Overview

Fundamental physics addresses some key questions of Nature: What are we made of? What are the fundamental forces and matter in Nature? What is the origin of our Universe? These questions which range from subatomic to cosmological scales are intimately connected. Although key problems in fundamental physics are few, they are some of the most challenging ones in science. Advance towards their comprehension and solution requires teams of experimentalists to extract data, whose implications lead theorists to explore new possibilities and to make predictions for experimentalists to test.

The Center of Fundamental Physics comprises regular faculty members and a team of fellows and postgraduate students, whose research spans a wide range of frontier research topics in particle physics, astrophysics, and cosmology. The HKUST Jockey Club Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) provides a home for interdisciplinary, cross-institutional international collaboration. Moreover, the Lo Ka Chung Building can provide office space for running academic activities of the Center.

It is clear that many key issues in fundamental physics are deeply intertwined. In the long term, the Center provides a platform for Hong Kong to contribute significantly to these global endeavors. The Center plans to build on these existing strengths to develop a comprehensive program in fundamental physics. To make substantial contributions requires a confluence of expertise in a variety of fields in theory, observation and experiment. This Center will enable us to make new breakthroughs and set the stage for growing into a sustainable operation.

As a part of the activities of the Center, this seminar series aims to stimulate thoughts exchange of ideas. Speakers will be invited to meet with the local researchers to foster new collaborations.

For more information about the Center for Fundamental Physics, please visit https://cfp.hkust.edu.hk.