News

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.

Lasers have become an indispensable part of modern infrastructure – often operating out of sight, yet essential to countless technological processes. Without lasers, today’s world would simply come to a standstill. Their applications span everyday technologies, medical and industrial equipment, and fundamental research laboratories. However, it is not widely recognised that one of the most remarkable success stories in this field is being written in Lithuania.

On May 21 at 15:30 at VU Library’s Scholarly Communication and Information Centre (MKIC), Saulėtekio ave. 5, Dr Antonia Varela, a researcher in Night Sky Protection and President of the Starlight Foundation, will give a public lecture.

On 17 April, Matas Plūkys successfully defended his PhD thesis titled “Microchip Lasers with Spatial- and Polarization-Filtering Metamirrors“. Supervisor – Prof. Dr Kęstutis Staliūnas, consultant – Dr Darius Gailevičius.

Starting your studies at Vilnius University (VU) is an exciting step, and a little preparation in advance can make your arrival much smoother. Make sure you have all the necessary documents ready, your accommodation arranged, and that you are familiar with the key integration events designed to help you settle in. 

Lithuania has every reason to be proud of being home to some of the world’s most talented laser scientists and globally recognised companies. The Physics Faculty Laser Research Center (LRC) at Vilnius University (VU) is at the forefront of the field. Historically, it has been the major hub of laser physics, and today the centre is training the next generation of laser physics specialists and future scientist-innovators. Another recent milestone was reached this year when VU signed a partnership agreement with ELI (Extreme Light Infrastructure), marking a new chapter in collaboration and further strengthening of both VU’s and Lithuania’s role in this unique research ecosystem.

Vilnius University (VU) community is invited to participate in the annual spring clean-up event #VUŠVARU, which will take place on 23 April this year. Participants will not only engage in meaningful, environmentally beneficial activities but also take part in a contest – the participant with the most interesting find will receive a subscription to the VU Health and Sport Center.

CERN has announced a breakthrough from the Large Hadron Collider beauty (LHCb) experiment at the Large Hadron Collider, revealing the discovery of a new particle. This particle belongs to a category called baryons. The familiar baryons include protons and neutrons, the particles found at the centre of atoms. Dr Adam Benjamin Morris, a researcher of the LHCb Vilnius group at the Faculty of Physics of Vilnius University (VU), says that this discovery by LHCb resolves a quarter-century controversy over its existence and properties.

Scientists from Vilnius University’s (VU) Faculty of Physics, drawing on tools used in quantum technologies, have collaborated with an international team to develop a promising new spectroscopic device – a superconducting microwave microresonator. The innovative study has been published in the prestigious journal “Small Methods”. This achievement expands the range of applications of microresonators and paves the way for studying trace amounts of a wide variety of materials.

Arqus on the Move launches the third call for Twinning projects for the academic year 2026/2027.

"Open Readings" invites you to join a Nobel laureate Professor Brian Schmidt’s lecture “State of the Universe”.

Ministry of Education, Science and Sport invites the most talented students of Lithuanian higher education institutions to apply for Nominal Scholarships of the Presidents of the Republic of Lithuania Republic of Lithuania Aleksandras Stulginskis (mathematics, informatics, and physical sciences study fields group) and Jonas Žemaitis (engineering sciences study fields and technology sciences study fields group).

Light as the focal point of the research conducted by Valdas Šablinskas, Professor at the Faculty of Physics of Vilnius University (VU), a laureate of the Science Prize, is not a metaphor. It is a precise, calibrated, laser-controlled tool that allows one to examine places the human eye cannot see – the molecular structure of cells, biochemical changes, and early pathological processes. This light is used to create sensitive biosensors, detect early signs of oncological changes, and refine chemical analysis of materials in clinical practice.

“It’s a really nice experience. Study-wise and career-wise”, smiles student from Greece Ioanna-Angeliki Petsi, speaking about her life at Vilnius University (VU) in Lithuania. She is pursuing a master’s degree in the Laser Physics and Optical Technologies program at the VU Faculty of Physics and is actively involved in several national and international research projects.