How do mathematical patterns help researchers make sense of complex systems? The 18th International Symposium on Orthogonal Polynomials, Special Functions and Applications (OPSFA18) brought these questions to Kyoto from 17 to 21 August 2026.

IE Research Datalab researcher David Gómez-Ullate served on the scientific committee and co-coordinated the thematic session on exceptional orthogonal polynomials with Robert Milson. His contribution helped shape the scientific programme of this international meeting.

Hosted at Doshisha University’s Muromachi Campus, OPSFA18 connected research on special functions with areas including integrable systems, random matrices, stochastic models and mathematical physics. It was the first edition of the conference series held in Asia.

Official event details and programme.

Campus photograph: Doshisha University.

David Gómez-Ullate is a member of IE Research Datalab at IE University.