May 2026 Newsletter

Dear DPF members,

Please find below the monthly DPF newsletter for May 2026. This newsletter will be archived on the DPF website. If you would like an announcement included in the June 2026 newsletter, please contact the DPF Secretary/Treasurer. Please keep requests to 300 words and submit them by the 10th of the month for consideration.

DPF is the primary community organization for particle physicists in the United States. You can directly support our activities by making a donation at this link.

Best wishes,

Ken Bloom, DPF Secretary/Treasurer, kenbloom@unl.edu

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Next DPF community meeting May 21-22

DPF is organizing its next online community meeting, to be held on May 21 and 22, 2026, with the second day to be held jointly with DNP.

The May 21 agenda features remarks from Gina Rameika (DOE) and Norbert Holtkamp (Fermilab), along with reports on a variety of current and intended future projects plus community activities.

The May 22 agenda includes presentations from DPF and DNP leaders and agency representatives, and on synergies between particle and nuclear physics.

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DPF26: July 20-24, 2026 at Fermilab

The complete website for DPF 2026 can be found at https://indico.fnal.gov/event/72820/. Important dates:

Abstract submission open through May 15
Registration deadline for non-US citizens: May 20
Registration deadline for US citizens: June 20

Program highlights:

Plenary sessions are now posted on the website.
Monday evening will feature a public lecture by Mark Thomson, Director-General of CERN.
On Wednesday there will be forum-style sessions with funding agency personnel. Gina Rameika of DOE is confirmed. More details will be posted on Indico as they are finalized.
Tuesday afternoon will feature lab tours.
On Thursday evening there will be a joint poster session with the Fermilab Users and Affiliates Meeting.
Friday will feature a “Future of HEP” panel.
Friday is joint with the Fermilab Users and Affiliates Meeting, https://indico.fnal.gov/event/73552/

Low-cost housing ($50/night) is available at nearby Benedictine University, with shuttle service to Fermilab available.

The DPF is pleased to provide a number of student travel awards (up to $300 each) available to graduate students at US institutions for travel and accommodation. A student applicant should send an updated CV, a statement of financial need, and arrange for a short recommendation letter sent from their thesis advisor, by email to dpf26awards@gmail.com with the subject line "DPF26 travel assistance". The decision will be based on the academic qualification and the financial need; preference will be given to students presenting a poster or talk. The deadline for the application is June 1, and the recipients will be notified before the conference registration deadline on June 20. Please note that requests received after the deadline will not be considered.

We look forward to seeing you there!

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New Networking Opportunity at DPF26

All career levels welcome!

DPF is piloting a new opportunity to engage the HEP community at all levels in promoting networking, connection, and community. Available to all attendees, including students and early career members, the DPF Buddy program will pair up guests based upon common shared interests and goals. Whether you are new to our community or simply looking for more networking opportunities, this program is for you.

The goal is to create one-on-one networking matches for folks in the HEP community who:

* Are new to joining DPF

* (and/or) Are attending DPF-sponsored event for the first time

* (and/or) Want to make new connections beyond their institutions, collaborations, research groups/friends

Note, while the intent is that people coordinate with their “buddy” to connect at some point during DPF26 for a coffee chat, lunch, etc, we will be planning an optional meet & greet for attendees to connect with their buddy on the first day of DPF26.

To sign-up, please go to the indico site for DPF26 and register for the event. There will be a box labeled DPF Buddy Program on the registration page. Due to FNAL indico restrictions, the link may not be directly clickable. Just copy and paste into a new browser to fill out.

For questions regarding the program, please feel free to reach out to Olivia: oliviabitter16@gmail.com.

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Nominations for APS Prizes and Awards Due Soon!

Nominations for APS Prizes and Awards are due June 2, 2025. Dissertation award nominations are due August 31, 2025. You need to be a member of DPF and APS to nominate.

