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07/29/2026 17:25
Falling Walls Science Summit 2026 Opens Its Doors In 100 Days
The Falling Walls Science Summit 2026 takes place from 6–9 November 2026.
A choice of 100 notable attendees 100 subjects is offered to mark the remaining 100 days till the beginning of the Falling Walls Science Summit.
Journalists are invited to request interviews and press accreditation by way of [email protected].
Berlin, Germany, 29 July 2026 – In simply 100 days, the Falling Walls Science Summit opens its doorways to scientists, enterprise and coverage leaders. The 18th version of the Falling Walls Science Summit takes place from 6–9 November—4 days full of interdisciplinary dialogue and the sharing of concepts that promise constructive international impression.
To mark the remaining 100 days till the beginning of the Falling Walls Science Summit 2026, we current a choice of 100 notable confirmed attendees and a preliminary choice of 100 subjects which might be to be mentioned. Journalists are invited to request interviews or Science Summit accreditation by way of [email protected].
Confirmed attendees of the Falling Walls Science Summit 2026 are:
A
Alejandro Adem – President, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC)
David Alis – President, University of Rennes
Gur Alroey – President, University of Haifa
Rob Annan – President and CEO, aaGenome Canada
B
Battsengel Baatar – Rector, German-Mongolian Institute for Resources and Technology
Jonathan Bagger – CEO, American Physical Society
Dorothee Bär – German Federal Minister for Research, Technology and Space
Katja Becker – President, German Research Foundation
Michael Benarroch – President and Vice-Chancellor, University of Manitoba
Pia Cecilie Bing-Jonsson – Rector, University of South-Eastern Norway
Markus Blume – Bavarian State Minister for Science and Art
Alexander Bonde – General Secretary, Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt
Hugh Brady – President, Imperial College London
Tracey Brown – Director, Sense About Science
Ralph Bruder – President, Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg
Kimberly Budil – Director, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Jean-Claude Burgelman – Director, Frontiers Planet Prize
C
Nicolas Castoldi – Deputy Director General of AP-HP
Márcio de Castro Silva Filho – Scientific Director, São Paulo Research Foundation
Suman Chakraborty – Director, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur
Ian Chapman – CEO, UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)
Vassilis Charmandaris – Chairman, Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas
France Córdova – Former Director, National Science Foundation
Jorge Cortell – Executive Director, TECH-Tokyo
Thierry Coulhon – President of the Management Board of Institut Polytechnique de Paris
Ina Czyborra – Senator for Science, Health and Care, Berlin State Government
D
Jan Danckaert – Rector, Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Thierry Dauxois – Chairman and CEO of the CNRS
Stéphanie Debette – Executive Director, Paris Brain Institute
Fatma Deniz – President, Technische Universität Berlin HQ
Cornelia Denz – President, Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt
Robbert Dijkgraaf – President-Elect, International Science Council
Don Dingwell – President, Academia Europaea
E
Claudia Eckert – President, acatech – Deutsche Akademie der Technikwissenschaften
Christian Ehler – Member of the European Parliament
Volker Epping – President, Leibniz Universität Hannover
Anne-Isabelle Etienvre – Chairman, French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission
F
Adam Falk – President and CEO, Wildlife Conservation Society
Anna Fontcuberta i Morral – President, EPFL
G
Oliver Günther – President, University of Potsdam
H
Takao Hariya – President and CEO, MIG (Germany) and Mitsubishi Italia S.P.A.
