Several distinguished participants of the CCP2009 will come to National Taiwan Univ. before the CCP 2009 in Kaohsiung . To make the stay of these visitors in Taipei interesting and also useful to local researchers, the CMR-FG of NCTS and NTU-CTS therefore organize this Mini-workshop to provide a platform for presenting latest results and also exchange of ideas between local scientists and distinguished overseas guests. Topics include advanced ab initio methods, nano-materials, functional materials for energy application, and multiferroic oxides.