Granular materials, whether dry or in combination with a fluid, are ubiquitous in both nature and industry and show a rich variety of complex phenomena. As the physical underpinnings of these behaviors continue to be revealed and new phenomena discovered, there has been sustained and strong international research from multiple disciplines including chemical, civil and mechanical engineering, physics, applied mathematics, and earth and planetary sciences. In addition, there are intriguing links between granular materials and heterogeneous systems such as glasses, colloids, emulsions and foams. This eighth GRC on Granular Materials will provide researchers an opportunity to learn about recent discoveries and to present their work in a poster session. Invited speakers and discussion leaders will catalyze debate on open issues. A few poster presenters will be selected for short talks, in order to feature junior scientists and last-minute discoveries.