Max Planck-IAS-NTU Center Kick-off Conference

March 16 - 19, 2026

This event is the kick-off conference for the Max Planck-IAS-NTU Center for Particle Physics, Cosmology and Geometry. It is a collaboration between the Max Planck Institute for Physics in Garching (Germany), the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton (USA) and the National Taiwan University in Taipei (Taiwan). It aims to bring together researchers from particle physics, cosmology and mathematics to foster collaboration, with the goal of bridging the gaps between these fields, and gain new insights into the universe that would otherwise be inaccessible from the perspective of each field alone.

Some of the topics discussed in this conference will include: quantum field theory, scattering amplitudes, inflationary physics, cosmological correlators, CMB physics, gravitational waves, large-scale structure of the universe, dark matter, positive geometry, algebraic geometry and combinatorics.

Program Organizers:

Nima Arkani-Hamed, Institute for Advanced Study
Giovanni Maria Tomaselli, Institute for Advanced Study
Francisco Vazão, Institute for Advanced Study
Matias Zaldarriaga, Institute for Advanced Study
 

Confirmed Speakers:

Alexandra Amon, Princeton University
Nima Arkani-Hamed, Institute for Advanced Study
Clifford Cheung, CalTech
Carolina Cuesta-Lazaro, Institute for Advanced Study
Jo Dunkley, Princeton University
Joshua Foster, University of Wisconsin
Elena Giorgi, Columbia University
June Huh, Princeton University
Maximiliano Isi, Columbia University
Callum Jones, University of Arizona
Austin Joyce, University of Chicago
Matt Larson, Institute for Advanced Study
Qianshu Lu, Institute for Advanced Study
Ue-Li Pen, Academia Sineca, Taiwan
Oliver Philcox, Stanford University
Shu-Heng Shao, MIT
Andrew Strominger, Harvard University
Bernd Sturmfels, Max Planck Institute for Mathematics in the Sciences

To register to attend the conference, please click here.  Registration is limited to 100 participants.  The deadline to register is Monday, February 23, 2026.

There is a non-refundable fee of $49.87 to register.  You must be a current faculty member, researcher or graduate student at an accredited institution to register and attend. Registration includes all coffee breaks, lunches, a welcome reception and two dinners during the conference program. Accommodations and travel expenses are not included in the conference fee.

The IAS has limited (10 rooms), discounted hotel rooms reserved at the Residence Inn Princeton at Carnegie Center.  Information on how to book these rooms (self-book and self-pay) can be found below:

Start Date: Monday, March 16, 2026
End Date: Thursday, March 19, 2026
Hotel(s) offering your special group rate:  Residence Inn by Marriott Princeton at Carnegie Center for 165.00 USD per night 
Last Day to Book: Friday, February 20, 2026

Book your group rate here!

For further information on the Max Planck-IAS-NTU Center (MPC) for Particle Physics, Cosmology, and Geometry:  New Global Research Center a Rosetta Stone for Understanding the Universe at All Scales, Institute for Advanced Study, June 16, 2025

This workshop is sponsored by the Jonathan M. Nelson Center for Collaborative Research at the Institute for Advanced Study.

Contact Audrey Smerkanich, audrey@ias.edu, with any inquiries.