RIKEN Center for Interdisciplinary Theoretical and Mathematical Sciences

Mathematical Genomics ECL Research Unit Retreat, 27–28 April 2026

On 27 - 28 April, the Mathematical Genomics ECL Research Unit went on a two-day retreat to SUURI-COOL Kyoto. With two new members joining in April, the retreat was a great chance for everyone to get together outside our usual work environment. Our unit started in late 2024 and over the past year and a half, we have grown to six members: Leo Speidel, Unit Leader, Lucas Sort and Aina Colomer i Vilaplana, both postdocs who joined last year, Tomoko Iwanami who is our most valued assistant, and most recently, we welcomed two additional members to our unit, postdoctoral scientist Alba Nieto Heredia and PhD student Satsuki Hirasawa. As a team, our expertise lies in modelling how our genomes are inherited through generations and using statistical inference to uncover the stories hidden within them. Our DNA can tell detailed stories about human history and prehistory, including migration, adaptation, and the origins of modern humans, while also uncovering the biological processes that shape evolution and influence human health today. We decipher these from the genomes of many thousands of present-day people, as well as from DNA sequenced from ancient human bone. The signatures left in our DNA are often subtle but preserve the stories of ordinary people not necessarily recorded in history books. At the retreat, we explored topics beyond our usual day-to-day activities. We organised three sessions: first, a mock Kakenhi grant exercise where each of us pitched a potential research idea; second, a series of practical tutorials on techniques we use in our day-to-day work, including figure design (Aina), AI tools in VS Code (Alba), LaTeX (Lucas), ancient DNA sequencing (Satsuki), and the many quirks of administration (Tomoko); and finally, a deep dive into Japanese history, spanning from prehistoric Japan, the rise of early states, through the world of Heian-period court culture, and all the way up to the Edo period. Attached is a photo of us at Byodo-in Temple in Uji, Kyoto, one of the oldest surviving temple complexes of the Heian period in Japan, already celebrated in classical literature written more than 1,000 years ago.

2026-05-11

RIKEN iTHEMS and Taiwan’s NCTS Launch Joint Research Initiative to Foster Outstanding Early-Career Researchers, Hold Signing Ceremony

In April 2026, the RIKEN Center for Interdisciplinary Theoretical and Mathematical Sciences (iTHEMS) and the National Center for Theoretical Sciences (NCTS) in Taiwan launched a joint research initiative titled “Mathematical Frontiers for Matter, Life, and the Universe,” which aims to address fundamental questions in matter, life, the universe, and society through interdisciplinary approaches centered on mathematics. A signing ceremony was held on April 23 at National Taiwan University (NTU). Representing RIKEN at the ceremony were Satoshi Iso (Director, iTHEMS), Shigehiro Nagataki (Deputy Director, iTHEMS; Division Director, Division of Global Collaborations and Research Talent Development), Yasuyuki Kawahigashi (Deputy Director, iTHEMS), and Tomoya Nagai (Coordinator, iTHEMS). Participants from National Taiwan University (NTU) included Chih-Hsing Yang (Executive Vice President, NTU), Chung-Chih Wu (Vice President for Research and Development (R&D), NTU), Pei-Ming Ho (Director, NCTS), and Ming-Lun Hsieh (Director, NCTS), along with theoretical researchers in physics, mathematics, and related scientific fields from multiple institutions. Through this collaboration, the two institutions aim to further strengthen their partnership by expanding researcher exchanges, co-organizing international symposia, and promoting international collaborative research in cutting-edge theoretical sciences. In addition, this partnership seeks to provide early-career theoretical researchers with an environment that offers a high degree of academic freedom, while creating valuable opportunities to collaborate with researchers across a broad range of disciplines and interdisciplinary fields within Asia’s leading theoretical physics and mathematics communities.

2026-05-11

Takumi Doi Receives the Awards for Science and Technology (Research Category) in the FY2026 Commendation for Science and Technology by MEXT

Takumi Doi (Senior Research Scientist, iTHEMS) has received the Awards for Science and Technology (Research Category) in the FY2026 Commendation for Science and Technology by MEXT. This award is given to researchers who have achieved outstanding research accomplishments. He was honored for his research entitled “ First-Principles Studies of Realistic Hadron Interactions and Exotic Hadrons.” Congratulations, Takumi!

