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155 news
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2024-09-10
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Farewell message from Keita Mikami
Our colleague Keita Mikami will move on to a new career as an assistant professor at University of Hyogo as of Oct. 1, 2024. We all will miss him and wish him the best of luck in his latest endeavor. Here is a message from Keita Mikami: My five and a half years at iTHEMS have been truly outstanding. The environment here has been exceptional, significantly enriching my research in many different ways. One of the key highlights has been the stimulating and insightful discussions with researchers from diverse fields. Furthermore, my experiences working on MACS, organizing math seminars, and coordinating other events such as SSP have been invaluable. My research visit to UCB was also an incredible experience. I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to all the researchers and assistants at iTHEMS. I am especially grateful to the director, Hatsuda-san, for his unwavering support.As I move forward, I hope to continue interacting with the iTHEMS community, albeit in a new capacity. Once again, thank you for these five wonderful years.
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2024-08-27
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Farewell message from Takeru Yokota
Our colleague Takeru Yokota will move to RIKEN Quantum Computer Center (RQC) starting from September 1, 2024, and will then be posted to a University as a faculty member as of April 1, 2025. We all will miss him and wish him the best of luck in his latest endeavor. Here is a message from Takeru Yokota: I am grateful for having spent the past three and a half years in an environment where I could focus on research at iTHEMS. Engaging in discussions with researchers from various fields of mathematical sciences has been a valuable experience. I would like to express my deep appreciation to the director, Hatsuda-san, the staff, and the assistants who created such a wonderful environment, as well as to the members who engaged in these valuable discussions. I look forward to continuing my interactions with the members of iTHEMS in the future.
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2024-07-26
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SLMath Summer Graduate School "h-principle" on July 1, 2024
The SLMath Summer Graduate School "h-principle" Sendai 2024 was held from July 1 to July 12, 2024 at TOKYO ELECTRON House of Creativity (Chi no Yakata) in Katahira Campus of Tohoku University. This two weeks lomg summer graduate school was organized by Simons Laufer Mathematical Sciences Institute (SLMath) and RIKEN iTHEMS, and coorganized by Mathematical Science Center for Co-creative Society (MathCCS) and Tohoku Forum for Creativity (TFC) of Tohoku University. There were 18 graduate students from the supporting institutions of SLMath and 12 graduate students from Japanese universities. There were four courses consisting of five 90 mintes lectures given by Emmy Murphy (Toront University), Dominik Inauen (Leipzig University) and Takashi Tsuboi (RIKEN iTHEMS / Tohoku University). The titles of lectures were "h-principles in smooth topology" by Emmy Murphy and "Riemannian geometry and applications to fluid dynamics" by Dominik Inauen in the first week, and "Contact and symplectic flexibility" by Emmy Murphy and "Foliation theory and diffeomorphism groups" by Takashi Tsuboi in the second week. We took video of the lectures and it can be seen later from the website of SLMath. There were 4 teaching assistants, Toru Yoshiyasu (Kyoto University of Education), Noboru Ogawa (Tokai University), Masato Ogawa (Tohoku University) and Sonia Mahmoudi (SUURI-COOL Sendai, Tohoku University) who took care of the 30 graduate students. Some details can be seen at SLMath website. The staffs of RIKEN iTHEMS, SUURI-COOL Sendai and MathCCS supported this summer graduate school for all the time, and all the participants are realy grateful for their help. TOKYO ELECTRON House of Creativity is really a nice place for the discussions in front of blackboards, and the house was filled with the discussions among the participants for 9:00 - 17:30 and some of the discussions continued in the meeting room in the hotel. The welcome party and the farewell party of Summer Graduate School were held jointy with the participants of G-RIPS Sendai 2024 which went on at MathCCS and which iTHEMS is cohosting. Reported by Takashi Tsuboi
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2024-06-26
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Professor, how many dimensions does "space" have!? ── Asking Theoretical Physicist Yasunori Nomura about the Nature of "Space" from Subatomic to Cosmic Scale
In VOL.53 of the Japanese edition of the magazine 'WIRED,' we delve deeply into the potential of "space" × "computing." However, how should we define the very essence of "space"? A superficial exploration would undoubtedly result in a half-baked understanding. Therefore, we sought the wisdom of one of the foremost theoretical physicists of our time. We visited the office of Yasunori Nomura on the 4th floor of the Physics Department building at the University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley). Professor Nomura, what exactly is "space"? What is space? This question is directly related to the progress of modern physics. It can be said that modern physics is a discipline that seeks to understand "space and time." So, before delving into the perspective of quantum gravity theory, which is my specialty, I would like to briefly explain the relationship between physics and space. For the continuation, please visit the WIRED website through the related link.
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2024-06-12
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Faculty of Science 2023 Year in Review: Catherine Beauchemin
Catherine Beauchemin(Deputy Program Director, iTHEMS) was interviewed by the Toronto Metropolitan University about her interdisciplinary research and its impact. For a physics professor, Catherine Beauchemin certainly gets involved in biology research more than you might expect. Her embrace of interdisciplinarity has taken her to many places, currently to Japan, where she is serving as Deputy Program Director of the Interdisciplinary Theoretical and Mathematical Sciences (iTHEMS) programme at RIKEN, Japan's largest research institute. One of the best aspects? “My position allows me to host TMU trainees in Japan and expand their research and life horizons.” Please see the related links for more details.
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2024-05-29
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Event report: OIST x iTHEMS Workshop Series 1
Renowned globally for its eminent scientists and cutting-edge infrastructures, RIKEN is the largest Japanese research organization in basic natural sciences. This distinction renders RIKEN a very attractive partner for OIST, a burgeoning research-oriented university. Cementing their collaborative endeavorsm, both institutes signed bilateral agreements including a MoU in 2020-2021, triggering and facilitating ambitious projects and fostering new collaborations. Among these, RIKEN Interdisciplinary Theoretical and Mathematical Sciences Program (iTHEMS) has emerged as a dynamic hub for active collaboration with OIST. The workshop “OIST x iTHEMS Exploring the Mysteries of the Universe and Life - Series 1 | Cosmic ray and Life project” held at OIST on March 4-6 may be one best example of the type of brainstorming needed for addressing the most challenging questions. To read more, please visit the related link.
