Boninchi Alumni Bonanza: ML opportunities for HEP in the era of agentic AI

21 May 2026, 08:00 → 22 May 2026, 17:00 Europe/Zurich

Villa Boninchi

This retreat is themed round "ML opportunities for HEP in the era of agentic AI,” actionable research with concrete goals we can target now (which were not possible 1 or 2 years ago).

For many years, PhD students have been amassing and combining knowledge in both the physics and machine learning domains within our research group. Afterwards, they have taken their skills and experiences to all sorts of places around the world.

Now, it is time to bring them back! Please join us for two days of interesting talks, catching up about old ideas, and developing new ones.

In addition to invited talks, we are also inviting you to give us ideas for the programme: please use the call for abstracts if you would like to present a topic you are passionate about - or if you would like to discuss one that deserves more attention than it is currently getting!

Additionally, to get a better overview of the attendance, and on how much lunch to organise, please sign yourself up for one or both days, let us know whether you would like to be included in the lunch planning, and whether you have any dietary requirements.

We are looking forward to welcoming you to the Villa Boninchi for the Boninchi Alumni Bonanza!

Thursday, 21 May

08:00 → 09:00 Breakfast

Join us for some breakfast (or swimming in the lake) if you like

09:00 → 09:20 Welcome & Introduction

Speaker: Prof. Tobias Golling (University of Geneva)

09:20 → 12:30 Invited Talks

09:20 Science without a forward model

Speaker: Deb Sengupta

09:50 A PhD Is Not Enough: From Papers to Products

My career didn't follow a plan, it followed momentum. In this talk, I will share my path from research to industry: from being the candidate whose CV a recruiter would discard in seconds, to becoming the recruiter deciding who makes the cut.

Along the way, I grew from data Scientist to Head of Data Science, co-founded AfriClimate AI, a nonprofit leveraging AI for climate resilience across Africa and most recently launched Wattzo, an AI-driven energy management startup. I'll reflect honestly on what skills truly matter, why selling your research is as important as doing it, and how openness to unexpected paths shaped every step of my journey.

Speaker: Sabrina Amrouche

10:20 Coffee/Tea Break

10:40 Dan Guest

[Title TBA]

Speaker: Dan Guest

11:10 Louie Corpe

[Title TBA]

Speaker: Louis Corpe

11:40 Coffee/Tea Break

12:00 Matt Leigh [Remote]

[Title TBA]

Speaker: Matt Leigh

12:30 → 14:00 Lunch & Catching up

14:00 → 17:00 Talks & Brainstorming I

Time for presenting existing & brainstorming new ideas

Friday, 22 May

08:00 → 09:00 Breakfast

Join us for some breakfast (or swimming in the lake) if you like

09:00 → 12:30 Talks & Brainstorming I: Talks & Brainstorming II

Time for presenting existing & brainstorming new ideas

12:30 → 14:00 Lunch & Catching up

14:00 → 17:00 Talks & Brainstorming I: Discussions & Follow-up

Time for presenting existing & brainstorming new ideas