The primary objective was to combine exchange on state-of-the-art research in a variety of hep fields with addressing the shared issues of diversity, equity and inclusion prevalent in the physics community. The workshop was structured such that there were two days of talks, starting with physics research in the morning sessions and career development and diversity focused presentations in the afternoon followed by some social programme in the evening allowing for further discussions on the topics covered during the day. On the last day we hosted an interactive workshop led by an external consulting company regarding gender & diversity in academia, aiming at a reflection of the subconscious biases we have internalized and developing strategies to be an active bystander in situations of discrimination or harassment.
Day 1
The first day of the workshop opened with a captivating talk by Professor Ruth Britto, a leading expert in scattering amplitudes within high energy physics. Her presentation focused on the BCFW recursion, a foundational technique that has influenced numerous other methods in this area. This was followed by a series of short talks delivered by early-career researchers, showcasing their ongoing work. Among these, three presentations centered on scattering amplitudes derived from Feynman integrals, emphasizing their relevance to particle phenomenology. Additionally, two talks focused on gravity—one addressing computations related to classical spinning black holes, and the other exploring the double copy connection between gauge and gravity theories.The afternoon session was opened by Sophia Borowka, a former high-energy physicist who has since transitioned to entrepreneurship and corporate work giving insights on “Life outside academia as a physicist”.
Based on her own experiences she drew parallels and differences between careers within or outside of academia and emphasized the importance of open communication and self-reflection in any professional role.
The day's focus then shifted towards diversity and equity with a talk by Pauline Gagnon. She highlighted the largely unrecognized contributions of Mileva Marić Einstein, discussing the mechanisms that denied her a successful career as a physicist in the early 20th century.
The day concluded with a reception and poster session, which fostered stimulating conversations. Topics ranged from the application of Monte Carlo methods in material physics and lattice QCD, to an impromptu blackboard discussion on Feynman integrals and their potential applications in phenomenology with an interesting exchange of ideas between phenomenologists form Bonn and more mathematically inspired researchers.
Day 2
The second day of the workshop began with an engaging and accessible lecture by senior scientist Teresa Marrodán Undagoitia, who presented on dark matter searches using Xenon. Her detailed yet clear explanation sparked a number of questions from the audience, leading to an insightful discussion.Following this, we had another session where early-career scientists shared their research. The presentations covered a broad range of topics, including lattice QCD, artificial intelligence, the ALICE experiment, long-lived particles, and algorithms for tensor reductions in Feynman integrals. Each talk generated lively questions and discussions, highlighting the diversity of expertise and interests within the group.
The afternoon kicked off with a career development talk by Professor Claude Duhr from Bonn, focused on navigating an academic career. He provided practical advice on applying for postdoc positions and grants, breaking down the process at various career stages, and offering valuable tips on avoiding common pitfalls. The session was highly interactive, with many questions from the audience both during and after the talk. Senior members of the audience also contributed their own insights, adding further depth to the conversation.
The rest of the day was dedicated explicitly to diversity and equity. It began with two talks by women from different generations, both addressing these crucial topics. The first talk by Juliane von Scherpenberg focused on the efforts she and her collaborators are making to establish a regular survey to monitor diversity but also discrimination in a large scientific collaboration. Based on the results several measures to make a scientific collaboration a safe place for everyone were discussed. This talk was both enlightening and inspiring, highlighting the practical steps they are taking and sharing tools so others can build on their work.
The day concluded with a powerful talk by retired particle physicist Pauline Gagnon. She shared her personal experiences of navigating discrimination throughout her career in physics, connecting them to broader studies on discrimination related to gender, sexual orientation, race, class and other factors as well as their intersections. Her reflections offered a deeply personal yet universal perspective on the challenges faced by underrepresented groups in science.
The day ended with a screening of the movie “Picture a scientist” where multiple female scientists talk about the challenges they faced during their careers. Statistics, primarily on the role of gender and the intersection of gender and race in science in the United States are quoted throughout the movie, showcasing that the individual struggles are representative of systemic sexism and racism.
Day 3
On this day, we hosted an interactive workshop led by an external consulting company specializing in gender diversity in academia and unconscious bias, particularly within the German academic context. The workshop combined brief, informative presentations with group work sessions, where participants engaged in discussions about challenges and potential solutions. By rotating group members across different topics, we ensured that everyone had the chance to exchange perspectives with a diverse set of participants, fostering a rich exchange of ideas. This format provided a valuable conclusion to the workshop, enabling a wide variety of opinions to be heard and considered.