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2024-04-28
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Program Director Tetsuo Hatsuda has been elected a new International Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
On 24 April 2024, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences announced the election of 250 new members (25 new International Honorary Members) and Tetsuo Hatsuda, Program Director of the RIKEN iTHEMS, was elected as a new International Honorary Member. The American Academy of Arts and Sciences is the oldest academy in the United States, founded in 1780, and the Academy's mission is stated as follows: Founded in 1780, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences honors excellence and convenes leaders from every field of human endeavor to examine new ideas, address issues of importance to the nation and the world, and work together “to cultivate every art and science which may tend to advance the interest, honor, dignity, and happiness of a free, independent, and virtuous people.” "We honor these artists, scholars, scientists, and leaders in the public, non-profit, and private sectors for their accomplishments and for the curiosity, creativity, and courage required to reach new heights,” said David Oxtoby, President of the Academy. “We invite these exceptional individuals to join in the Academy’s work to address serious challenges and advance the common good." From RIKEN, Akito Arima (former President of RIKEN), Ryoji Noyori (former President of RIKEN), Masatoshi Takeichi (former Director of the Center for Developmental Biology) and Shigeyuki Yokoyama (former Director of the RIKEN Systems and Structural Biology Center) have been selected. This year, two Japanese have been selected: Tetsuo Hatsuda (Director of the RIKEN iTHEMS) and Isao Kumakura (Professor Emeritus, National Museum of Ethnology). Induction ceremonies for new members will take place on 21 September in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Comment from Tetsuo Hatada, Program Director: "I feel very honoured to be appointed as a foreign honorary member of the Academy. I hope to contribute to the well-being of humanity and the development of science in cooperation with my seniors in various fields."
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2024-04-28
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Introducing the annual S&T poster for everyone titlled “Mathematics Connecting to the World: One S&T poster for Every Household” at the 'RIKEN DAY: Let’s Talk with Researchers!'
Tomoya Nagai (iTHEMS Coordinator), Daiki Kumakura (iTHEMS Junior Research Associate), and Nahoko Shinozaki (freelance announcer / mathematics communicator) on behalf of the production team of the annual S&T poster for everyone titlled “Mathematics Connecting to the World: One S&T poster for Every Household”, appeared at the monthly online event ’RIKEN DAY: Let's talk with researchers!’ organised by the RIKEN Public Relations Office to talk about the poster and their usual work and research. A total of 144 people participated, with a maximum of 78 on ZOOM and 66 on YouTube, and ZOOM participants consisted of 37% each of elementary and junior high school students and over 50s in general. The event was very enjoyable, with many sharp questions from the primary schools students, such as "Can everything in the world be expressed mathematically?”.
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2024-04-17
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The commemorative lecture for "Science and Technology Week” was held at the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan Headquarters
The Interdisciplinary Theoretical and Mathematical Sciences Program (iTHEMS), which planned and supervised the annual S&T poster for everyone titlled “Mathematics Connecting to the World: One S&T poster for Every Household”, was invited to the commemorative lecture for "Science and Technology Week” held on April 11 at the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan Headquarters and introduced the related research of iTHEMS young researchers. The lecture was moderated by Kenji Yamada, Director of the Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Division, and opened with greetings from Kisaburo Tokai, Chairperson of the Policy Research Council, Keitaro Ohno, Chairperson of the Research Commission on Science, Technology and Innovation Strategy, and Soichiro Imaeda, State Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. The lecture was also attended by members of the LDP Student Division. Program: Report: The annual S&T poster for everyone titlled “Mathematics Connecting to the World: One S&T poster for Every Household” Makiko Naka, Executive Director, RIKEN Tomoya Nagai, Representative of the “Mathematics: One S&T poster for Every Household" Production Team, iTHEMS Coordinator Memorial Lecture: Introduction of related research by young RIKEN iTHEMS researchers (Coordinator) Tetsuo Hatsuda, Program Director of iTHEMS "Elucidating the Quantum World: Observational and AI Approaches" Shunji Matsuura, Senior Researcher "Mathematics of Biodiversity" Ryosuke Iritani, Senior Researcher "The Universe Observed with X-rays" Naomi Tsuji, Visiting Researcher "Mathematical Basis for Digital Health Mapping of Bacterial Diseases" Daiki Kumakura, Graduate Student Research Associate
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2024-04-11
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Kyoto University SACRA-RIKEN iTHEMS Special Lecture by Prof. Tadashi Tokieda by Tadashi Tokieda on March 28, 2024
On March 28, 2024, Tadashi Tokieda (Professor, Dept. of Math., Stanford University) gave a public lecture on "Dynamics of Rubbing the Wrong Way (逆撫での力学)" at the Tokyo office of Kyoto Univ. in front of the Tokyo station. This was a Special Lecture co-organized by SACRA Kyoto U. and RIKEN iTHEMS. The lecture was attended by a diverse audience of more than 50 people, including students from the MasaSon Foundation, academic institutions and companies, who enjoyed Tokieda's introduction to the fascinating world of dissipative and non-linear dynamics with numerous demonstrations and lively questions/discussions after the lecture. An English version of the same lecture given by Tokieda at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton University on February9, 2024 is available at the related link below. If you missed the SACRA-iTHEMS Lecture, please take a look at it.
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2024-04-11
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TadaFest 2024: Toward understanding of the Origin of Spacetime by Dr. Tsukasa Tada on April 2, 2024
On April 2, 2024, TadaFest2024: Toward Understanding of the Origin of Spacetime, was held at the Okochi Hall. Following an inspiring keynote lecture by Tsukasa Tada (iTHEMS deputy program director) on the past and future research into the emergence of spacetime, four frontline researchers gave special talks on the holographic principle, the uncertainty principle, the spintronics, and the matrix model for spacetime. The meeting was well attended face-to-face and led to a lively discussion on the fundamental principles of physics.
