Editorial
Dear Readers,
The Executive Committee of the European Physical Society met in Wroclaw, Poland, at the end of October. News from the meeting, in the now customary summary format by Martina Knoop, can be found herein.
The Executive Committee meeting was held at the eve of the second Asia Europe Physics Summit, ASEPS2, which also took place in Wroclaw on 26-29 October. The summit witnessed a reinforced spirit of collaboration and cooperation between these two distant, but at the same time closely tied scientific communities – which were represented by the European Physical Society and the Association of Asia Pacific Physical Societies. More information about the relevance of this summit can be found in our article ‘ASEPS: a success story’.
During the 27th IUPAP General Assembly in London, on 2 November, the European Physical Society’s proposal for an International Year of Light in 2015 received a green light. Thus a first, very significant, step towards the achievement of the International Year of Light project was accomplished. Stay tuned for more concerning the development of this initiative, which is mainly due to the European Physical Society’s Quantum Electronic and Optics Division and the driving enthusiasm of John Dudley.
I would like to encourage our members to check out our new Facebook page. The European Physical Society is dedicated to bringing you the latest news, in the manner which is most convenient for you – whether that be through our website, by email, or social media such as Facebook, Google+ and Twitter. This relaunch is part of this objective.
Finally, a few words concerning the European Gender Summit 2011, which was held in Brussels on 8-9 November, under the motto “Quality, Research and Innovation through Equality”. The European Physical Society sponsored a video exhibit on the women involved in CERN’s LHC experiments.
I was one of over 400 delegates who attended the summit, having the opportunity to listen to inspiring presentations and learn about promising initiatives – in particular, in Norway. The contribution from the countries in North Africa was also extremely interesting. Challenging conclusions on future strategies were stated at the end.
One remark: at a glance, only 5-10 per cent of the delegates were men. This – if interpreted in terms of concern – clearly indicates the amplitude of this problem.
Luisa Cifarelli
EPS President
