Cavendish Laboratory students to represent the UK at the International Physicists’ Tournament 2026

A team of undergraduate students from the Cavendish Laboratory,  won first place at the UK Physicists’ Tournament (UKPT) 2025, securing them a place in the next International Physicists’ Tournament (IPT), taking place in May 2026 at Oklahoma State University, USA

The national academic competition, held on 6 December at King’s College London. brought together four teams of physics undergraduates from across the UK for a full day of structured scientific debate. Each team consisted of four to six students, bringing together 20 undergraduate contestants on the tournament day.

20 undergraduate contestants on the tournament day

The Cambridge winning team – Tsz Yin Kwok (Tommy), Pok Shing Hui (Chris), Tianrun Lan (Layton), Shuiyi Gong (Grace) and Xige Hao (Kevin) – demonstrated outstanding analytical ability, teamwork and scientific communication throughout the tournament, emerging as overall winners after several rounds of presentations and rigorous discussion. The student team  was led by Dr Victor H. González, Research Associate at Cambridge’s Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics.

“Congratulations to all our winners,” said Prof Ulrich Schneider, Director of Undergraduate Education at the Cavendish Laboratory.

“Their victory is a testament to their exceptional problem-solving skills, teamwork, and preparation. This impressive achievement reflects not only their individual talent, but also the strength of the academic environment in which they have been trained.”

During the competition, the teams presented their reports and engaged in scientific discussion on a wide range of physics phenomena, from exploring how fast a ping-pong ball can travel when launched with a rubber band to investigating why cooked rice often forms randomly distributed holes. Each session challenged participants to present, critique, and review complex physical arguments, fostering an environment that promoted rigorous reasoning, creativity, and effective scientific communication.

Following their success, the Cavendish Laboratory team will now continue preparations to represent the UK at the International Physicists’ Tournament 2026 where they will compete with undergraduate and master’s students from across the globe and will tackle open-ended physics problems, defend their solutions in ‘Physics Fights’, and represent the University of Cambridge on an international stage.

“The team continues the University’s strong tradition of involvement in international physics competitions, following Cambridge’s representation of the UK at the IPT in 2021 and 2023. This victory is a significant achievement and positions the team strongly for participation in the International Physicists’ Tournament (IPT) 2026.

“We wish them every success in their preparations for the forthcoming competition,” added Prof Claudio Castelnovo from the Cavendish Laboratory.

The UKPT is a national academic competition aligned with the International Physicists’ Tournament (IPT) and is co-organised by the UK International Physicists’ Tournament Organising Committee and the Institute of Physics (IOP) London and South East Branch.

Adapted from UK Physicists’ Tournament release.