Tohoku University has decided to establish Tohoku Forum for Creativity, which is modeled after the Aspen Center for Physics, USA, or the Isaac Newton Institute, UK. Namely, it holds a few three-month scientific programs selected by the international advisory board annually and brings together senior and junior scholars from the scientific disciplines related to the program. Its aim is to identify important problems in science and technology and develop innovative ideas or profound theories though intensive discussions without distraction. In addition, graduate students, post-doctoral scholars and young academics are encouraged to participate in the programs.

This year, we are going to run a pilot workshop and has selected “Particle Physics and Cosmology Beyond the Higgs Boson”
At the end of 2012, the Higgs particle was found at the CERN laboratory located in the suburb of Geneva.
The Higgs particle is thought to be the origin of masses for all massive elementary particles, and was the last particle to be found of the standard model of elementary particles. The discovery of the Higgs particle, however, does not mean completion of the particle theory; rather, it made the problems of the standard model acute; namely, problems such as the instability of the Higgs mass and lack of candidate for the dark matter in the standard model. At this workshop, we will investigate the direction of particle physics together with some forerunners who constructed the standard model or who led the progress of particle physics afterwards.

• We are also going to organize discussion session for non-experts (in Japanese), "Tohoku Forum Exciting Class: On our universe from non-experts point of view".Click the following link for details.