Stephen Wolfram
Colloquium
What the universe can and cannot compute
February 20, 2026. 18:00 - 19:00 CET.
Organizers: Ángel González-Prieto, Eva Miranda and Daniel Peralta-Salas
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This Colloquim is the closing event of the workshop “From Geometric Ideas to Computational Frontiers”. The workshop “From Geometric Ideas to Computational Frontiers” marks the launch of a new collaboration between the AQUACELL and COMPLEXFLUIDS research projects and the Wolfram Institute, opening a sustained dialogue between two communities united by a shared fascination with complexity, structure, and computation.
In this Colloquium, Stephen Wolfram, pioneering scientist and author of A New Kind of Science, addresses a foundational question at the heart of modern complexity science: to what extent can the universe be understood as performing computation, and where do the fundamental limits of computation, prediction, and explanation arise? In his talk, “What the Universe Can and Cannot Compute”, Wolfram weaves together themes such as emergence, computational irreducibility, and the origins of structure in nature, offering a unifying perspective that brings the workshop’s central ideas into sharp focus.
The Colloquium will be delivered online and will be followed by a live dialogue between Stephen Wolfram and the audience.
Registration is free but mandatory to attend in person. Please register here:
Venue: Facultad de Ciencias Matemáticas, Universidad Complutense de Madrid
Lecture room: Salón de Actos (Floor -2)
Address: Pl. de las Ciencias, 3, Moncloa - Aravaca, 28040 Madrid, Spain
More information about the event "From Geometric Ideas to Computational Frontiers" can be found on this link.
About the speaker:
Stephen Wolfram is one of the leading thinkers in the study of computation as a fundamental principle of nature. He is the founder and CEO of Wolfram Research, the creator of Mathematica, Wolfram|Alpha, and the Wolfram Language, and the founder of the Wolfram Institute, a research center dedicated to exploring the deep connections between computation, natural science, and the structure of reality. He is the author of the influential and widely cited book A New Kind of Science, which introduced the principle of computational irreducibility and reshaped how scientists think about complexity, prediction, and the emergence of structure in natural systems. Wolfram’s work spans cellular automata, computational physics, complexity theory, and the foundations of mathematics and science, and has had lasting impact across disciplines. He is a Fellow of the American Mathematical Society and the recipient of numerous international honors for both his scientific and technological contributions.
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