From Thursday, 30 October to Tuesday, 4 November 2025, the PhoenixD Cluster of Excellence at Leibniz University Hannover and Heidelberg University will jointly host the 1st workshop on Photonic Computing and Machine Learning under the direction of professors Antonio Calà Lesina, Wolfram Pernice, and Birgit Stiller. This is the kick-off event of the newly established International School on Physical Computing at the Ettore Majorana Foundation in Erice (Sicily), Italy, and organized within the ICOPC initiative.
The workshop will focus on photonic computing and machine learning. Specifically, on the role of photonic systems in next-generation information processing. The participants will discuss topics such as photonic accelerators for machine learning, neuromorphic architectures, hybrid photonic-electronic systems, optical processing via metamaterials, and their applications in classical and quantum photonics.
Leading scientists from renowned international institutions, including the Universities of Oxford, Paris Cité, EPFL Lausanne, Ottawa, McGill, Roma La Sapienza, Imperial College London, Pohang University of Science and Technology, and many others, have been invited to present their current research projects.
Confirmed speakers:
- Pierre Berini - University of Ottawa, Canada
- Harish Bhaskaran - University of Oxford, UK
- Francesco Da Ros - Technical University of Denmark, Denmark
- Costantino De Angelis - University of Brescia, Italy
- Michael Kues - PhoenixD, Leibniz University Hannover
- Mario Krenn - University of Tübingen, Germany
- Giuseppe Leo - Paris Cité University, France
- Sean Molesky - Polytechnique Montréal, Canada
- Demetri Psaltis - EPFL, Switzerland
- Junsuk Rho - Pohang University of Science and Technology, South Korea
- Nir Rotenberg - Queens University, Canada
- Riccardo Sapienza - Imperial College London, UK
- Carsten Schuck - University of Münster, Germany
- Fabio Sciarrino - Sapienza University of Rome, Italy
- Bhavin J. Shastri - Queen's University, Canada
- Uğur Teğin - Koc University, Turkey
- Nathan Youngblood - University of Pittsburgh, USA
- Kai Wang - McGill University, Canada
The initiative aims to promote interdisciplinary exchange and highlight new approaches to computing with optical physical systems. The format focuses on invited presentations and active participation by young scientists via short talks and poster sessions.
The participation fee for the six-day workshop is €750 and includes accommodation, meals, transfer from Palermo Airport and a social programme. Scholarships are available for a limited number of participants.