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2024-04-11
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iTHEMS Starter Meeting for FY 2024 on April 5, 2024
On April 5, 2024, the annual iTHEMS Starter Meeting was held in the iTHEMS Common Room. More than 80 people attended, including face-to-face and via Zoom. iTHEMS Programme Director Hatsuda gave an overview of iTHEMS, followed by self-introductions by new and current members. As the new academic year begins, we are looking forward to further interactions across disciplines and the development of great science.
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2024-04-02
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The annual S&T poster for everyone titlled “Mathematics: One S&T poster for Every Household” has been published
The theme for the 2024 edition of the annual S&T poster for everyone “One S&T poster for Every Household” produced by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) for Science and Technology Week in April each year, is "Mathematics Connecting to the World”, planned by the RIKEN Interdisciplinary Theoretical and Mathematical Sciences Program (iTHEMS). The image for downloading was published on the Science and Technology Week page of the MEXT on March 25, 2024. The poster has been distributed to elementary schools, junior high schools, high schools, and universities nationwide. The posters will also be distributed at science museums and museums in the future. A special website with more in-depth coverage of the poster's contents will also be made available. The theme is “mathematics", which is used as a tool to understand and answer questions about things in the world, and the paper introduces how mathematics is used in our daily lives based on various examples.
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2024-03-27
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Farewell message from Mizuki Oikawa
Our colleague Mizuki Oikawa will move on to a new carrier (JSPS Research fellow (PD)) at University of Tokyo as of April 1st. We all will miss him and wish him the best of luck in his latest endeavor. Here is a message from Mizuki Oikawa: I spent three years at iTHEMS as a Junior Research Associate (JRA) for the first two years and a student trainee for the whole three years. It was a great experience that I could communicate with researchers with various backgrounds. Moreover, it was wonderful that iTHEMS gave me chances not only to talk about my research but also host some seminars. I am fortunately going to be a visiting researcher and looking forward to seeing you again soon.
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2024-03-23
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Farewell message from Akira Harada
Our colleague Akira Harada will move to National Institute of Technology (KOSEN), Ibaraki College as an Assistant Professor, starting from April 1, 2024. We all will miss him and wish him success in his new affiliation! Here is a message from Akira Harada: For these three years, I have had a very happy time as an SPDR in iTHEMS. It was an invaluable experience to talk with various people and diverse fields and topics. Events like public outreach and Super Smash Problem have been my good memories, and I feel they have provided me a good nourishment. Thanks to such opportunities and the environment for unrestricted research, I feel I have taken a step forward as a researcher. iTHEMS is very comfortable and hard to leave, but I will take further steps in my new workplace. I express my gratitude to the program coordinators, colleagues, and assistants who have engaged in various discussions and provided support. I would be grateful to keep in touch with iTHEMS members in the future.
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2024-03-13
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Farewell message from Hidetoshi Taya
Our colleague Hidetoshi Taya will move to Department of Physics, Hiyoshi Campus, Keio University as an Assistant Professor, starting from April 1, 2024. We all will miss him and wish him success in his new affiliation! Here is a message from Hidetoshi Taya: It was truly one of the greatest experiences in my whole life to be able to enjoy science at iTHEMS for four years (including the one year in 2017 as a JSPS posdoc, before joining as an SPDR from 2021). All iTHEMS researchers are so talented and have a broad interest in science, covering almost all topics of science, not only physics, but also mathematics, biology, computational science, etc. The scientific discussions in iTHEMS, therefore, have always been extremely interesting and useful. iTHEMS also gave me a unique opportunity to enhance collaborations through the Working/Study Group program, which I used with NEW (Non-Equilibrium Working Group) and the Theoretical Physics Study Group, and I have learned and enjoyed a lot through their activities. I would like to take this opportunity to express my deep gratitude to the director, Hatsuda-san, the deputy directors, and the assistants, who did/do/are making enormous efforts to achieve the great environment of iTHEMS. Finally, I sincerely hope that iTHEMS will continue to develop and expand its presence, and I look forward to continuing to collaborate and enjoy science with iTHEMS researchers. Thanks for the great four years!
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2024-03-07
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RIKEN-Nara Women's University Joint Diversity Promotion Workshop 2024 was held
On February 29th and March 1st, a total of 23 students from various courses including mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, and environmental science at Nara Women's University (2nd to 4th year undergraduates, 1st and 2nd year master's students) visited different laboratories at RIKEN: the Azuma Laboratory (CPR), the Takeishi Laboratory (CBS), iTHEMS, the RIBF facility, and the Sako Laboratory (CPR). At each laboratory, they had the opportunity to glimpse cutting-edge research, and during the evening exchange sessions with RIKEN researchers, they were able to ask deeper questions about the research topics and learn about the researchers' daily lives. This diversity promotion activity is part of a joint initiative between the Faculty of Science at Nara Women's University and RIKEN iTHEMS, conducted in conjunction with a series of lectures at Nara Women's University, and is planned to continue in the coming years.
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2024-01-30
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iTHEMS held exchange event with members of the Masason Foundation
RIKEN Interdisciplinary Theoretical and Mathematical Sciences Program (iTHEMS) held its first exchange event with members of the Masason Foundation on Thursday, December 7th, 2023, as part of its efforts to nurture young talent for the future. Thirteen Foundation members, ranging in age from 9 to 26 years old, with interests in mathematics, physics, biology, AI, etc., and ten iTHEMS researchers participated in the event, engaging in high-level discussions and stimulating exchanges. For more details, please see the main text below.
