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 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, Austria

07:30 − 08:00 Breakfast at Hotel Geblergasse
09:30 – 12:00 Program at IQOQI (Coordinator: Sofia Satanakis)
12:15 − 13:00 Lunch at University of Vienna's Cafeteria (Kolingasse)
13:30 − 14:30 Meeting with Heinz Fassmann, the President of the Austrian Academy of Sciences
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
- Presentation of ISTA
- Research Group "Materials Electrochemistry"
- Hryhorii Polshyn and the Research Group "Emergent electronic phenomena in 2D materials"
- Talk by Zoltan Haiman
- Tour of VISTA Science Experience Center
13:00 – 13:30 Lunch at ISTA's cafeteria
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
10:00 − 12:00 Program at Atominstitut
- Presentation of the institute by Nataliia Bazhan
- Guided tour to the TRIGA reactor by TBA
- Guided tours to the labs of the institute by Nataliia Bazhan, Phila Rembold
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
- TBA
10:45 − 11:15 Tour of the Observatory
11:15 − 12:30 Talk by Anne Hutter
- TBA
12:30 − 13:30 Lunch at University of Vienna's Cafeteria (Kolingasse)

Location:
Erwin Schrödinger International Institute for Mathematics and Physics (ESI)

14:00 − 15:00 Talk by Christoph Dellago
- TBA
15:30 − 19:00 Free time
19:00 − 20:00 Dinner at TBA

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 .