The Arqus Student Council in Leipzig invites students from across the Alliance to an online game night on 15 May at 19:00 CEST, designed to bring together students in a relaxed, informal and engaging environment.
Science fiction is a genre that leaves few people indifferent. Some can’t take it seriously, while others can’t imagine their lives without it. Unsurprisingly, there are a lot of scientists among sci-fi fans. According to Dr Augustas Vaitkevičius, a researcher at Vilnius University’s (VU) Faculty of Physics, this is no coincidence. It’s almost bound to happen with a genre that encourages people to dream, to explore, and to test out even the strangest ideas. Above all, science fiction inspires us not to be afraid of imagining a different, better future.
The Association of Spanish Scientists in the Baltic Countries (ACEBaltic) announced the First Edition of the “Antonia Ferrín Moreiras” Award for the Best Doctoral Thesis in Astronomy and Astrophysics.
On 13 May, Europe will mark the first European Doctoral Day, a new continent-wide initiative dedicated to highlighting the role of doctoral education and PhD holders in research, innovation, and society. The initiative is planned as an annual event during Europe Month and brings together universities and academic networks across Europe.
By employing X-ray radiation alongside laser and organic semiconductor technologies, Vilnius University (VU) physicists are developing future materials. The research team aims to create a next-generation dosimetry platform – an advanced technological system capable of measuring, recording and analysing ionising radiation doses at the molecular level. According to researchers from the VU Faculty of Physics, the outcomes of these studies could be highly significant not only for more effective cancer diagnostics and biomedicine, but also for a wide range of other high‑technology sectors.
This two-day conference offers a unique opportunity to learn about the latest research conducted at the Extreme Light Infrastructure (ELI) science centre, open access possibilities, and cutting-edge laser plasma technologies. The event is intended for researchers, PhD students, engineers, and anyone interested in ultrafast laser sources, the effects of radiation on biological systems, advances in laser-driven particle acceleration, and the application of artificial intelligence in physics experiments.
Congratulations master’s student Aistė Štaupienė and bachelor’s student Adomas Strazdas – the winners of the Optoman Scholarship.
On 5 May Barkha Yakub Bale successfully defended her PhD thesis “Abundances of Chemical Elements in Magnetically Active Stars”. Supervisor – Prof. (HP) Gražina Tautvaišienė.
Vilnius University launches a call for funding interdisciplinary research projects by early-career researchers.
On 4 May, Ashutosh Sharma successfully defended his PhD thesis titled “Spectroscopic study of the planet-host stars“. Supervisor – Assoc. Prof. Edita Stonkutė.
“So, when does it get warm in Lithuania?” Dr Samarendra Nayak asks as our interview wraps up. A postdoctoral researcher at the Center for Nuclear and Particle Physics at Vilnius University’s Faculty of Physics, he arrived in Vilnius from his native India in the middle of winter and admits he has never experienced anything like this cold in his life. In Vilnius, he is adjusting not only to the climate but also to a different approach to work. Even so, Dr Nayak emphasises that Lithuania and India share more than you might expect, and that the language of science allows people from very different cultures to find common ground.
Vilnius University (VU) continues to be the most highly ranked among public and private universities in the national ranking of education and higher education institutions published by the magazine ‘Reitingai’. This year, VU scored 63.69 points out of a possible 100.
Researchers from the Faculty of Physics at Vilnius University (VU) have won a funding competition within the Lithuania–Japan bilateral project programme. The project will combine the expertise in pentaquark modelling of VU physicists, members of the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN) LHCb Vilnius group, and Nagoya University in Japan. Dr Mindaugas Šarpis lead the project in Lithuania.
Dr Kazimieras Černis of the Faculty of Physics at Vilnius University, who has named about 200 asteroids throughout his career, has received exceptional recognition – a celestial body has been named after him. A Spanish and Venezuelan astronomer and asteroid researcher, Professor Orlando Naranjo, named an asteroid he discovered after Dr Černis.
On 23–24 April, the Baltic Countries Magnetic Resonance Meeting gathered more than 70 scientists from across Europe at the VU Faculty of Physics.
The mind often feels like a given – it allows us to think, feel, decide, and create. Yet we rarely pause to ask: what actually is the mind, and where are its boundaries? On 14 May, the Vilnius University (VU) Discussion Club invites you to explore the mind from different perspectives: as a biological process, a subjective experience, a structure of thought, and increasingly, as something we attempt to recreate through technology. The event will be held in English.
Vilnius University (VU) invites doctoral students to apply for the fourth Multidisciplinary Doctoral Summer School, taking place on 15–19 June 2026 at the Botanical Garden of VU (Kairėnai, Vilnius).
From 21 to 24 April, Vilnius University (VU) hosted distinguished guests – members of the Executive Committee and Division Presidents of the International Astronomical Union (IAU). The organisation brings together astronomers from 102 countries worldwide; it serves as the principal global association of professional astronomers, coordinating scientific research, the naming of celestial bodies, and public education in astronomy. This was the first visit of its kind to Lithuania in the more than 100-year history of the IAU.
“The Universe doesn’t care what I like. It just does what it does,” said Prof. Brian P. Schmidt, a US-born Australian astrophysicist and 2011 Nobel Prize laureate in Physics. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for showing that the Universe is not only expanding, but that this expansion is accelerating. At Vilnius University, Prof. Schmidt outlined how we understand the evolution of the Universe today, from the discovery of its expansion to the unexpected realisation that this expansion is speeding up.
Vilnius University (VU), together with partners from the Arqus Alliance, is implementing an initiative aimed at strengthening awareness of research security and enhancing related institutional practices across the Alliance. The initiative promotes inter-institutional collaboration, the exchange of good practices, and capacity building among partner universities. As part of its implementation, a series of workshops and webinars is being organised, focusing on the development of secure research management.