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2024-01-30
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“Quantum-like Modeling” in Biology, Cognitive & Social Sciences on January 26, 2024
A workshop titled "Quantum-like modeling in biology, cognitive & social sciences", jointly organized by iTHEMS, RIKEN Quantum, and JST-CREST "Multi-sensing" area, was held on Jan. 26 (Fri), 2024 from 9:30 to 17:00 in Okochi Memorial Hall and Zoom. At the beginning of the workshop, Atsushi Iriki (RIKEN), research supervisor of JST-CREST "Multi-sensing" area, explained the purpose of the workshop, followed by Tetsuo Hatsuda (RIKEN) introducing the several quantum computers available in RIKEN Quantum. After that, Hayato Saigo (Nagahama Institute of Bio-Science and Technology) gave a talk on "Overview of open quantum systems focusing on JST-CREST projects", and there was a discussion on the possibilities and expectations for modeling and interpretation of general phenomena using quantum theoretical mathematics. Then, Masanao Ozawa (Chubu Univ.) gave a talk on "Theory of non-commutative ordering effects and new mathematical theory in breakthroughs", and there was a discussion on the design of complementary collaboration between experimentalists and mathematicians, and the creation of "new mathematics”. After a lunch break, Takuya Isomura (RIKEN) gave a talk on "Path integral methods in Bayesian inference variational free energy principle", and there was a discussion on the quantum interpretation in biochemistry, neuroscience, cognitive science, and psychiatry. Following this, Shogo Tanaka (Tokai Univ.) gave a talk on "From an atomistic view of humanity to understanding human beings and society through quantum metaphors", and there was a discussion on the possibilities of social implementation of quantum phenomena and quantum computations in the humanities and social sciences. Finally, there was a general discussion on “quantum-like modeling” and the path integral/quantum interpretation of the evolution/history of "human phenomena". About 70 participants, both onsite and online, had an enthusiastic discussion on the quantum interpretation of various phenomena in the humanities and social sciences, and on the possibilities of quantum computation.
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2024-01-26
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Seoul National University student group visited iTHEMS on January 10, 2024
On Wednesday, January 10, a group of 22 undergraduate students part of a student group called GLEAP from Seoul National University (SNU) came to visit iTHEMS, accompanied by Professor Ji-Young Lee, Associate Dean of the College of Natural Sciences in the School of Biological Sciences at SNU. The students were from various years (2nd to 4th year undergraduates) and a wide range of scientific fields, including mathematics, chemistry, biology, physics, and statistics. Their visit to iTHEMS was part of a several days' tour of various Japanese universities and research institutes, to consider their future career opportunities and research directions. Upon arriving at RIKEN, the group was greeted by iTHEMS members Dongwook Ghim and Catherine Beauchemin, and were first taken on a tour of the Nishina Center ion beam accelerators. They then enjoyed very brief, casual conversation in the iTHEMS common rooms with some snacks. Catherine Beauchemin gave a 5-min introduction of the various opportunities for SNU students to become iTHEMS members in the future (e.g., JRA, IPA, SPDR, RS/SRS). Then 6 different iTHEMS researchers (Dongwook Ghim, Misako Tatsuuma, Akinori Tanaka, Catherine Beauchemin, Steffen Backes, Ryo Namba) gave great 12 min talks about their research, and some additional iTHEMS members also joined. After that, several additional iTHEMS members joined and each of the students and iTHEMS members briefly introduced themselves and their research interests. This was followed by interesting, casual discussions between iTHEMS members and the SNU students over light food. The students told me they thoroughly enjoyed their visit to iTHEMS and learning about the wide range of research our members conduct. Overall, this provided a great opportunity to showcase iTHEMS members' research to young researchers considering their future academic career. Many thanks for the amazing support provided by all the iTHEMS assistants without whom this event would not have been possible, to the iTHEMS researchers who took their time to take part in this event and make it so interesting for the students, and with special thanks to Dongwook Ghim, himself is a graduate of SNU, for all his help and for being such an inspiring role model for these students of his alma mater. Reported by Catherine Beauchemin
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2024-01-22
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Black Hole Recorder was exhibited at the art event DIG SHIBUYA from January 12th to 14th, 2024
iTHEMS exhibited "Black Hole Recorder”, a science art work based on quantum black hole theory created in 2021 with outside creators, as a program within the art event "DIG SHIBUYA” at the Shibuya Workers’ Welfare Hall for three days from January 12 (Fri.) to 14 (Sun.). The entire event was organized by the SHIBUYA CREATIVE TECH Executive Committee in cooperation with the Shibuya City, and "Black Hole Recorder” was selected as a collaborative project through an open call for proposals. The exhibition was held in a dark room with the "Black Hole Recorder” set up in the middle of the room, and visitors were invited to enter with a flashlight to illuminate their feet and view the works with explanations. The entire venue was an experimental space, and the "Black Hole Recorder” constantly recorded all the sounds in the venue. For the first time, a booth was set up to allow visitors to listen to environmental sound data recorded from the very experimental space where the "Black Hole Recorder” was exhibited in the past, allowing them to enjoy the experience of listening to the past. The exhibition was held at a facility located in the city of Shibuya, where many people (close to 300 in total) gather, and many visitors were able to view and experience the exhibition on a holiday day. Depending on the time of day, the venue was sometimes quite crowded. Through the artworks, many visitors became interested in black holes and their theories, and I believe that many of them left with an image of a black hole. Detailed explanations of the theory using a blackboard by researcher Yuki Yokokura and program director Tetsuo Hatsuda were also well received. The response was also positive due to the sense of time and scale regarding the plan to send recorded sounds to a black hole via radio waves in the future in order to deliver the sounds of humanity far into the future. Exhibiting at an art event in the city provided an opportunity to bring the results of our research to people who are not usually interested in science, and we felt that this was a good opportunity to make progress in the future.
