Name: 2026 RHIC/AGS Annual Users' Meeting & RHIC Science Symposium
Start: 2026-05-11T09:00:00-04:00
End: 2026-05-15T18:00:00-04:00
Location: No location set

2026 RHIC/AGS Annual Users' Meeting & RHIC Science Symposium

from Monday, 11 May 2026 (09:00) to Friday, 15 May 2026 (18:00)

Monday, 11 May 2026
09:00 Workshop: AI/ML I - SUSC Bldg. 101 Conference Room 123
AI/ML I - SUSC Bldg. 101 Conference Room 123
09:00 - 12:00
Contributions

09:00 Setup

09:10 The EIC-Beam AI Collaboration: Preparing Machine Learning for the Electron-Ion Collider - Georg Hoffstaetter (Brookhaven National Laboratory)

09:35 Towards Foundation Models for Next-Generation Experiments at the EIC: A Perspective - Cristiano Fanelli (College of William & Mary)

10:45 SciBot: Your "AI Librarian" for Navigating RHIC’s Fragmented Institutional Knowledge - Ankush Reddy Kanuganti (Brookhaven National Laboratory)

11:10 AI Surrogate Modeling for Fast Simulation of the Hydrodynamic Evolution of the Quark-Gluon Plasma - Seungjun Lee (Brookhaven National Laboratory)

11:35 sPHENIX CycleGAN - Shuhang Li (Columbia University)
Workshop: Baryon Junction & Stopping I - SUSC Bldg. 101 Conference Room 148
Baryon Junction & Stopping I - SUSC Bldg. 101 Conference Room 148
09:00 - 12:00
Contributions

09:00 Current status of the baryon junction - Dmitri Kharzeev (Stony Brook University and BNL) Dmitri Kharzeev (Stony Brook University and BNL)

10:00 Generalized parton distributions and their implications for observables relevant to baryon junction dynamics - Simonetta Liuti (University of Virginia)

11:00 Probing gluon density via deep inelastic scattering, and its implications on baryon junctions - Prithwish Tribedy (Brookhaven National Laboratory)

11:30 Flavor-independent rapidity slope in baryon transport - Zhangbu Xu (Kent State University) Zhangbu Xu (Brookhaven National Laboratory)
Workshop: Fixed-target@EIC- SUSC Bldg. 101 Conference Room 121 - 122
Fixed-target@EIC- SUSC Bldg. 101 Conference Room 121 - 122
09:00 - 12:00
Contributions

09:00 FIXE initiative - Charles-Joseph Naïm (Stony Brook University (CFNS))

09:25 Cross-section measurements for the interpretation of cosmic rays - Philip von Doetinchem (University of Hawaii)

09:50 Space, nuclear data, and an EIC fixed target program - David Brown (NNDC-Brookhaven National Laboratory)

10:15 Discussion

11:00 Physics opportunities for a fixed-target program in EIC - Cesar daSilva (Los Alamos National Laboratory)

11:25 p+A Physics in an EIC Fixed-Target Setup - Ramona Vogt (LLNL and UC Davis)

11:50 Discussion
Workshop: Jets & Hard Probes - SUSC Bldg. 101 Conference Room 124 - 125
Jets & Hard Probes - SUSC Bldg. 101 Conference Room 124 - 125
09:00 - 12:00
Contributions

09:00 Recent Measurements at the LHC - Hannah Bossi (Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT))

09:30 Jets in Heavy-Ion Collisions (Theory) - João Barata (CERN)

10:00 Recent Measurements from sPHENIX - Hanpu Jiang (Columbia University)

10:40 Recent Measurements from STAR - Isaac Mooney (Yale University)

11:05 Recent Measurements in Small Systems at the LHC and RHIC - Christopher McGinn (Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT))

11:35 Jets at the Electron-Ion Collider (Theory) - Felix Ringer (YITP Stony Brook University)
12:00 No Host Lunch
No Host Lunch
12:00 - 14:00
14:00 Workshop: AI/ML II - SUSC Bldg. 101 Conference Room 123
AI/ML II - SUSC Bldg. 101 Conference Room 123
14:00 - 17:00
Contributions

14:00 Variable Rate Neural Compression for TPC Data - Yi Huang (Brookhaven national lab)

14:25 sPHENIX Foundation Models - David Park (Brookhaven National Laboratory)
Workshop: Baryon Junction & Stopping II - SUSC Bldg. 101 Conference Room 148
Baryon Junction & Stopping II - SUSC Bldg. 101 Conference Room 148
14:00 - 17:00
Contributions

14:00 Measuring baryon production at HERA, and its potential on baryon junction - Gage Tustin (BNL)

14:30 Probing the Baryon Junction at the CLAS12 Experiment - Wenliang Li (Stony Brook University CFNS)

15:00 Finding the baryon number within the proton - Spencer Klein (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory)
Workshop: Fixed-target@EIC - SUSC Bldg. 101 Conference Room 121 - 122
Fixed-target@EIC - SUSC Bldg. 101 Conference Room 121 - 122
14:00 - 17:00
Contributions

