Launching Salam's Centennial Year

In 2026, ICTP celebrates the centennial of its founder, Abdus Salam, who would have turned 100 on 29 January 2026. ICTP will be honouring the indelible impact Salam made in theoretical physics, science in the developing world, and science diplomacy with events throughout the year.

Celebrations start the week of 26 January, with the annual Salam Distinguished Lectures.  This year's series, which is titled "From Quantum Information to Transformative Technologies—A Journey of Remarkable Discoveries"  will feature two speakers: Peter Zoller  of the University of Innsbruck, Austria, and Ignacio Cirac of the Max-Planck Institut für Quantenoptik, Germany. The talks will take place from Tuesday 27 to Thursday 29 January, in ICTP's Budinich Lecture Hall. More details about the times for each lecture can be found here.

Continuing with the theme of quantum science, ICTP will hold a panel discussion immediately following the final Salam Distinguished lecture on 29 January. Titled "Opportunities and Challenges of Quantum Science and Technology", the panel will feature quantum experts from academia and industry who will discuss the implications of this rapidly developing field. The event starts at 11:00 in the Budinich Lecture Hall and is open to all; pre-registration is required. Confirmed panelists include Tommaso Calarco of the University of Bologna,Italy, and Forschungszentrum Jülich, Germany; Sabrina Maniscalco, CEO and Co-Founder of the quantum startup Algorithmiq, Finland; Dragan Mihailovic of the Jozef Stefan Institute, the CENN Nanocenter and the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia; and Peter Zoller of the Institute of Quantum Optic and Quantum Information, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Austria.

The discussion will take place at the end of the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology (IYQ) proclaimed by the United Nations and celebrated in 2025. ICTP has been a major partner of the initiative, whose scientific committee was chaired by ICTP Senior Research Scientist Rosario Fazio, who will take part in the IYQ’s closing event next February in Ghana.

ICTP thanks the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences (KFAS) for the ongoing, generous support of the Salam Distinguished Lectures series as well as this year's related panel discussion.

Following its annual tradition, on 29 January -- Salam's birthday -- ICTP will also announce the recipient of the 2026 Spirit of Abdus Salam award, which honours those in the ICTP community who, like Salam himself, have worked tirelessly to promote the development of science and technology in disadvantaged parts of the world.

More details about Salam centennial events can be viewed here.