TaoFest

May 14, 2026, 8:30 AM → May 15, 2026, 1:30 PM US/Eastern

This symposium celebrates Tao Han's wide-ranging scientific achievements in particle physics and his many influential contributions to the field and its community.

Dates: May 14-15, 2026
Venue: University of Pittsburgh, Benedum Hall, Room 157

Special Events: 

May 13 at 6:30 PM, Reception at the Allegheny Observatory. Shuttle bus pick up at the Hilton Garden Inn at 6:00 PM. 

May 14 at 6:30 PM, Conference banquet at the William Pitt Union  

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Thu, May 14

8:30 AM → 9:00 AM Breakfast and registration

9:00 AM → 10:20 AM Talks: Day1 Monring1

9:00 AM Welcome

Speaker: Adam Leibovich (University of Pittsburgh)

9:10 AM The Madison–Pitt Legacy: From Theoretical Beauty to Collider Discovery

Speaker: Vernon Barger

TaoFest_Madison_Pitt_Legacy_3.pdf

TaoFest_Madison_Pitt_Legacy_3.pptx

9:30 AM Doing Particle Physics because It is Fun

Speakers: Tilman Plehn, Tilman Plehn (Heidelberg University)

taofest_26_tilman.pdf

9:55 AM The Tao of Leadership

Speaker: Elizabeth Simmons (University of California, San Diego)

10:20 AM → 10:50 AM Coffee break

10:50 AM → 12:30 PM Talks: Day1 Morning2

10:55 AM Pheno from Madison to Pittsburgh

Speakers: FRANCIS HALZEN, Francis Halzen (University of Wisconsin Madison (US))

Tao2026_Halzen.pdf

Tao2026_Halzen.pptx

11:20 AM Nano-Hz Gravitational Waves and Supernova Neutrinos.

Speaker: Hooman Davoudiasl

HDavoudiasl-TaoFest.pdf

11:45 AM Colored Resonances with Tao

Speakers: Zhen Liu (University of Minnesota (US)), Zhen Liu, Zhen Liu

TaoFest_ZhenLiu_2026_2011.pdf

TaoFest_ZhenLiu_2026_2011.pptx

12:10 PM TBD

Speakers: Marcela Carena, Marcela Carena Lopez

12:30 PM → 2:00 PM Lunch break

2:00 PM → 3:15 PM Talks: Day1 Afternoon1

2:00 PM Parton level Monte Carlos, vector boson scattering and other fun work with Tao

Speakers: Dieter Zeppenfeld, Dieter Zeppenfeld (KIT, Karlsruhe)

TaoFest2026.pdf

2:25 PM The Colorful Life of Tao in the Colorless H Branch

Speakers: Shufang Su (University of Arizona), Shufang Su (University of Arizona), Shufang Su (University of Arizona)

Taofest_05142026_Su.key

Taofest_05142026_Su.pdf

2:50 PM LNV and VBS in the Tao Sector

Speaker: Richard Ruiz (Institute of Nuclear Physics Polish Academy of Sciences (IFJ PAN))

3:15 PM → 3:45 PM Coffee break

3:45 PM → 5:25 PM Talks: Day1 Afternoon2

3:50 PM High Energy Physics in the Times of Tao

Speaker: Carlos E.M. Wagner

TaoFest.pdf

4:15 PM From TASI to the CSM

Speakers: Neil Christensen (Illinois State University), Dr Neil Christensen (Illinois State University)

TaoFest.pdf

4:40 PM Dark Matter Scattering: New Signals and Models

Speakers: Bhaskar Dutta, Bhaskar Dutta, Prof. Bhaskar Dutta

Models in DM scattering.pdf

5:05 PM TBD

Speaker: Jack Gunion

6:30 PM → 9:30 PM Banquet

Fri, May 15

8:30 AM → 9:00 AM Breakfast

9:00 AM → 10:15 AM Talks: Day2 Monring1

9:00 AM Electroweak Restoration at the LHC and beyond

Speaker: Ian Lewis (The University of Kansas)

IML_TaoFest.pdf

9:25 AM TAO at future lepton colliders

Speaker: Dr Yang Ma (UCLouvain)

TaoFest2026_YM.pdf

9:50 AM A Journey Through the Energy Frontier with Tao

Speaker: Dorival Gonçalves (Oklahoma State University)

Dorival_TaoFest.pdf

10:15 AM → 10:45 AM Coffee break

10:45 AM → 12:00 PM Talks: Day2 Monring2+Remarks

10:50 AM What Can Tao and I Do With High-Energy Neutrinos?

Speaker: Dan Hooper (University of Wisconsin, Madison)

Hooper-TaoFest.pdf

11:15 AM The Tao (道）of Symmetry: an Information-theoretic Perspective

Speakers: Ian Low (Argonne National Lab/Northwestern Univ), Ian Low, Ian Low (Argonne National Laboratory (US))

Low-Taofest.pdf

11:40 AM My quantum journey with Tao

Speakers: Liantao Wang, Liantao Wang

Wang-Taofest.pdf