The International Society for the Interdisciplinary Study of Symmetry (SIS-Symmetry, for short), founded in 1989, is a non-profit organization registered in Hungary (Budapest). Officers serve a 3-year term. Its main objectives are:
- To bring together artists and scientists, educators and students devoted to, or interested in, the research and understanding of the concept and application of symmetry (asymmetry, dissymmetry);
- To provide regular information to the general public about events in symmetry studies;
- To ensure a regular forum (including the organization of symposia, and the publication of a periodical) for all those interested in symmetry studies.
The topic was introduced for the first time by Russian, Dutch, German, and Polish scholars. Then in 1952, Hermann Weyl published his fascinating book Symmetry, which was later translated into ten languages. Since then, it has become an attractive subject of research in various fields. A variety of manifestations of the principle of symmetry in sculpture, painting, architecture, ornament, and design, in organic and inorganic nature has been revealed; the philosophical and mathematical significance of this principle has been studied. During the 1980’s the discussions concerning the nature of the world, whether it was essentially probabilistic or naturally geometric, revived the interest of the researchers to the topic.
The intellectual atmosphere of this period facilitated the idea of the establishment of a new institution devoted to the study of all forms of complexity and patterns of symmetry and orderly structures pervading science, nature, and society, which ultimately led to the establishment of the International Society for the Interdisciplinary Study of Symmetry.
SIS-Symmetry hosts an International Congress and Exhibition entitled Symmetry: Art and Science every three years. The following is a list of the congresses held so far:
- 1989, in Budapest, Hungary
- 1992, in Hiroshima, Japan
- 1995, in Washington DC, United States of America
- 1998, in Haifa, Israel
- 2001, in Sydney, Australia
- 2004, in Tihany, Hungary
- 2007, in Buenos Aires, Argentina
- 2010, in Gmünd, Austria
- 2013, in Crete, Greece
- 2016, in Adelaide, Australia (website)
- 2019, in Kanazawa, Japan (website)
(the content of this page is an adaptation of a page from the SIS-Symmetry website and blog)