Mohamed H. A. Hassan – President, Sudanese National Academy of Sciences
Manuel Heitor – Former Minister of Science, Technology and Higher Education for Portugal
Sascha Hermann – Managing Director, VDI Technologiezentrum GmbH
Jan Hesthaven – President, Karlsruher Institut für Technologie | KIT
Stefan von Holtzbrinck – CEO, Holtzbrinck
I
Wolfgang Ischinger – President, Foundation Council, Munich Security Conference Foundation
J
Thomas Jarzombek – State Secretary, Federal Ministry for Digital Transformation and Government Modernisation
Joy Johnson – President and Vice Chancellor, Simon Fraser University
Mélanie Joly – Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada
Ok
Quarraisha Abdool Karim – Associate Scientific Director, UNAIDS Collaborating Centre for HIV Research and Policy
Andreas Kaufer – Director, European Southern Observatory
Martin Keller – President, Helmholtz Association
Parag Khanna – Founder and CEO, AlphaGeo
Lian Pin Koh – Vice President and Chief Sustainability Scientist, National University of Singapore
Saeki Koji – Deputy Director-General, Japan Science and Technology Agency (CRDS)
Stefanos Kollias – Chairman of the Board, GRNET
Lise Korsten – President, African Academy of Sciences
Heyo Kroemer – CEO, Charité, Universitätsmedizin Berlin
Antonio Krüger – CEO, German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI)
L
Frank Laukien – Chairman, President and CEO of Bruker Corporation
Maria Leptin – President, European Research Council
Marcus Lobbes – Director, Academy for Theatre and Digitality, Dortmund
M
Thomas Mason – Director, Los Alamos National Laboratory
Melanie Maas-Brunner – Former BASF Board & CTO
Julie Maxton – Executive Director, The Royal Society
Vanessa McBride – Science Director, International Science Council
Angela McLean – UK Chief Scientific Adviser
Peter Middendorf – Rector of the University of Stuttgart
Christian Miele – General Partner, Headline
N
Blade Nzimande – Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, South Africa
O
Tuomas Olkku – Executive Director, KAUTE Foundation
P
Juan de Pablo – Executive Vice President, New York University
Paul Pauli – President, Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg
Eloísa del Pino – President, Spanish National Research Council (CSIC)
Karin Prien – German Federal Minister of Education, Family, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth
R
Bill Rosehart – President and Vice-Chancellor, University of Waterloo
Michael Rosemann – Director, Centre for Future Enterprise, Queensland University of Technology
Christian Rüegg – Director, Paul Scherrer Institut (PSI)
Siegfried Russwurm – President, German National Academy of Science and Engineering
S
John Sarrao – Laboratory Director at Stanford University
Michael Schaepman – President of the University of Zurich
Peter Schlosser – Vice President and Vice Provost of Global Futures, ASU Arizona State University
Brian Schmidt – Nobel Laureate in Physics
Christoph M. Schmidt – President of the RWI – Leibniz Institute for Economic Research
Magdalena Skipper – Editor in Chief, Springer Nature
Marianne Skjulhaug – Rector, Oslo National Academy of The Arts
Evan Solomon – Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation, Canada
Asako Sugimoto – Executive Vice President for Research, Tohoku University
T
Nektarios Tavernarakis – Research Director, Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas (FORTH)
Mark Thomson – Director General, CERN
Stephen Toope – President and CEO, Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR)
V
Mateo Valero – Director, Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC)
W
John Wagner – Director, Idaho National Laboratory
Johannes Wessels – Rector, University of Munster
Karsten Wildberger – German Federal Minister for Digital Transformation
Melanie Woodin – President of the University of Toronto
Y
Ranga Yogeshwar – Science Journalist
Z
Lin Zhang – Director of Global Fundamental Research Observatory, Wuhan
Thomas Zurbuchen – Former Head of NASA Science Missions
(*100*) subjects of the Falling Walls Science Summit 2026 are:
AI & QUANTUM
AI & Creativity
AI & Health
AI in Research
Beyond the Lab: Autonomous Systems in Action
Breaking the Wall to Industrial AI: From Industrial Data Labs to Fully Automated Industries
Building Europe’s Industrial AI Stack: Towards a Federated, Sovereign and Industry-Proof Foundation
EU Quantum Sovereignty: Commercialising Quantum Applications
From Industrial Stagnation to Manufacturing Renaissance: Europe’s Physical AI Opportunity
How Will Social Sciences & Humanities Address AI within the Future?
Lab to Life: From AI Research to Real-World Impact
Physical AI as an Opportunity for German-Canadian Cooperation
Quantum Start-Up Ecosystems
The Self-Driving Lab: Is Human Insight Becoming Optional?
Top Quantum Start-Ups
What Can Brains Still Teach Machines?
