SECOND CIRCULAR
The 12^th International Conference on Clustering Aspects of Nuclear Structure and Dynamics 2026 (CLUSTER’26)

📅 Date(s): 8-12^th June 2026

📍 Venue: Institute of Physics (IOP), London, United Kingdom

Web: https://iop.eventsair.com/clusters26/

·       Abstract submission is open and has been extended. It will now close at the end of the day 15^th March 2026.

·       Conference registration is open now. Early registration deadline is 30^th April 2026.

 

The Conference on Clustering Aspects of Nuclear Structure and Dynamics 2026 (Cluster’26) (https://iop.eventsair.com/clusters26/) is a conference nominally occurring once every four years that brings together the international nuclear cluster physics community and speakers to highlight both national and international progress in the field. A consortium of UK Universities (University of Birmingham, The University of Manchester, Sheffield Hallam University, University of Edinburgh, University of Surrey, and University of York)  will be jointly hosting the conference, in partnership with the UK Institute of Physics (IOP) at the IOP Headquarters in London. The conference will be from 8^th -12^th June 2026. The range of topics will include:

·       Cluster structures in stable and unstable nuclei

·       Clustering in exotic nuclei, nuclear molecules and few-cluster systems

·       Clustering aspects of nuclear reactions

·       Symmetries and clustering

·       Clustering in nuclear matter and neutron stars

·       Few-body systems and the link to clustering

·       Nuclear fission, superheavy nuclei, cluster decay

·       Nuclear structure and reactions

·       Cluster physics and nuclear astrophysics

·       Analogues of nuclear clustering in quark and atomic systems

·       Clustering in hypernuclei

·       Selected applications of clustered nuclei

  

INVITED SPEAKERS
Confirmed invited speakers list is available at [will continue to be updated]

https://iop.eventsair.com/clusters26/speakers

CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
CLUSTER’26 will begin in the morning of 8^th June 2026, with a day of talks initiated by an overview of progress since the last conference and a social reception that evening. Invited and contributed presentations will take place from 8^th –12^th June 2026 with poster sessions being scheduled for the morning of 10^th June. The conference will conclude around lunchtime on the 12^th June with a closing session and brief open discussion on future challenges and directions for the field.

SPECIAL EARLY CAREER RESEARCHER (ECR) SESSION
During the conference, on 11^th June 2026, the organisers will host a special Early Career Researchers session. This session will have a specific focus on PhD students and early career postdocs, within 5 years of post-PhD experience (excluding any career breaks). The date of the session was arranged so that the PhD students and postdocs could easily and cost-effectively solely attend the final two days, including the conference dinner, without any additional accommodation and subsistence fees if funding was limited.

 

CONFERENCE VENUE AND ACCESS
The conference will be held at the “Institute of Physics”, located in the heart of London’s King Cross area – a short distance away from the famous Platform 9 ¾, the international Eurostar St Pancras station and the British Museum.

A document detailing the conference venue accessibility is available here.

The building can be accessed from St Pancras International Station or King’s Cross railway station, a few hundred metres away, serviced by London’s many airports (Gatwick, Heathrow, Stansted) with good access options via London’s Underground tube network to King's Cross St Pancras.

 

SOCIAL EVENTS

The following social events are planned:

·       Welcome reception on the evening of Monday 8^th June

·       Open afternoon for excursions on Wednesday 10^th June

·       Conference dinner on Thursday 11^th June (venue to be confirmed)

 

ABSTRACT SUBMISSION
Online abstract submission for CLUSTER’26 and associated guidelines  will be available from February 09^th 2026, through March 6^th/9^th 15^th 2026, on the following web page:

https://iop.eventsair.com/clusters26/abstract-submission

Automatic acknowledgement of submission will be sent to registered e-mail. If your abstract has been selected for an oral or a poster contribution, the presenters will be informed by the first week of April 2026.

