The Edwards Symposia Series highlights the latest developments in soft matter science with a particular (but not exclusive) emphasis on theoretical and mathematical models, and on how these models can inform industrial processes, materials, and design.
Each event will include opportunities for industrial participants to identify challenging questions that can stimulate future academic work and collaboration. Leading academic speakers will convey their latest scientific work, in a forum intended to foster collaborative and interdisciplinary discussions across the industry/academia boundary.
Following a successful inaugural event in September 2016, and with the support of Unilever, the Edwards Symposia Series will run annually for the next five years.
This series marks a fitting tribute to the life and work of Professor Sir Sam Edwards FRS, one of the great scientific minds of the 20th Century. Sir Sam played a pivotal role in bringing advances in the physical sciences to bear on major industrial problems. His fundamental contributions to soft matter theory ranged from polymer melts, through gels, colloids, granular materials and glasses through to optimisation problems.
Soft matter systems are ubiquitous in industry and also arise in many biological contexts. Many share common mathematical structures that are exploited by theorists, who continue to build on Sir Sam’s realisation that broad classes of soft material are governed by unifying physical principles, such as those stemming from the geometry and topology of their microscopic components, independent of their precise molecular or chemical character.
Details about each event can be seen online:
Soft Matter - Theoretical and Industrial Challenges
2nd Edwards Symposium. Challenges and Opportunities in Soft Matter
3rd Edwards Symposium - New Horizons in Soft Matter
4th Edwards Symposium - Emerging Trends in Soft Matter
5th Edwards Symposium - Future Directions in Soft Matter
6th Edwards Symposium – Soft Matter for the 21st Century
7th Edwards Symposium – New Paradigms in Soft Matter and Statistical Physics
