WPI–AIMR & WPI–SKCM2 International & Interdisciplinary Math–Materials Workshop

Information

Understanding entanglement through mathematical frameworks offers vast potential for explaining the mechanical behavior of a wide range of materials and physical systems. This workshop invites broad interdisciplinary collaboration–spanning scientists, engineers, and artists–with the aim of advancing the field and inspiring innovative approaches in areas such as textiles, medical technologies, polymers, molecular structures, and construction materials. Rather than relying on conventional trial–and–error methods, the initiative connects academic and industrial perspectives to explore sustainable, forward–thinking solutions. In addition to fostering scientific dialogue, the workshop will emphasize cultural engagement through exhibitions and interactive activities.

Date

Monday, July 28, 2025 – Thursday, July 31, 2025 (JST)

Venue

TOKYO ELECTRON House of Creativity 3F, Lecture Theater, Katahira Campus, Tohoku University [Access]

Capacity

Onsite: 60 (First–come–first–serve basis, registration required)
Online: 100

Invited Speakers

Mark Dennis (University of Birmingham)

Yuanyuan Guo (Tohoku University)

Louis H. Kauffman (University of Illinois at Chicago)

Yuka Kotorii (Hiroshima University)

Sofia Lambropoulou (National Technical University of Athens)

Yoshiyuki Miyamae (A–POC ABLE Issey Miyake)

Eleni Panagiotou (Arizona State University)

Pedro M. Reis (École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL))

Takahiro Sakaue (Aoyama Gakuin University)

Koya Shimokawa (Ochanomizu University)

Hiroshi Suito (Tohoku University)

Ryuichi Tarumi (Osaka University)

Hirofumi Wada (Ritsumeikan University)

Registration

Participation
Registration deadline: Monday, June 23, 2025, 16:00 (JST)
– Closed

Online Participation reopened until: Friday, July 25, 2025, 16:00 (JST)
– Closed

Reception Party and Excursion
Registration deadline: Wednesday, July 16, 2025, 16:00 (JST)
– Closed

Onsite Participation Fee: 1000 JPY

Time Schedule

Monday, July 28, 2025

08:30 – 09:00: Registration & Welcome Coffee

09:00 – 09:15: Opening Remarks; Sonia Mahmoudi (Tohoku University); Takashi Tsuboi (Tohoku University); Maki Suemitsu (Tohoku University)

09:15 – 10:15: Louis H. Kauffman (University of Illinois at Chicago); Knot Logic and Aborescent Links

10:15 – 10:45: Coffee Break

10:45 – 11:45: Pedro M. Reis (École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)); Untangling the Mechanics of Physical Knots

11:45 – 12:00: Introduction to weaving/knitting

12:00 – 13:30: Lunch Break

13:30 – 14:30: Sofia Lambropoulou (National Technical University of Athens); On the Equivalence of Doubly Periodic Tangles

14:30 – 15:00: Coffee Break

Session 1
Session Chair: Ioannis Diamantis (Maastricht University)
15:00 – 16:30: Taketo Sano (RIKEN iTHEMS); Khovanov homology and its applications to low–dimensional topology; Andreani Petrou (Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology); Knots, links and Harer–Zagler factorisability; Yoshiaki Uchida (Kobe Pharmaceutical University); Periodic knots with unknotting number one

16:30 – 18:00: Poster Session; Venue: AIMR 5F Combination Room

Tuesday, July 29, 2025
Session 1
Session Chair: Ioannis Diamantis (Maastricht University)
09:00 – 10:30: Koya Shimokawa (Ochanomizu University); Interlocking Molecules and Polyhedral Links; Yi–Sheng Wang (National Sun Yat–sen University); The symmetry of knotted handlebodies in hyperbolic knot exteriors; Makoto Ozawa (Komazawa University); Tritangle decompositions of genus two handlebody–knots

10:30 – 11:00: Coffee Break

Session 2
Session Chair: Samuel Poincloux (Aoyama Gakuin University)
11:00 – 12:30: Yuanyuan Guo (Tohoku University); Multimodal Metafibers as Soft Architectures for Sensing, Modulation, and Material Expression; Hiroshi Yokota (Tokyo Metropolitan University); Topology–dependent dynamics of DNA involving “torsion” through molecular dynamics simulation; Tomohiko Sano (Keio University); Shapes of twisted closed knots and plain knits

12:30 – 14:00: Networking Lunch

Session 3
Session Chair: Tomohiko Sano (Keio University)
14:00 – 15:30: Hirofumi Wada (Ritsumeikan University); Periodic Tangles and Topological Waves in a Mechanical Toy; Kotone Tajiri (Keio University); Curling Morphology of Knitted Fabrics: Structure and Mechanics; Goto Takai (Keio University); Twist deformation of physical trefoil knots

15:30 – 16:00: Coffee Break

16:00 – 16:50: Tatsuki Hayama (Keio University); Mathematics of Weave Structure and Patterns

Wednesday, July 30, 2025
09:00 – 09:50: Takahiro Sakaue, (Aoyama Gakuin University); Physics of kinetoplast DNA: a tentative view

09:50 – 10:40: Eleni Panagiotou (Arizona State University); Measures of entanglement of filamentous matter

10:40 – 11:00: Coffee Break

11:00 – 11:50: Ryuichi Tarumi (Osaka University); Exploring the Intersection of Differential Geometry and Nonlinear Mechanics in Knitted Matters

12:00 – 19:00: Excursion to Shiogama & Matsushima
Scheduled return to Sendai (Main Station) / Tohoku University (Katahira Campus)
(Guidelines and transport will be provided at Venue. Prior registration through the form provided above is required.)

Thursday, July 31, 2025
Session 1
Session Chair: Ioannis Diamantis (Maastricht University)
09:00 – 10:30: Yuka Kotorii (Hiroshima University); Higher Order Linking Numbers of Periodic Tangle; Kenichi Yoshida (Hiroshima University); Periodic tangles and coverings of links in 3–manifolds; Wout Moltmaker (Universiteit van Amsterdam); Quantum Invariants of Periodic Tangles

10:30 – 11:00: Coffee Break

Session 2
Session Chair: Samuel Poincloux (Aoyama Gakuin University)
11:00 – 12:30: Hiroshi Suito (Tohoku University); Time–periodic tangled blood flow streamlines in the human cardiovascular system; Florian Gruen (Kyoto University); Regularity and structure of non–planar p–elasticae; Joanna Mastalska–Popławska (AGH University of Krakow); Role of the selected hydrogels and ceramic fire retardants in the production of fire–resistant fabrics