Key information

Dates
September 7 - 11, 2026
Location
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
Unter den Linden 6
D - 10099 Berlin
Contact
info@fbp2026.de

 

FBP Poster

Supported by

HUB logo WIAS logo MATH+ logo

General Information

Message from the chair

The 17th International Conference on Free Boundary Problems: Theory and Applications 2026 (FBP 2026) will take place in Berlin from September 7 to September 11, 2026. The FBP conference is a flagship event that brings together the free boundary/partial differential equation community and is organized every few years with the most recent preceding conferences in the City of João Pessoa (Brazil, 2024), online in Berlin (Germany, 2021), Shanghai (China, 2017), Cambridge (UK, 2014) and Chiemsee (Germany, 2012) after the historical beginnings of the conference series in Montecatini (Italy, 1981).

FBP 2026 is a much anticipated follow-up of FBP 2021 which, due to restrictions during the Covid-pandemic at that time, was hosted online by the Weierstrass Institute for Applied Analysis and Stochastics (WIAS) Berlin. The 2026 edition of FBP will take place on-site at the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany.

Thematically, the conference will cover a broad range of topics from modeling, analysis, optimization to numerical realization. These include aspects such as uncertainties or stochastics, data-driven intelligent numerical solution techniques (e.g. utilizing techniques of machine learning), and applications.

Chair of the Organizing Committee
Michael Hintermüller

 

Scientific Committee
  • Damião Araújo (Paraíba U)
  • Antonin Chambolle (PSL U)
  • Charles Elliott (U Warwick)
  • Irene Fonseca (Carnegie Mellon U)
  • Harald Garcke (Regensburg U)
  • Adriana Garroni (U Rome)
  • Yoshikazu Giga (U Tokyo)
  • Michael Hintermüller (WIAS Berlin)
  • Tim Bastian Laux (Heidelberg U)
  • Buyang Li (Hong Kong PU)
  • Ricardo Nochetto (U Maryland)
  • José Francisco Rodrigues (U Lisboa)
  • Ulisse Stefanelli (U Wien)
Local Organizing Committee
  • Amal Alphonse
  • Michael Hintermüller
  • Robert Lasarzik
  • Dirk Peschka
  • Jürgen Sprekels
Local Support Team
  • Marcelo Bongarti
  • Andrea Eismann
  • Max Fröhlich
  • Jianfeng Ning
  • Pia Pfau
  • Felix Sauer
  • Qi Wang

Overview

Schedule overview

Conference booklet

 

The scientific program of FBP 2026 will feature

  • plenary talks
  • minisymposia
  • contributed sessions

Previous conferences

Plenary speakers

  • Martin Burger (Hamburg U)
  • Klaus Deckelnick (Magdeburg U)
  • Julian Fischer (ISTA Austria)
  • Balázs Kovács (Paderborn U)
  • Maria Giovanna Mora (Pavia U)
  • Matteo Novaga (Pisa U)
  • Maxim Olshanskii (U Houston)
  • Joaquim Serra (ETH Zurich)
  • Senjo Shimizu (Kyoto U)
  • Chandrasekhar Venkataraman (U Sussex)

