Reflecting the oeuvre of "a man of two cultures: the culture of pure mathematics and the culture of theoretical physics" (in the words of his long time friend and co-author, Kameshwar Wali), this volume is centred around the notion of symmetry and its breaking. Starting with particle physics, the contents proceeds to symmetries of matter, defects, and crystals. The mathematics of group extensions, non-linear group action, critical orbits and phase transitions is developed along the way. The symmetry principles and general mathematical tools provide unity in the treatment of different topics....