ISS2025 & Nagasaki

ISS2025

The International Symposium on Superconductivity convened for the 38th time at the beginning of December 2025, with over 150 delegates from more all over the world. I was very honoured to be invited to attend and to to present my recent work on vortex dynamics and irreversible magnetic behaviour in ferromagnetic superconductors. The conference exhibited talks covering all aspects of superconductivity, ranging from fundamental physics all the way up to industrial applications. I found the conference to be really stimulating, and I particularly enjoyed the excellent presentations from the plenary speakers.

As well as the science, we were treated to an amazing banquet held at the Nagasaki Dejima Wharf. There was all manner of delicious foods and an ample supply of drinks, and I had a great time catching up with my Japan-residing collaborators. All in all, it was really an excellent conference and I look forward to attending another ISS in the future!

Nagasaki

Though I was only in Nagasaki for a few days, I found it to be a very welcoming and enjoyable place to visit. It is a very interesting place with an obviously well-known history. But not only that, it is a city surrounded by verdant hills and beautiful waters. It really is hard to describe, but it really felt like something of an idyll.

With the conference drawn to an end, I was able to spend the final day of my trip exploring some of the sights of Nagaski (riding the very cute trams 😊). We were treated to an absolutely beautiful day, especially considering it was early December.

The first stop was to visit Nagasaki Peace Park. Nagasaki, along with Hiroshima, are very well known as the cities subjected to atomic weapons during the second world war. The extent of destruction and killing due to these weapons is haunting, and I found I was very moved to be standing so close to the point at which the bomb itself was detonated (the hypocenter is located a few hundred meters south and east from the Peace Park, near to the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum).

The main focus of the Peace Park is the Peace Statue, the 10-meter-tall statue of a man sitting above a pool of water. The statue, and park, were created to commemorate the victims of the Nagasaki atomic bomb. There are many other statues and sculptures in the park, donated by various countries from around the world. In spite of the obviously dark history, the park itself is beautiful and tranquil, and there were many other groups of people enjoying themselves on that mild December day.

To finish off the day, we took the ropeway up to the top of Mount Inasa, which affords some really excellent views of Nagasaki and the surrounding area. If you visit Nagasaki, I would really recommend it. You can also take a train down to the zoo from here as well 🐒. Apparently, Nagasaki has one of the world’s best night-time city views, so while we enjoyed it in the day, I will need to come back again to see it at night 🌃. So, until next time, ありがとうございます!