2026-04-30

Farewell message from Iao-Fai Io

Our colleague, Iao-Fai Io, will be returning to National Taiwan University starting in May to complete his Ph.D. We will miss him and wish him all the best in his future career. Here is a message from Iao-Fai: <i>I joined iTHEMS in May 2025 as an International Program Associate (IPA). Over the past year, I have been very happy to be part of the iTHEMS member.</i> <i>RIKEN is one of national research institute in Japan, during my time here I had the opportunity to attend many high-quality seminars and workshops. I have also had the opportunity to visit and interact with member from different centers in RIKEN(such as CEMS, FQSP, RQC, etc.). I am also very grateful for the “coffee meetings” and “iTHEMS Now & Next” events, which helped me understand iTHEMS and learn about research which is beyond my own field.</i> <i>I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my host researcher, Dr. Ching-Kai Chiu. He has taught me a great deal about research, particularly in superconductivity and altermagnetism, which has significantly improved my research abilities in condensed matter theory. Whenever I encountered difficulties in my research, he was always willing to discuss them with me and suggest valuable advice. I am also grateful to him for introducing me his collaborators, including Congcong Le (a former iTHEMS member) and collaborators from China. In addition, I would like to thank him for his support during my visits abroad.</i> <i>I would also like to thank Tomoko Iwanami-san and Chikako Ota-san for their administrative support. In addition, I am grateful to all the people I have met at iTHEMS over the past year (such as Yan, Xiaoyang, Duc-Truyen, Tianyin, Zhe, Jinyang, Rumi, Yuta, Brian, Shuntaro, Lingxiao, Muzi, Sho, Satsuki, Iso, Haruki, Tada, Hatsuda, etc.).</i> <i>Over the coming year, I will return to National Taiwan University to complete my Ph.D., while also beginning to apply for postdoctoral positions. In the future, if I have the opportunity, I would be happy to visit RIKEN iTHEMS again. I sincerely hope to see you all again in the near future.</i>

2026-04-30

Ryusuke Hamazaki Receives the Young Scientists’ Award from MEXT

Ryusuke Hamazaki (RIKEN Hakubi Team Leader, Nonequilibrium Quantum Statistical Mechanics RIKEN Hakubi Research Team, RIKEN Cluster for Pioneering Research (CPR) / Senior Research Scientist, iTHEMS) has received the Young Scientists’ Award in the FY2026 Commendation for Science and Technology by MEXT. This award recognizes early-career researchers who have achieved outstanding research accomplishments. He was honored for his research entitled “Studies on universality and novel phases in nonequilibrium quantum many-body systems.” Congratulations, Ryusuke!

2026-04-27

The third RIKEN Quantum internal meeting on March 30, 2026

On Monday, March 30, the third RIKEN Quantum internal meeting was held in the Large Conference Room (2F, Administrative Headquarters) at RIKEN, Wako, attended by a total of over 50 RIKEN Quantum members and related researchers. At this meeting, Yahui Chai and Danny Jammooa, who were invited from overseas, gave presentations on their recent research, 'Quantum Simulation of Particle Scattering' and 'Parametric Matrix Models,' respectively. Furthermore, Jian Xu, who recently joined RIKEN Quantum, presented the research he plans to pursue at the institute. In addition, 12 researchers from various fields associated with RIKEN Quantum, who also serve as RIKEN TRIP visiting scientists for collaborative projects, gave short talks to introduce their work. At the banquet following the meeting, members, including those meeting for the first time, exchanged ideas in a relaxed atmosphere, leading to fruitful discussions for the further development of RIKEN Quantum. Reported by Shinichiro Fujii

2026-04-23

Keiya Hirashima received FY2025 RIKEN Research and Technology Incentive Award (RIKEN OHBU Award 理研桜舞賞)

Keiya Hirashima (Special Postdoctoral Researcher, iTHEMS) has been awarded the FY2025 RIKEN Research and Technology Incentive Award (RIKEN OHBU Award). The RIKEN OHBU Award is presented to early-career researchers and staff members at RIKEN who have demonstrated outstanding achievements in research and development, research support, or contributions to the promotion and dissemination of research outcomes, through active research activities. Hirashima was recognized for his work entitled “Establishment of galaxy simulations resolving individual stars through the integration of AI surrogate models and large-scale parallel computing.” This work integrates advanced AI surrogate modeling with large-scale parallel computation to enable high-resolution galaxy simulations that resolve individual stars, contributing to a deeper understanding of galaxy formation and evolution. Congratulations, Keiya!

