From August 17 to 21, 2026, the 26th George Gamow International Astronomical Conference "Astronomy and Beyond: Astrophysics, Cosmology and Gravitation, Astroparticle Physics, Radio Astronomy, Astrobiology and Genetics" will be held in Odesa.
Organizers of the event are:
• Odesa I.I. Mechnykov National University;
• Institute of Radio Astronomy of the NAS of Ukraine;
• Ukrainian Astronomical Association;
• Odesa National Maritime University;
• Odesa Astronomical Society.
The conference topics:
• cosmology and gravitation;
• astroparticle physics and high-energy physics;
• astrophysics;
• extragalactic astronomy;
• radio astronomy;
• solar activity and solar-terrestrial relations;
• solar system and exoplanets;
• astrobiology and genetics.
Conference sections:
1. Cosmology, gravitation, astroparticle physics and high-energy physics.
2. Astrophysics: nucleosynthesis, stellar atmospheres, kinematics, structure and chemical evolution of the Galaxy.
3. Astrophysics: interacting binary systems and variable stars.
4. Extragalactic astronomy and astroinformatics.
5. Radio astronomy.
6. The Sun, solar activity, solar-terrestrial relations and astrobiology.
7. Solar system, exoplanets and near-Earth astronomy.
8. Biological section "Gamow’s Ideas in 21st Century Biology".
9. Astronomical education and popularization of astronomy + subsection "Planetariums of Ukraine".
Format: online sessions.
Working language of the memorial and plenary sessions, as well as abstracts and presentations – English; working languages of sectional meetings – English and Ukrainian.
The conference program includes:
• plenary reports dedicated to anniversary dates;
• plenary sessions;
• sectional meetings;
• work of affiliated sections and subsections;
• scientific discussions.
Deadline for registration and submission of abstracts – August 1, 2026.
You can register through the official conference website: https://gamow.odessa.ua/
Information notice
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The 2026 conference is dedicated to the 122nd anniversary of the birth of the outstanding scholar George Gamow.
George Gamow was one of the key figures of the 20th-century scientific revolution. His name stands alongside such outstanding scientists as Albert Einstein, Niels Bohr, Ernest Rutherford, and Max Planck.
His unique "Gamow style" still inspires scientists today both by the depth of scientific ideas and by the creative, witty approach to solving the most serious scientific problems.
This year also marks the 26th anniversary of the annual Gamow conferences held in Odesa – the city where George Gamow was born, educated, and took his first steps in science.
These conferences continue the traditions established by George Gamow at the University of Washington from 1935 to 1942.
The direct continuation of this tradition includes:
• The George Gamow Medal, established by Odesa National University;
• The George Gamow Prize, established by the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine in 2022.
It bears reminding that in 2026 the George Antonovych Gamow Prize for outstanding achievements in the field of fundamental interaction theory, astrophysics, and cosmology was awarded to Yuriy Izotov, Academician of the NAS of Ukraine, chief research fellow of the M.M. Bogolyubov Institute for Theoretical Physics of the NAS of Ukraine, and Nataliia Husieva, DSc in Physics and Mathematics, chief research fellow of the same Institute, for a series of scientific publications demonstrating the ability of dwarf galaxies to provide the process of reionization of the intergalactic medium.
In Odesa, one of the squares is named after George Gamow, and a memorial plaque commemorating the outstanding scientist is installed on the University building.
Information is provided by the Institute of Radio Astronomy of the NAS of Ukraine