Ultrafast science broadly refers to the study and exploration of phenomena occurring on microscopic and nanoscopic length scales over extremely short timescales. Molecular processes such as rotational dynamics, charge-transfer relaxation, proton transfer reactions, and magnetization reversal typically occur on picosecond timescales, whereas molecular and lattice vibrations can evolve even faster, within femtoseconds. Electronic motions occur on attosecond timescales, representing some of the fastest processes currently accessible to experimental observation. These ultrafast events fundamentally govern the properties and functionality of matter and therefore require specialized pulsed light sources, advanced spectroscopic techniques, and sophisticated instrumentation for their investigation. Consequently, ultrafast technologies continue to play a transformative role in research and applications spanning molecular physics, condensed matter science, optics, chemistry, materials science, biology, mechanics, energy science, and information technologies.
The Annual Ultrafast Sciences (UFS) Theme Meetings commenced in 2013 with the inaugural event hosted by IIT Kharagpur. Over the years, subsequent meetings have been organized by various institutions across the country. The last three meetings were held at National Physical Laboratory (Delhi) in 2023, NISER Bhubaneswar in 2024, and IIT Hyderabad in 2025. Since its inception, the UFS conference series has served as a vibrant platform bringing together young researchers at early stages of their careers with established experts in the field, fostering scientific exchange, collaboration, and mentorship in an inclusive and collegial environment.
The 13th Annual Ultrafast Sciences Meeting (UFS-2026) will be hosted by the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Bhopal, from 2–5 December 2026. UFS-2026 aims to provide an interdisciplinary forum for discussing recent advances in ultrafast spectroscopy, microscopy, nonlinear optics, photophysics, quantum materials, biological dynamics, energy materials, and emerging ultrafast methodologies. The meeting will feature plenary talks, invited talks, contributed presentations, panel discussions, poster sessions, and opportunities for interaction among students, early-career researchers, and leading scientists working across diverse areas of ultrafast science.