The Physics of Soft Matter Complexes

The International Workshop on the Physics of Soft Matter Complexes was held from 29 November to 2 December 2004 at Tokyo Metropolitan University, Tokyo, Japan. The aim of the workshop was to discuss the current topics of composite systems of surfactants, polymers, colloids, liquid crystals and biological materials. Special attention was focused on the features that are realized due to the combination of those materials. Distinguished invited speakers from Japan and the rest of the world, and many other workers in the field, participated in this workshop. The topics covered were colloids, polymers, surfactants, biomaterials such as proteins and DNA, rheology, and their composite systems. We, the organizing committee of this workshop, wished not only to show the activity of Japanese workers in this field but also wanted to exchange and discuss ideas on the theme with workers from other countries. In addition, although as physicists we tend to study simple systems, as the theme of our workshop we focused on complex or composite systems. We hope that readers will see that the many excellent papers in this special issue of Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter show that the aim of the workshop was achieved. Lastly, we acknowledge that the workshop was held as part of the project for the promotion of international conferences by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science.