June 2026 Newsletter

Dear DPF members,

Please find below the monthly DPF newsletter for June 2026. This newsletter will be archived on the DPF website. If you would like an announcement included in the July 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 supports a Slack instance where you can make contact with other particle physicists and get rapid communications on community issues. Contact Bob Bernstein, rhbob@fnal.gov, for an invitation.

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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Community action on proposed federal regulations

The Office of Management and Budget has proposed new regulations that will have a major impact on how research is performed in the United States, including a reduced role for peer review in funding decisions and constraints on international collaboration. The American Physical Society is organizing a grassroots campaign to push back on these changes to a system that has served science well. See https://www.aps.org/about/news/2026/06/american-science-innovation-risk for more information, and look for future updates about the campaign.

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Call for nominations for the DPF Executive Committee

The APS Division of Particles and Fields Nominating Committee requests your assistance in identifying candidates to stand for office in this fall’s DPF elections. This year, we will be electing people to these offices:

Vice Chair (1 position, 2027, then Chair Elect in 2028, Chair in 2029, and Past Chair in 2030)

Executive Committee Member-at-Large (2 positions, 2027-2029)

Early Career Member-at-Large (1 position, must be a postdoctoral researcher, 2027-2028)

We invite you to nominate outstanding colleagues to be on this year’s ballot. Nominations should be submitted here by July 31, 2026. Self-nominations are welcome. The Nominating Committee works to ensure diversity, equity, and inclusion in all elections, so we ask you to suggest nominees who will represent the diversity of our division membership in all its forms.

Guided by our core values, APS encourages nominations that reflect the full range of talent, distinction, and experience in our field, and supports broad canvassing for professionals across diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and expertise.

All elected candidates will begin their terms on January 1, 2027. More details about current officers and related governance information can be found on the DPF Website. Governance of DPF is an important act of service to our community, and we thank you in advance for helping identify excellent candidates.

Mitch Soderberg (on behalf of the DPF Nominating Committee, msoderbe@syr.edu)

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Summary of May 2026 DPF-DNP Community Meeting

DPF hosted an online community meeting on May 21 and 22, 2026, with the second day held jointly with DNP.

The first day featured a presentation by Gina Rameika (DOE) on the current financial outlook for particle physics in the US and the constraints that it places on current and future projects. This was followed by presentations from representatives of various projects about how they are moving forward given the constraints. Fermilab Director Norbert Holtkamp on the lab’s projects and goals.

The second day focused on synergies and interactions between the particle and nuclear physics communities, which has attracted new interest in light of the recent merger of the DOE Offices of High Energy Physics and Nuclear Physics. Gina Ramieka and Keith Dienes (NSF) offered perspectives from their respective agencies, and Hitoshi Maruyama (DPF) and Nadia Fomin (DNP) described the history of community interactions with the agencies. Additional presentations described areas of overlapping interest between the two communities in neutrino interactions, theory, low-background and cryogenic detectors, and collider detectors.

Recordings of selected presentations will be posted on the agenda pages. The next DPF virtual community is tentatively scheduled for December 2026.

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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/. Registration is still open until June 22 for in-person attendance and July 1 for virtual attendance.

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.

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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New Networking Opportunity at DPF26

All career levels welcome!

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

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

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59th Annual Fermilab Users and Affiliates Meeting – July 24, 2026 at Fermilab

The 59th Annual Fermilab Users and Affiliates Meeting (UAM) will be held on July 24, 2026 at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab). This year’s UAM will be held in-person and partially in conjunction with the DPF 2026 conference (also at Fermilab). All registered attendees of the UAM are welcome to attend the last day of the DPF 2026 conference. This will include several open plenary sessions and a panel on the future of HEP.

The afternoon of July 24 will be fully dedicated to an exciting UAM program focused on Fermilab activities. Dr. Herman White will deliver the keynote address and Fermilab Director Norbert Holtkamp will conclude the scientific program. The program will also include a presentation from University Research Association, Inc. (URA) and honorary award presentations.

The day will be capped by the annual Festa Italiana at the Fermilab Users Center.

On Thursday July 23, DPF 2026 and the UAM will jointly a poster session and reception. Awards will be given for the top posters associated with the UAM. Abstracts can be submitted through the UAM website (https://indico.fnal.gov/event/73552/abstracts/).

Registration is free and the meeting is open to all Fermilab users, affiliates, employees, retirees, and DPF 2026 attendees. Register through the meeting website: https://indico.fnal.gov/event/73552/

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Nominations for APS Dissertation Awards Due Soon!

Nominations for APS Dissertation Awards are due August 31, 2026. You need to be a member of DPF and APS to nominate.

The Mitsuyoshi Tanaka Dissertation Award recognizes exceptional early-career scientists who have performed original doctoral thesis work of outstanding scientific quality and achievement in experimental particle physics.

The J. J. and Noriko Sakurai Dissertation Award recognizes exceptional early-career scientists who have performed original doctoral thesis work of outstanding scientific quality and achievement in the area of theoretical particle physics.

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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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