2012 EPS Forum Physics and Society
The 5th meeting of the European Physical Society’s Forum Physics and Society [FPS] was held at CERN, Geneva, on 28-29 March this year. The event, which focussed on the topic of “physicists in the market place”, was held prior to the 2012 European Physical Society [EPS] Council.
The purpose of the meeting was to explore the challenges experienced by physicists, leaving their usual fields of study, who pursue alternative careers outside of teaching and university-based research.
The meeting launched with a series of review presentations by physicists, and other scientists, who have experience in domains such as diplomacy (Jorgen Moller, a former ambassador), finance (Michel Dacorogna, SCOR), health (Montserrat Ribas, Barcelona Hospital), industry (Jacques Schmitt, founder of various start-ups; and Christian Ohler, of ABB Ltd) and politics (Mariano Gago, the former Portuguese Ministry of Science and Technology).
Following these presentations, three working groups met to deliberate on three specific topics: the internal strengths and weaknesses of being a physicist, the global challenge and the social responsibility of scientists. In each working group, advantages and weaknesses of physicists and their training were discussed, and various possible solutions were proposed.
It was pointed out that, while physicists often possess excellent problem-solving qualities – and they are thus able to undertake careers in a wide range of fields – they can be lacking in soft skills such as team work, communication, etc. They are often not ready to interact with outside world, to decode their research into the terms of potential application, or to accompany the innovation process. An improvement in this area – possibly linked to better gender equity– would be beneficial, and could help to make knowledge transfer to society more efficient.
The global challenge for physicists was discussed, alongside observations of research and production being offshored – to fast-emerging economies in Asia and elsewhere – and the necessity for European re-industrialization. Certainly, knowledge alone does not create value: societies need ‘real’ production to sustain research and development. It was said that less narrowly focused education systems, greater diversity and cross-discipline ties are needed, along with more adaptation towards open systems.
The social responsibility of physicists – and scientists in general – was analysed in detail. Greater links to the general public, policy-makers and younger people were encouraged: to explain recent advances; participate in societal issues such as energy, and the environment; to counterbalance the drop in interest in physics in education, for example, with ‘la Main à la pâte’-style approaches; and to increase involvement with cultural policy.
Finally, the public image of physicists was considered in need of restoration. In addition, a strong need was felt for a European Physical Society action committee on ethics.
The conclusions drawn at the Forum were presented – by FPS Chair Martial Ducloy and Ove Poulsen – at the EPS Council meeting on the following days.
The conveners of the Forum were Ove Poulsen and Christophe Rossel.
