"Welcome to the Asia-Pacific Center for Theoretical Physics(APCTP)."

The center was established in April 1996 with 10 member countries & regions of the Asia-Pacific region with the first President, Prof. C. N. Yang. The primary aim of the founding members was to build a hub-institute of theoretical physics in the Asia-Pacific region to facilitate collaboration and the exchange of scientists in the Asia-Pacific region, and to provide a platform for scientists from developing countries & regions. Of course, this mission can only be fulfilled with close collaboration with the broader international community. As of today, the number of our member countries & regions has grown to 19 from the original 10 countries & regions. Next year (2026), we will celebrate the 30th anniversary.

The Center now runs strong in-house research programs: Junior Research Group (JRG), introduced by Prof. Peter Fulde, our former President (2007-2013), which promotes young independent researchers to leadership roles; Young Scientist Training, which provides post-doctoral fellows ample opportunities to work with the members of the Center, scientists from POSTECH as well as from various other institutes in the world. In particular, the JRG program has been very successful so that other institutes in Korea have launched similar programs. The Center also supports various scientific activities all year round: Conferences and Workshops, Focus programs, External/Joint activities in collaboration with the member countries & regions and partner institutes. Every year, about 5,000 scientists participate in these activities.

With the increasing number of the member countries & regions, the original mission of the center to be a networking center for theoretical physics in the AP-region is becoming even more in demand. In response to it, the Center has been hosting the headquarters of the Association of Asia-Pacific Physical Societies (AAPPS) and sponsoring some of its scientific activities since November 2017. We are proud of our contributions to the physics community of the Asia-Pacific region. In future, our service and dedication will not be limited in the AP-region but will go over to the rest of the world.

We believe that the spread of scientific knowledge is the most peaceful way to cultivate our civilization and the Center plays an indispensable role in this regard as well.

President Misao Sasaki

April 2025