Conference Overview

Plenary Session

The plenary talks will be adressing latest advancements in different research fields.

• Giacomo Indiveri, Universität & ETH Zürich: Neuromorphic Intelligence: spiking neural network and on-line learning circuits for brain-inspired technologies
• Matthias E. Lauer, Roche Innovation Center Basel: Structural Biology and Interaction Analysis in Drug Discovery
• Kirsten Moselund, PSI Villigen & EPF Lausanne: Advances in nanotech/integrated photonics
• Sven Reiche, PSI Villigen: Attosecond Pulses from X-ray Free-electron Lasers: Status and Outlook
• Leonardo Senatore, ETH Zürich: Questions in Theoretical Cosmology
• Mikhail Shaposhnikov, EPF Lausanne: Physics of the early universe and the intensity frontier of particle physics
• Erik van Nimwegen, Universität Basel: How do single bacterial cells think?
• Andreas Wallraff, ETH Zürich: Quantum Science with Superconducting Circuits

The following parallel sessions will be scheduled:

• Accelerator Science and Technology
• Applied Physics, Plasma Physics
• Atomic Physics and Quantum Photonics
• Biophysics and Soft Matter
• Condensed Matter Physics (KOND)
• Electron and photon spectroscopies of quantum materials
• Gravitational Waves
• History and Philosophy of Physics
• Magnetic fields for materials research *
• Neutron Science **
• Nuclear, Particle- & Astrophysics (TASK) ***
• Photon Science ****
• Spintronics and Magnetism at the Nanoscale
• Startups: The role of physics and physicists in developing a product ?

* sponsored by the EU project ISABEL; ** in collaboration with the Swiss Neutron Science Society (SGN); *** in collaboration with CHIPP; **** in collaboration with the Swiss Society for Photon Science (SSPh)

Depending on the number and contents of the contributed papers, each topical session will be split into special thematic sub-sessions.

As every year outstanding scientific works will be honoured with the SPS awards, in the respective fields of General Physics (sponsored by ABB Research Center), Condensed Matter Physics (sponsored by IBM Zürich Research Laboratory), Metrology (sponsored by METAS), in Computational Physics (sponsored by COMSOL) and Energy Technology (sponsored by Hitachi Energy Switzerland). Each award is granted with CHF 5000.-.

Furthermore the winners of the Charpak-Ritz award and the SGN Award will also be honored.

The award ceremony will be held on 10 September at 09:45h.

The general assembly is scheduled for 9 September. The agenda will be published in the SPG Mitteilungen No. 73. We encourage all members to actively participate and contact the committee if special points of interest should be discussed at the assembly.

An exhibition with scientific devices, equipment, software and literature will be organized in parallel to the sessions. An invitation letter has been mailed to interested companies. If your company would like to join the exhibition, but did not receive the letter by the end of March, please contact the SPS Secretariat.

A conference dinner is scheduled for the evening of 12 September. You can select the dinner during the normal registration procedure. The price is CHF 90.- per person (further details will follow shortly).

Important: Since we have to plan ahead with the restaurant, it is not possible to register for the dinner on site.

The dinner fee must be paid and transferred to our account at latest by 28 August in order to guarantee your meal. We will keep only a small fraction of the unpaid dinner places, which will be assigned to persons paying cash upon arrival on a first come - first serve base.
Unfortunately we are forced to take this measure because of experiences made in previous years where too many unpaid last-minute cancellations occurred for which we still were indebted to the restaurant. We hope for your understanding.

Energy and Sustainability (Inaugural session)

The Energy and Sustainability section is driven by a commitment to tackle the world’s urgent challenge: create a sustainable energy future with access for all. Beyond just advancing our understanding, this new section aims to make a real-world impact by focusing on cleaner energy and environmental sustainability. In our first session, we'll discuss practical physics-based research strategies, highlighting examples within the context of the Switzerland Energy Strategy 2050. For this purpose, both long-term strategies of relevant Swiss research organisations and today’s grass-roots actions will be presented. Join us in this effort to actively contribute to a future where responsible energy practices and environmental awareness are top priorities for researchers. Let's work together to make a meaningful difference in our world.

