ICTP PWF: Physics For Bangladesh

The internship reports from the 2025 Online Summer Internship are now publicly available on our website:

https://physicsforbangladesh.org/internships/2025-online-summer-internship/

We sincerely thank all the mentors and interns for their time, guidance, and amazing work throughout the internship program. We are glad to help build meaningful connections between Bangladeshi students and researchers around the world.

This was the first program of its kind in Bangladesh. We are grateful to ICTP: International Centre for Theoretical Physics and ICTP Physics Without Frontiers for creating and supporting this space.

We plan to launch the program again this summer on a larger scale. Stay tuned!

More information:
https://indico.ictp.it/event/11348/
Registration:
https://zoom.us/meeting/register/XOCHcQwWTYegR_FRQK6Fvw

Thinking about applying for a Master’s or PhD in physics or related fields?

Join the next session of the ICTP PWF Professional Development Series:
“Navigating Master’s and PhD Applications in Physics and Related Fields.”

The session will bring together different perspectives on the graduate application process, featuring Marco Esposito (ICTP), Estelle Inack (Perimeter Institute, yiyaniQ, and University of Waterloo), and Joe Niemela (ICTP Scientist Emeritus). The discussion will be moderated by Natasa Stojic (Physics Without Frontiers).

Topics will include:
• what selection committees look for
• common mistakes in applications
• writing strong CVs and statements of purpose
• approaching potential supervisors
• experiences applying from the Global South

The session will conclude with an open Q&A.

More information:
https://indico.ictp.it/event/11348/

Registration:
https://zoom.us/meeting/register/XOCHcQwWTYegR_FRQK6Fvw

We are delighted to share that Professor Nafiz Ishtiaque from the Shanghai Institute for Mathematics and Interdisciplinary Sciences (SIMIS) and Shanto Chakroborty from the University of Dhaka have recently archived a paper titled:
“An Exact Spacetime Polymer Gas for Finite-Temperature ℤₙ Homological Quantum Code”

We are especially grateful that the authors acknowledged the contribution of ICTP Physics Without Frontiers Bangladesh Program in making this collaboration possible. We are also proud to mention that Shanto Chakroborty was a participant in the previous cohort of our mentorship program, where he worked under the supervision of Professor Nafiz Ishtiaque. Such acknowledgements are deeply meaningful to us, as they reflect the impact of building scientific connections across borders and creating opportunities for young researchers in Bangladesh to engage in international collaborations.

At ICTP PWF Physics for Bangladesh, one of our primary goals is to build bridges between young researchers and students in Bangladesh and leading researchers around the world. We strongly believe that meaningful scientific collaborations and mentorship can help nurture the next generation of physicists from Bangladesh and create opportunities for impactful research.
Paper link: https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.09122

We are looking for mentors — from PhD students to postdoctoral researchers and professors — for our mentorship program starting this July. If you are an active researcher and interested in being a part of our initiatives, please feel free to reach out to us at:

📧 Nabil Iqbal: [[email protected]]
📧 Ahmed Rakin Kamal: [[email protected]]

Together, let us continue building a stronger research community for Bangladesh. 🌍⚛️

ICTP: International Centre for Theoretical Physics
ICTP Physics Without Frontiers

The school is now ongoing! Those of you who couldn't register for the course can still access the recording and lecture notes from the course page.

Course Page: https://physicsforbangladesh.org/schools/math-physics-1/

We are excited to share that the PWF Bangladesh: Operators on Hilbert Space course has started! Running from 1 May to 5 July 2026 and held online (Asia/Dhaka), this course introduces unbounded operators on Hilbert spaces and their role in quantum mechanics. It explores key ideas such as infinite-dimensional spaces, the Dirac formalism, and the quantum harmonic oscillator, and is designed for students with a basic background in linear algebra who want to build a solid mathematical foundation for quantum theory.

We are excited to announce our upcoming School on Mathematics for Physics 1: Operators on Hilbert Spaces under ICTP PWF Physics For Bangladesh.

This short course is designed as a gentle introduction to the mathematics of quantum mechanics, with a special focus on operators on Hilbert spaces. Beginning from the contrast between finite-dimensional and infinite-dimensional Hilbert spaces, the school will gradually build toward topics such as unbounded operators, self-adjoint operators, spectrum, the spectral theorem, rigged Hilbert spaces, Dirac bra-ket formalism, canonical commutation relations, and the quantum harmonic oscillator.

The course will be taught by Dr. Onirban Islam, Postdoctoral Researcher at the Institute for Mathematics, University of Potsdam, Germany.

🔗 Details: https://physicsforbangladesh.org/schools/math-physics-1/

The application is now open. Apply by 25th April.