2026-04-21

Masazumi Honda received FY2025 RIKEN Excellent Achievement Award (RIKEN BAIHO Award 理研梅峰賞)

Masazumi Honda (Senior Research Scientist, iTHEMS) has been awarded the FY2025 RIKEN Excellent Achievement Award (RIKEN BAIHO Award). The RIKEN BAIHO Award is presented by the President of RIKEN to individuals who have achieved original and outstanding research and development results that are expected to receive high recognition in academic communities, or who have made distinguished contributions to research support both within and outside the institute. Honda was recognized for his work entitled “Development of non-perturbative methods in quantum field theory and quantum gravity.” This work develops novel theoretical approaches to analyze strongly coupled phenomena in quantum field theory and quantum gravity, and is expected to contribute to the advancement of fundamental physics through a deeper understanding of non-perturbative dynamics. Congratulations, Masazumi!

2026-04-21

Leo Speidel, RIKEN ECL Research Unit Leader, Receives the SMBE Early-Career Excellence Award

Leo Speidel, RIKEN ECL Research Unit Leader of the Mathematical Genomics RIKEN ECL Research Unit, Division of Fundamental Mathematical Science, RIKEN iTHEMS, has been awarded the 2026 SMBE Early-Career Excellence Award on March 12, 2026. This award is presented by the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution (SMBE) to researchers who have made significant contributions to the advancement of the field through innovative research and who embody the values of the society through activities such as education and outreach. He has advanced research on genetic data analysis using mathematical approaches, providing new insights into molecular evolution and population genetics. This award recognizes his research achievements and contributions to the field. Congratulations, Leo!

2026-04-21

Talk Event “Useless Science & Art” Held at the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo

As a related program of the Mission∞Infinity exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, the talk event “Useless Science & Art: The Usefulness of ‘Useless’ Science and Art” was held on Saturday, March 21, 2026, attracting 119 participants. This event was organized as a continuation of “Entangle Moment [Quantum, Sea, and Universe] × Art,” held at the EXPO Messe “WASSE” during Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, from August 14 to 20, 2025, which welcomed approximately 60,000 visitors in total. Continuing the momentum of that initiative, the event brought together iTHEMS researchers and artists to discuss the value of scientific research and artistic expression that may initially appear “useless.” Using Black Hole Recorder, a work inspired by quantum black hole theory, as a starting point, participants shared multifaceted perspectives on the relationship between science and creativity. Audience members also actively engaged in the discussion, raising numerous questions and exchanging ideas about the relationship between science and art and how their value should be understood. The venue was filled with lively and enthusiastic discussion throughout the event. Expanding further on the fusion of science and art sparked by the Expo, the event provided a valuable opportunity to reflect on the nature of knowledge from a long-term perspective. The Mission∞Infinity: Space, Quantum, and Art exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, including the display of Useless Prototyping Studio’s Black Hole Recorder, will continue through Wednesday, May 6, 2026 (national holiday).

2026-04-10

Black Hole Recorder at EXPO 2025: “Entangle Moment — [Quantum, Ocean, Space] × Art” Exhibition Movie, Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai

Career Opportunities at RIKEN iTHEMS: Research Administrator and Administrative Support Staff

Interview with Physicist Yuta Sekino [Part Ⅱ]

Interview with Physicist Yuta Sekino [Part Ⅰ]

Interview with Mathematician Takashi Tsuboi [Part Ⅲ]

Next-Generation Researcher Award 2024” Commemorative Interview (3): Keiya Hirashima, RIKEN iTHEMS

Next-Generation Researcher Award 2024” Commemorative Interview (3): Accelerating High-Resolution Galaxy Formation Simulations Using AI Surrogate Models (Takaya Hirashima, RIKEN iTHEMS)

Physicists’ Dialogue: Discussing Quantum Gravity and Black Holes — PART Ⅱ (in Japanese)

Physicists’ Dialogue: Discussing Quantum Gravity and Black Holes — PART Ⅰ (in Japanese)

Interview with Mathematician Taketo Sano [PART Ⅱ] (in Japanese)