 

REGISTRATION
The online registration form for CLUSTER’26 is now open. Detailed payment instructions are provided on the registration webpage

 https://iop.eventsair.com/clusters26/register

Early Registration Deadline: 30^th April 2026
Registration Deadline: 28^th May 2026

Regular Early Registration Fee £450
Regular Standard Registration Fee £550 (after 30^th April 2026)
ECR Early Registration Fee £300
ECR Standard Registration Fee £400 (after 30^th April 2026)

Important: Please note that ECR registration fees will be offered only to 32 selected ECRs (PhD students and ECRs < 5 years post-PhD, excluding career breaks) and 8 invited ECR speakers.

 We kindly ask you to complete your registration.

The registration fee will cover the following items:

·       Welcome reception

·       All conference sessions

·       Conference programme

·       Lunches at the IOP HQ during the conference (Monday-Thursday)

·       Coffee breaks (morning and afternoon)

·       Conference banquet dinner

 

For accompanying persons, the fee covers: Welcome reception, Accompanying-person programme and Conference banquet dinner. Details of the accompanying-person registration will be announced later on the same webpage. Registration is considered complete once the registration fee has been paid.  For questions regarding payment, please contact  fatima.kanu@iop.org

 

FINANCIAL SUPPORT AND AWARDS FOR EARLY-CAREER RESEARCHERS
Partial financial support is available for early-career researchers (PhD students and ECRs < 5 years post-PhD, excluding career breaks) who require assistance to attend the conference thanks to specific support from our kind sponsors EMMI and EUROLABS. For those ECRs who are unable to attend without support, please request support during the abstract submission phase. We can support up to 32 ECRs +8 Invited ECRs. As a part of this support selected applicants will receive ECR registration in place of the full registration fee (£150 discount). Allocation will be determined by the local organising committee, based on the strength of individual cases and the level of support available from applicants' home institutions. Decisions will be made without reference to applicants’ country of origin, which will not be used as a criterion in the allocation process. 


Awards will be presented on the final day of the conference for the best oral presentations and posters delivered by early-career researchers, including graduate students.

 

CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS
Conference proceedings will be electronically published as a volume by IOP Publishing. Conference Proceedings can be accessed and downloaded freely, and we particularly encourage Early Career Researchers to submit contributions. Details of the proceedings will be announced later. The fee for conference proceedings is included in the registration fees.


 

VISA ASSISTANCE
Conference participants requiring visa support letters are kindly asked to contact at conferences@iop.org after the acceptance of their abstracts. Visa related information is available at https://iop.eventsair.com/clusters26/visas .

 

ACCOMMODATION
Information regarding local hotels is available on the conference website with a variety of national chain hotels in the area. Other cost-effective options are available a short walk away in the nearby Bloomsbury and Fitzrovia areas.

https://iop.eventsair.com/clusters26/hotels

WEBSITE AND CONTACT
Conference website: https://iop.eventsair.com/clusters26/

General enquiries: fatima.kanu@iop.org and conference@iop.org 

Inquiries related only to scientific issues: IOPcluster2026@gmail.com

 

SUMMARY OF IMPORTANT DATES

Abstract submission deadline (extended): 6^th/9^th 15^thMarch 2026

Abstract acceptance notification: First week of April 2026

Early registration deadline:  30^th April 2026

Online registration deadline: 28^th May 2026

 

SPONSORS
We recognise kind support from EMMI, EuroLabs, NuPECC, MIRION Technologies, in particular to support the attendance of Early Career Researchers.

 

ORGANISING COMMITTEE:

Jack Bishop, University of Birmingham (Chair)

Jagjit Singh, The University of Manchester (Co-Chair)

https://iop.eventsair.com/clusters26/

Robin Smith, Sheffield Hallam University (Co-Chair)

Marialuisa Aliotta, University of Edinburgh

Kevin Becker, University of Edinburgh (ECR-Representative)

David Jenkins, University of York

Alison Laird, University of York

Ragandeep Singh Sidhu, University of Surrey