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2023-12-25
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Farewell message from Yalong Cao
Our colleague Yalong CAO will move to the Morningside Center of Mathematics and the Institute of Mathematics at the Chinese Academy of Science in Beijing as an Associate Professor, starting from Jan. 9, 2024. We all wish him success in his new affiliation! Here is a message from Yalong: I am deeply in debt of gratitude to Hatsuda san and all iTHEMS assistants for their generous support over the two and a half years which I spent in iTHEMS. To mathematicians, maybe the most important thing is to have an environment where we can freely develop things that fascinate us, which might not be useful for something else immediately. It is a great fortune to me that iTHEMS provides such an environment. Besides that, I have been enjoying discussing with our lovely members and also wandering in the beautiful Wako campus (especially during Spring and Autumn), which helps to refresh me all the time. I will move to the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing to work and become a visiting scientist of iTHEMS. I hope to come back to visit regularly and continue to enjoy everything here. Everyone is surely very welcome to visit me in Beijing. Let's keep in touch and keep enjoying our life and career.
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2023-08-27
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3rd Summer School of Mathematical Biology
From the 23rd to the 25th of August 2023, the 3rd Summer School of Mathematical Biology took place at Sokendai University (Hayama, Kanagawa Prefecture). It was a lecture camp organized primarily by our iTHEMS colleagues, Daiki Kumakura and Keiichi Morita. The topics included virus evolution, immune response, coexistence theories in biology and rapid evolution, human migration and its processes, optimization strategies in marine organism reproduction, and modeling biological metabolism. At the summer school, Tetsuo Hatsuda (iTHEMS Director) also participated as an attendee. In the end, there was a fruitful event, including an introduction to iTHEMS. The summer school will be held again next year.
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2023-07-21
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The Discovery Evening was held on June 22 at Wako Campus
The second on-site Discovery Evening since the COVID-19 pandemic was held on June 22 at Wako Campus. 35 people attended the event, which was organized by the Research Personnel Affairs Section, RIKEN. José Said Gutiérrez-Ortega (Special Postdoctoral Researcher, iTHEMS) was one of the two speakers in the event. He gave a presentation titled "Natural history of cycads: Deciphering the Rosetta Stone of plant evolution." He explained that cycads existed from the time of the dinosaurs, but they were able to live on despite the dinosaurs going extinct. For more details, please visit the RIKENETIC website through the related link below. To access RIKENETIC, you will need to use the intranet.
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2023-06-21
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iTHEMS Science Outreach Workshop 2023 was held on June 16-18, 2023
On June 16-18, we had Meeting on Outreach of RIKEN iTHEMS 2023 @Sendai & Zoom. This year the meeting was held at TOKYO ELECTRON House of Creativity 3F, Lecture Theater, Katahira Campus, Tohoku University. It was organized by RIKEN iTHEMS and Mathematical Science Center for Co-creative Society of Tohoku University and co-organised by Tohoku Forum for Creativity, Organization for Research Promotion, Tohoku University and RIKEN CPR, Prediction Science Laboratory. There were 37 people participated at TOKYO ELECTRON House of Creativity and 13 more by zoom. There were 19 talks at the venue and 2 talks by zoom. 4 talks were by members of iTHEMS explaining recent development in various fields in sciences. 8 talks were from universities or institutes on different aspects of research, where 2 were by ex-members of iTHEMS. 8 talks were given by journalists and 1 by MEXT. There was also 1 poster by a journalist, a display of photos of fingers of mathematicians, a display of monthly academic magazine. The participants consist of 9+4 members from RIKEN, 14+2 from universities and institutes, and 14+7 journalists (at venue + by zoom). The venue was so nicely organized and ideal for the meeting of 30 - 40 participants, and the lounge next to the conference room was comfortably clouded which greatly contributed the success of the meeting. We organized social gathering on the two evenings and which were also successful. We thank very much for the help of Profs. Yoshiaki Maeda and Hiroshi Suito for the warm hospitality. By the success of this meeting, we hope the continuation of Journalist in residence program and this workshop next year. Reported by Takashi Tsuboi
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2023-05-22
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Ryosuke Iritani gave a scientific outreach talk at Mathcafe on May 14, 2023
On Sunday 14th May, Ryosuke Iritani gave a scientific outreach talk at Mathcafe. He focused on spatial biodiversity as a chief topic and how to use mathematics to estimate, and make inferences for, the biodiversity. He explained the measurement of biodiversity from the axiomatic viewpoint, that is, he explained what properties should be satisfied by the quantity that is supposed to measure biodiversity. He then moved on to explaining an application of generating functions to biodiversity measures. He finished his talk by saying that mathematics is not only useful to science but also a life-time fun hobby.
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2023-05-17
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Thomas Hitchcock gave a short talk at Nerd Nite Tokyo on April 21, 2023
On Friday 21st April, Thomas Hitchcock gave a short talk at Nerd Nite Tokyo entitled “Sex Education: reproductive diversity across the tree of life”. There he talked to a general audience about the range of ways that organisms may reproduce, from those organisms that simply make copies of their own genes (asexual reproduction), to those that mix them with others (sexual reproduction), and those that can do both (facultative sex). He discussed the different mechanisms that organisms may use to decide whether to reproduce as a female (producing eggs) or male (producing sperm), and how genes may pass differently to offspring through these two routes, illustrating these ideas with stories about spoonworms, fungus gnats, and rotifers. Finally, he stressed how evolution may work differently in these different reproductive systems, and so the importance of understanding this diversity for guiding our efforts in conservation, agriculture, and medicine.
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2023-05-08
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Probing Extreme Gravity with Ringing Black Holes
Naritaka Oshita (Visiting Scientist, iTHEMS) contributed to the chapter “Researches” in the membership journal of the physical society of Japan on the universality in a black hole ringing and its application to probe the near-horizon physics of black holes. Also, a picture relevant to Naritaka Oshita’s research on a black hole ringing was selected as the cover art of the journal. You can visit the following web site of the Physical Society of Japan to access the contributions.
