-state systems, and both theoretical and experimental aspects of the field. Topics of interest include: magnetism in zero, one, and two dimensions (e.g. quantum dots, single molecule magnets, spin chains, lattices), order by disorder, the role of magnetoelastic, spin-orbit and exchange couplings, quantum critical low dimensional spin systems, topological excitations, quantum tunneling of magnetization, coherence phenomena and novel field-induced behavior.