Physicists’ Dialogue: Discussing Quantum Gravity and Black Holes — Digest (in Japanese)

Introduction to “Black Hole Recorder” (in Japanese)

Interview with Mathematician Taketo Sano [PART I]

A Century of Quantum Mechanics

Interview with Mathematician Takashi Tsuboi [Part Ⅱ]

Interview with Physicist Yasunori Nomura - Part Ⅳ

Interview with Physicist Yasunori Nomura - Part Ⅲ

Interview with Mathematician Takashi Tsuboi [Part Ⅰ]

Interview with Mathematician Yuto Moriwaki [Part2]

Interview with Mathematician Yuto Moriwaki [Part 1]

Interview with Mathematician Eiji Inoue [Part 2] (in Japanese)

Interview with Physicist Yasunori Nomura - Part Ⅱ

The Connection Between Mathematics and Microbial Research: From Fisheries Science to the Path of Mathematics

Contributed to the 'One Poster per Household' Project – Like the Ones You See in Science Classrooms

Interview with Dr. Misako Tatsuma, a Planetary Formation Theorist

Interview with Mathematician Eiji Inoue [Part 1]

Interview with Physicist Yasunori Nomura - Part I

Interview with Physicist Ryo Namba [Part 2]

Interview with Physicist Ryo Namba [Part 1]

Interview with Ryosuke Iritani, Mathematical Biologist [Part 1]

Theoretical Physicist Tetsuo Hatsuda Interview Vol.2: About Research and Mathematics

Theoretical Physicist Tetsuo Hatsuda Interview Vol.1: About RIKEN iTHEMS

What about climate change in actuality?

The transition to synchronization: from phase reduction to the Kuramoto model

What Are Modular Forms?

Brunn-Minkowski inequality and the Borell-Brascamp-Lieb inequality

Aspects of Quantum Resonance Revisited

Distances and Durations: Cosmology 101

Symmetries of gravity

Birational classification of algebraic varieties

Gelfand duality

Scale transformations in physics and beyond

Machine Learning for Holographic Entanglement Inequalities

Describing Quantum Phenomena with Classical Gravity

Statistical Signatures of Quantum Chaos in Non-Hermitian Systems

Computers as a Playground for Mathematics

The Free Will Theorem in Quantum Mechanics

Renormalization revisited

Renormalization: Awareness of Ignorance

Recipe for soup of quarks and gluons

A subjective view on what is a quantum effect

Mathematical aspects of the entropic uncertainty relation

Forming black holes from stars

Singularity Theorems

Resurgence: making sense out of non-convergent series

How can we use a quantum computer to study the ground state of the hydrogen molecule?

Applications and Extensions of the Nielsen-Ninomiya Theorem in Condensed Matter Physics

COVID-19: then, now, and into the future

Exploring Quantum Spacetime

Classical simulations of quantum computers

When a Cretan says all Cretans are liars

Physical and local observables in gravitational theory

Can you hear the shape of a drum?

Quantum many-body physics with cold atoms

complexity in non-unitary dynamics of photons

Physics Through the Looking Glass

A new B.O.A.T. in astrophysics

Evolution and our daily rhythms

Area law of entanglement entropy in quantum many body systems and its implication in tensor network calculation

Comparison between conventional computers and quantum computers

A glimpse of enumerative geometry

Message-passing algorithms for graphical models

Canonical form of tensor networks in one and two dimensions

The basics of topological band theory

Building something from nothing: a mathematical framework for aperiodic/amorphous sets

Planetary lightning: Current State-of-the-art and outstanding questions

Collective Power of Science ~ from the High-Energy Atmospheric Physics to our New Exploration of the Universe ~

Morse theory and Floer theory

Knot theory and topological semimetals

On Dark Matter

Odd couples of interdisciplinary research

Khovanov homology theory - an introduction to categorification by Dr. Taketo Sano on May 13, 2022

Fundamentals Fest, mini Pre-event on Science "Exploring and Bridging: The Potential of Basic Science"

In Search of Pc pentaquark - Simulate Hadron Interactions with FUGAKU

AAS Journal Author Series: Hirotaka Ito on 2021ApJ…918...59I

Will Useless Knowledge Change the Future? - What is the Black Hole Recorder?

RIKEN 2019 (in Japanese)