WPI-SKCM² Winter School 2025 at Hiroshima University: Nurturing Interdisciplinary Science and Community

The International Institute for Sustainability with Knotted Chiral Meta Matter (WPI-SKCM²) organized the Winter School 2025 from December 1–5 at Hiroshima University, with participation from PIs, postdoctoral researchers, graduate students, affiliate members, and external guests.
The tutorial sessions presented by WPI-SKCM² PIs provided participants with foundational knowledge related to knot topology and chirality across disciplines and systems.
Participants worked together in small groups to develop proposals for fusion projects—interdisciplinary research initiatives related to knot topology and chirality. One project, titled “Establishing Structure-Property Relationships for Chiral Induced Spin Selectivity using Helically Chiral Covalent Organic Frameworks” was honored with the Material Gate Award, recognizing their clear scientific communication, exceptional teamwork, and innovative interdisciplinary ideas.
The one-day Diversity Symposium showcased a lineup of distinguished speakers from varied backgrounds, who shared insights on how exposure to different cultures and disciplines brought both opportunities and challenges to their research—and how such experiences can be leveraged for innovation and resilience.

On December 1–5, 2025, the International Institute for Sustainability with Knotted Chiral Meta Matter (WPI-SKCM²) welcomed up to 70 postdoctoral researchers, graduate students, affiliated members, and external participants interested in the institute’s interdisciplinary research areas of chirality and knot theory to the Winter School 2025 at Hiroshima University.

The Winter School is an annual training program designed to help members and young researchers deepen their understanding of knotted chiral meta matter, while also providing a platform to strengthen academic networks and scientific communities.

Deep Dives into Chirality and Beyond: tutorial lectures (Dec 1-4)

Experts in their respective fields, Hiroshima University Principal Investigators (PI) and Co-principal investigators (co-PIs) delivered tutorials spanning diverse disciplines such as chemistry, biology, physics, and mathematics. Lecture topics included chirality, topology and knot theory, skyrmions, liquid crystals and defects, solid-state physics and momentum space, supramolecular chemistry, and particle physics and detectors.

These sessions not only broadened participants’ foundational knowledge but also encouraged dialogue. Active Q&A exchanges inspired critical thinking about how these concepts can be applied to individual studies and research projects, sparking new ideas for interdisciplinary collaboration.

“The tutorial lectures exposed me to a wide range of fields and scientific approaches. Seeing how the same problem is understood differently by mathematicians and physicists was especially eye-opening. I discovered many ideas that genuinely sparked my curiosity and pushed me to learn beyond my comfort zone.” – Samuele Faglioni, Graduate Student of WPI-SKCM², Italy

Fusion in Action: Collaborative Workshops (Dec 1, 2, and 4)

A central feature of the Winter School was the three-day group workshop, where participants were divided into teams based on their research backgrounds—including mathematics, chemistry, physics, and biology.

Through intensive discussions, the groups shared their research and worked together to design fusion project proposals. The goals of the activity were to practice skills required for cutting-edge interdisciplinary research: clear scientific communication, brainstorming creative yet feasible ideas, and team work.

On December 4, the groups presented their proposals in a final pitch. One team, presenting the project titled “Establishing Structure-Property Relationships for Chiral Induced Spin Selectivity using Helically Chiral Covalent Organic Frameworks” which combined the ideas from synthetic chemistry with solid state physics, supported by theoretical physicists and computational components, was selected as the Best Fusion Project for its outstanding creativity and relevance. Their work was recognized with the Material Gate Award, sponsored by Material Gate Venture.

“I feel that we effectively enabled every member to contribute to the presentation in a way that was at least loosely related to their field of expertise. All members of our team pushed themselves to incorporate their expertise into one cohesive and collaborative project within a short period of time. One lesson I took away from this workshop is that the topics you least expect to inspire you can often lead to a creative new approach for your own research.” said David Weston Burke, a US-born researcher and Specially Appointed Assistant Professor of WPI-SKCM² who served as the group leader of the winning team.

The runner-up team presented “Molecular Memory Using Knotted Structures,” a project that explored the use of knotted molecular architectures—tracked with dye markers—as stable information carriers in a racetrack-style device.

PI Sabetta Matsumoto, Chair of the Evaluation Committee, commented that all of the proposed projects were both exciting and innovative. She noted that the finalist teams distinguished themselves through exceptional teamwork, particularly in how they successfully integrated diverse ideas into a single, coherent concept and actively involved many team members in the final pitch.

Learning, Bonding, and Discovery in Bihoku Hillside Park (Dec 3)

On December 3, participants joined an excursion to Bihoku Hillside Park in Shobara City. Against the backdrop of beautiful natural scenery and snowdrops, they enjoyed a hands-on traditional straw craft workshop and team-building activities that strengthened their sense of camaraderie. In addition to immersing themselves in Japanese culture through various workshops and exhibitions in the park, participants were also encouraged to reflect on how knots and chirality are interconnected in both social contexts and everyday life.

“What I enjoyed most about the excursion was stepping out of the lab and engaging with science in the real world. Having the chance to observe knot-like structures firsthand and think critically about whether something is truly a knot made the experience far more engaging. The excursion encouraged me to step out of my comfort zone and think out of the box.” – Zunera Javaid, Graduate Student of WPI-SKCM², Pakistan

Global Perspectives for a Sustainable Future: Diversity Symposium (Dec 5)

Recognizing the importance of diversity in science and society, the final day of the Winter School featured a Diversity Symposium. The event showcased a diversity of personal research stories—across gender, age, position, and field of study.

Speakers with extensive international experience engaged participants through talks, panel discussions, and interactive brainstorming sessions. Together, they explored how exposure to different cultures brings both opportunities and challenges in research, and how these experiences can foster innovation and resilience.

“When conducting international research, there are many concepts we must keep in mind. At the core of all of them is diversity. Research thrives on inclusion, and science itself requires diversity to grow,” – Vinayak Parale, Project Associate Professor of WPI-SKCM², India

Looking Ahead

The success of Winter School 2025 was made possible through the active participation of graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, along with other enthusastic attendees, invited lecturers, and the generous support of the main sponsor, Material Gate Venture.

WPI-SKCM² expresses its sincere appreciation to all contributors and remains committed to advancing scientific education and interdisciplinary research toward building a sustainable society.

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