15th International Workshop on the Identification of Dark Matter 2024

The National Laboratories of Gran Sasso of INFN, the Gran Sasso Science Institute (GSSI), and the University of L’Aquila are organizing a competition for the academic year 2023/2024 aimed at creating an outreach project to explain the great mystery of Dark Matter in the Universe.

Dark matter represents one of the most fascinating research topics in current physics. It is termed “dark” because it neither emits nor absorbs light but constitutes the dominant contribution to all matter in the known Universe. Direct and indirect measurement of dark matter is one of the main objectives for many researchers working in the field of astroparticle physics.

The most renowned international conference in this field, Identification of Dark Matter (IDM), will be held for the first time in L’Aquila in 2024, thanks to a virtuous collaboration among the three hosting institutions: the Gran Sasso Science Institute, the National Gran Sasso Laboratories, and the University of L’Aquila.

To promote this event, which will bring more than 200 researchers from around the world to the city, the organizing committee aims to involve the entire local community with a vaste outreach program. In particular, middle and high school students, as potential future scientists, are called to participate in the initiative.

The competition, “Let’s Explain Dark Matter Together!”, is open to students in their fourth year of secondary education in the region. Students are required to present a project (exhibit, installation, video, etc.) focused on Dark Matter, explaining in a simple and original way what it is and how we know it exists.

Interested participants must register using the link https://forms.office.com/e/7ZBCZexrrb by December 18, 2023, to participate in the in-depth day session to be held at the National Laboratories of Gran Sasso. The competition will accommodate 39 groups (maximum 2 per school) consisting of 3 students each. If additional spots become available after the registration deadline, timely communication will be provided to already registered schools to allow them to enroll additional groups.

Projects must be submitted by April 8, 2024. For the three winning student groups, accompanied by a teacher, a 3-day internship will be organized at the National Laboratories of Gran Sasso in June.

Information and updates about the competition are available on the webpage: https://www.lngs.infn.it/it/news/concorso-dark-matter
Competition Secretariat: concorsodarkmatter@lngs.infn.it