This volume comprises eight papers delivered at the RIMS International Conference "Mathematical Challenges in a New Phase of Materials Science", Kyoto, August 4–8, 2014. The contributions address subjects in defect dynamics, negatively curved carbon crystal, topological analysis of di-block copolymers, persistence modules, and fracture dynamics. These papers highlight the strong interaction between mathematics and materials science and also reflect the activity of WPI-AIMR at Tohoku University, in which collaborations between mathematicians and experimentalists are actively ongoing.

This book is the first volume of the SpringerBriefs in the Mathematics of Materials and provides a comprehensive guide to the interaction of mathematics with materials science. The anterior part of the book describes a selected history of materials science as well as the interaction between mathematics and materials in history. The emergence of materials science was itself a result of an interdisciplinary movement in the 1950s and 1960s. Materials science was formed by the integration of metallurgy, polymer science, ceramics, solid state physics, and related disciplines. We believe that such historical background helps readers to understand the importance of interdisciplinary interaction such as mathematics–materials science collaboration. The middle part of the book describes mathematical ideas and methods that can be applied to materials problems and introduces some examples of specific studies—for example, computational homology applied to structural analysis of glassy materials, stochastic models for the formation process of materials, new geometric measures for finite carbon nanotube molecules, mathematical technique predicting a molecular magnet, and network analysis of nanoporous materials. The details of these works will be shown in the subsequent volumes of this SpringerBriefs in the Mathematics of Materials series by the individual authors. The posterior section of the book presents how breakthroughs based on mathematics–materials science collaborations can emerge. The authors' argument is supported by the experiences at the Advanced Institute for Materials Research (AIMR), where many researchers from various fields gathered and tackled interdisciplinary research.

This book describes fruitful past collaborations between the mathematical and materials sciences and indicates future challenges. It seeks both to encourage mathematical sciences research that will complement vital research in materials science and to raise awareness of the value of quantitative methods. The volume encourages both communities to increase cross-disciplinary collaborations, emphasizing that each has much to gain from such an increase, and it presents recommendations for facilitating such work. This book is written for both mathematical and materials science researchers interested in advancing research at this interface; for federal and state agency representatives interested in encouraging such collaborations; and for anyone wanting information on how such cross-disciplinary, collaborative efforts can be accomplished successfully.

Mathematicians like to point out that mathematics is universal. In spite of this, most people continue to view it as either mundane (balancing a checkbook) or mysterious (cryptography). This fifth volume of the What's Happening series contradicts that view by showing that mathematics is indeed found everywhere-in science, art, history, and our everyday lives. Here is some of what you'll find in this volume: Mathematics and Science Mathematical biology: Mathematics was key tocracking the genetic code. Now, new mathematics is needed to understand the three-dimensional structure of the proteins produced from that code. Celestial mechanics and cosmology: New methods have revealed a multitude of solutions to the three-body problem. And other new work may answer one of cosmology'smost fundamental questions: What is the size and shape of the universe? Mathematics and Everyday Life Traffic jams: New models are helping researchers understand where traffic jams come from-and maybe what to do about them! Small worlds: Researchers have found a short distance from theory to applications in the study of small world networks. Elegance in Mathematics Beyond Fermat's Last Theorem: Number theorists are reaching higher ground after Wiles' astounding 1994 proof: new developments inthe elegant world of elliptic curves and modular functions. The Millennium Prize Problems: The Clay Mathematics Institute has offered a million dollars for solutions to seven important and difficult unsolved problems. These are just some of the topics of current interest that are covered in thislatest volume of What's Happening in the Mathematical Sciences. The book has broad appeal for a wide spectrum of mathematicians and scientists, from high school students through advanced-level graduates and researchers.

Andrej V. Cherkaev and Robert V. Kohn In the past twenty years we have witnessed a renaissance of theoretical work on the macroscopic behavior of microscopically heterogeneous mate rials. This activity brings together a number of related themes, including: ( 1) the use of weak convergence as a rigorous yet general language for the discussion of macroscopic behavior; (2) interest in new types of questions, particularly the "G-closure problem," motivated in large part by applications of optimal control theory to structural optimization; (3) the introduction of new methods for bounding effective moduli, including one based on "com pensated compactness"; and (4) the identification of deep links between the analysis of microstructures and the multidimensional calculus of variations. This work has implications for many physical problems involving optimal design, composite materials, and coherent phase transitions. As a result it has received attention and support from numerous scientific communities, including engineering, materials science, and physics as well as mathematics. There is by now an extensive literature in this area. But for various reasons certain fundamental papers were never properly published, circu lating instead as mimeographed notes or preprints. Other work appeared in poorly distributed conference proceedings volumes. Still other work was published in standard books or journals, but written in Russian or French. The net effect is a sort of "gap" in the literature, which has made the subject unnecessarily difficult for newcomers to penetrate.

This book contains the papers presented at the conference on "Mathematical Models and Methods for Smart Materials, " held in Italy in 2001. The papers are divided into four parts: "Methods in Materials Science" deals mainly with mathematical techniques fo the investigation of physical systems, such as liquid crystals, materials with internal variables, amorphous materials, and thermoelastic materials. Also, techniques are exhibited for the analysis of stability and controllability of classical models of continuum mechanics and of dynamical systems. "Modelling of Smart Materials" is devoted to models of superfluids, superconductors, materials with memory, nonlinear elastic solids, and damaged materials. In the elaboration of the models, thermodynamic aspects play a central role in the characterization of the constitutive properties. "Well-Posedness in Materials with Memory" deals with existence, uniqueness and stability for the solution of problems, most often expressed by integrodifferential equations, which involve materials with fading memory. Also, attention is given to exponential decay in viscoelasticity, inverse problems in heat conduction with memory, and automatic control for parabolic equations. "Analytic Problems in Phase Transitions" discusses nonlinear partial differential equations associated with phase transitions, and hysteresis, possibly involving fading memory effects. Particular applications are developed for the phase-field model with memory, the Stefan problem with a Cattaneo type equation, the hysteresis in thermo-visco plasticity, and the solid-solid phase transition. Contents: Automatic Control Problems for Integrodifferential Parabolic Equations (C Cavaterra);Phase Relaxation Problems with Memory and Their Optimal Control (P Colli); Unified Dynamics of Particles and Photons (G Ferrarese); Solid-Solid Phase Transition in a Mechanical System (G Gilardi); KAM Methods for Nonautonomous

This volume is an excellent resource for professionals in various areas of applications of mathematics, modeling, and computational science. It focuses on recent progress and modern challenges in these areas. The volume provides a balance between fundamental theoretical and applied developments, emphasizing the interdisciplinary nature of modern trends and detailing state-of-the-art achievements in Applied Mathematics, Modeling, and Computational Science. The chapters have been authored by international experts in their respective fields, making this book ideal for researchers in academia, practitioners, and graduate students. It can also serve as a reference in the diverse selected areas of applied mathematics, modelling, and computational sciences, and is ideal for interdisciplinary collaborations.