New Directions in Theoretical Physics 4: Programme, Registration and Accommodation

New Directions in Theoretical Physics is a series of international conferences organised by the Higgs Centre for Theoretical Physics, aiming to highlight new opportunities and stimulate an exchange of ideas across all areas of contemporary theoretical physics. All talks are plenary reviews aimed at a broad audience of theoretical physicists, intended to inspire and to promote valuable cross-disciplinary interactions.

The January 2023 meeting is the fourth meeting in the series, following highly successful meetings in 2019, 2017 and 2014. This meeting will celebrate 10 years since the discovery of the Higgs Boson, and is part of the decennial celebrations of the Higgs Centre.

The 2023 meeting will cover topics spanning all scales from elementary particles to cosmology and including complex adaptive systems, climate modelling, artificial intelligence, quantum computing, dark matter, dark energy and black holes.

The conference venue is 50 George Square in the city centre campus of the University of Edinburgh. The formal conference will run from Tuesday 10th - Thursday 12th January, including 45 minute review talks and 30 minute interdisciplinary discussions. The list of speakers is below. In the evening of the first day (Tuesday, 10 Jan) there will be a drinks reception followed by a joint public lecture, delivered by two recent Nobel prize winners, James Peebles and Roger Penrose and chaired by Michela Massimi. On the Wednesday evening (12 Jan) all participants will be hosted for a conference dinner.

Registration for in-person attendance now closed

Registration deadline for on-line attendance: 9 January

Registration £130 - students and early career rate
£160 - academic rate
Free online attendance
This fee includes day-time conference catering (tea breaks/coffee, lunch), a reception and a conference dinner.
Fee waivers are available. Please get in touch with us.

Speakers

• Nima Arkani-Hamed (IAS, Princeton) Elementary particles

• Ryan Babbush (Google) Quantum algorithms

• Celine Boehm (Edinburgh and Sydney) Dark matter

• Latham Boyle (Perimeter Institute) Dark energy

• Michael Cates (Cambridge) Soft condensed matter

• Laura Cadonati (Georgia Tech) Gravitational waves

• Cynthia Chiang (McGill, UKZN) Cosmic dawn

• Tamara Davis (Queensland) Dark Energy

• John Ellis (CERN and Kings College) Particle Physics

• Michael Figurnov (DeepMind) Protein Structure Prediction

• Vera Guelpers (Higgs Centre, Edinburgh) Lattice QCD

• Nigel Goldenfeld (UC San Diego) Turbulence

• Ava Khamseh (University of Edinburgh)

• Nana Ama Browne Klutse (Legon, Ghana) Climate Science

• Fulvio Militello (UKAEA, Culham) Nuclear Fusion

• Priya Natarajan (Yale) Galaxy formation

• Wilfrid Ndifon (AIMS, Rwanda) Mathematical Epidemiology

• Prosper Ngabonziza (Louisiana State University) African Light Source

• Prince Osei (AIMS, Ghana) Building STEM in Africa

• James Peebles (Princeton) Cosmology

• Roger Penrose (Oxford) Mathematical Physics

• David Romps (Berkeley) Climate Physics

• Gavin Salam (Oxford, CERN) Collider Physics

• Mouhamadou Bamba Sylla (AIMS, Senegal) Climate Science

• Kendrick Smith (Perimeter Institute) Real time radio astronomy

Timetable to follow

Public Lecture

A public lecture titled: "Two ways to learn about the universe", will be delivered jointly by recent Nobel prize winners, James Peebles (Princeton) and Roger Penrose (Oxford), followed by a discussion chaired by Michela Massimi (Edinburgh). It will be held in the evening of Tuesday, 10th January at 50 George Square (same venue as conference).

Conference Dinner

On the evening of Wednesday 11th January you are invited to a conference dinner at the historic Playfair Library, within Old College, which is regarded as one of Scotland's finest public rooms.
Please advise your attendance at the dinner by checking the correct box on the registration form, there is no extra cost to attend.

Venue & Travel

The conference venue is at 50 George Square of our Central Area Campus. Please see direction information below:

• Directions to Central Area by various modes of transport.
• Map pin to the entrance of 50 George Square. The room will be sign-posted from here.

Accommodation

Please find sugestions for accommodation here

During the Conference

Slack: https://join.slack.com/t/newdirections-xpg3071/shared_invite/zt-1mo9ehq2f-T7eXWg5qonNtmgoh1jucqw

Zoom: https://ed-ac-uk.zoom.us/j/85968789457 *Passcode: Physics23

Contact

For any practical question regarding the conference, please contact the Events Team

We expect all delegates to adhere to the Dignity and Respect Policy of the University of Edinburgh while on University premises.