WOST School 2026: Exploring Quantum WithOut SpaceTime

Les Houches, France
School

Organizers

Ivan Agullo Pablo Arrighi Eugenio Bianchi Lin-Qing Chen Beatriz Elizaga de Navascués Lucas Hackl Augustin Vanrietvelde

Schedule

Mon 31 Aug
Arrival, from 3:00 PM. The school's buildings are closed before this time — please don't arrive earlier.
Tue 1 Sep
Lectures begin, in the morning.
Fri 11 Sep
Lectures end, at noon. Rooms must be released by 9:00 AM.

Check back in a few days for the full finalized schedule.

Lecturers

Regular lecturers

Hal Haggard

Hal Haggard

Bard College, USA

Renato Renner

Renato Renner

ETH Zurich, Switzerland

Eduardo Martín-Martínez

Eduardo Martín-Martínez

University of Waterloo, Canada

Emily Adlam

Emily Adlam

Chapman University, USA

Anne-Catherine de la Hamette

Anne-Catherine de la Hamette

ETH Zurich, Switzerland

Markus Aspelmeyer

Markus Aspelmeyer

University of Vienna, Austria

Eugenio Bianchi

Eugenio Bianchi

Penn State University, USA

Ivan Agullo

Ivan Agullo

Louisiana State University, USA

Beatriz Elizaga de Navascués

Beatriz Elizaga de Navascués

University of Castilla-La Mancha, Spain

V. Vilasini

V. Vilasini

Univ. Grenoble Alpes, France

Satellite lecturers

Carlo Rovelli

Carlo Rovelli

CPT Marseille, France

Francesca Vidotto

Francesca Vidotto

CSIC Madrid, Spain

Flaminia Giacomini

Flaminia Giacomini

University of Rome Tor Vergata, Italy

Venue Map

The school takes place at the École de Physique des Houches, in the Chamonix Valley (altitude 1150 m).

Getting there

  • By plane: shuttle from Geneva airport — reserve in advance; plan to arrive after 15:00.
  • By train: to Les Houches station (Chamonix line); reserve a taxi in advance, there is no taxi rank at the station.
  • By car: exit "Le Prarion/Les Chavants"; compulsory parking on the upper lot.
  • By taxi: Alpes Transport +33(0)6.73.54.98.05 · Cham Taxi +33(0)6.07.26.36.62

Meals

  • Breakfast 7:45–8:45 · Lunch 12:30 · Dinner 19:30
  • Arrival day starts with dinner; departure day ends after lunch
  • Picnic lunches available with 48h notice
  • Bring a water bottle — no bottled water provided

Wi-Fi

  • EDUROAM available in all buildings (recommended)
  • An individual access code is also provided (one device at a time)

Good to know

  • Bring a headlamp or flashlight for evenings
  • Bedrooms must be vacated by 9:00 AM on departure day
  • Only collective insurance is held by the school
  • 220V electricity · Animals not admitted on site

About the School

The WOST School 2026 introduces early-career researchers to the rapidly developing interface between quantum gravity and quantum information, two fields that have recently begun to converge in surprising and productive ways. In particular, Loop Quantum Gravity provide a natural framework where structures such as spin network states and their evolution can dialogue with the language of quantum information. Participants will explore how quantum-information tools are reshaping our understanding of spacetime—through concepts such as quantum reference frames, quantum clocks, indefinite causal order, and related informational approaches. This will shed new light on gravitational phenomena ranging from black-hole physics to early-universe cosmology, while also learning how emerging table-top experiments may probe quantum-gravity–inspired phenomena such as gravity-mediated entanglement, aiming at testing the quantum nature of gravity. Supported by the international WOST collaboration, the school aims to transmit a growing body of interdisciplinary knowledge not yet part of standard graduate curricula, foster connections across theoretical, experimental, and philosophical perspectives, and cultivate a diverse cohort of young scientists prepared to contribute to this evolving research frontier.