The Robert R. Wilson Prize recognizes and encourages outstanding achievement in the physics of particle accelerators. The prize consists of $10,000, an allowance for travel to the meeting at which the prize is awarded, and a certificate citing the contributions made by the recipient. It is presented annually. This award is given jointly by the Division of Physics of Beams and the Division of Particles and Fields

The Meenakshi Narain Mentoring Award recognizes exceptional mentoring in particle physics. The mentoring recognized could be in the form of teaching, research, or science-related activities, and the award is intended to acknowledge current and career-spanning achievements. The award carries with it a prize of $5,000, a certificate citing the contribution made by the recipient, plus travel expenses to attend the APS April Meeting, where the prize is bestowed. It will be presented annually.

The W.K.H. Panofsky prize recognizes and encourages outstanding achievements in experimental particle physics. The prize consists of $10,000, an allowance for travel to the meeting at which the prize is to be awarded, and a certificate citing the contributions made by the recipient. It is presented annually.

The Henry Primakoff Award for Early-Career Particle Physics recognizes outstanding contributions made by early-career physicists and helps promote the careers of exceptionally promising physicists. The prize is given annually and will consist of $3,000 and a certificate citing the contributions of the recipient, plus an allowance for travel to an APS meeting to receive the award and deliver an invited lecture.

The J. J. Sakurai Prize for Theoretical Particle Physics recognizes and encourages outstanding achievement in particle theory. The prize consists of $10,000, an allowance for travel to the meeting of the Society at which the prize is to be awarded, and a certificate citing the contributions made by the recipient. It will be presented annually.

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54th SLAC Summer Institute

Dear Colleagues:

The 54th SLAC Summer Institute will take place during the week of 10-14 Aug 2026; the theme is “Quantum Probes for a Quantum Universe”.

Advances in quantum sensors are opening up exceptional science opportunities in a wide range of fundamental physics areas, including dark matter, axion, gravity and the neutrino sector. Their exquisite performance has greatly extended the parameter space that can be studied experimentally, and further advances will continue to push the boundaries of our knowledge of fundamental physics. The lectures at the 54th SLAC Summer Institute will cover the principles of quantum sensors, their application in experiments to date and future prospects, providing a balance between technology and science.

The Institute lectures are primarily aimed at senior graduate students and postdocs while senior researchers are also welcome. No prior experience with quantum sensing is required. Presentation of topical results, participant projects, Q&A sessions, and social events supplement the morning lectures to create an invigorating environment for all participants.

The full program and further details can be found on the SSI website:

https://indico.slac.stanford.edu/e/ssi2026

For answers to questions, please contact us at ssi@slac.stanford.edu.

We hope to see you at SLAC this summer for SSI 2026!

The SSI 2026 Program Consultants and Directors,

Chelsea Bartram, Noah Kurinsky, Richard Partridge, Emmanuel Schaan, Su Dong, Kelly Stifter, Yun-Tse Tsai, Charlie Young, and Tom Rizzo (chair)

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RPC 2026, September 14-18, 2026

RPC 2026 will take place on September 14-18, 2026, at the Rio de Janeiro State University (UERJ), in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. General information is available on the conference website (https://rpc2026.uerj.br/) and on the event page (https://indico.global/event/15349/). This edition will be especially meaningful as it will be the first time the RPC Conference is held in Brazil and in South America.

The meeting is devoted to resistive plate chambers (RPCs) and related gaseous detector technologies, with topics spanning detector performance in high-energy physics experiments, production and quality assurance, instrumentation techniques, alternative gas mixtures and longevity studies, physics and simulation, and applied research. We believe these themes may be of interest to DPF members working on detector R&D, instrumentation, collider experiments, and related applications.

Abstract submission is open until June 24, 2026, and early registration will remain open until August 1, 2026.

Best regards,

Dr. Sandro Fonseca de Souza

Dr. Gilvan Augusto Alves

Chairs of the Local Organizing Committee, RPC 2026

info.rpc2026@uerj.br

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