Contact: Tomoko Muranaka, Thomas Christen

Startups: The role of physics and physicists in developing a product?

Physics and engineering have often played a major role in the development of new technologies and products. For instance, the birth of semiconductor technology led to nowadays ubiquitous products such as radios, televisions, computers and smartphones. In the Physics in Industry session of the annual meeting, we want to collect examples of how physics contributed to the development of a new product and bring together presentations from companies in Switzerland focusing on Quantum, AI and Optics. This session will be of interest to the attending young physicists because they can learn about their professional role after university. For the speakers from industry, it will be a great opportunity to get in touch with young talents.
If you are interested in presenting a talk in this session please contact the section heads.

Contact: Valeria Bragaglia, Gian Salis

Theoretical Physics

As in the previous years, theoretical contributions are highly encouraged and will be included directly in a corresponding topical session. This way, the sessions will profit from a broad range of experimental, phenomenological, and theoretical advancements that are relevant in the specific topical field and thus can engage in broader and deeper discussions.
Please submit your abstract to the session which best matches your topic. You can optionally mark your contribution as "theoretical" in the submission interface.

Contact: Philippe Jetzer

Gravitational Waves

For this special session contributions covering all aspects of gravitational wave physics are welcome, in particular those connected with the Einstein Telescope (ET), the LISA mission, and the ongoing LIGO-Virgo detectors.
Relevant topics include data analysis, theoretical aspects, and experimental challenges of ET and / or LISA.
We particularly encourage PhD students and postdocs to submit abstracts and to join the meeting. Depending on the number of proposed contributions, the session will take place on one or two afternoons. Poster contributions are also welcome.

Contact: Steven Schramm, Philippe Jetzer

Accelerator Science and Technology

Particle accelerators play an important role in high energy physics, materials and life sciences. They are used to create a very special state of matter — beams of particles (protons, electrons, photons, neutrons, muons, neutrinos etc.). Contributions are encouraged on all aspects of accelerator development for future high energy frontier electron, proton and muon colliders, high brightness synchrotron light sources as well as high intensity neutron sources. 

Contact: Leonid Rivkin, Mike Seidel

Applied Physics, Plasma Physics

In the frame of the Applied Physics session, a special sub-session Physics applied to Medicine is planned. This session aims to to reflect the crucial role physics plays in medicine, providing essential tools and principles that aid in diagnosis, treatment and understanding of physiological processes.

Contact: Leonid Rivkin, Mike Seidel, Laurie Porte

Photon Science

This session is devoted to the application and technology of large-scale photon science infrastructures and related laboratory based efforts for research in all fields of physics where photon science tools take a center stage. Examples include the physics and application of free-electron lasers and synchrotron sources, the development and application of ultrafast photon science methods and many more.
The session is organised in collaboration with the SSPh.

Contact: Lukas Gallmann

Biophysics and Soft Matter

This session is organized in collaboration with LS2 - Life Sciences Switzerland, and the Swiss Soft Days, a key organization for the soft matter community in Switzerland.

Numerous advances in the understanding of living systems are based on interdisciplinary research conducted by people with backgrounds in molecular biology, chemistry, materials science, physics, and nanotechnology. We welcome contributions on physics-based research to the study of living systems.

Numerous advances in the life sciences are based on interdisciplinary research conducted by people with proficient scientific backgrounds in molecular biology, chemistry and chemical synthesis, materials science, physics, and nanotechnology. We welcome contributions on engineering physics and materials for new methods and applications for use in biology and medicine, both from the academic and the industrial sector of the life sciences.

A special focus of the Biophysics and Soft Matter session is the transition of research topics from 'basic' to 'applied', including biotech start-ups and the interactions between the academic and the industrial sector of the life sciences in Switzerland. For young talents, the meeting is a great opportunity to get in touch with professionals working in this fascinating field of research.

Oral and poster contributions are welcome.

