Particle Physics Division

About the Division

The main aim of the Division is to advance particle physics and inform about it in Finland.

The Particle Physics Division of the Finnish Physical Society was first founded in 1970 and began functioning again in summer 1997 after a few years of silence. Twenty-two particle physicists participated in the re-founding meeting and fifteen had expressed their interest by email; they are called the founding members of the division.

Each year the Division organises the Particle Physics Day(s), which also host the annual meeting of the Division, and its members organise and contribute to schools, workshops and outreach events in Finland. The Division operates according to its rules of procedure (original).

Board of the Division

Term starting 4.3.2026

• ChairHenning Kirschenmann · LUT
• Erik Brücken · Helsinki
• Matti Heikinheimo · Helsinki
• Pyry Runko · Jyväskylä
• Hanna Lempiäinen · Helsinki
• Ilkka Helenius · Jyväskylä

All boards since 1997 · original list

Meetings and events

Links marked “(archived)” point to copies in the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine because the original page no longer exists; struck-through titles have no surviving copy.

2026

• Particle Physics Day 2026 and the meeting of the Division, 11.11.2026, House of Science and Letters (Tieteiden talo), Helsinki

2025

• Spåtind 2025, 2.–7.1.2025, Skeikampen, Norway. Organised by the previous term’s division board, Tuomas Lappi and Ilkka Helenius
• Particle and Nuclear Physics graduate student retreat, 21.–22.3.2025, Hyytiälä
• Physics Days 2025, 26.–28.3.2025, Oulu (contributions by division members)
• RECFA country visit to Finland, 30.–31.5.2025, Helsinki
• UPC2025: The second international workshop on the physics of Ultra Peripheral Collisions, 9.–13.6.2025, Saariselkä (approx. 90 participants). Organisers: Heikki and Ilkka
• 23rd MoEDAL-MAPP Collaboration Meeting, 16.–18.6.2025, Helsinki. Organiser: Matti Kalliokoski
• Tampere Cosmology Meeting 2025, 4.–5.9.2025, Tampere. Organiser: Sami Nurmi
• Particle Physics Days 2025 and the meeting of the Division, 13.–14.11.2025, Hyytiälä

2024

• Particle Physics Days and the meeting of the Division, 27.–28.11.2024, Lammi research station
• Midsummer School in QCD 2024, 24.6.–6.7.2024, Hotel Riekonlinna, Saariselkä
• CERN70 in Finland / CERN 70 vuotta, 13.3.2024, Tiedekulma, Helsinki

2023

• Particle Physics Day and the meeting of the Division, 12.10.2023, Hotel Alexandra, Jyväskylä

2022

• Particle Physics Day and the meeting of the Division, 24.11.2022, Hotel Arthur, Helsinki

Earlier years: 2001–2021

2021

• Particle Physics Day and the meeting of the Division, 16.11.2021, Paviljonki, Jyväskylä

2020

• Particle Physics Day and the meeting of the Division, 5.11.2020, Zoom (virtual meeting)

2019

• Particle Physics Day and the meeting of the Division, 7.11.2019, Hotel Arthur, Helsinki

2018

• Particle Physics Day and the meeting of the Division, 23.11.2018, Sokos Hotel Alexandra, Jyväskylä

2017

• Particle Physics Day and the meeting of the Division, 20.10.2017, Hotel Arthur, Helsinki

2016

• Particle Physics Day and the meeting of the Division, 25.11.2016, Jyväskylä

2015

• Particle Physics Day and the meeting of the Division, 30.10.2015, Exactum, Kumpula, Helsinki
  • Local page · agenda · meeting agenda

2014

• Particle Physics Day and the meeting of the Division, 24.10.2014, Jyväskylä
  • Meeting agenda
• CERN 60 years anniversary (Helsinki Institute of Physics)
• SciFest 24.–26.4.2014, Joensuu Areena

2013

• Particle Physics Day and the meeting of the Division, 24.10.2013, Exactum, Kumpula, Helsinki
  • Agenda · meeting agenda

