Xiaoping Lu
President of APCMfI
The Forum “Math-for-Industry” 2025 (FMfI2025), the annual event of the Asia Pacific Consortium of Mathematics for Industry (APCMfI), was successfully held from August 18 to 20, 2025, at the POSCO Centre in Seoul, South Korea.
The APCMfI was inaugurated in 2014 to foster a community of Mathematics for Industry in the Asia Pacific region. Its mission is to develop mathematics and its applications to enhance quality of life, create new technologies, improve industrial mathematical research, and stimulate two-way interaction between mathematics and industry. The FMfI was initiated by the Institute of Mathematics for Industry (IMI) at Kyushu University, Japan, in 2008 and was organized annually by IMI until 2014. Following the inauguration of the APCMfI, FMfI has been held as the APCMfI annual event since 2015.
This year’s event, the seventeenth edition of the FMfI series, carried the theme “Challenge of Mathematics for Industry in the AI Era.” It was chaired by Prof. Soon-Sun Kwon of Ajou University and sponsored by Ajou University, Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), the National Institute for Mathematical Sciences (NIMS), and IMI at Kyushu University.
FMfI2025 provided a vibrant platform for collaboration between academia and industry, fostering innovation and advancing the frontiers of industrial mathematics in the AI era. The event brought together over 100 mathematicians, researchers, graduate students, and industry experts from Australia, China, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Thailand, and the United States. The program featured 21 invited, keynote, and plenary speakers, including a keynote presentation by Professor Hyun-Min Kim (Pusan National University) and a plenary lecture by Professor Jong-Chul Ye (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology). The poster session was the largest in FMfI history, featuring 29 student and early-career researcher (ECR) presentations covering a wide range of applications in industrial and applied mathematics.
The APCMfI Student Poster Awards, sponsored by IMI, provide funding for students to participate in research exchanges at IMI or partner institutions. This year, the Best Poster Award went to Shifan Kang (East China Normal University, China), and the Excellent Poster Award to Kwanghyuk Park (POSTECH, Korea) and Shuhei Shibata (Kyushu University, Japan). The awards were presented by Professor Kenji Kajiwara, Director of IMI at Kyushu University and Secretary of APCMfI. Awardees will have the opportunity to visit IMI (or, for Japanese students, overseas partner institutions) for up to four weeks for the Best Poster Award and two weeks for the Excellent Poster Award, with all expenses covered.
A roundtable, “Advancing Women Mathematicians,” was held to explore the challenges women face in industrial and applied mathematics and to highlight strategies, programs, and opportunities that support their careers. The session featured panellists Assoc. Prof Arifah Bahar (Universiti Teknologi Malaysia), Assis. Prof Busayamas Pimpunchat (King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang), and Dr Emi Tanaka (Australia National University) with Assoc Prof Xiaoping Lu (University of Wollongong) serving as facilitator. Participants shared experiences, discussed best practices, and identified ways to foster a more inclusive and supportive mathematical community.
As we look ahead, we are excited to announce that FMfI2026 will be held in Bangkok, Thailand, to be organized by King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang (KMITL). The event is scheduled to take place between November and December 2026, with exact dates to be confirmed. Stay tuned for further updates and detailed information.
We look forward to another exciting year of collaboration and innovation across the Asia Pacific mathematics community.
History of FMfI since the inauguration of APCMfI:
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2015 – Fukuoka, Japan (IMI, Kyushu University)2016 – Brisbane, Australia (Queensland University of Technology)
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2017 – Honolulu, USA (University of Hawaii at Manoa)
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2018 – Shanghai, China (Fudan University)
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2019 – Auckland, New Zealand (Massey University)
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2021 – Hanoi, Vietnam (Vietnam Institute for Advanced Study in Mathematics)
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2022 – Melbourne, Australia (La Trobe University)
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2023 – Fukuoka, Japan (IMI, Kyushu University)
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2024 – Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (Universiti Teknologi Malaysia)