GRIPS (Graduate-level Research in Industrial Projects for Students)-Sendai program was held last summer (June 18 - Aug. 10, 2018) with the support of iTHEMS as well as other institutions and companies. Two industrial projects were launched under the suggestion of TOYOTA and NEC, and two teams composed of US and Japanese students have worked intensively to find solutions of these problems. See for the details of the GRIPS program and the summary of activities at GRIPS-Sendai 2018.

This year, GRIPS-Sendai program will be held from June 17 through Aug. 9, 2019 with a larger scale under the support of iTHEMS. Stay tuned for further information.

Astrophysical shocks can accelerate charged particles through diffusive shock acceleration. This process involves repeated shock crossings where the particle gains energy from collisions with the electromagnetic field. Eventually, these particles will reach relativistic speeds and can be observed as cosmic rays.

In order to simulate this process, we need a method that can handle both the large-scale structure of astrophysical shocks, as well as the behaviour of individual particles. We achieve this by combining the classical magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) and particle-in-cell (PIC) methods. This allows us to describe the thermal plasma of the shock through MHD, while simultaneously using PIC to follow the movement of non-thermal particles as they are accelerated. Our results show a complicated interaction that destabilizes the shock, reducing the efficiency with which particles can be accelerated.

Since the advent of General Relativity, people have found many solutions with interesting spacetime geometries. Most notably, the black holes have attracted a lot of attention for their roles in generating gravitational waves, and for inducing the information loss paradox. In this talk, we consider black holes amongst other geometric structures and investigate the subtlety involved in the quantum effect such as Hawking radiation. In this context, we mention wormholes and time machines, and explain how they are conceptually related to the geometry under the horizon of a black hole. There will also be comments on my recent research result about how quantum effect must be large for observers sitting on top of the black hole horizon.

In order to construct a quantum theory of gravity, it is currently required to study freely from various viewpoints. In this small workshop, we will discuss various different topics such as field theory, string theory, quantum black hole, quantum universe and so on, and will consider future directions to quantum gravity casually but deeply. Let's enjoy exciting discussions!

7月7,8日に総研大葉山キャンパス近くの研修施設レクトーレ葉山にて遺伝・進化の研究者と数学・物理の研究者の交流を深めることを目的としたインフォーマルなワークショップを開催します。

生物の知識が全くない（主に数学・物理の）研究者を対象とした、生命の分子レベルでの多様性を説明しうる集団遺伝や分子進化の理論などに関するレクチャーを行います。また、今後の相互作用の可能性がありそうなテーマに取り組む数学・物理の研究者にも講演していただきます。

参加費・宿泊費は無料（懇親会費を頂く場合があります）で、前日の7/6と7/7に会場の宿泊施設に泊まることが可能です。プログラムの詳細は今後変更する場合があります。

登録締切：6/24
（宿泊者数に限りがあるため早めに締め切る場合があります）

Organizers: Jeffrey Fawcett (RIKEN iTHEMS), Tetsuo Hatsuda (RIKEN iTHEMS), Shohei Takuno (SOKENDAI), Hideki Innan (SOKENDAI)

Co-hosted by RIMS Kyoto University and iTHEMS RIKEN.