Science and Technology Conferences [SnT]

To build and strengthen its relationship with the broader science community in support of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) invites the international scientific community to conferences on a regular basis.

These multidisciplinary scientific conferences attract scientists and experts from the broad range of the CTBT's verification technologies, from national agencies involved in the CTBTO's work to independent academic and research institutions. Members of the diplomatic community, international media and civil society also take an active interest.

SnT2023 Science and Technology Conference

The CTBT: Science and Technology 2023 Conference (SnT2023) returned to full in-person attendance at the Hofburg Palace in Vienna following the virtual event held in 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic. More than 2,000 in-person and online attendees from 148 countries took part in the seventh edition of the conference held from 19 to 23 June. The week-long event featured a range of technical and scientific panels, lightening talks and e-poster presentations, along with engaging workshops. Attendees also had the opportunity to visit the Operations Centre at CTBTO headquarters and experience various aspects of an on-site inspection through virtual reality tours and a flight simulator. SnT2023 also highlighted CTBTO’s commitment to multilingualism and inclusion such as the high-level opening offered with interpretation into all official CTBTO languages, a first for any SnT conference, and several panel discussions conducted in Arabic, French and Spanish.

See conference webpage for more information.

SnT2021 Science and Technology Conference

The CTBT Science and Technology 2021 Conference (SnT2021) defied the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic to achieve its best ever attendance, with more than 1,500 people participating online and in person to mark 25 years of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) and explore research and innovations relevant to its mission. Running from 28 June to 2 July, the sixth conference in the biennial SnT series had to adapt to COVID-19 restrictions with a mixture of hybrid and virtual sessions, enabling scientific, technical and policy experts, academics, students, journalists and civil society to join from every corner of the world. The five-day event featured high-level messages, presentations, panel discussions, poster sessions and much more. Speakers at the hybrid High-Level Opening, hosted at Vienna’s historic Hofburg Palace, celebrated the achievements of the CTBT since it opened for signature on 24 September 1996 and looked ahead to its entry into force.

 See conference webpage for more information. 

SnT2019 Science and Technology Conference

With over 1,100 scientists, technologists, policymakers, diplomats, academics, students, journalists and others from nearly 100 countries, the CTBT: Science and Technology 2019 Conference (SnT2019), held at the Hofburg Palace in Vienna from 24-28 June 2019, was the largest of its kind to date. SnT2019 was the fifth in the flagship series of biennial, multidisciplinary conferences, designed to further reinforce the strong relationship between the scientific and technological community and the CTBTO. As well as the core technical agenda of presentations, discussions and a scientific poster competition, SnT2019 included a strong element of youth engagement. The conference also featured a number of brand new elements, including round-table discussions in Spanish and French and a special evening panel session on Women in Science and Technology. Other highlights included discussions on the challenges of communicating science to wider audiences, on artificial intelligence, and on how CTBT data can contribute to civil applications such as studying climate change and mitigating disaster risks.

See conference webpage for more information.

SnT2017 Science and Technology Conference

The CTBT: Science and Technology 2017 Conference (SnT2017), held in June 2017, attracted around 1,000 participants from over 120 countries, 650 abstracts, nearly 400 posters, and over 100 oral presentations. The Conference provided a forum for scientists from around the world to exchange knowledge and share advances in monitoring and verification technologies of relevance to the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) in support of the Treaty’s global verification regime. For the first time, a fifth theme, “Monitoring for Nuclear Explosions in a Global Context”, was included in the programme, and the Conference also saw a high participation from young scientists, as well as members of the CTBTO Youth Group.

See conference webpage for more information.

SnT2015 Science and Technology Conference

The CTBT: Science and Technology 2015 Conference took place from 22 to 26 June 2015 at the Hofburg Palace in Vienna, Austria. It was the third in a series of multidisciplinary conferences designed to further enhance the strong relationship between the scientific and technological community and the CTBTO. 

See conference webpage for more information.

SnT2013 Science and Technology Conference

The Science and Technology 2013 (SnT2013) Conference, took place from 17 to 21 June 2013. Scientists made over 80 oral presentations and over 250 poster presentations at the conference to more than 750 conference participants. Speakers included Hans Blix, former Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency; Siegfried Hecker, former director of the Los Alamos National Laboratory; Michel Miraillet, Director, French Ministry of Defence and Ellen Tauscher, former U.S. Under Secretary of State.

See summary or conference webpage for more.

SnT2011 Science and Technology Conference

In what CTBTO Executive Secretary Tibor Tóth described as "a scientific pilgrimage to Vienna", 500 scientists participated in the Science & Technology Conference (SnT2011) from 8 to 10 June 2011. Two renowned scientists gave keynote speeches: U.S. physicist Richard Garwin and Canadian geophysicist David Strangway. The CTBTO's role and contributions during the March 2011 Fukushima disaster played a prominent role in the conference's 350 scientific presentations and posters.

ISS09 International Scientific Studies Conference

The second conference under the title "International Scientific Studies Conference (ISS09)" from 10 to 12 June 2009 gathered around 450 scientists from 86 countries to assess the CTBT's capability and readiness to detect nuclear explosions anywhere on the planet. The second nuclear test conducted by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea only weeks before provided ample topics for discussion.

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2006 Synergies with Science Conference

The CTBTO's first major scientific conference, titled "Synergies with Science, 1996-2006 and Beyond", from 31 August to 1 September 2006 attracted several hundred participants, among them scientists from internationally renowned universities and scientific institutions, representatives of diplomatic missions and members of the press.

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SnT2023

SnT2023 was held at The Hofburg in Vienna, Austria and online from 19-23 June 2023.  The event brought together researchers, scientists, technologists, academics, civil society and Member State representatives, and CTBTO Youth Group members from around the world to discuss the key conference themes including: the Earth as a complex system; events and nuclear test sites; monitoring and on-site inspection technologies and techniques; sustainment of networks, performance evaluation, and optimization; and CTBT in a global context. Check out the CTBTO Flickr stream for conference photos and the CTBTO YouTube channel for all streamed sessions.