Perspectives on the Foundations of Information Theory and Statistical Mechanics

May 7-9, 2026

This 3-day workshop examines the foundational significance of information theory and statistical mechanics for understanding entropy, probability, and physical information. The workshop will bring together philosophers of physics, physicists, and computer scientists to explore entropy and information as physically grounded notions. Key topics that will be discussed include the relationship between entropy and information, the role of correlations and entanglement in defining physical states, and the interpretation of entanglement entropy as physical information.

Speakers
Carlo Cepollaro (IQOQI, University of Vienna)
Eugene Chua (NTU Singapore)
Aude Corbeel (University of Amsterdam)
Niccolò Covoni (University of Urbino & USI)
Vincenzo Fano (University of Urbino)
Aldo Filomeno (Universidad Catolica de Valparaiso)
Roberto Giuntini (University of Cagliari & Technische Universität München)
Aditya Jha (University of Cambridge)
Patricia Palacios (University of Salzburg)
Bryan Roberts (London School of Economics)
Pascal Rodríguez-Warnier (Western University)
Marco Sanchioni (Sophia University Institute)
Stefan Wolf (USI)

Provisional schedule:

Day 1 – Thursday, May 7
14:00–14:15 Welcome and Registration
14:15–15:00 Aude Corbeel
15:00–15:30 Coffee Break
15:30–16:15 Stefan Wolf
16:15–17:00 Aldo Filomeno
17:00–17:45 Roberto Giuntini

Day 2 – Friday, May 8
10:00–10:45 Bryan Roberts
10:45–11:30 Eugene Chua
12:00–14:15 Lunch
14:15–15:00 Pascal Rodriguez Warnier
15:00–15:30 Coffee Break
15:30–16:15 Aditya Jha
16:15–17:00 Vincenzo Fano

Day 3 – Saturday, May 9
10:30–11:15 Patricia Palacios
11:15–12:00 Marco Sanchioni
12:30–14:15 Lunch
14:15–15:00 Carlo Cepollaro
15:00–15:45 Niccolò Covoni
16:00–17:00 Concluding Remarks 

Place
BiblioAgorà
USI East Campus
Via la Santa 1
Viganello, Lugano

Organiser
Institute of Philosophy (ISFI)

Registration
[email protected]

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For any question, please don't hesitate to write to [email protected].