Institute of Physics

Florida State University physicists have been awarded funding under the US Department of Energy's $7.3 million Quantum Technology Outposts research initiative. The programme supports research into quantum science and technology at institutions across the country. FSU's inclusion gives its physics department a role in a federally backed push to advance quantum computing, sensing and related technologies, and highlights the university's growing presence in a field drawing major government investment.

Spanish quantum physicist Ignacio Cirac has been awarded the 2026 Isaac Newton Medal and Prize, one of the highest honours in physics. Cirac, a director at the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics, is renowned for pioneering work in quantum information theory and quantum computing alongside Peter Zoller. The award recognises his foundational contributions to the field.

Tesla Jeltema, a physicist at UC Santa Cruz, has been named a 2026 Fellow of the American Physical Society. The honor recognizes outstanding contributions to physics, and the university announced the appointment through its news office. Fellowship is limited to a small fraction of the society's members each year and is considered a notable professional distinction in the field.

CERN and French AI startup Mistral AI plan to jointly develop an AI model tailored to particle physics research. The collaboration would bring large language model technology to one of the world's leading physics laboratories, potentially helping researchers handle data analysis and literature in high-energy physics. Details of the partnership, including timeline and scope, remain limited.

Durham University's physics department has taken two honours at the Institute of Physics Awards 2026, according to an announcement from the university. The double recognition highlights the department's research standing, though the university has not detailed which staff members or specific achievements earned the awards.

A researcher affiliated with the University of Wisconsin-Madison has been awarded the Nobel Prize in physics. The honor places the university among the institutions recognized in this year's Nobel announcements, and news of the win is drawing attention across Wisconsin and the wider scientific community. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announces the physics prize annually in early October in Stockholm.

A physics professor and a recent graduate at the State University of New York at Fredonia are set to have their joint research published, according to an announcement from the university. The institution highlighted the collaboration as an example of faculty and student scholarship. Details of the research topic and where the work will appear were not disclosed.

Astrophotographers Petr Horálek, Josef Kujal and Vojan Höfer captured an image showing Mars passing near the Beehive star cluster, framed by an aurora, dated October 14, 2026. The picture pairs a planetary conjunction with strong auroral displays, and is being shared in amateur astronomy and education circles as a striking example of the night sky combining two phenomena at once.

The University of Leicester has received a prestigious Institute of Physics award for an initiative run with local schools. The programme is being recognised for its work engaging young people in the Leicester area with physics education, strengthening links between the university and nearby classrooms.

A researcher at Imperial College London has been awarded the Joseph Thomson Medal and Prize by the Institute of Physics, one of the institute's most prestigious honours recognising outstanding contributions to atomic and molecular physics. The award highlights Imperial's standing in physics research, though further details about the recipient and the specific work honoured were not provided.

A University of New South Wales quantum computing researcher has been elected a Fellow of the American Physical Society, one of the highest honours in physics. The fellowship recognises sustained contributions to the field. It adds to UNSW's standing as a leading centre for quantum computing research and highlights growing international recognition of Australian work in the discipline.

University College London reports that one of its outreach projects and a cosmologist have been honoured by the Institute of Physics. The awards recognise contributions to public engagement with physics and to cosmology research. The announcement forms part of the Institute of Physics' annual round of honours celebrating achievements across the physics community.

Sukanya Chakrabarti, an astrophysicist at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, has been elected a Fellow of the American Physical Society. The honour recognises her contributions to astrophysics research. The university announced the election, highlighting it as a distinction for both Chakrabarti and the institution's physics faculty.

The Eden Project, the Cornwall-based visitor attraction and educational charity, has brought in LiveU technology to support live learning, streaming educational content remotely. The announcement was carried by GlobeNewswire. The move reflects a broader shift among cultural institutions using live broadcasting to extend learning programmes beyond their physical sites.

A public science talk in Albanian titled 'Measuring the invisible – from gravitational waves to dark matter and the quantum vacuum' takes place today at 12:10. Aldo Ejlli, a group leader at the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics, will give an accessible introduction to gravitational waves, dark matter and the quantum vacuum, bringing cutting-edge physics to Albanian-speaking audiences.

TAEX, a digital art gallery and platform, is opening a new space in Monaco. The announcement, reported by Artsy, marks an expansion of the platform's physical presence in a principality known for luxury culture and art events. Details on the opening date and programme have not yet been given, but the move signals growing institutional interest in digital art markets.

The University of California, Berkeley is highlighting its contribution to the IceCube neutrino observatory in Antarctica, whose leader has been awarded the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physics. Berkeley says its researchers helped make the detector a success, enabling the first detection of high-energy astrophysical neutrinos and underpinning the prize-winning discovery.

A physicist at the University of Illinois Chicago has been elected a Fellow of the American Physical Society. The honour, announced by the university, recognises significant contributions to the field of physics. Fellow election is limited to no more than half of one percent of the society's membership and is considered a notable professional distinction within the physics community.

Two physicists at Brookhaven National Laboratory have been elected Fellows of the American Physical Society. The distinction recognises physicists for outstanding contributions to research and to the physics community. The announcement highlights the honorees' work and their laboratory's ongoing prominence in fundamental physics research.

Three professors at the California Institute of Technology have been elected Fellows of the American Physical Society. The APS fellowship is an honor limited to no more than half of one percent of the society's membership, recognizing outstanding contributions to physics research, education, and service. The recognition highlights the institute's continued strength in physics and brings professional distinction to the three faculty members and their research groups.