Physics and Astronomy at the University of Southampton is ranked within the global top 100 and the UK's top ten in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2022.

The subject rises 11 places to 55th in the world (seventh in the UK) in the QS (Quacquarelli Symonds) rankings which are internationally recognised indicators of excellence to rate and rank the world's leading universities.

As well as providing global rankings at institutional level, QS ranks universities in individual subject areas using data compiled from global surveys of academics and employers.

Southampton's performance in all the areas listed is powered by the University's continued improvement in reputational rating among academic peers and employers around the world. The good scores for research citations and 'h-index' measures the productivity and impact of work published by scientists and scholars in each subject.

Associate Dean of Research, Engineering and Physical Sciences, Professor Robert Wood, says: "It is fantastic to see Physics and Astronomy being recognised so highly in these global rankings. This confirms our world-leading research across the subject, the impact we are having and the relevance and reach of our research in this discipline."

The University has 12 subjects ranked in the global top 100 - six are in the global top 50, twice as many as last year. This is a mark of consistent quality, indicative of its place among the best universities in the world.

Elsewhere in Engineering and Physical Sciences, Mechanical, Aeronautical and Manufacture Engineering rises 12 places to 63rd in the world (sixth in the UK), and Engineering and Technology is 85th in the world (seventh in the UK). Electrical and Electronic Engineering (EEE) is placed 65th in the world and seventh in the UK, and Civil and Structural Engineering remains in the world's 51-100 place band.

This continued success in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2022 demonstrates and strengthens the University of Southampton's position as one of the world's leading universities.

Read the full University QS Rankings by Subject story here.

Hundreds of the world's top particle physicists will gather at Southampton next year when Physics and Astronomy at the University of Southampton hosts a prestigious international conference.

The 30th International Conference on Supersymmetry and Unification of Fundamental Interactions (SUSY) 2023 is one of the world's largest gatherings of particle physicists and focuses on news ideas in the fundamental interactions of elementary particles.

Up to 400 people from around the globe are expected at the event to review and discuss recent research in theoretical, phenomenological, astrophysical and experimental aspects of supersymmetric theories and all other approaches to physics beyond the standard model.

Conference Co-Chairs Professor Stefano Moretti and Professor Stephen King, who are both members of Southampton High Energy Physics (SHEP) research group, are delighted that the conference is being held at Southampton in July 2023 - only the fourth time it has been held in the UK.

Stefano says: "SHEP is one of the largest particle physics research groups in the UK with a strong interest in Supersymmetry. We are known worldwide for our work and being selected as hosts of the SUSY 2023 conference is recognition of this international reputation."

Stephen adds: "We have more than 30 years of research experience in SUSY, including pioneering papers in the 1990s on non-minimal SUSY models which suggested at the time that the Higgs boson (the giver of mass to all elementary particles) should be heavier than expected in the minimal SUSY model. Such a heavier Higgs boson was discovered in 2012 at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN."

Supersymmetry is one of the most important ideas ever conceived in particle physics. It is one of the most elegant and promising extensions of the standard model, with the ability to resolve many of its puzzles naturally. Major experimental efforts, including low energy probes, collider searches and dark matter experiments, are ongoing to search for Supersymmetry in Nature.

The event will include two sections:

- The 30th International Conference on Supersymmetry and Unification of Fundamental Interactions, which is aimed at established physicists who will review and discuss recent research on all aspects of SUSY.

- The pre-conference School on Supersymmetry and Unification of Fundamental Forces, which is aimed at early stage researchers from around the globe to learn the basics of Supersymmetry.

Stefano adds: "It promises to be an exciting event where maybe some SUSY discovery will be announced or debated. Most of the data collected at CERN this spring will be analysed during the winter and the results will be available in the run-up to the conference."

Southampton colleagues Professor Alexander Belyaev and Professor Pasquale Di Bari will add their expertise in LHC phenomenology and cosmology to the event, as members of the local organising committee.

Details on registration will be published in due course.