Natural computing has seen rapid development as it strives for innovative methods of processing information inspired by biological, chemical and physical processes occurring in nature. Different views on computation converge in this area, often crossing traditional disciplinary boundaries. As such, ICMC 2026 aims to provide an open and inclusive platform for researchers to showcase their work across all forms of natural computing and related paradigms. We particularly encourage submissions that build bridges between different models of computation, as well as work that demonstrates how membrane computing and related approaches can be used to address current challenges in artificial intelligence and complex systems modeling. We also welcome submissions that combine membrane computing with emerging areas such as intelligent systems or digital twins, along with foundational research that enables such connections.
Natural computing is a dynamic and very active research area encompassing multiple perspectives, including models of computation inspired by real-life processes, the synthesis of nature by means of computing, in vivo hardware implementations and novel approaches to information processing. This fact makes the area naturally interdisciplinary, welcoming fundamental and experimental researchers from different areas such as computer science, mathematics, biology, chemistry, physics, sociology or medicine, among others.
Within this landscape, membrane computing, initiated by Gheorghe Pãun in 1998, studies bioinspired models of computation, called membrane systems or P systems, that are an abstraction of the structure and functioning of living cells. These are usually non-deterministic, distributed and maximally parallel devices, capturing key organizational and dynamical principles of biological systems in a rigorous computational framework. Membrane computing stands at the intersection of theory, biology, and emerging computational paradigms.
The International Conference on Membrane Computing is the result of the fusion of the European (with 24 editions) and Asian branches (with 13 editions) of the respective Membrane Computing Conferences, to join forces and establish a common forum to discuss the most advanced topics in this area. This joint edition started last year in Chengdu, China.