This meeting, will bring together around 25 scientists working on properties of elementary particles, such as protons, neutrons and pions, under the extreme conditions encountered in the early Universe and in heavy-ion collisions, such as those taking place at CERN.

One of the organisers and Chair of the Working Group on "Phases of strongly interacting matter" is Professor Gert Aarts, from the Department's Particle Physics and Cosmology Theory group. He said: "During the past year the Physics Department has transformed its collaborative spaces and it is a great opportunity to host the meeting in Swansea. To bring together researchers from Europe and beyond is tremendously important in science, since our endeavours address global questions, which benefit from openness and unhindered exchange of people and ideas. THOR will run until 2020 and provides ample opportunity to do so."

The THOR network is funded via COST, an EU-funded programme which enables researchers to set up research networks in Europe and beyond, and unlock the full potential of science.