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On 16 June, the graduation ceremony of the VU Faculty of Physics took place at the Church of St. Johns. 97 students completed their Bachelor’s studies and 67 students – Master’s studies in the physical, engineering and technological sciences.

Vilnius University (VU) Faculty of Physics Institute of Chemical Physics PhD student Arunjyoti Baidya and Prof. Darius Abramavičius are working on a “PhotoCAM” (Photosynthetic Antennas in a Computational Microscope) project to better understand photosynthesis. Using theoretical and computational methods, the researchers aim to identify the most efficient ways to capture light energy and control energy production.

On the evening of June 11, guests enjoyed guided tours of the Faculty of Physics’ photography exhibition Spectrum of Stories. Prof. Vytautas Balevičius, together with representatives of Physicists’ Day (FiDi) and the Vilnius University Students’ Representation at the Faculty of Physics – Eglė Kulionytė and Vėjas Urbonas – shared a rich collection of stories that brought context and depth to the moments captured in the photographs.

It is with profound sadness that we mourn the passing of Professor Michael Shur, Honorary Doctor of Vilnius University, foreign member of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences, professor at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (USA), and a distinguished physicist whose contributions to semiconductor physics and electronics have shaped the field for decades. Professor Shur passed away on 6 June 2026, at the age of 84.

Vilnius University (VU) offers international students applying to Bachelor and Master study programmes not only the opportunity to study at one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in the region, but also to receive state funding for their studies. One student who has experienced this first-hand is Sean Christopher Fitzpatrick, an Irish student enrolled in the ‘Politics of Global Challenges’ study programme. For Sean, receiving a state-funded study place made a tangible difference to his time in Lithuania by easing some of the financial pressure and providing greater security while studying abroad.

Researchers from the Faculty of Physics at Vilnius University have developed a theoretical model that allows atoms to be “pre-programmed” by light alone to reshape laser beams that carry both a twist and a polarisation. The study by master’s student Dharma Prasetya Permana, alongside Dr Mažena Mackoit-Sinkevičienė, Dr Julius Ruseckas, and Dr Hamid Reza Hamedi from the Institute of Theoretical Physics and Astronomy, opens a magnet-free route to controlling structured light for quantum technologies. The research was recently published in the prestigious journal “Physical Review A”.

The international conference “Nordic-Baltic Astronomy Days 2026” took place in Turku from May 26 to 29. The event aimed to strengthen scientific ties between the Nordic and Baltic countries and to promote joint research. This is an important regional event for the astronomy community, in which Lithuania actively participates, contributing to international cooperation and the advancement of astronomical science.

At a meeting held on May 25, the Central Election Commission of Vilnius University assessed the compliance of the candidates listed on the rosters submitted by the core academic units with the requirements set forth in the legal acts governing the election of members of the Vilnius University Senate, and registered the candidates for Senate membership.

The seminar will present experimental studies of wavepacket propagation in a dissipative engineered quantum chain. The work implements a non-Hermitian synthetic lattice with an abrupt interface between dissipative and non-dissipative sub-chains, using the hyperfine manifold states of an Rb-87 Bose–Einstein condensate. By tuning the dissipation strength, the researchers observed the crossover between ballistic propagation, near-perfect absorption, and quantum Zeno reflection. Numerical simulations revealed that optimal absorption occurs when tunnelling and dissipation are properly matched.

A prestigious Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship has been granted to Dr Dimitra Ladika, a researcher at the Laser Research Center of the Faculty of Physics at Vilnius University (VU LRC). She will implement the project “Multiphoton Lithography and Advanced Materials Engineering for the Generation of Shaped Single and Multispectral Emission at the Nanoscale (SHINE)”. This time, it is the only MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship grant in Lithuania.

From 14 to 17 May, Rector of Vilnius University (VU), Prof. Rimvydas Petrauskas, and Pro-Rector for Partnerships, Dr Artūras Vasiliauskas, visited the Czech Republic. During their time in Prague, the VU representatives discussed cooperation with Charles University, visited the Extreme Light Infrastructure (ELI) Beamlines Facility, and met with members of the Lithuanian community living in the country.

“Marking the Faculty’s sixtieth anniversary, we invited our community to share their most memorable moments. Colleagues, alumni, and students remember a wide variety of stories. We warmly invite you to discover or revisit them: to pause for a moment in the corridors and stairwells of the III Building at Saulėtekioav. 9,” says Dean Prof. Dr Aidas Matijošius.