2012

• Particle Physics Day and the meeting of the Division, 30.11.2012, Jyväskylä

2011

• Particle Physics Day and the meeting of the Division, 28.10.2011, Kumpula, Helsinki
  • Agenda · meeting agenda

2010

• The 44th Physics Days, 11.–13.3.2010, Jyväskylä

2009

• The 43rd Physics Days, 12.–14.3.2009, Espoo
  • Programme for Nuclear and Particle Physics I and II and posters
• Particle Physics Day, 20.11.2009, Jyväskylä
  • Meeting of the Division: agenda (incl. moving the annual meeting to the Particle Physics Day)

2008

• Spåtind 2008 (20th Nordic Particle Physics Meeting), 3.–7.1.2008, Norway
• The 42nd Physics Days, 27.–29.3.2008, Turku
  • Meeting of the Division: agenda and minutes
• Particle Physics Day 2008, 24.10.2008, Kumpula, Helsinki (programme)
• Special colloquium “LHC – a Window to the Universe”, 25.10.2008, University main building, Helsinki

2007

• The 41st Physics Days, 15.–17.3.2007, Tallinn
  • Meeting of the Division (on board M/S Nordlandia): agenda and minutes
  • Particle physics oral session
• Particle Physics Day, 20.12.2007, Jyväskylä

2006

• The 40th Physics Days, 9.–11.3.2006, Tampere
  • Meeting of the Division: agenda and minutes
  • Particle physics oral session · poster session
• Particle Physics Day, 24.11.2006, Exactum, Helsinki (programme)

2005

• The 39th Physics Days, 17.–19.3.2005, Otaniemi
  • Meeting of the Division: agenda and minutes
  • Particle physics oral session · poster session
• Particle Physics Day, 18.11.2005, Jyväskylä
• World Year of Physics: essay competition for upper-secondary students

2004

• The 38th Physics Days, 18.–20.3.2004, University of Oulu
  • Meeting of the Division: agenda and minutes
  • Programme (PDF) of the Physics Days
• Strong and Electroweak Matter, 16.–19.6.2004, Helsinki
• Lecture week on the Physics of Hadrons and Ultrarelativistic Heavy Ion Collisions, 9.–14.8.2004, Jyväskylä
• CERN 50 years colloquium (Finnish), 28.10.2004, Physicum, Helsinki
• Particle Physics Day, 29.10.2004, Physicum, Helsinki (programme, posters)

2003

• The 37th Physics Days, 20.–22.3.2003, University of Helsinki
  • Meeting of the Division: agenda and minutes
  • Particle physics presentations on Thursday and Friday
• X Blois Workshop, 23.–28.6.2003, Helsinki
• Nordström Symposium, 27.–30.8.2003, Helsinki
• Particle Physics Day, 15.12.2003, Helsinki

2002

• The 36th Physics Days, 14.–16.3.2002, University of Joensuu
  • Meeting of the Division: agenda and minutes — Particle Physics Days made an annual event
  • Particle physics presentations
• Fifth Nordic LHC Workshop, 23.–25.5.2002
• Workshop on b/tau physics at the LHC, 30.5.–1.6.2002
• Beyond the Desert 02, 2.–7.6.2002, Oulu

2001

• 35th annual meeting of the Finnish Physical Society, 22.–24.3.2001, Paviljonki, Jyväskylä
  • Meeting of the Division: agenda and minutes
  • Particle physics presentations (oral and poster)
• Jyväskylä Summer School, 30.7.–18.8.2001
• COSMO-01, international workshop on particle physics and the early universe, 30.8.–4.9.2001, Rovaniemi
• Particle Physics Day, 5.11.2001, Kumpula, Helsinki

Gallery

Group pictures from recent meetings. Click a picture for the full-resolution original.

History of the Division

Compiled from the minutes, agendas and pages kept in this web space since 1997. Most original documents are in Finnish.

