Masao Doi - Böcker

Soft matter (polymers, colloids, surfactants and liquid crystals) are an important class of materials in modern technology. They also form the basis of many future technologies, for example in medical and environmental applications. Soft matter shows complex behaviour between fluids and solids, and used to be a synonym of complex materials. Due to the developments of the past two decades, soft condensed matter can now be discussed on the same sound physical basis as solid condensed matter. The purpose of this book is to provide an overview of soft matter for undergraduate and graduate students in physics and materials science. The book provides an introduction to soft matter (what it is, and what are the characteristics of such materials), and also provides the reader with the physical basis for understanding and discussing such characteristics in more detail. Many basic concepts, which are required in advanced courses of condensed matter physics, such as coarse graining, scaling, phase separation, order-disorder transition, Brownian motion, and fluctuation-dissipation theorem, are explained in detail with various forms of soft matter used as examples.

Speech by Toyosaburo Taniguchi Dr. Kubo, Distinguished Guests, and Friends, I am very happy and pleased to be here this evening with so many distinguished gu~sts, friends, and scholars from within this country and from different parts of the world. The Taniguchi Foundation wishes to extend a wann and sincere welcome to the many participants in the Eleventh International Symposium on the Theory of Condensed Matter. This symposium series was inaugurated ten years ago through the great efforts of Dr. Ryogo Kubo, who is gracing us today with his presence. We are deeply indebted to Dr. Kubo and his associates, who have devoted an enormous amount of time and effort to making this particular symposium possible. We are convinced that what makes our symposia a success is neither the Foundation nor its founder. The success is entirely due, I feel, to the continuous efforts of the Organizing Committee and of all those who have lent their support to this program. In this sense, any words of praise about the symposium should be directed to all of them.