SYM/PHYS/IL · 2026.10|OCTOBER 26, 2026
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Programme

Physics in Israel 2026

Scientific Programme · Tel Aviv University · Monday, 26 October 2026

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/01

Programme at a Glance

  1. 08:30–09:00Registration — Exact Sciences Building foyer
  2. 09:00–09:15Opening remarks — Lev Auditorium
  3. 09:15–11:00Plenary Session I — Lev Auditorium
  4. 11:00–11:15Coffee break — Exact Sciences Building foyer
  5. 11:15–13:00Parallel Sessions I: AMO & Quantum (Melamed) / Soft Matter (Holzblatt) / Astrophysics I (Schreiber 7)
  6. 13:00–14:00Lunch — Smolarz Building
  7. 14:00–15:40Parallel Sessions II: Condensed Matter (Melamed) / High Energy (Holzblatt) / Astrophysics II (Schreiber 7)
  8. 15:40–16:00Coffee break — Exact Sciences Building foyer
  9. 16:00–17:10Plenary Session II and closing ceremony — Lev Auditorium
  10. 17:00–18:30Global Connections meetup — see /06
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Plenary Session I

09:00–11:00 · Lev Auditorium · Chair: Prof. Erez Etzion
  1. 09:00–09:15
    Opening remarks
  2. 09:15–9:45
    Gil Refael — Caltech
    Topological quantum machines
  3. 09:45–10:15
    Yoav Pollack — Göttingen University
    Hacky teaching: Hackathons for Lowering Technical Entry Barriers
  4. 10:15–11:00
    Ehud Altman — University of California, Berkeley
    Quantum memory in Fractional Quantum Hall states under decoherence
/03

Plenary Session II and Closing Ceremony

16:00–17:10 · Lev Auditorium · Chair: Dr. Shany Danieli
  1. 16:00–16:20
    Prof. Millet Shamir — Tel Aviv University
    Internationalization in Academia in Times of Crisis
  2. 16:20–16:50
    Panel: Heads of Physics Schools
    A Look into the Future of Physics
  3. 16:50–17:00
    Best Talk Award Ceremony
/04

Parallel Sessions I

Parallel 1 — Atomic, Molecular & Optical Physics / Quantum Science

11:15–12:45 · Melamed Hall · Chair: Ran Finkelstein
  1. 11:15–11:30
    Raz Firanko — Perimeter Institute / IQC
    What is a Gapped Mixed-State Phase?
  2. 11:30–11:45
    Arbel Haim — Amazon Center for Quantum Computing
    Erasure qubits: From concept to high-fidelity erasure detection with superconducting dual-rail qubits
  3. 11:45–12:00
    Ouri Karni — NTT Research Inc.
    Nonlinear optics in high-finesse Fabry-Perot microcavities with LiNbO3
  4. 12:00–12:15
    Tom Rivlin — TU Wien
    Quantum measurement as a dynamical process
  5. 12:15–12:30
    Ohad Lib — MPQ
    Velocity-Enabled Quantum Computing with Neutral Atoms
  6. 12:30–12:45
    Shai Tsesses — MIT
    Unlocking New Capabilities for Quantum Computation with Neutral Atom Arrays

Parallel 2 — Soft Matter & Biological Physics

11:15–13:00 · Holzblatt Hall · Chair: Roy Beck
  1. 11:15–11:40
    Omer Granek — The University of Chicago
    Natural Selection in the Wake of Catastrophe
  2. 11:40–12:00
    Itay Azizi — Hebrew University
    Multiple pattern formation in quorum sensing of density-enhanced motility
  3. 12:00–12:20
    Ido Lavi — Flatiron Institute (Simons Foundation)
    Proliferating against the current: how multistep branching nucleation sets microtubule polarity in the spindle
  4. 12:20–12:40
    Jonathan Jeffet — EPFL
    From Monomer to Memristor: Resolving the Life Cycle of Aerolysin Nanopores
  5. 12:40–13:00
    Rafi Blumenfeld — University of Cambridge
    Self-organisation and detailed balance in non-equilibrium granular dynamics

Parallel 3 — Astrophysics I

11:15–13:00 · Schreiber 7 Hall · Chair: Prof. Iair Arcavi
  1. 11:15–11:30
    Sahar Shahaf — Max Planck Institute for Astronomy
    A new sky from Gaia: 2D image reconstruction from DR4 scans
  2. 11:30–11:45
    Roi Rahin — UMBC
    Wind Accretion in high-mass X-ray binaries using high resolution spectroscopy
  3. 11:45–12:00
    Taya Govreen-Segal — Princeton University
    Stellar Explosions in dense CSM, with application to AT2018cow
  4. 12:00–12:15
    Hila Glanz — Caltech
    The Zoo of Thermonuclear Supernovae
  5. 12:15–12:30
    Avraham Binnenfeld — EPFL
    Toward Earth-like Planets: Disentangling Planetary Doppler Signals from Stellar Variability
  6. 12:30–12:45
    Lev Tal-Or — Ariel University
    Rethinking long-period planets around giant stars
/05

