Some of the world’s leading physicists will gather at the University of Johannesburg’s (UJ’s) Auckland Park Kingsway Campus, on July 7, for the annual Institute of Physics conference, which will be opened by Science and Technology Minister Naledi Pandor.

Hosted by UJ’s Faculty of Science, the four-day conference was expected to attract over 490 physicists from around the country, along with several guest speakers from the Americas, Europe and Asia.

“The conference happens at a time when there are several major developments generating excitement not only in the physics community but in broader society as well.

“Much of the scientific discussions at the conference are expected to focus on these developments, as well as the potential of new discoveries,” said UJ Faculty of Science Professor Hartmut Winkler.

Plenary speakers would include theoretical physicist Professor Toshimi Suda, from the Tohoku University, in Japan; nanoscientist Professor Eric Fullerton, from San Diego University, in the US; photovoltaics expert Professor Vladimar Djakanov, from Germany; photonics specialist Professor Miles Padgett, from Glasgow University; astrophysicist Megan Donahue, from Michigan University, in the US; Professor Cedic Linder, from Sweden; and Professor Marcia Barosa, from Brazil.