ICP Welcome

Invitation from Prof Silvina Ponce Dawson, President of IUPAP

Dear Colleagues,

It is a great pleasure for me to invite you, on behalf of IUPAP, to attend the first in the new series of International Conferences on Physics (ICP) that we decided to organize back to back with the Union’s in-person General Assemblies. This time the conference, hosted by the Southern Africa Physics Network in partnership with the South African Institute of Physics, will take place in Johannesburg in October 2027 addressing the very timely issue of “Physics and Sustainable Development: equitable wellbeing on a healthy, lively planet”.

The challenges we are facing are extraordinary to keep our planet habitable while extending a decent life to all. Physics is the discipline that quantifies the limits we are pressing against— Earth’s energy balance, the dynamics of ice and ocean, the nonlinear thresholds that make a system tip— and it is also key in supplying much of what a just transition could run on: energy storage, efficient materials, and monitoring instrumentation, among others.

The aim of this conference is to bring together those who are using physics to advance in many of these aspects and to inspire others to address some of these issues, to rethink the questions we ask as physicists and the themes we teach to the new generations. If your work touches energy, climate, materials, measurement, or the modelling of complex systems, you are most welcome to participate in the conference. If you do research in other areas but you are curious or think you can contribute to make our planet a healthier and livelier place for all, you are most welcome as well. Please take part in the broad conversation that we expect will stem from this new ICP.

Looking forward to seeing you in Johannesburg, I send you my best regards.

Silvina Ponce Dawson
IUPAP President.

Welcome message from Prof Rudolph Erasmus, Chair of the LOC

It is my great pleasure to welcome delegates to the IUPAP supported International Conference on Physics 2027 (IUPAP ICP 2027), taking place from 21-23 October 2027 at the Indaba Hotel and Conference Centre, Johannesburg, South Africa. The theme of the conference is “Physics for Sustainable Development: Equitable Wellbeing on a Healthy, Lively Planet”. This is the first time that a conference with this theme is being held by IUPAP and it is anticipated that it will be the first of several such conferences.

The Physics Focus of the ICP will be: The roles that physics is playing, and should be playing, in the present climate crisis of our planet.

This ICP provides a forum for high level exchange of knowledge, current research and new developments under the umbrella of its theme. It will strengthen the role of physics as a foundational discipline addressing complex sustainability challenges including climate change, sustainable energy systems, environmental resilience, and health technologies. In addition to the multi- and trans-disciplinary nature of the presentations, the importance of the role of research undertaken in the developing world and in the host continent, Africa, will be highlighted. It is vital that physics-based solutions are internationally recognised, locally relevant and aligned with the goals of the UN International Decade of Science for Sustainable Development (IDSSD 2024-2033) and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

The conference programme outline and more information on the conference theme is provided on this website and other information will be added as it becomes available.

We look forward to your attendance and participation in the IUPAP ICP 2027!

Yours sincerely
Prof Rudolph Erasmus
Chair: LOC