Simons Science School in Physics and Astronomy 2026
From September 20 to September 27, 2026 in Vienna
STEM education and the training of future scientists, innovators, and high-tech entrepreneurs play a key role in Ukraine's future recovery. The Ukrainian education system excels at identifying gifted youths and at nurturing them in specialised STEM schools and a highly-developed culture of science olympiads and research competitions. This experience should be studied and supported at the highest level, recognizing it as a national asset. Collaborative projects in STEM education between Ukraine and the EU will be to everyone's benefit and promote Ukraine's further integration into the EU.
The Simons Science School in Physics and Astronomy is a one-week program for Ukrainian high school students who have excelled at science competitions. The goal is to foster the students’ interest in science, to introduce them to potential research careers, and to inspire them to apply their talents to shape Ukraine’s future. During their week in Vienna, participants will engage with cutting-edge research groups of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Science and Technology Austria, the University of Vienna, and TU Wien.
This event is made possible by a generous gift of the Simons Foundation, the support of the Erwin Schrödinger Institute, the Junior Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, the Institute of Science and Technology Austria, our unbelievable volunteers, and the work of Dmytro Rzhemovskyi and his team from Mathematik macht Freude.
Jim Simons sets an outstanding example to us all.
Simons Science School in Chemistry and Physics 2024
Program
Sunday, September 20
- 11:20 Arrivals in Vienna
- 12:30 − 13:30 Lunch at TBA
- 14:00 − 15:30 Check-in at Hotel Geblergasse
- 15:30 − 19:00 Free time, e.g., exploring the Vienna's city center
- 19:00 − 20:00 Dinner at TBA
Monday, September 21
Location:
University of Vienna,
Faculty of Physics,
Boltzmanngasse 5,
1090 Vienna
- 07:30 − 08:00 Breakfast at Hotel Geblergasse
- 09:00 − 09:30 Opening ceremony
- 09:30 − 10:45 Talk by Dieter Süß
- Physics of Functional Materials
- 11:00 − 12:15 Research Group "Nanomagnetism and Magnonics"
- Talk by Khrystyna Levchenko
- Lab tour by Khrystyna Levchenko und Rostyslav Serha
- 12:30 − 13:30 Lunch at the University of Vienna's Cafeteria (Kolingasse)
- 13:30 − 18:30 Free time, e.g. visit to Belvedere
- 18:30 − 19:15 Dinner at TBA
Tuesday, September 22
Location:
Institute for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information,
Boltzmanngasse 3,
1090 Vienna
- 07:30 − 08:00 Breakfast at Hotel Geblergasse
- 09:30 − 12:00 Program at IQOQI (Coordinator: Sofia Satanakis)
- Talk by TBA
- A Brief Introduction to IQOQI Vienna
- Labtours
- Short-Range Tests of Newton's Law of Gravitation
- The Hedy Lamarr Telescope on the IQOQI Vienna rooftop
- Talk by TBA
- 12:15 − 13:00 Lunch at University of Vienna's Cafeteria (Kolingasse)
Location:
Austrian Academy of Sciences,
Dr. Ignaz Seipel-Platz 2,
1010 Vienna
- 13:30 − 14:00 Meeting with Heinz Fassmann, the President of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW)
- 14:00 − 14:45 Guided Tour of the ÖAW Building by Richard Kurdiovsky
- 15:00 − 18:30 Free time
- 18:30 − 19:15 Dinner at TBA
Wednesday, September 23
Location:
Institute of Science and Technology Austria
Am Campus 1
3400 Klosterneuburg
- 07:30 − 08:00 Breakfast at Hotel Geblergasse
- 09:10 − 09:45 Bus transfer to ISTA (Bus No. 400)
- 10:00 – 16:00 Program at ISTA
- 10:00 – 10:30 Presentation of ISTA
- 10:45 – 12:15 Program by ISTA's research groups
- Research Group "Materials Electrochemistry"
- Hryhorii Polshyn and the Research Group "Emergent electronic phenomena in 2D materials"
- 12:30 – 13:15 Hiking to the hills near ISTA
- 13:15 – 14:00 Lunch at ISTA's cafeteria
- 14:00 – 15:15 Tour of VISTA Science Experience Center
- 15:44 − 16:20 Bus transfer to Vienna (Bus No. 400)
- 16:30 − 18:30 Free time
- 18:30 − 19:15 Dinner at TBA
Thursday, September 24
Location:
TU Wien,
Atominstitut,
Stadionallee 2,
1020 Wien
- 07:30 − 08:00 Breakfast at Hotel Geblergasse
- 09:30 − 12:15 Program at Atominstitut
- Introduction to Quantum Physics by Phila Rembold
- Guided tour to the TRIGA reactor by TBA
- Guided tours to the labs of the institute by Nataliia Bazhan
- 13:00 − 13:30 Lunch at University of Vienna's Cafeteria (Kolingasse)
- 13:30 − 18:00 Free time, e.g. visit to the Vienna Museum of Science and Technology
- 18:30 − 19:15 Dinner at TBA
Friday, September 25
Location:
University of Vienna,
Department of Astrophysics,
Türkenschanzstraße 17
1180 Vienna
- 07:30 − 08:00 Breakfast at Hotel Geblergasse
- 09:30 − 10:45 Talk by Nicole Pawellek
- Celestial Mechanics of Debris Discs
- 11:00 − 12:15 Talk by Anne Hutter
- The First Galaxies in Our Universe and Their Impact on the Intergalactic Gas
- 12:45 − 13:30 Lunch at University of Vienna's Cafeteria (Kolingasse)
Location:
Erwin Schrödinger International Institute for Mathematics and Physics (ESI)
Boltzmanngasse 9
1090 Vienna
- 14:00 − 15:00 Talk by Christoph Dellago
- Computational Physics: The Virtual Laboratory in the Supercomputer
- 15:30 − 19:00 Free time
- 19:00 − 20:00 Dinner at Sägewerk
Saturday, September 26
- 07:30 − 08:00 Breakfast at Hotel Geblergasse
- 10:00 − 12:00 Visit to Schönbrunn
- 12:15 − 13:00 Lunch at TBA
- 13:00 − 18:30 Free time, e.g. hiking to the Kahlenberg and vineyards
- 18:30 − 19:30 Dinner at TBA
Sunday, September 27
- 07:30 − 08:00 Breakfast at Hotel Geblergasse
- 10:00 − 12:00 Cultural program by art critic Kateryna Kinsel
- 12:30 − 13:30 Lunch at TBA
- 16:30 Departure to Ukraine
Speakers
Coordinator and Contact Person
For any questions regarding Simons Science School in Physics and Astronomy 2026, please feel free to contact Dmytro Rzhemovskyi via email at dmytro.rzhemovskyi@univie.ac.at .
Main Organiser
Main Sponsor
Sponsor and Host
Sponsor and Organiser
Sponsor and Partner
Partners and Hosts
