Mechanics Workshop 2026

Conference Program

Sunday, December 6

Arrival, dinner on your own

 

Monday, December 7

Breakfast: 7:30 am – 8:30 am, Plaza Ballroom (3rd floor of hotel)
Welcome Remarks & Logistics:
Vikram Deshpande (Cambridge University) and Pradeep Sharma (University of Houston)
Morning Session: Nuclear Fusion and Fission
Moderators: Thomas Pardoen (UCLouvain, Belgium), Seth Putterman (University of California, Los Angeles), Venkat “Selva” Selvamanickam (University of Houston)
Coffee Break: 10:15 am – 10:30 am
Lunch: 12:15 pm – 1:30 pm, Plaza Ballroom (3rd floor of hotel)
Afternoon Session: Quantum Sciences
Moderators: Andrea Ferrari (Cambridge University), Boris Yakobson (Rice University), Amartya Banerjee (University of California, Los Angeles), Shafayat Hossain (University of California, Los Angeles)
Ice Cream Break: 3:15 pm – 3:30 pm
Welcome Reception: 5:30 p.m. Monarch Ballroom (24th floor of hotel)
Drinks and appetizers, dinner on your own

 

Tuesday, December 8

Breakfast: 7:30 am – 8:30 am, Plaza Ballroom (3rd floor of hotel)
Morning Session: Artificial and Physical Intelligence
Moderators: Miguel Bessa (Brown University), Tianshu Lu (Meta), Xuanhe Zhao (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
Coffee Break: 10:15 am – 10:30 am
Lunch: 12:15 pm – 1:30 pm, Plaza Ballroom (3rd floor of hotel)
Afternoon Session: Human Health
Moderators: Gang Bao (Rice University), Xuanhe Zhao (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), Dennis Discher (University of Pennsylvania)
Ice Cream Break: 3:15 pm – 3:30 pm
Reception & Banquet: 5:30 p.m. Monarch Ballroom (24th floor of hotel)

 

Wednesday, December 9

Breakfast: 7:30 am – 8:30 am, Plaza Ballroom (3rd floor of hotel)
Final Session: Space Exploration
Moderators: Sergio Pellegrino (California Institute of Technology), Dmitris Lagoudas (Texas A&M University), Mark Hilburger (NASA), Kevin Bowcutt (Boeing)
Coffee Break: 10:15 am – 10:30 am
Lunch: 12:15 pm – 1:30 pm, Plaza Ballroom (3rd floor of hotel)