Minisymposia of the conference

  • Degenerate PDEs and Free Boundary Problems
    Organizers: D. Araújo (U Paraíba), J. M. Urbano (KAUST)
  • Geometric Flows and Evolving Free Boundaries
    Organizers: S. Hensel (U Leipzig)
  • Numerical Methods for Geometric PDEs
    Organizers: Buyang Li (Hongkong PolyU), R. Nürnberg (U Trento)
  • Optimization and Free Boundaries
    Organizers: A. Alphonse (WIAS Berlin), M. Hintermüller (WIAS Berlin), M. Hinze (U Koblenz)
  • Free Boundaries in Shape Optimization
    Organizers: G. Buttazo (U Pisa), M. Novaga (U Pisa)
  • Hydrodynamic Models with Moving Contact Lines
    Organizers: L. Giacomelli (Sapienza U Rom), H. Knuepfer (U Heidelberg), D. Peschka (WIAS Berlin)
  • Free Boundary Problems in Data Science and Machine Learning
    Organizers: L. Bungert (U Würzburg), E. Martinet (U Würzburg), M. Thorpe (U Warwick)
  • Phase Field Methods in Real-World Applications
    Organizers: C. Cavaterra (U Milano), R. Lasarzik (WIAS Berlin), E. Rocca (U Pavia), H. Wu (Fudan U Shanghai)
  • Phase Transitions and Pattern Formation
    Organizers: H. Abels (U Regensburg), P. Knopf (U Regensburg)
  • Fluid-Structure Interactions
    Organizers: Y. Liu (Nanjing Normal U), I. Kukavica (U Southern Calif.), S. Schwarzacher (Uppsala U)
  • Free Boundaries in Biology
    Organizers: C. Elbar (U Lyon), A. Poiatti (U Parma)
  • Thin Material Structures
    Organizers: A. Voigt (TU Dresden), W. Bao (Nat. U Singapore)
  • Free Boundaries in Active Matter
    Organizers: R. Nochetto (U Maryland), S. Walker (Louisiana State U)
  • Domain Walls and Patterns in Local and Non-local Geometric Variational Problems
    Organizers: M.S. Gelli (U Pisa), C. Muratov (U Pisa)

 

 

Call for Contributions

Contributed mini-symposia

The FBP 2026 scientific program consists primarily of mini-symposia. Those wishing to organize a mini-symposium should contact us at info@fbp2026.de. Please note that all talks in contributed mini-symposia will undergo a review process.

Organized mini-symposia will be scheduled in groups of four talks. The minimum number of talks in a session is thus four. You may also compose your mini-symposium of a multiple of four talks.

Please note that mini-symposium organizers are usually expected to participate in the conference, and will be assigned as session chairs during the conference.

 

Submission of minisymposium proposals is now closed.

Contributed talks

Submit your contributed talk via the submission website. Every speaker needs to register for the conference

Please note: The conference intends to limit the number of talks per participant to one. In case a participant intends to give another talk, the corresponding sessions chair(s) and the head of the program committee (info@fbp2026.de) should be notified immediately and an argument for the differences in scopes of the talks should be provided. A decision on the request will typically be communicated within one week.

Invited talks

If you have been invited to contribute a talk in one of the mini-symposium of the conference, please use the submission link given to you by the mini-symposium organizers.

 

Deadline for submission of contributed talks: July 31, 2026

Notification of acceptance for contributed talks: Aug 10, 2026

 

 

Registration


All participants are requested to register via the online registration tool: Registration

Please note: You will first need to create an account by clicking on "Login" in the top right-hand corner, and then selecting "Create an account" below the login button. Once you have created your account, you will be able to complete the registration form.

 

Registration fee for Early Bird registration: € 250
Deadline for Early Bird registration: July 21, 2026

Regular registration fee € 300
Deadline for registration: August 15, 2026

End of registration:
Aug 15, 2026

Troubleshooting:

  • Verification emails are sometimes caught in spam/junk folders. If you do not receive a verification message, please check your spam folder first.
  • If that does not help, try registering with an alternative email address.
  • For technical problems, write directly to robert.lasarzik((at))wias-berlin.de and dirk.peschka((at))wias-berlin.de.
 

Young Researcher Grant

PhD students can apply for a Young Researcher Grant, that waives the conference fee or provides accommodation. Applicants should send their CV and motivation letter to info@fbp2026.de no later than 30 June 2026.

 

 

Practical Information

Venue

The FBP2026 takes place in the main building of

Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
Unter den Linden 6
D - 10099 Berlin

See the Room Plan

 

Hotels

Participants are kindly asked to arrange their own accommodations. Unfortunately, a fair is taking place
until Tuesday, September 8, which causes prices to be higher than usual.

Some suggestions for hotels near Humboldt University:

Conference Dinner

The conference dinner of FBP2026 takes place at the

Restaurant "Nolle"
Georgenstr. 203
D - 10117 Berlin

on Wednesday, September 9, from 7.00 pm.


 

Please note: We have been made aware of fraudulent e-mails that claim to arrange travel and accommodation on our behalf. We do not work with any travel agency or booking partner. If you receive a suspicious message, please contact us at info@fbp2026.de .