14:00 Physics opportunities for the QCD phase diagram - Mikhail Stephanov (University of Illinois at Chicago)

14:25 Probing the QCD Phase Diagram at the EIC: Modeling High-Baryon Density Fluids in the Fixed-Target Regime - Lipei Du (McGill University)

14:50 Logistics of a Fixed-Target Program at the EIC: Lessons Learned from Previous FXT programs - Daniel Cebra (University of California, Davis)

15:15 Discussion

16:00 Collaboration & Open Discussion
Tuesday, 12 May 2026
09:00 Workshop: Nasa Space Radiation Laboratory- SUSC Bldg. 101. Conference Room 121- 122
Nasa Space Radiation Laboratory- SUSC Bldg. 101. Conference Room 121- 122
09:00 - 12:00
Contributions

09:00 Introduction NSRL, Research Topics, Speakers - Jessica Gasparik (Brookhaven National Lab)

09:10 Drug Adjuncts that mitigate the Molecular and Cellular impacts of Galactic Cosmic Radiation - Robert Schwartz (Sanford I. Weill Medical College of Cornell University)

09:50 HEARTS and HEARTS++, the present and future of radiation effects testing with very-high-energy, heavy ion beams in Europe - Andreas Waets (CERN)

10:30 Machine Learning Assisted Tuning and Diagnostics of NSRL Beams - Eiad Hamwi (BNL)

11:10 Nuclear Data Measurements in Support of NASA Planetary Science Missions - Patrick Peplowski (Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory)

11:55 Close-out
Workshop: UPC & Electromagnetic Processes- SUSC Bldg. 101 Conference Room 124-125
UPC & Electromagnetic Processes- SUSC Bldg. 101 Conference Room 124-125
09:00 - 12:00
Contributions

09:00 Session Introduction : Ultra-Peripheral Collisions - Gian Michele Innocenti (Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT))

09:30 Measurements of EM-probes at PHENIX and sPHENIX - Mariia Mitrankova (Stony Brook University)

10:00 Measurements of Vector mesons in Ultra-Peripheral Collisions at STAR - Xihe Han (Ohio State University)

11:00 Mirror Quantum Tomography for UPC and beyond - Daniel Tapia Takaki (University of Kansas)

11:30 Nuclear imaging efforts at EIC - Rongrong Ma (Brookhaven National Laboratory)
12:00 No Host Lunch
No Host Lunch
12:00 - 14:00
14:00 AUM Plenary I
14:00 - 17:00
Contributions

14:00 Welcome Remarks from the Lab Director - John Hill (Interim Director of Brookhaven National Laboratory)

14:10 Opening Remarks from ALD - Looking to the Future - Abhay Deshpande (Stony Brook University & BNL)

14:35 C-AD Report - Travis Shrey (Brookhaven National Laboratory)

14:55 Group Picture

15:30 STAR Run Report - Tristan Protzman (Lehigh University)

16:00 sPHENIX Run Report - Ron Belmont (University of North Carolina Greensboro)

16:30 Workshop Report: Jets & Hard Probes - Yeonju Go (Brookhaven National Laboratory) Yeonju Go (Brookhaven National Laboratory)
17:00 Social Event & Poster Session
Social Event & Poster Session
17:00 - 19:00
Wednesday, 13 May 2026
09:00 Plenary II
09:00 - 12:01
Contributions

09:00 STAR Physics Highlights - Richard Seto (University of California @ Riverside)

09:25 sPHENIX Physics Highlights - Tanner Mengel (University of Colorado, Boulder)

09:50 PHENIX Physics Highlights - Iurii Mitrankov (Stony Brook University)

10:30 DOE Report - Sharon Stephenson

10:55 EIC, ePIC and the future physics - Salvatore Fazio (University of Calabria and INFN-Cosenza)

11:20 Workshop Report: AI/ML - Cameron Dean (Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT))

11:40 Workshop Report: Fixed Target @ EIC - Charles Joseph Naim (Stony Brook University)

12:00 NSF Report (Cancelled) - Allena Opper
12:01 No Host Lunch
No Host Lunch
12:01 - 14:10
14:10 Plenary II
14:10 - 17:00
Contributions

14:10 Workshop Report: NSRL - Jessica Gasparik (Brookhaven National Laboratory) Trevor Olsen (Brookhaven National Laboratory)

14:30 Workshop Report: UPC & Electromagnetic Processes - Ashik Ikbal Sheikh (Kent State University)

14:50 Workshop Report: Baryon Junction & Stopping - Chun Yuen Tsang (Kent State University)

15:40 Sambamurti Award Winner: Blair Seidiltz - John Hill (Interim Director of Brookhaven National Laboratory)

15:45 Merit and Thesis Awards - Prof. Abhay Deshpande (BNL, Stony Brook University)

15:55 Poster Award and Flash Talk - Cheng-Wei Shih (National Central University)

16:10 Thesis Award Flash Talk - Youqi Song (Yale University)

16:20 Thesis Award Flash Talk - Vassu Doomra (University of California, Berkeley)