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2023-05-02
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RIKEN iTHEMS signed a new MoU with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL)
Reiner Kruecken (Director of the Nuclear Science Division of LBNL) and Tetsuo Hatsuda (Director of RIKEN iTHEMS) are the principal coordinators for LBNL and RIKEN iTHEMS, respectively, for this MoU [1]. The photo was taken in front of the desk of Ernest Lawrence [2], which is preserved at LBNL.
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2023-03-31
Hot TopicMessages from Tetsuo Hatsuda (March 31, 2023)
Dear iTHEMS members Today is the last day of FY2022. I would like to express my deepest gratitude to all of you for your efforts in overcoming the pandemic this year and continuing your research activities. I would also like to thank the following people who physically have left or are leaving iTHEMS for their great contributions to iTHEMS during FY2022. Bon Voyage! Etsuko Itou, Masaki Taniguchi, Naritaka Oshita, Takuya Sugiura, Yuki Yazaki, Matthias Berwein, Akira Matsumoto, Chris Bourne, Michiya Mori, Shou Yoshikawa, Don Warren, Shunsuke Kobayashi, Hiroshi Yokota, Gilberto Nakamura, Kazumi Kuwata. With best regards, Tetsuo Hatsuda
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2023-03-28
Hot Topic
Farewell message from Dr. Euki YAZAKI
Our colleague Euki YAZAKI will move to the Research Center for Advanced Analysis, National Agriculture and Food Research Organization as a Research Scientist from April 1st. We all will miss him and wish him the best of luck in his latest endeavor. Here is a message from Euki YAZAKI: As I prepare to leave after three wonderful years at RIKEN, I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to all of you. It has been an honor to work with such a wonderful group of theoretical and mathematical scientists and I have learned so much from each and every one of you. I would like to thank all my colleagues who have supported me during my time at iTHEMS. Your expertise and enthusiasm have been invaluable, and I am grateful for the time I have spent with you. I would also like to thank the staff at iTHEMS support for their many supports. Although I will be moving on to new adventures, I hope to continue to enjoy good research with iTHEMS members in the future.
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2023-03-23
Hot Topic
Farewell message from Dr. Akira Matsumoto
Our colleague Akira Matsumoto will move to the Yukawa Institute for Theoretical Physics, Kyoto University as a Program-Specific Researcher from April 1st. We all will miss him and wish him the best of luck in his latest endeavor. Here is a message from Akira Matsumoto: I have been a member of iTHEMS for almost one year, which is the first opportunity for me to work as a postdoc. In spite of the difficult situation of COVID-19, I was able to enjoy research activity thanks to a good environment of iTHEMS and great effort by assistants. It is interesting to join seminars and discussions freely with researchers from various fields. I would like to thank all the iTHEMS members for giving me nice experiences. I plan to be a visiting scientist of iTHEMS after leaving RIKEN. I am very happy to keep in contact with iTHEMS members and looking forward to collaboration in the future.
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2023-03-16
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Farewell message from Dr. Hiroshi Yokota
Our colleague Hiroshi Yokota has moved to the Graduate School of Human and Environmental Studies, Kyoto University as a CREST postdoctoral researcher from March 1, 2023. We all will miss him and wish him the best of luck in his latest endeavor. Here is a message from Hiroshi Yokota: I had worked at iTHEMS as a postdoctoral researcher for almost 4 years. I would like to thank all the iTHEMS members for the valuable discussions on their researches including my own research. Moreover, in iTHEMS, I had very good opportunities to attend the exciting seminars and colloquiums which gave me brilliant ideas from the various fields: physics, biology, mathematics and information. I enjoyed the discussions, the seminars and the colloquiums in iTHEMS. I also would like to thank all assistants who gave us the comfortable research environment. Fortunately, I am allowed to be the visiting scientist in iTHEMS. I hope to discuss with iTHEMS members in future also.
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2023-03-15
Hot Topic
Farewell message from Dr. Naritaka Oshita
Our colleague Naritaka Oshita will move to the Kyoto University as a Hakubi assistant professor from April 1st. We all will miss him and wish him the best of luck in his latest endeavor. Here is a message from Naritaka Oshita: I enjoyed studying gravity and black holes while being a part of iTHEMS and participating in some iTHEMS events and activities. As of the end of this March, it has been almost two years since I started my second postdoc at iTHEMS as an SPDR fellow in 2021 April. From 2023 April, I will be a Hakubi assistant professor at Kyoto University and will start my exciting new research to understand the mystery of gravity. I enjoyed discussing with many iTHEMS members who are working on physics, biology, mathematics, (quantum) information theory, etc. I thank all faculties, researchers, and students at iTHEMS for having exciting discussions with me! iTHEMS assistants have been contributing to this group to improve the research environment at iTHEMS and they kindly helped me a lot when I needed their help and was in trouble. I appreciate all the assistants at iTHEMS for their support and for having fun conversations! Again, thank you to all members at iTHEMS for everything! I will still be a part of iTHEMS as a visiting researcher. I hope I can have exciting discussions and conversations with you in the future. See you again!
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2023-03-13
Hot Topic
Farewell message from Dr. Masaki Taniguchi
Our colleague Masaki Taniguchi will move to the Kyoto University as an assistant professor from April 1st. We all will miss him and wish him the best of luck in his latest endeavor. Here is a message from Masaki Taniguchi: I'd like to thank the program director and assistants for many helpful supports over these three years and also many research members for discussing with me. I spent three years in iTHEMS as a mathematical researcher(SPDR). During the three years, I could concentrate on doing my research and communicating with researchers in other fields. In particular, I had been attending a weekly seminar focusing on interactions between math and physics. It was a valuable experience to feel various viewpoints from physics. Also, I got a chance to give a presentation at an event of RIKEN for high school or junior high school students. In my final year, I was chosen as a research member of a program at MSRI and spent four months at Berkeley to communicate with many researchers in my field. I could also invite several researchers to the math seminar and had good opportunities to promote research. I appreciate a good environment in iTHEMS so that I could have these experiences. From this April, I’ll be an assistant professor at Kyoto University. But, I still have several collaborators in iTHEMS, so I’d like to continue discussing with many researchers in iTHEMS as a visiting researcher.
