The Australian Institute of Physics upcoming events

21st Patras Workshop on Axions, WIMPs and WISPs (9 Nov 2026)

Sun, 08 Nov 2026 13:00:00 GMT

From the Standard Model of particle physics to concordance cosmology, many of the most compelling ideas about how the universe works now point toward a rich and elusive dark sector. The 21st Patras Workshop on Axions, WIMPs and WISPs, hosted by The University of Western Australia at its Crawley campus on the banks of the Swan River in Perth, will be held from 9–13 November 2026, and will gather leading experts and emerging researchers to probe this frontier.

Workshop website

Continuing a distinguished series that began at CERN in 2005, the workshop will focus on innovative theoretical developments, laboratory and astrophysical searches for dark matter and dark energy, and state-of-the-art efforts to uncover new weakly interacting particles and constrain their properties. This edition will highlight the growing Australian and Asia–Pacific contributions to dark sector physics, drawing on UWA’s strong ecosystem in precision measurement, quantum technologies and astroparticle physics.

The workshop will delve into the physics of axions, WIMPs and WISPs in all their facets: direct and indirect detection strategies, novel detector concepts and readout schemes, astrophysical and cosmological probes, and the latest theoretical frameworks that knit these approaches together. By bringing together diverse communities, from quantum sensing and precision metrology to gravitational waves, cosmology and particle theory, the Patras Workshop in Perth aims to spark new ideas, forge fresh collaborations and accelerate progress toward unveiling the dark sector.

Information on previous workshops can be found here.

Public lecture by John Martinis (10 Nov 2026)

Tue, 10 Nov 2026 10:30:00 GMT

Dear AIP members,

You are being given first notice that tickets for this free public lecture have just opened through ticketsWA. Register now to secure seats ahead of the general public!

NOTE: Do not register at this link if you are invited via Quantum Meets Med-Tech, Forrest Research Foundation or 21^STPatras Workshop on Axions, WIMPs & WISPs as reserved seating has been allocated—if unsure contact linda.barbour@uwa.edu.au

Public lecture

by John Martinis

Nobel Laureate

in Physics
2025

Date: 10 November 2026

Time: 6.30 pm

At: Octagon Theatre, UWA

Cost: Free

Registration essential at ticketsWA

From prehistoric qubits to building a useful quantum computer

In the span of four decades, quantum computation has evolved from an intellectual curiosity to a potentially realizable technology. John Martinis will describe his thesis work on macroscopic quantum tunnelling and energy-level quantization that led to the Nobel Prize, as well as several other important experiments that advanced superconducting qubits. Nevertheless, the path toward a full-stack scalable technology is a work in progress. There are significant outstanding quantum hardware, fabrication, architecture, and algorithmic challenges that must be solved. In his talk John Martinis will show how the road to scaling could be paved by adopting existing semiconductor technology to build much higher-quality qubits and employing system engineering approaches.

John Martinis did pioneering experiments in superconducting qubits in the mid 1980’s for his PhD thesis. He has worked on a variety of low temperature device physics during his career, focusing on quantum computation since the late 1990s. He was awarded the London Prize in low temperature physics in 2014 for his work in this field. From 2014 to 2020 he worked at Google to build a useful quantum computer, culminating in a quantum supremacy experiment in 2019. He was awarded the John Stewart Bell prize in 2021. In 2023 he co-founded the startup Qolab to build a superconducting quantum computer. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in 2025. He is in Perth as part of the Forrest Research Foundation Distinguished Visiting Researcher program and will present a plenary lecture at the 21^stPatras Workshop on Axions, WIMPs and Wisps, at The University of Western Australia, November 8-13.

AIP WA Student Conference 2026 Registration (19 Nov 2026)

Thu, 19 Nov 2026 00:30:00 GMT

Please see the conference home page for more information:

AIP WA Student Conference 2026

Abstracts should be 200–400 words, and submitted with the title <FirstName>_<LastName> in PDF format. Please follow the style guide in the attached documents: abstract_template.zip .

Presenter registration will close on the 6^th of November 23:59. Applicants will be notified of the outcome on the 9^th of November.

WA AIP Branch Annual Dinner and AGM (24 Nov 2026)

Tue, 24 Nov 2026 10:00:00 GMT

All members of the WA Branch are warmly invited to attend the WA Branch Annual General Meeting.

6pm Tuesday, 24th November 2026
The Como Hotel

The AGM will be followed by our Annual Dinner and Guest Speaker.

Guest Speaker: Dr Fiona H. Panther

Title: Gravitational waves: Australia looks forward

Abstract: In the decade since the detection of GW150914, gravitational-wave astrophysics has moved beyond cataloguing individual transient events and into population science. Individual merging compact binaries tell us about individual systems, but answers to questions about how black holes form, where they merge, and how fast the Universe is expanding are encoded in the population as a whole. In this talk, I'll share some of the key take-aways from the 4th LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA observing run and describe some recent developments in modelling binary black hole formation beyond binary stellar evolution that are being made at UWA. Finally, we will look closely at the science case for a gravitational-wave detector in Australia and the opportunities that this presents for a new wave of multimessenger astronomy (and physics) beyond transient detection.

Ticket Registration closes Tuesday the 17th of November.

PROGRAMME

6:00 pm	Entrees & Networking
6:30 pm	AGM
7:00 pm	Dinner
8:30 pm	Talk
9:15 pm	Close

There are a LIMITED number of tickets available. This year the AGM will be free but members are asked to pay for their own meal and drinks.

We look forward to seeing you there.

NOMINATIONS FOR THE 2026 COMMITTEE

We are looking for nominations for the following Committee positions:

Chair
Vice Chair
Treasurer
Secretary
Physics Education Group (PEG) Representative
Ordinary Committee Members
Student Conference Coordinator

We are encouraging all nominations, and we are welcoming the younger generation (students and early career physicists) to join us.

Please send any nominations to secretary@wa.aip.org.au

Thank you and kind regards,

The AIP WA Branch Committee

The Mysteries of the Quantum Universe Public Lecture (25 Nov 2026)

Wed, 25 Nov 2026 10:00:00 GMT

Dear AIP members,

You are invited to an evening with three prize-winning physicists who will open your mind to an exciting future as we explore the greatest mysteries of our time.

On Wednesday the 25th of November there will be a Public Lecture on The Mysteries of the Quantum Universe where Prof. Paul Davies, Prof. Thibault Damour and Prof. David Blair will talk. Registration

Flyer-update.pdf

From the 26th -- 27th of November there is also a Two-Day Research Symposium that celebrates 50 years of Prof. David Blair's contributions to Gravitation Wave Research, Science Education and Future Innovation:
Ripples Through Time
Past Triumphs, Mapping the Future

Registration

80Symposium_Program_co ver.pdf