16:30 Business Meeting - Peter Steinberg (Brookhaven National Laboratory)
Thursday, 14 May 2026
09:00 RHIC Symposium: RHIC's Early Years
RHIC's Early Years
09:00 - 12:45
Contributions

09:00 ALD for Nuclear and Particle Physics Welcome - Abhay Deshpande (Stony Brook University & BNL)

09:10 T.D. Lee Memorial - Shoji NAGAMIYA (remote) (RIKEN)

09:25 The status of the field before RHIC - Axel Drees (Stony Brook University)

10:00 Making RHIC Possible: Reflections on the Machine - Thomas Roser (Brookhaven National Laboratory)

10:30 Group Picture

10:45 Spokesperson Talk: STAR - John Harris (Yale University)

10:55 Spokesperson Talk: PHENIX - William Zajc (Columbia University)

11:05 Spokesperson Talk: PHOBOS - Gunther Roland (Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT))

11:15 Spokesperson Talk: BRAHMS - Flemming Videbaek (Brookhaven National Laboratory)

11:25 RHIC Spin Collaboration - Yousef Makdisi (BNL)

11:35 Panel Discussion - Gunther Roland (MIT) Timothy Hallman (Department of Energy, Office of Nuclear Physics) William Zajc (Columbia University) Yousef Makdisi (BNL) flemming videbaek (BNL)

11:55 Keynote: Chancellor’s Chair Professor of Theoretical Physics David Gross - Reflections on RHIC - Prof. David Gross (remote) (University of California, Santa Barbara)

12:15 Additional Discussion
12:45 No Host Lunch
No Host Lunch
12:45 - 14:00
14:00 RHIC Symposium: The lasting impact & legacy of RHIC
The lasting impact & legacy of RHIC
14:00 - 16:45
Contributions

14:00 The QGP as we understand it 20+ years later - Berndt Mueller (Duke University)

14:35 Impact of RHIC on understanding the nucleon spin - Jianwei Qiu (Jefferson Laboratory)

15:30 Impact of RHIC on the LHC (Science and social impact) - John Harris (Yale University)

16:00 Reflections from past NPP Associate Laboratory Directors - Abhay Deshpande (Stony Brook University) Abhay Deshpande (Stony Brook University & BNL) Berndt Mueller (BNL) Berndt Mueller (Duke University) Haiyan Gao (Duke University) Haiyan Gao (Brookhaven National Laboratory) Steve Vigdor (Indiana University @ Bloomington, BNL)
16:45 RHIC Symposium: BSA Distinguished Lecture & Banquet
16:45 - 21:30
Contributions

17:00 Little Bangs at RHIC and the Big Bang at the Beginning - Barbara Jacak (UC Berkeley and LBNL)

18:00 No- Host Dinner
Friday, 15 May 2026
09:00 RHIC Symposium: Completing the RHIC Scientific Mission
Completing the RHIC Scientific Mission
09:00 - 12:40
Contributions

09:00 Sam Aronson Memorial - William Zajc (Columbia University)

09:15 Sam Aronson Memorial - Doon Gibbs (Brookhaven National Laboratory)

09:30 The Origins of sPHENIX - David Morrison (BNL)

09:40 Completing the sPHENIX Scientific Mission - Megan Connors (Georgia State University RBRC)

10:10 Completing the STAR Scientific Mission - Frank Geurts (Rice University)

11:10 Completing the PHENIX Scientific Mission - Yasuyuki Akiba (RIKEN)

11:40 Completing the RHIC Scientific Mission (Theory Perspectives) - Bjoern Schenke (Brookhaven National Laboratory)

12:10 Reflections on the success and impact of the RBRC - Derek Teaney (Stony Brook) Farid Salazar (Temple University / Brookhaven National Lab) Megan Connors (Georgia State University RBRC) Naohito Saito (KEK - High Energy Accelerator Research Org) Yacine Mehtar-Tani (Brookhaven National Laboratory) Yoshitaka Hatta (BNL)
12:40 Lunch (Hosted) - Compliments of BSA
Lunch (Hosted) - Compliments of BSA
12:40 - 14:00
14:00 RHIC Symposium: EIC and the next 25+ Years of Discovery
EIC and the next 25+ Years of Discovery
14:00 - 18:00
Contributions

14:00 Scientific Origins of the Electron Ion Collider - Richard Milner (Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT))

14:35 From RHIC to EIC: Connections between RHIC and EIC science - Rosi Reed (Lehigh University)

15:35 Making the EIC possible, Machine perspectives - Sergei Nagaitsev (BNL)

16:10 Lessons from RHIC in designing ePIC - John Lajoie (Oak Ridge National Laboratory)

16:45 James D. Bjorken Memorial (remote) - Raju Venugopalan (BNL)

17:00 Early Career Panel - Gian Michele Innocenti (Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)) Hannah Bossi (Yale University (US)) LAURA HAVENER (Yale University) Yeonju Go (Brookhaven National Laboratory) Zhoudunming Tu (Brookhaven National Laboratory)