INIVITED SPEAKERS 1) Mason Porter (Mathematical Institute, University of Oxford, UK) Webpage : http://people.maths.ox.ac.uk/porterm/ Networks: Structure and Dynamics Abstract "Network Science" is the science of connectivity, and it is one of the most exciting developments in modern science. Complex systems of interacting entities can often be represented using the language of networks, and numerous tools have now been developed to help achieve answers to a host of interesting questions about network structure and function. Here are just a few examples: How does one measure the most important people in a social network or the most important roads in a city? How does one determine the social organization of a university starting from local information about friendships? What is the best vaccination strategy to minimize the propagation of a disease? [see more] 2) Richard Sear (Department of Physics, University of Surrey, UK) Webpage :http://personal.ph.surrey.ac.uk/~phs1rs/ Abstract Crystallisation is an important and widespread phenomenon. For example, most drugs are sold as crystals and so must be controllably crystallised, and models of the Earth's atmosphere require as input the rates of freezing of water droplets. The freezing of water droplets is an essential process in cold clouds. Crystallisation starts with an activated process: nucleation. I will mainly discuss statistical models of nucleation, particularly the role of quenched disorder, but I will also show the results of computer simulation of nucleation. Quenched disorder is disorder in the system that is fixed, i.e., it does not vary in time, as thermal fluctuations do. [see more] 3) Hiroyuki Shima (Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Yamanashi, JAPAN) Webpage : http://www.ccn.yamanashi.ac.jp/~hshima/HShima-en.html Geometry - Property Relation in Condensed Matter Physics Abstract The phrases of "geometry" and "curvature", originally used in the mathematics community alone, are becoming commonplace in a realm of condensed matter physics. Profound effects of geometric curvature have manifested not only in Einstein's gravity theory, but also in diverse low-dimensional materials such as nano-carbon layers, liquid crystal membranes, and mono-layered aqueous foam. The body of research on the subjects has relied on differential geometry. On one hand, it allows to formulate an effective Hamiltonian of quantum excitations confined in curved surfaces. On the other hand, it enables us to appreciate beautiful interplay between surface curvature and topological defect configuration in two-dimensional ordered systems. Furthermore, geometry-property relations become salient in soft matters that are mechanically deformable. [see more] |