1. 28.9.1970The Particle Physics Division is founded within the Finnish Physical Society as a body for elementary-particle research. Chairs included Keijo Kajantie (1970s), Claus Montonen (1981) and Risto Orava (1986), when the division organised lecture series and symposia and took Finnish industry leaders to CERN. History 1970–1992
2. 1992Last mention of the division in the Society’s annual report; it was later considered dissolved.
3. 5.6.1997Re-founding meeting in the Laurikainen lecture hall, Helsinki, called by Kimmo Kainulainen: 22 physicists present and 15 by email — the 37 founding members. Kainulainen is elected chair. The first major task: the European Physical Society HEP conference EPS-HEP99 in Tampere. Minutes · Arkhimedes 5/1997 article
4. 1998The CERN exhibition at Heureka draws about 15,000 visitors, half as many again as expected. Rules of procedure adopted (1998–2013 version); annual meetings are held at the Physics Days.
5. 1999EPS-HEP99 in Tampere with about 630 participants. The division decides its web pages should be in English.
6. 2000Finland organises the Nordic meeting Spåtind 2000 (chair Keijo Kajantie).
7. 2001First contested election by secret ballot; Katri Huitu becomes chair. The first documented Particle Physics Day is held in Kumpula on 5.11.2001.
8. 2002The Particle Physics Day becomes an annual event. The division starts preparing Finland’s nominations to ECFA and HEP-CCC.
9. 2004CERN 50 years colloquium in Physicum (about 100 participants) with talks by Michel Della Negra (CMS spokesperson), Risto Orava, Jorma Tuominiemi, Juha Äystö and Dan-Olof Riska. Particle Physics Day with a best poster award.
10. 2005World Year of Physics: masterclasses in Jyväskylä and Helsinki and a national essay competition for upper-secondary students.
11. 2006The pp-findiv mailing list is launched. The division endorses a joint Finnish statement to the CERN Council strategy group.
12. 2007The annual meeting is held on board M/S Nordlandia on the way to the Physics Days in Tallinn.
13. 2008Finland organises Spåtind 2008. Public colloquium “LHC – a Window to the Universe” in the University main building, days after the LHC inauguration.
14. 2009–2014The annual meeting moves from the Physics Days to the autumn Particle Physics Day; the rules are updated accordingly (English translation, 2014).
15. 2013Higgs outreach: talks at Ursa and Altair, events at Tietomaa (Oulu) and Heureka.
16. 2020The first fully virtual Particle Physics Day (Zoom).
17. 2024–2025The Particle Physics Day becomes a two-day retreat-style meeting (Lammi 2024, Hyytiälä 2025). The division hosts the RECFA country visit in 2025.

Boards since 1997

From the archive

• The first division, 1970–1992
• Founding members, 1997
• Minutes of the founding meeting, 1997
• “A ‘new’ division founded”, Arkhimedes 5/1997
• Rules of procedure 1998–2013
• Particle physics at the Physics Days 1998, 1999, 2000
• Annual meeting minutes: 1998, 1999, 2000
• CERN 50 years colloquium, 2004 — speakers M. Della Negra, R. Orava, J. Tuominiemi
• LHC status report at the Physics Days 2007 (J. Tuominiemi)
• Spåtind 2008 and the list of all Spåtind meetings since 1966
• Former Finnish home page (until 2015)
• Former English home page (until 2026)

Mailing list pp-findiv

Announcements of the Division go to the list pp-findiv_at_helsinki.fi. To subscribe:

1. Send the message subscribe pp-findiv [your email address] to majordomo_at_helsinki.fi (the subject line can be left empty).
2. Wait for approval — after that you are on the list.

Unsubscribing works the same way with the command unsubscribe.

Particle physics in Finland

• HelsinkiDepartment of Physics · Helsinki Institute of Physics
• JyväskyläDepartment of Physics
• Lappeenranta-LahtiPhysics at LUT
• OuluFaculty of Science · CUPP Pyhäsalmi
• TurkuDepartment of Physics and Astronomy

Outside Finland, Finns participate in NORDITA in the Nordic countries and CERN in Europe.

Useful resources

• LiteratureINSPIRE-HEP (successor of SLAC SPIRES)
• PreprintsarXiv
• Particle propertiesParticle Data Group
• EventsIndico Global · Indico CERN