SPARC26 Conference
SPARC26 was a conference of the students, by the students, for the students. It was dedicated to showcasing the work of MSc students, PhD researchers, and early postdoctoral scientists across a broad range of topics in particle and accelerator physics. The programme featured selected talks in experimental particle physics, alongside dedicated contributions in particle accelerator physics, as well as a poster and networking event aimed at fostering collaboration and building connections within the next generation of the community.
CASE 2026 - a Pre-Amplitudes Meeting
Tuesday 5th May, SPECTRA Building, University of Hertfordshire
Correlators and Amplitudes in the South East (CASE) 2026 was a postgraduate meeting funded by the graduate school of the South East Physics Network (GRADnet). The goal was to bring together early-career researchers interested in correlators, scattering amplitudes and related areas of mathematical and theoretical physics. The meeting also provided a good opportunity for people working in related areas to know each other ahead of Amplitudes 2026, which took place at the end of June in Queen Mary University of London.
Website: case2026.com
Organisers:
Mattia Capuano (m.capuano@herts.ac.uk), Alessandro (Allie) Palazio (a.palazio@herts.ac.uk) - local organisers
Rowan Wright (rowan.wright@soton.ac.uk)
Augustus (Gus) Brown (a.a.x.brown@qmul.ac.uk)
The talks given can be found in the YouTube playlist here. Slides and other info available at case2026.com.
BRIDGCE Training School 2026
For students and early career researchers interested in furthering their knowledge of galactic chemical evolution.
The origin of the elements and how they have shaped our Universe is an important field of research, but one that requires input from a broad range of subfields, from nuclear astrophysics to galactic chemical evolution.
The BRIDGCE School 2026 was run by University of Herts Physics Students and was designed to give students interested in this area of research a foundation in these subfields and how they are interconnected.
During this two-day school, students attended sessions delivered by leading researchers from the UK and EU. Students were guided through how nuclear reaction rates are measured, how this informs our models of stellar nucleosynthesis, and finally how predicted stellar yields then shape our understanding of galaxy evolution.
These sessions included talks about the fundamentals of each area as well as hands-on activities using chemical evolution models. Students left the school with a deeper understanding of the fields related to the study of the origin of the elements as well as experience running simulations used in actual research.
This school is organised in conjunction with BRIDGCE, a UK-based network that aims to connect researchers involved in the different areas of chemical evolution. This network consists of more than 80 active researchers across over 20 institutes.
The BRIDGCE School 2026 is a continuation of previous well-received schools run by the BRIDGCE network in conjunction with the BRIDGCE Annual Meeting each year. https://www.bridgce.ac.uk/
More info on BRIDGCE 2026:
https://sites.google.com/view/bridgce-herts-2026/the-school
The Hubble and BAO Tensions: Systematics and Possible Solutions
Host Institution: Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation (ICG), University of Portsmouth
Date: Wednesday 8th July 2026
Lead organizer: José Antonio Nájera (antonio.najera@port.ac.uk)
Other committee members: Dr. Indranil Banik (Portsmouth), Edward Charleton (Southampton), Nikolaos Shiamtanis (Southampton)
Overview
The standard model of Cosmology (ΛCDM) is currently facing a fundamental crisis coming from increasing and persistent observational discrepancies. This one-day, student-led conference aimed to deepen our understanding of the 7.1σ C.L. Hubble and the 2.65σ C.L. BAO tensions.
We looked to facilitate a critical dialogue between theorists and observers to determine if these problems signal hidden systematics or new physics beyond the standard ΛCDM model. This event served as a collaborative bridge between the observational expertise at the University of Portsmouth and the theoretical and statistical strengths of SEPnet partners (University of Sussex, University of Southampton, Queen Mary University of London, University of Hertfordshire, and Royal Holloway University of London). Sceptics of the Hubble and/or BAO tensions were also welcome.
The conference timetable can be found here. The booklet of abstracts can be found here.
For more information please contact José Antonio Nájera at antonio.najera@port.ac.uk
The Hubble and BAO Tensions Conference - Event Photos
