Microflares to megaflares: Solar observations and modeling

The observationally determined properties of solar flares such as overall energy budget and distribution in space, time and energy of flare radiation, have improved enormously over the last cycle. This has enabled precision diagnostics of flare plasmas and nonthermal particles in large and small events, informing and driving new theoretical models. The theoretical challenges in understanding flare are considerable, involving MHD and kinetic processes operating in an environment far from equilibrium. New observations have also provided some challenges to long-standing models of flare energy release and transport. This talk overviewed recent observational and theoretical developments, and highlighted some important questions for the future