Contacts: Christof Aegerter, Christof Fattinger (SPS Section chairs), Sahand Rahi (representative of LS2, Systems Biology Section), Lucio Isa (representative of the Swiss Soft Days)

Condensed Matter (KOND)

The condensed matter program welcomes contributions from all topics within Condensed Matter Physics, including magnetism, superconductivity, semiconductors and more. Investigations by advanced experimental techniques, e.g. by using synchrotron radiation, are highly welcome. Where relevant, we encourage participants to submit their abstracts to the respective focus sessions described below.

Contact: Henrik M. Rønnow, Ilaria Zardo

Electron and photon spectroscopies of quantum materials

Angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) and resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (RIXS) are powerful techniques to measure the momentum-resolved electronic structure of materials. In the recent years, the development of high brilliance synchrotron facilities, X-ray free electron lasers, as well as stable laser technology, have allowed new possibilities like micro- and nano-ARPES and in-operando experiments on tiny devices, as well as versatile time-resolved studies to cite a few of them.
This session is dedicated to highlight recent results in the field of quantum materials, correlated systems, and complex devices. It will bring together research groups using photoelectron, x-ray and optical spectroscopies, and serve to elaborate novel perspectives and collaborative development.

Contact: Claude Monney, Felix Baumberger, Luc Patthey

Neutron Science

Neutrons produced at large-scale research facilities offer valuable insights into a wide array of subjects, spanning from particle physics and quantum materials to food science. The Swiss Neutron Science Society invites abstract submissions covering any topic where neutron experiments have played or may play a significant role. We are excited about creating an excellent program for this session, and eagerly anticipate your contributions.

Contact: Viviane Lutz-Bueno, Romain Sibille

Spintronics and Magnetism at the Nanoscale

This focus session concerns the latest advancements in the fabrication, measurement, and exploitation of novel functionalities in spintronic and nanomagnetic materials. We aim to showcase recent work conducted by experimentalists and theorists from Switzerland who are researching the magnetic properties of thin films, interfaces, and nanostructures. Pietro Gambardella (ETHZ), Alberto Morpurgo (Uni Geneva), Cinthia Piamonteze (PSI), and Martino Poggio (Uni Basel) will present invited talks during this session.

Contact: Jeffrey Brock, Lauren Riddiford, Laura Heyderman

Magnetic fields for materials research

The generation and use of high magnetic fields enable the investigation of novel materials ranging from superconductors to 2D van der Waals compounds. The European Magnetic Field Laboratory (EMFL) extends the range of fields, both continuous and pulsed, accessible to researchers, by developing state-of-the-art facilities in several European laboratories and in collaboration with large scale facilities, like the Paul Scherrer Institute. This session aims to present advances in the generation and use of high magnetic fields in materials research.
The session is sponsored by the EU project ISABEL.

Contact: Stefano Gariglio

Women in Physics Career Symposium

With the third-edition of the women-in-physics career symposium, we aim to institutionalize this event and make it an integral part of the SPS annual meeting. Our focus remains on improving our professional and mentoring network in physics for female early-career undergraduate and postdoctoral scientists. The event will feature a series of career talks, which will provide information on navigating a career in physics from the personal perspective of invited speakers covering several career levels. Here speakers pursuing successful careers both in and outside academia provide insights about key moments of their careers. Ample networking opportunities, exchange of experiences and ideas will be provided in the breaks.
Although the event is focused on connecting mentees from the undergraduate up to postdoctoral career level with experienced mentors, we invite female participants from all career levels to register for this event to contribute and benefit from the networking. In addition, we are asking interested colleagues willing to act as mentors to register (a list of the currently registered mentors can be found here). Following our inherent belief in diversity and inclusion, we also encourage people of all genders, backgrounds and ethnicities to participate in sharing this experience and learning from each other.
The event is sponsored by the University of Geneva, University of Zurich, the Paul Scherrer Institute, the Swiss Academy of Sciences (SCNAT) and SPS. Further contributions are most welcome. More details will be made available soon.

Contact: Tobias Golling, Marc Janoschek