Group photo (Dec. 2nd, 2011 at Koshiba hall in the University of Tokyo)

Torahiko Terada (1878-1935) was one of front runners in modern physics, who found the interference pattern of X-rays scattered by crystals. This discovery was independent of the work by William Bragg and Lawrence Bragg. He was also known as a popular essayist and haiku poet. Nowadays, however, he is more recognized as a pioneer of the study of complex systems.

Paying attention to “everyday phenomena”, that became forefront subjects in sciences after late 20th century, Terada and his successors pointed out academic interests in various type of subjects such as dendritic growth, traffic jam, earthquakes, sand flows, river formations, crack formation in fracture, and even markings of animals. In the light of present, Terada’s anticipation is discussed as, “he talked about the equivalence of symmetry breaking and interfacial instability. Symmetry breaking is one of the most important keywords in modern physics, and he was discussing it about 30 years earlier than other physicists rediscovered it. “ (M. Matsushita, Evo. Inst. Eco. Rev. 6(2), 337-340(2010)) Unfortunately, time was not ripe to conduct quantitative analysis due to lack of modern mathematical and technological tools to tackle those problems. However, undoubtedly, he paved the way toward new scientific fields, and thus we might call him the “father of the science of complex systems”.

The purpose of the conference is not only to present current studies of complex systems related to Terada’s works, but also to discuss about new perspectives of science in the Terada’s spirit by getting together researchers from different communities.

Statistical physics on complex systems
Irreversible growth processes and pattern forming dynamics
Self-organization in nonequilibrium systems
Complexity and fluctuation in biological or social systems
Nonlinear dissipative systems
Collective dynamics of self-driven elements
Social dynamics and human behavior

Honorary Chair:

Mitsugu Matsushita (Chuo University, Japan)

Organizing Committee:

Masaki Sano (University of Tokyo, Japan) : General Coordinator
Haruo Honjo (Kyushu University, Japan) : Associate Coordinator
Jun-ichi Wakita (Chuo University, Japan) : Associate Coordinator
Takao Ohta (Kyoto University, Japan)
Eiro Muneyuki (Chuo University, Japan)
Hisao Hayakawa (Kyoto University, Japan)
Shin-ichi Sato (Shizuoka University, Japan)
Tsuyoshi Hondou (Tohoku University, Japan)
Hiraku Nishimori (Hiroshima University, Japan)
Yoshinori Hayakawa (Tohoku University, Japan) : Secretary
Yoshihiro Yamazaki (Waseda University, Japan) : Secretary