On September 1, 2025, the Max Planck Society, the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS), and National Taiwan University (NTU) officially inaugurated the Max Planck–IAS–NTU Center for Particle Physics, Cosmology and Geometry. The ceremony was held at the Leung Center for Cosmology and Particle Astrophysics (LeCosPA) and welcomed many distinguished guests including Wen-Chang Chen (President, NTU), Claudia Felser (Vice President, Max Planck Society), and Chee-Chun Leung (President, Quanta Computer). A highlight of the event was the ceremonial exchange of the cooperation agreement, signed by Claudia Felser and Wen-Chang Chen, with Matias Zaldarriaga (Richard Black Professor, IAS) representing the IAS.
Particle physics investigates the fundamental constituents of matter at scales smaller than protons and neutrons, while cosmology examines the structure and evolution of the Universe on the largest scales. As the Center’s Co-Director Daniel Baumann (Director of LeCosPA, NTU) noted during the ceremony: “The new Center brings together expertise in particle physics, cosmology, and mathematics, with the ambition of creating a unifying framework for understanding the Universe across all scales.”
NTU President Wen-Chang Chen emphasized NTU’s commitment, stating: “We are proud to see NTU play a central role in this endeavor, and we look forward to the discoveries and innovations that will emerge from this community of excellence.”
The Center is co-directed by Johannes Henn (Max Planck Institute for Physics), Nima Arkani-Hamed (IAS), and Daniel Baumann (NTU), with deputy co-directors Bernd Sturmfels (Max Planck Institute for Mathematics in the Sciences), Matias Zaldarriaga (IAS), and Yu-tin Huang (NTU). Operations began a few months prior to the official launch, with five years of initial funding. In Taiwan, funding is provided in part by the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) and the Ministry of Education (MoE).
About the Partner Institutions
The Max Planck Society (MPG) is Germany’s leading institution for basic research. Established in 1948 as the successor to the Kaiser Wilhelm Society, it has counted 31 Nobel laureates among its members. Within the MPG, the Max Planck Institute for Physics (MPP) specializes in particle physics and currently comprises seven research departments.
The Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) in Princeton is one of the world’s foremost centers for theoretical research. Since its founding in 1930, it has been home to some of the greatest scientific minds of the 20th century, including Albert Einstein and J. Robert Oppenheimer.
National Taiwan University (NTU) is Taiwan’s leading university, with a Department of Physics that hosts strong research groups in theoretical particle physics and cosmology. The new Center is based at NTU’s Leung Center for Cosmology and Particle Astrophysics (LeCosPA), established through the generous support of Chee-Chun Leung, President of Quanta Computer.
