Book excerpt: This volume comprises eight papers delivered at the RIMS International Conference "Mathematical Challenges in a New Phase of Materials Science", Kyoto, August 4–8, 2014. The contributions address subjects in defect dynamics, negatively curved carbon crystal, topological analysis of di-block copolymers, persistence modules, and fracture dynamics. These papers highlight the strong interaction between mathematics and materials science and also reflect the activity of WPI-AIMR at Tohoku University, in which collaborations between mathematicians and experimentalists are actively ongoing.