Parallel Sessions II

Parallel 4 — Condensed Matter & Solid State Physics

14:00–15:40 · Melamed Hall · Chair: Alon Ron
  1. 14:00–14:20
    Tamar Pereg-Barnea — McGill University
    The bosonic Kitaev chain and topological amplification
  2. 14:20–14:40
    Nathalie Lidgi-Guigui — CNRS - University Sorbonne Paris Nord
    From SERS (Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering) to PIERS (Photo Induced Enhanced Raman Scattering)
  3. 14:40–14:55
    Noa Feldman — Freie Universitat, Berlin
    Isolating the role of quantum chaos in MBL thermalization avalanches via tunable pseudorandom baths
  4. 14:55–15:10
    Matan Lotem — Princeton University
    Multibath Influence Matrices: Universal Scaling from Real-Time Dynamics
  5. 15:10–15:25
    Tom Ben-Ami — University of Augsburg
    Many-Body Cages
  6. 15:25–15:40
    Shaul Katznelson — ISTA Austria
    Quantum Optics in Scintillation: Photon Bunching and Collective Emission under X-ray excitation

Parallel 5 — High Energy & Particle Physics

14:00–15:40 · Holzblatt Hall · Chair: Yevgeny Kats
  1. 14:00–14:14
    Ayala Glick-Magid — Tel Aviv University
    Forbidden No More: Unique Forbidden Beta Decays at Zero Momentum Transfer
  2. 14:14–14:28
    Akash Kumar Saha — Tel Aviv Univ., starting Oct 4
    Hunting Heavy Decaying and Annihilating Dark Matter with High-Energy Diffuse Gamma-Ray Measurements
  3. 14:28–14:42
    Noam Levi — Meta Superintelligence Labs / TAU
    Exploring the Landscape of Natural Data with Forward-Backward Diffusion Chains
  4. 14:42–14:56
    Inbar Savoray — MIT
    SEAL -- A Symmetry Encouraging Loss for High Energy Physics
  5. 14:56–15:10
    Abner Soffer — Tel Aviv University
    Searching for new physics with long-lived particles
  6. 15:10–15:24
    Eilam Gross — Weizmann Institute of Science
    Beyond Images: Leveraging Stable Diffusion Techniques for Particle Physics Simulations
  7. 15:24–15:38
    Uri Peleg — Princeton University
    Instant Folded Strings: Fractal Decay and ANEC Saturation

Parallel 6 — Astrophysics II

14:00–15:40 · Schreiber 7 Hall · Chair: Dr. Oren Slone
  1. 14:00–14:15
    Daniel Amouyal — McGill University
    Extragalactic Probes for the Galaxy: Use of Fast Radio Bursts to Study the Structure of the Milky Way
  2. 14:15–14:30
    Noy Sussholz — Tel Aviv University
    Stellar chemistry and planet size: Insights from GALAH DR4
  3. 14:30–14:45
    Yakov Faerman — Tel Aviv University
    The Cool Atmospheres of Low-mass Galaxies
  4. 14:45–15:00
    Inbar Havilio — Tel Aviv University
    Probing the Galaxy-Halo Connection of Dwarf Satellites with Bayesian Hierarchical Inference
  5. 15:00–15:15
    Rennan Barkana — Tel Aviv University
    Cosmology with radio waves: from dark matter to the cosmic dark ages
  6. 15:15–15:30
    Nativ Ben-Yeda — Weizmann Institute
    Globular clusters tracing dark matter in dwarf galaxies
/06

Global Connections Meetup

Global Connections:

Connecting Israeli Academia with the World

Monday, October 26, 2026 · 17:00–18:30 · Tel Aviv University · As part of the Mind-IL conferences
17:00–17:30 · Reception, with wine, cheese and networking
  • Would you like to help build academic ties between your institution and universities in Israel? For example, setting up joint research centers, creating postdoctoral programs for Israelis, or bringing researchers from abroad to visit Israel.
  • The Israel Young Academy invites senior faculty and Young Academy members, both abroad and in Israel, to a focused brainstorming session on building international academic collaborations with Israel and strengthening existing ones.
  • Join the vice presidents for international affairs of Israeli universities, the founders of the Kalaniyot program, and the head of academic excellence at Yad Hanadiv for a first, face-to-face conversation about practical ways to advance academic partnerships.
  • And most important: an open discussion with the audience, aimed at developing concrete, creative and effective ways to connect researchers, institutions and academic communities around the world with universities in Israel.
Register here→ WhatsApp group→ Meetup flyer (PDF)↓

Updates will also be sent by email.