New insights in accelerator-driven systems
As part of EUCARD2 activities, and co-sponsored by EPS Technology and Innovation Group (TIG), a workshop on the status of new developments in Accelerator-Driven Systems or ADS was held at CERN on February 7-9.
EPS Executive & Staff activity for September 2015
The EPS works to support its members. Find below the list of activities of the EPS Executive Committee and staff for September 2015:
1-4 September: Christophe Rossel, EPS president, attended the joint annual Meeting of the Austrian and Swiss Physical Societies at TU Wien, Vienna, delivering one opening address and chairing two sessions (one plenary and one on Condensed Matter Physics)
Editorial – Women in physics: challenging the established stereotypes?
An equitable gender balance in physics would be beneficial for the quality of research and education, which are key elements in the economic, social and cultural development of our Society. The under-representation of women in physics is very widely debated and is central for a Society caring about the well-being of its members.
Light & Life
“Light & Life” was the title of an international symposium held with great success on 21 and 22 July in the prestigious setting of Villa Monastero (Varenna, Lake Como, Italy). The reports presented by Italian and foreign experts – among them Robert A. Lieberman, President Elect of SPIE, the International Society for Optics & Photonics -, and which are now available on the website of the Italian Physical Society (SIF), embraced many areas of basic and applied research based on light sources (from the Sun to common light bulbs, from extreme power lasers to synchrotrons) and their effects (in analysis and investigation techniques, such as microscopy and sensor technology, as well as directly on biological processes).
Call for EPS Fellows, Honorary Members and Gero Thomas Medal 2016
EPS Members are invited to nominate EPS Individual Members as EPS Fellows. Individuals whose achievements in physics, whether in research, industry or education and/or through commitment to the EPS warrant specific recognition are eligible to become EPS Fellows. Nominations should be sent to EPS Secretary General, David Lee, by 31 January 2016.
Call for nominations for the EPS Condensed Matter Division Europhysics Prize 2016
The EPS Condensed Matter Division Europhysics Prize for Outstanding Achievement in Condensed Matter Physics has been presented annually since 1975 by the European Physical Society, and has become one of the most prestigious awards for condensed matter physics in Europe.
The selection committee is pleased to request nominations for the 2016 EPS Condensed Matter Division Europhysics Prize. The prize laureates will receive a cash award, as well as an invitation to attend and present their work at the 26th Condensed Matter General Conference (CMD 25) that will take place in Groningen, the Netherlands, from September 5th through September 9th, 2016.
International Year of Light news
The École Polytechnique in France has released the song ‘Step into the Light a remarkable musical tribute to the International Year of Light and Light-based Technologies 2015 (IYL 2015).
Step into the Light is an original composition urging the citizens of the world to step up and help to spread the message about the importance of light and optical technologies in their lives, for their futures, and for the development of society. The song has a chorus based on a simple melody and the composers are asking interested groups around the world to get involved. One way to participate is to record yourself singing this chorus in your own language and with your choice of traditional instruments. We will collate all contributions into a special recording for the end of the International Year and this will be your chance to have your contribution preserved for history!
Lecture series at the University of Oslo Library
The International Year of Light and Light Technologies is celebrated by a series of lectures at the University of Oslo Library. This fall, the series continue as follows, given by:
• Torunn Kjeldstad, Center of material science and nanotechnology, on solar cells, a hot topic in renewable energy, 1 September 2015.
• Mats Carlsson, Department of Theoretical Astrophysics, on the sunlight – a key to knowledge, 6 October 2015,
• Johan E. Moan, Department of Physics, on sun and health, 3 November 2015,
• Pål Brekke, Norwegian Space Center, on the Aurora – from myths to tourist attraction, 1 December 2015.
EPS HEP 2015 in Vienna
Physicists from all over the world gathered in Vienna in July 2015 for the biennial European Physical Society Conference on High Energy Physics, organized for the first time in the Austrian city of music, and chaired by Prof. Jochen Schieck from the Institute of High Energy Physics of the Austrian Academy of Sciences. About 750 physicists joined from the 22nd to the 29th of July to profit from 425 parallel talks, 194 posters, and 41 plenary talks covering the latest experimental and theoretical work in physics of particle colliders, neutrinos, heavy ions, astroparticles, and cosmology, as well as detector and machine developments. This was completed by a strong physics outreach program, and a rich social program including an exceptional concert.
A portrait of a young physicist : Barbara Marchetti
We publish short portraits of successful young physicists showing that physics is not reserved only to men.
Barbara Marchetti is a young Italian scientist who after having obtained a PhD in Physics at the University of Rome Tor Vergata in 2011 and a Post Doc position in Germany, is now Primary Investigator of the linac for SINBAD, a project hosted at DESY in Hamburg. The SINBAD facility will provide long term Research and Development infrastructure for the production of ultra short bunches and novel compact acceleration techniques with high field gradient. Accelerator physics is a domain where women are still underrepresented.
In August 2015 Barbara Marchetti [BM] was interviewed by Lucia Di Ciaccio [LDC], chair of the Equal Opportunities Committee of the EPS.
XXIX ICPEAC in Toledo
The 29th International Conference on Photonic, Electronic and Atomic Collisions [XXIX ICPEAC] was held at the Palacio de Congresos “El Greco”, Toledo, Spain, on 22–28 July, 2015. ICPEAC is held biannually and is one of the most important international conferences on atomic and molecular physics. The conference gathered 670 participants from 52 countries.
During the conference, 854 contributed papers were presented in poster sessions, covering the recent progresses in photonic, electronic, and atomic collisions with matter (most of them can now be checked at online at J. Phys. Conf. Series, 635 (see http://iopscience.iop.org/1742-6596/635). In addition, five plenary lectures, including the opening one by the Nobel laureate Prof. Ahmed H. Zewail and the lectures by Prof. Maciej Lewenstein, Prof. Paul Scheier, Prof. Philip H. Bucksbaum, and Prof. Stephen J. Buckman, 62 progress reports and 26 special reports were presented.
School competition “Incredible Light Machine” – the winners!
In the school competition “Incredible Light Machine” [Die unglaubliche Licht-Maschine], kids from all over Germany were encouraged to submit videos of self-made “incredible machines”. The winner is the team “The Incredible Eight” from Luitpold-Gymnasium in Munich.
Bad Honnef / Cologne, 10 August 2015 – Sometimes it simply needs a little push to get things going. The German Aerospace Center (DLR) and the German Physical Society (DPG) have initiated a school competition in order to inspire teenagers for physics and technology in a hands-on fashion. In the school competition “Incredible Light Machine” (Die unglaubliche Licht-Maschine), kids from all over Germany were encouraged to submit videos of self-made “incredible machines”. The vast number of submitted movies and the creativity of the teams from 193 schools made it very difficult for the jury to name the winner. Finally, the team “The incredible Eight” from Luitpold-Gymnasium in Munich – six girls and two boys, who built a truly “incredible light machine” – came out on top.