🔗 Application form: https://forms.gle/oEUPrYTtrneoLqXB9

We warmly encourage interested undergraduate students and early graduate students in physics and mathematics to apply. Please share this with anyone who may be interested.

Hello everyone, we are excited to announce our 2026 schedule for ICTP Physics Without Frontiers – Physics for Bangladesh! 🇧🇩✨

This year, we are bringing a rich lineup of programs covering mathematical physics, quantum mechanics, and more — along with our summer internship program.

𝐌𝐚𝐲–𝐉𝐮𝐥𝐲, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔 : 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐨𝐧 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐏𝐡𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐬 𝟏 (Operators on Hilbert Spaces)
This school will introduce key mathematical tools essential for modern physics, with a focus on operators on Hilbert spaces — a foundational concept for quantum theory and beyond.

𝐉𝐮𝐥𝐲–𝐎𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔 : 𝙎𝙪𝙢𝙢𝙚𝙧 𝙄𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙣𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙥 𝙋𝙧𝙤𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙢
Our internship program continues to provide Bangladeshi students with guided research or reading projects under the mentorship of PhD students and researchers. Participants will gain hands-on experience, build connections with the global research community, and explore advanced topics across physics and mathematics.

𝐀𝐮𝐠𝐮𝐬𝐭–𝐒𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔 : 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐨𝐧 𝐐𝐮𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐦 𝐌𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐐𝐮𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐦 𝐈𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧
This program will cover the fundamentals of quantum mechanics along with modern developments in quantum information, preparing students for both theoretical understanding and research applications.

𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔 – 𝐉𝐚𝐧𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐲, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟕 : 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐨𝐧 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐏𝐡𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐬 𝟐 (Basics of Differential Geometry)
Building on the first school, this course will introduce differential geometry — an essential framework for advanced topics such as general relativity and modern theoretical physics.

We look forward to another exciting year of learning, collaboration, and growth! 🚀

Stay tuned for application details and announcements.

Poster Credit: Walid Hasan

𝐌𝐞𝐫𝐮𝐥 𝐁𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐚 𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐬 | 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐡 & 𝐏𝐡𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐬 — 𝐔𝐩𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐋𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞

It’s been a while since our last session, and we’re excited to finally be back with a deep dive into advanced theoretical physics.

𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞: Bosonic Free-Field Representations of Conformal Field Theories

𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐫: Md Abdullah Al Hasib Sifat
Master’s student in Geometry & Quantum Fields,
Lomonosov Moscow State University

𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞: 8 February

𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞: 5:00 PM

𝐕𝐞𝐧𝐮𝐞: Room 9G-31T, BRAC University

𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: https://forms.gle/snSeVpdrZ5S9Neer7

This lecture will explore core ideas in Virasoro conformal field theory and bosonic free-field realizations, with applications to correlation functions and explicit examples such as the Wess–Zumino–Witten model. The session will also highlight current challenges and open problems in the field.

Open to students, researchers, and anyone interested in mathematical physics.

𝐏𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐨𝐫 𝐐𝐑 𝐜𝐨𝐝𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐝.

After a long break, we’re glad to resume our conversations at the intersection of mathematics and physics—hope to see you there.

𝐌𝐞𝐫𝐮𝐥 𝐁𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐚 𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐬 — 𝐔𝐩𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐋𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 (𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐡 & 𝐏𝐡𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐬) !!

We are pleased to announce an upcoming lecture by Kazi Fahim Reza Arko from BRAC University, focusing on anisotropic cosmological models and their extensions into higher-dimensional gravity and supergravity frameworks.

This talk dives into the geometry of the universe when symmetry is not your friend—and why Kasner solutions keep showing up where spacetime gets extreme.

𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞: A Universe with Kasner
𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐫: Kazi Fahim Reza Arko
Student, BRAC University
Research Intern, ICTP Physics Without Frontiers Bangladesh
𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞 & 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞: 18 December, 2025 | 5:00 PM
𝐕𝐞𝐧𝐮𝐞: 9G-31T, BRAC University
𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 (Required): https://forms.gle/Djs9b1bnhzXoQMec6

𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐤

The lecture begins with Bianchi-type universes and classical Kasner solutions, setting the stage for a broader discussion of Kasner-type metrics with arbitrary signatures. These models are explored within a d-dimensional gravitational framework, incorporating m-form fields and a dynamical scalar field.
The talk concludes with possible embeddings in string-inspired supergravity, connecting cosmology to high-energy theory.

All students, researchers, and physics enthusiasts are warmly invited to join the talk and take part in the discussion.

𝐒𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐐𝐑 𝐜𝐨𝐝𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐑𝐒𝐕𝐏.

Talk by Prof. Edward Witten going on!

We are excited to announce our next seminar. It is by Prof. Edward Witten!!

If you are interested to join the seminar, please fill up the following form. We will send you the link before the start of the seminar.

Link: https://forms.gle/3Rbcrviny8uwPAwm8