5th International Conference on the History of Quantum Physics - HQ-5

The centenary of quantum mechanics and the United Nations International Year of Quantum Science and Technology provide an ideal opportunity to revive the influential “HQ” series of conferences on the History of Quantum Physics, initiated by the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science in Berlin. Previous meetings were held in Berlin (2007, 2010), Utrecht (2008), and Donostia/San Sebastian (2015). These meetings helped reinvigorate the community of quantum historians. They contributed to a surge of scholarship on the history of quantum physics and to historical narratives that explore scientific practices and concepts within their rich social, cultural, and political contexts.

The HQ-5 will be held in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, immediately after the 6th Early-Career Conference for Historians of the Physical Sciences of the American Institute of Physics (August 4–-9, 2025), which will also take place there. By linking these two events, we aim to foster interaction between different generations of historians of physics and encourage new studies on the history of quantum physics and its associated technologies.

Call For Papers

We invite contributions on the history of quantum physics, broadly understood, encompassing the history of quantum foundations, quantum technology, quantum field theory, and subdisciplines of physics and related fields (including but not limited to particle physics, condensed matter physics, nuclear physics, astrophysics, quantum gravity, or quantum chemistry). We welcome submissions that approach these topics from a wide range of perspectives. Particular attention will be given to the following themes:

●   The genesis of quantum mechanics ca. 1925–1927;

●   Theoretical, mathematical, and experimental practices of quantum physics;

●   Quantum technology, instrumentation, and material culture of quantum physics;

●   Knowledge circulation and the adoption of quantum theory and quantum mechanics in diverse national and disciplinary contexts;

●   Women in the history of quantum physics;

●   Quantum physics, policy, and diplomacy.

●   Historical perspectives on the centenary of quantum mechanics;

Please send an abstract of up to 500 words via this submission form (https://forms.gle/mvT9geUYEXshUwBQ7) no later than February 20, 2025.

Supplementary travel funds will be available for early-career scholars and other participants who lack institutional funds to cover travel expenses.

All questions may be directed to the conference committee at hq-5@iuchpp.org

IUPAP policy statements 

We adhere to IUPAP's statements on the Free Circulation of Scientists and Harassment at Conferences. We will work to ensure that no scholar will be discriminated against based on ethnic origin, religion, citizenship, language, political stance, gender, or age and that the conference will be a welcome, diverse, and inclusive environment.

Free Circulation of Scientists: The principle of the Universality of Science is fundamental to scientific progress. This principle embodies freedom of movement, association, expression and communication for scientists, as well as equitable access to data, information and research materials. In pursuing its objectives with respect to the rights and scientists, the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP) actively upholds this principle, and, in so doing, opposes any discrimination on the basis of such factors as ethnic origin, religion, citizenship, language, political stance, gender, or age. IUPAP should only sponsor conferences and events at institutions and in countries that uphold this principle. If scientists are excluded from attending IUPAP-sponsored international conferences by a host institution or country on the basis of any of these factors, IUPAP should register its concern at the highest level of that institution or country, and should not sponsor any future events in that country until such exclusions have been eliminated (Section 1 - IUPAP Conference Policies).

Harassment at Conferences: It is the policy of the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP) that all participants at an IUPAP-supported Conference will enjoy a comfortable experience, and that they will treat each other with respect at all times. The conference organisers will appoint two advisors at the conference who will consult with those who have suffered from harassment and who will suggest ways of redressing their problems, and an advisor who will counsel those accused of harassment (Section 4 IUPAP Conference Policies). 

Organization:

Federal University of Bahia (UFBA)

American Institute of Physics (AIP)

Niels Bohr Archive

Inter-Union Commission for the History and Philosophy of Physics (IUCHPP) 

Sponsors: