Synthetic polymers are a foundational technology that has profoundly changed modern life. In many cases, the properties of polymeric materials are determined by the behaviour of the ends of polymer chains in the liquid, glassy, and crystalline states. Ring polymers, on the other hand, have no ends, and recent work suggests that the unique topology of these molecules may enable the realization of unprecedented properties and functions, with novel applications in the design of advanced functional materials. Not only is the study of ring polymer dynamics a fundamental problem in polymer physics, it is also proving to be fundamental to understanding the longstanding problem of genome folding. How does DNA pack so densely in the cell nucleus without being catastrophically entangled, while at the same time segregating into distinct territories? Moreover, how do ring polymers move and relax in polymer solutions in the absence of chain ends?

Over the last decade, fundamental insight into the behaviour of ring polymers has been gained by combining systematic experiments at the molecular and bulk scale, with advanced numerical simulations that enable the analysis and interpretation of experimental data. The central finding of these studies is that the unique topology of rings leads to their static and dynamic behaviour being fundamentally different compared to linear chains in the various concentration regimes. However, despite intense investigation since the 1980s, a full understanding of ring polymer dynamics has not yet been achieved and insight at the molecular-level is still lacking. The challenge is to understand how the topology of rings affects equilibrium and non-equilibrium dynamics, in both solutions and melts.

By assembling a team of world-class researchers who have been responsible for nearly all the important advances in the field of ring polymer dynamics in the last decade, we aim to bring focussed attention to the quantitative understanding of ring polymer dynamics. Discussing the relevant questions together will lead to a comparison of observations, a sharing of procedures, and foster new collaborations among a multidisciplinary group of scientists and engineers working on an important contemporary problem. It is hoped that it will foster a synoptic view that will lead to the creation of new methods and ideas.

The workshop will consist of invited talks by distinguished speakers who will emphasize unsolved problems in physics, methodologies and underlying theories and experiments. In addition, there will be contributed talks and posters from participants.