When Algorithms Run Business: Efficiency, Limits, Responsibility
ENERGY & CLIMATE
From Diversifying Supply to Reinventing Materials: Europe’s Path to Critical Minerals Sovereignty
Industrialisation of Fusion Energy
Nature as Capital: The Economic Risk of Biodiversity Loss
Planetary Boundaries: Science in an Age of Geopolitics and Energy Disruption
Polar Research
INNOVATION & START-UPS
Building and Scaling Start-Up Talent
EU Innovation & Transfer Policies
Falling Walls VENTURE – Deep-Tech Unicorns
From Lab to Leader: How Europe Turns Start-Ups into Global Champions
From Research to Academia to Spin-Out to Scaling Start-Ups
From Science to Impact: A Shared Responsibility
Governing Innovation Ecosystems: National Strategies and the European Picture
High-Risk, High-Gain Research: What Is Needed?
Innovation & Transfer: From Research to Market
Innovation and Transfer Policies
Innovation Management and Collaboration
Innovative Funding: Foundations Driving European Research
Start-Up Investments
The Innovation & Start-Up Pipeline
Top Talents for Innovation
Who Funds the Ecosystem? Rethinking Investment in European Breakthrough Innovation
INTERNATIONAL SCIENCE RELATIONS
A New Era of Transatlantic Research Partnerships
Advancing Rights, Reciprocity, and Shared Futures Through Indigenous Science Diplomacy
Astronomy, Space & Global Cooperation in Africa
Barriers and Opportunities for Multilateral Collaboration in Science and Innovation
Big Science, National Laboratories, and the Politics of Collaboration
Breakthroughs in Physical Sciences
Brilliant Young Minds for Tomorrow
European-Israeli Research Cooperation
Europe’s Research Alliances: Cooperation Under Pressure
Evidence and Power: Why Facts Fail in Politics
Falling Walls ENGAGE – Building Trust in Science
Falling Walls Female Science Talents – The Female Leaders of Tomorrow
Falling Walls LAB – 100 Brilliant Minds
From Curiosity to Commitment: Funding Big Science
From Evidence to Action: How SDG Research Can Shape Policy
Global Mobility of Young Scientists
Impact-Oriented Research Funding
International Big Science: Impact for Society
International Top Scientists for Europe – ERC+
Leadership Dialogue
Meet the Breakthroughs of the Year
Perspectives on German Science in 2040
Philanthropy & Science
Protecting Academic Freedom: Insights and Initiatives
Rebuilding Science in Ukraine
Research Networks of the Future
Satellite Research in Africa
Science Advice in Action: Evidence Meets Power
Science Beyond SDGs: Power, Priorities, Progress
Science Diplomacy and Cooperation with Africa
Science Diplomacy in a Fractured World
Science Diplomacy in Space
Science Diplomacy within the Near East: Is There a Chance?
Societal and Ethical Implications of Scientific Research – Medical
Societal and Ethical Implications of Scientific Research – Physics
Societal and Ethical Implications of Scientific Research – Technology
Strategic Advice for an International Research Platform
The New Geopolitics of Emerging Technologies
The University of the Future
Transatlantic Big Science Initiative
MEDICINE & LIFE SCIENCES
Biomedical Innovation & Translation
Designing Medicine for Bodies That Don’t Fit the Average
Future Drug Development: Replacing Animal Models with AI
Future of Health
Future of Medical Research
Imagining Healthy Societies: Disease Prevention because the Default
Radiotheranostics: Future of Therapy, Regulation & Access
RNA Beyond Vaccines: New Frontiers in Medicine
The Future of Food as an Interdisciplinary Problem
The Medical Therapy Access Gap
Trusted Data Ecosystems for Biomedical Innovation
SECURITY
Climate and Security Within the High-Tech Agenda
Defence Research
Digital Sovereignty and Competition: Opportunities for European Societies
Energy Security
Governing Dual-Use Research in an Era of Strategic Competition
KIWi Policy Talk: Secure & Open – Getting the Balance Right
Secure Research
Research Security & Freedom
Science on the Frontline: Defence Innovation, Deterrence, and Diplomacy
Security Through Innovation.
Images
Falling Walls Science Summit 2026 Opens Its Doors In 100 Days
Criteria of this press launch:
Journalists
interdisciplinary
transregional, nationwide
Scientific conferences
English
