Topological Soft Matter: From Liquid Crystals to Biosystems

21 - 23 May 2025
Center Rog, Ljubljana, Slovenia

This spring, we are organizing a focused three-day conference Topological Soft Matter: From Liquid Crystals to Biosystems dedicated to the past, recent, and future advances in soft matter. We look forward to seeing you in Ljubljana.

Invited speakers

Gareth P. Alexander, Centre for Complexity Science, University of Warwick, UK

Etienne Brasselet, Laboratoire Ondes et Matière d’Aquitaine (LOMA), France

Simon Čopar, Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia

Martin Čopič, Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia

Mark Dennis, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Birmingham, UK

Jayasri Dontabhaktuni, Department of Physics, Mahindra University, India

Jun-ichi Fukuda, Department of Physics, Kyushu University, Japan

Maria Helena Godinho, Faculty of Science and Technology, NOVA University Lisbon, Portugal

Randall D. Kamien, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Pennsylvania, USA

Žiga Kos, Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia

Samo Kralj, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, University of Maribor, Slovenia

Lech Longa, Institute of Theoretical Physics, Jagiellonian University in Kraków, Poland

Alenka Mertelj, Jožef Stefan Institute, Slovenia

Igor Muševič, Jožef Stefan Institute, Slovenia

Pawel Pieranski, Laboratoire de Physique des Solides, Université Paris Sud, France

Miha Ravnik, Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia

Jan Rozman, The Rudolf Peierls Centre for Theoretical Physics, University of Oxford, UK

Timothy J. Sluckin, School of Mathematical Sciences, University of Southampton, UK

Ivan I. Smalyukh, Department of Physics and Chemical Physics Program, University of Colorado, USA

Holger Stark, Institute of Theoretical Physics, Technische Universität Berlin, Germany

Hans-Rainer Trebin, Institute for Functional Matter and Quantum Technologies, University of Stuttgart, Germany

Nataša Vaupotič, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, University of Maribor, Slovenia

Julia M. Yeomans, The Rudolf Peierls Centre for Theoretical Physics, University of Oxford, UK

Claudio Zannoni, Dipartimento di Chimica Industriale "Toso Montanari”, Università di Bologna, Italy

Schedule

📗 Book of abstracts

📄 Printable schedule

Wednesday, May 21

8.55
opening

9.00 - 9.30
R. D. Kamien: You Have to Grow Wefts to Fold Them

9.35 - 10.05
M. R. Dennis: Topology in Structured Matter and Waves: An Entwined History of Dislocation, Knotting and Texture

10.10-10.40
I. Muševič: Experimental Topology of Liquid Crystals in Ljubljana

10.45 - 11.15
coffee break

11.15 - 11.45
J. M. Yeomans: Modelling the Collective Dynamics of Deformable Epithelial Cells

11.50 - 12.20
H. Stark: Controlling and Designing Active Paranematic Flow

12.25 - 13.00
J. Rozman: Nematic Activity in Tissues at Cell Resolution: Collective Motion, Active Anchoring, and Phase Separation

13.00 - 15.30
lunch break

15.30 - 16.00
I. I. Smalyukh: Hopfionic Glueballonia in Chiral Liquid Crystals

16.05 - 16.35
J. Dontabhaktuni: Liquid Crystal Based Tailoring of Light-Matter Interactions in All-Dielectric and 2D Material Based Metasurfaces

16.40 - 17.10
S. Čopar: Multistable Defect Lattice in Nematics on Micropillar Arrays

Thursday, May 22

9.00 - 9.30
E. Brasselet: Optical Reorientation of Nematic Liquid Crystals: From Plane-Wave to Non-Paraxial Structured Light Beams

9.35 - 10.05
G. P. Alexander: Topological Chirality and Escape in Cholesterics

10.10-10.40
S. Kralj: Manipulation of Nematic Topological Defects

10.45 - 11.15
coffee break

11.15 - 11.45
H.-R. Trebin: The Stories Behind the Exact Sequence

11.50 - 12.20
T. J. Sluckin: Episodes from the Topological History of Physical Biology

12.25 - 13.00
M. Čopič: Unified Landau-de Gennes Model of NTB, NS, and NF Phases

13.00 - 15.30
lunch break

15.30 - 16.00
J. Fukuda: Martensitic Transformation of Liquid Crystalline Blue Phases: A Simulation Study Aided by Machine-Learning Structure Analysis

16.05 - 16.35
A. Mertelj: Electrostatic Effects in Ferro- and Antiferroelectric Nematic Liquids

16.40 - 17.10
Ž. Kos: Propulsion of Colloids in Anisotropic Fluids

18.30
conference dinner

Friday, May 23

9.00 - 9.30
C. Zannoni: Liquid Crystals Defects via Computer Experiments

9.35 - 10.05
M. H. Godinho: Cellulose Liquid Crystal Networks: A Platform for Soft Actuation

10.10-10.40
M. Ravnik: Charged Topological Defects in Nematics

10.45 - 11.15
coffee break

11.15 - 11.45
P. Pieranski: Topological Metadefects: Knots, Tangles and Necklaces

11.50 - 12.20
L. Longa: Splay-Bend Order at Surfaces and Interfaces

12.25 - 13.00
N. Vaupotič: Interpretation of Dielectric Spectroscopy Measurements of Soft Matter Materials with Large Relative Permittivity

13.05
closing remarks