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2023-03-13
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Farewell message from Dr. Etsuko Itou
Our colleague Etsuko Itou will move to the Yukawa Institute for Theoretical Physics, Kyoto University as an associate professor from April 1st. We all will miss her and wish her the best of luck in her latest endeavor. Here is a message from Etsuko Itou : I worked at iTHEMS for almost a year as a senior research scientist. I had the opportunity to discuss researches with people from various backgrounds, go on a short trip to Kawagoe, and give presentations at interdisciplinary research meetings, which was a valuable experience for me. I would also like to thank my assistants and PR staff for their support! I will be a visiting scientist of iTHEMS next year. I look forward to working with you again.
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2023-03-13
Hot Topic
Interdisciplinary Science Conference in Okinawa (ISCO 2023) on February 27, 2023
On Feb.27 (Mon)-March 3 (Fri), ISCO 2023 (Interdisciplinary Science Conference in Okinawa 2023 - Physics and Mathematics meet Medical Science -) was held at OIST (Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology). The conference was co-hosted by RIKEN iTHEMS, Kavli IPMU and OIST, with 135 participants inside and outside Japan. This was the first in-person conference held in OIST after the Covid-19 pandemic. There were 28 invited talks and 9 contributed talks. From RIKEN iTHEMS, Gordon Baym, Catherine Beauchemin, Gen Kurosawa, Hiro Nagataki, Hidetoshi Nishimori, Tomoki Ozawa, and Takashi Tsuboi gave scientific talks, and Tetsuo Hatsuda gave a closing remark. The purpose of ISCO 2023 was to bring together leading researchers in the fields of physics, astrophysics, mathematics, data science, life science, environmental science, and medical science, and to discuss the latest advancements in their respective fields. In addition to the presentations held at the OIST auditorium, a tour inside the OIST campus as well as a special lecture about Sharks by Dr. K. Sato at Churaumi Aquarium were held. Participants have intensive discussions beyond the disciplines at the plenary, poster, and lunch sessions. Some of the presentation slides can be downloaded from the ISCO 2023 webpage.
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2023-03-13
Hot Topic
RIKEN-Nara Women's University Joint Diversity Promotion Workshop was held on March 7, 2023
On March 7 and 8, sophomores, juniors, and seniors (16 students in total) from the Faculty of Science at Nara Women's University visited RIKEN's Kawakami Laboratory, Hou Laboratory, iTHEMS, RIBF facility, and Miyawaki Laboratory. In addition to experiencing some of the cutting-edge research at each of these laboratories, they had the opportunity to ask more in-depth questions about their research and learn about the daily lives of RIKEN researchers during a social event held in the evening of the first day of the program. It was also an opportunity for students from different courses in the Faculty of Science at Nara Women's University, including mathematics, physics, biology, and environmental chemistry, to interact with each other beyond their grade level. This diversity promotion activity is part of the RIKEJO training program jointly promoted by the Faculty of Science at Nara Women's University and RIKEN iTHEMS, and is combined with a series of lectures at Nara Women's University, and will be continued in the next fiscal year and beyond.
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2023-01-25
Hot Topic
Farewell message from Dr. Shou Yoshikawa
Our colleague Shou Yoshikawa will move to the Tokyo Institute of Technology as an assistant professor from February 1st. We all will miss him and wish him the best of luck in his latest endeavor. Here is a message from Shou Yoshikawa: I spent almost a year at iTHEMS as an SPDR. I have had several opportunities to speak about my research at iTHEMS events and they have all been wonderful experiences. People from various fields actively asked me questions, which was a valuable experience. I would like to thank all the iTHEMS researchers and the iTHEMS desk staff for giving me a good environment in which I could concentrate on my research, even if it was only for a short time. I can fortunately continue to be a member of iTHEMS as a visiting scientist. I hope to get closer to more iTHEMS members in the future.
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2022-12-27
Hot Topic
Ryosuke Iritani wrote an essay for The Big Issue Japan 445
Ryosuke Iritani (Research Scientist, iTHEMS) wrote an essay for The Big Issue Japan, and the latest volume (vol 445) is just published on 15th December. The Big Issue is a magazine dedicated to supporting people in difficult circumstances and helping them achieve self-reliance. Each issue costs 450 yen, out of which 230 yen is the direct income of the street sales staff. Ryosuke's comment: The essay is about my “third place,” a place separated from home and workplace for me. I hope as many people as possible take it a read and support the people!
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2022-12-05
Hot Topic
Four Perspectives on Neutron Stars, Pulsars, and Magnetars
The recent work [1] on X-ray bursts from the neutron stars led by our colleague, Akira Dohi (Visiting Scientist, iTHEMS), was featured in the article "Four Perspectives on Neutron Stars, Pulsars, and Magnetars" appeared in Research highlights from the Journals of the American Astronomical Society (see related link below).
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2022-11-10
Hot Topic
Naritaka Oshita presented his talk at the 12th Koshien of Science (Oita tournament) on November 3, 2022
The 12th Koshien of Science (Oita tournament), a scientific competition for high school students in Oita prefecture, was held on 3rd November 2022 at Oita city. Naritaka Oshita from iTHEMS presented his talk on “Black Holes Veiled in Mystery” after the competition. More than 200 high school students from Oita prefecture attended. Oshita talked about the history of science, recent progress, and remaining mysteries of black holes. A student asked a unique question “What if we fall into a black hole? Can our consciousness be recovered from the hole?”. Another student asked, “How can it be possible to detect the signal from a ringing black hole?”. The audience enjoyed the stimulating talk and questions from the students. During the competition, Oshita and an iTHEMS assistant Tomoko Iwanami observed the competition, where some students built their toy cars in each group and competed in a race.
