About

Understanding the gravitational interaction is one of the great scientific endeavors of the 21st century. The Nobel Prize-winning discovery of gravitational waves in 2015, and subsequent detections by the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA Collaboration, have marked a revolutionary step forward in physics and astrophysics by opening an entirely new window for exploring the Universe. Future upgrades to these detectors, along with upcoming facilities such as LISA and the Einstein Telescope, promise even more breakthrough discoveries that the next generation of scientists will need to interpret.

The School on Gravity (22–26 June 2026, Copenhagen) will introduce junior scientists—graduate students and advanced undergraduates with a background in general relativity—to a wide range of foundational topics in the exciting new field of gravitational wave physics. Topics will span from the theory of motion, to new challenges introduced by quantum physics, to the astrophysics of black holes and source modeling for gravitational-wave detectors.

The School on Gravity will take place in the legendary Auditorium A of the Niels Bohr Institute, inviting students and lecturers to challenge current paradigms in gravitational physics in the spirit of the quantum revolution that unfolded in this very room.

Nominal workload is around 70 hours, including preparation time. It should be equivalent to 2.5 ECTS. The members of the Scientific Organizing Committee for the School of Gravity are Vitor Cardoso (Director of CoG), Emil Bjerrum-Bohr, Jose Ezquiaga, Troels Harmark, Niels Obers, Marta Orselli, Alessia Platania, Johan Samsing, Maarten van de Meent, Ziqi Yan.

The local organizing committee is composed of Vitor Cardoso and Jose Ezquiaga. Please contact us at this email.

Our Mascots, the Magpies

When we first arrived at the Niels Bohr Institute, the magpies strutting around the building (and all along Blegdamsvej) were a striking sight, and their big, mischievous, personalities impossible to ignore.

As animals go, they are truly extraordinary. They not only look smart. They are smart. They are quick to learn, excel at solving problems, have the ability to make and use tools and, when the occasion arise, they are good team workers. What better and inspiring companions to have and to cherish at a research institute?

An exclusive source of ours (fellow KU employee and magpie admirer Søren Jønsson Granat) can confirm from first hand observations that they are “clever, highly collaborative birds” with a rich and varied language and a taste for cheese at breakfast.

And if they walk around looking like they own the place, it may very well be because they do in fact own it, and we are but guests in their territory.

Oh, and did we mention that they are unbelievably beautiful?