Topology and Chirality Across Disciplines - 2025 WPI-SKCM² Spring Symposium & Diversity Forum, Hiroshima, Japan

Events

Topology and Chirality Across Disciplines - 2025 WPI-SKCM2 Spring Symposium

  • Date: 4-5 March 2025
  • Venue: Hiroshima International Conference Center, 1-5 Nakajimacho, Naka Ward, Hiroshima City, Hiroshima 730-0811, Japan

‘The People Behind the Science’ Diversity Forum: Thriving Across Cultures with Professor Sonia Mahmoudi

  • Date: 6 March 2025
  • Venue: Mirai Crea, Hiroshima University, Higashi-Hiroshima Campus, 1-4-5 Kagamiyama, Higashi-Hiroshima City, Hiroshima 739-0046, Japan

Registration Details

Register Here

Registration Deadline Feb 17, 2025, 8:30 JST

Spring Symposium 

  • Registration Fees
    • Students: 3,000 JPY
    • Professionals: 5,000 JPY
    • (Symposium Fees covered for WPI-SKCM2 members)
  • Reception Registration Fees
    • 4 March Evening Reception: 8,000 JPY

Diversity Forum

  • Registration Fee: Free

About the Spring Symposium

Join us for the annual 2025 WPI-SKCM2 Spring Symposium, at Hiroshima International Conference Center, where world-renowned scientists and emerging researchers will gather to explore cutting-edge research in knot topology and chirality, fostering interdisciplinary exploration of their intersection and potential connections across disciplines. The scientific program will cover a diverse range of topics, including applied mathematics, quantum matter, soft matter and biological systems, as well as particle and nuclear physics and cosmology. We are greatly looking forward to bringing together diverse minds for intellectual exchange.

Invited speakers include Joel Moore (UC Berkeley) in Quantum Matter; Harry Anderson (Oxford U) in Soft Matter and Biological Systems; Yoshitaka Hatta (Brookhaven Nat Lab) in Particle and Nuclear Physics & Cosmology; Motoko Kotani (Tohoku U) Math and Applied Math and many more.

‘The People Behind the Science’ Diversity Forum keynote speaker Professor Sonia Mahmoudi

About the Diversity Forum

In conjunction with the Spring Symposium, ‘The People Behind the Science’ Forums aim to highlight the diverse experiences of researchers and this installment begins with keynote speaker Professor Sonia Mahmoudi, who will share her journey to becoming an academic, reflecting on her international experiences.

Following the keynote, a panel discussion will explore key topics, including:

  • The experiences of living and working in different countries
  • Navigating cultural differences and language barriers
  • Institutional initiatives that foster inclusive and supportive academic environments

This forum, at Hiroshima University, Higashi-Hiroshima Campus, provides an open space to discuss the challenges of working across cultures, share strategies for success, and explore ways to create a more inclusive academic community. Designed for students, postdocs, and researchers, the discussion aims to inspire and support those navigating international research careers while encouraging institutions to strengthen their commitment to diversity and inclusion. The event concludes with a mixer, so all participants can continue these important conversations.

This year, the symposium will be held in Hiroshima City, the nearest metropolitan area to SKCM2 and globally recognized as the “City of Peace.”

###


About the International Institute for Sustainability with Knotted Chiral Meta Matter (WPI-SKCM2) Hiroshima University

While introducing a new research paradigm of “knotted chiral meta matter,” WPI-SKCM2 aspires to create artificial materials by design to help address challenging global problems, like the growing energy demand and climate change. By knotting and knitting physical fields and molecules, much like in the Japanese art form of Mizuhiki, we enable new physical behavior and desirable properties that overcome nature’s limitations, such as enabling thermal superinsulation that could save energy for heating and cooling buildings. Recreating natural phenomena in experimentally accessible systems leads to insights into the fundamental laws of nature at scales from its smallest building blocks to the entire Universe. Learn more: https://wpi-skcm2.hiroshima-u.ac.jp/

About the World Premier International Research Center Initiative (WPI)

The WPI program was launched in 2007 by Japan’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) to foster globally visible research centers boasting the highest standards and outstanding research environments. Numbering more than a dozen and operating at institutions throughout the country, these centers are given a high degree of autonomy, allowing them to engage in innovative modes of management and research. The program is administered by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS). Main WPI program site: www.jsps.go.jp/english/e-toplevel