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2022-11-04
Hot Topic
Science Agora 2022 is held November 4-6, 2022
Science Agora 2022 is held online and in person in the period Nov. 4-6, 2022. There will be many fun sessions that you can join in person or online. There are English sessions too. RIKEN will have a session "Envisioning Futures: Navigating the research landscape with senior women researchers" in which Tetsuo Hatsuda from iTHEMS is one of the speakers. Enjoy !
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2022-10-28
Hot Topic
Listening to Equation-of-State Changes
The collaborative work on the quark matter and gravitational wave [1] led by our iTHEMS colleague, Yongjia Huang, together with Shigehiro Nagataki, Tetsuo Hatsuda, Kentaro Takami, Hajime Soltani and others, was featured in the Physics Magazine published by the American Physical Society with the title "Listening to Equation-of-State Changes" (see related links below). See how the general relativistic simulations of the postmerger gravitational waves from coalescing neutron stars could allow us to hear the phase transitions between exotic states of matter.
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2022-10-25
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The RIKEN-Berkeley Center was featured in RIKEN Overseas Office Newsletter
The RIKEN-Berkeley Center was featured in the Oct. 2022 issue of "News from RIKEN's Overseas Offices". The title of the article written by Adam Phillips in the RIKEN International Affairs Division is "What makes institutional international collaborations work?". Enjoy the article!
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2022-10-06
Hot Topic
MACS-iTHEMS Study Group Members visited Wako on September 20-21, 2022
MACS Program in the Faculty of Science, Kyoto Univ. has several Study Groups (SG) and one of them is the MACS-iTHEMS SG. In 2022, Ryosuke Iritani and Jeffery Fawcett from iTHEMS are actively participating in this MACS-iTHEMS SG and interacting with the students in Kyoto Univ. On Sep.20 and 21, nine students (including undergraduate and graduate students in various fields at Kyoto Univ.) together with three faculty members (Kobayashi san, Tomida san and Itami san) from MACS Program visited RIKEN Wako Campus. On the afternoon of Sep.20, they visited Enoto lab. to learn Enoto san's thundercloud project and NinjaSat project. Then they moved to CBS to see Brain Box exhibition. After that, they had a scientific session to explain their own research to each other at the iTHEMS common room. On the morning of Sep.21, after a brief introduction to the iTHEMS activities and facilities, they had a tour of the gigantic accelerator complex (RIBF) in Nishina Center. On the afternoon of the same day, they visited the Chemical Biology Lab. in CSRS, followed by a visit to Toyoizumi Lab. in CBS to attend Toyoizumi san's lecture on neural learning theory. It was a very stimulating and intensive program for the students. In particular, the Scientific Session on the afternoon of September 20, from 5:00 to 8:30 p.m., featured lively questions and discussions between RIKEN researchers and students. We will continue this program and visit in the coming years.
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2022-09-27
Hot Topic
Farewell message from Dr. Michiya Mori
Our colleague Michiya Mori moves on to a new carrier at Graduate School of Mathematical Sciences, The University of Tokyo as of October 1st. We all will miss him and wish him the best of luck in his latest endeavor. Here is a message from Michiya Mori: I spent 1.5 years at iTHEMS as a special postdoctoral researcher. It was a very great experience for me (as a mathematician) to have an opportunity to communicate with scientistists from various backgrounds (not only mathematics). I am grateful to everyone. I can fortunately continue to be a member of iTHEMS as a visiting scientist. I hope to get closer to more iTHEMS members in the future. From October, I become a project assistant professor of The University of Tokyo at Komaba Campus. Luckily iTHEMS has a satellite office in Komaba (SUURI-COOL Komaba). Probably I will sometimes be there, and I hope to see you again there soon!
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2022-08-30
Hot Topic
Featured articles on iTHEMS published in "Sugaku Tsushin"
iTHEMS was featured in the August volume of "Sugaku Tsushin" (Japanese magazine published by The Mathematical Society of Japan). Our colleagues, Tetsuo Hatsuda, Ade Irma Suriajaya, Yosuke Kubota, Hiroyasu Miyazaki and Yukimi Goto, have written essays on iTHEMS in the volume. Let's see mathematicians' thoughts on the iTHEMS atmosphere.
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2022-08-22
Hot Topic
Oita STEM Festa was held at Oita City
The Oita STEM Festa was held on 23 July 2022 at Oita city and Tetsuo Hatsuda from iTHEMS participated together with members from ADK Corporation. More than 50 high school students from Oita prefecture participated in Course B: "Let's deliver a message 1000 years from now using a black hole recorder” where the black hole recorder produced by the Useless Prototyping Studio was demonstrated. Also, the students were asked to write their Haiku to be recorderd in the black hole recorder. Over 150 high school students participated in the Oita STEM Festa. Course A: "Let's experience the lunar rover!, Course B: "Let's send a message 1000 years from now using a black hole recorder", Course C: "VR technology x solving social issues x SDGs", and Course D: "Let's think about jobs for Oita's future". iTHEMS was represented by Tetsuo Hatsuda and assistants Hitomi Wada and Chikako Ota contributed to the organisation of Course B on site.
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2022-08-18
Hot Topic
The book “An introduction to deep learning” written by Dr. Masato Taki was recently featured in the column “La Toccata” by Dr. T. Otsuki
Dr. Masato Taki (iTHEMS Visiting Research Scientist/ Rikkyo University) wrote the book “An introduction to deep learning” while he was at iTHEMS. The book was recently featured in the column “La Toccata” by Dr. T. Otsuki (Sophia University) in the journal BUTSURI published by the Physical Society of Japan in Aug. 2022. The features of this textbook are: 1. it understands what readers with a physics background will find difficult; 2. the examples are neither too simple nor too obvious so that the reader feels he/she understands by reading the examples; 3. the volume is reasonable; 4. each section is divided into small sections so that it is suitable for the reading club, and 5. the appendices are also very informative. Recommended for those who want to learn deep learning from scratch and for those who want to organize a reading club.
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