ECOSS-31 – European Conference On Surface Science
The 31st European Conference on Surface Science [ECOSS-31] will be held at the International Convention Center of Barcelona www.ccib.es from 31 August to 4 September 2015. ECOSS is a well established meeting with a longstanding tradition that started back in 1978 in Amsterdam and is organized jointly by the Surface Science Division of IUVSTA and the Surface and Interface Section of the European Physical Society. It provides a comprehensive overview of the state-of-the-art surface physics and chemistry, discusses recent advances and current problems, and points out the prospective development of the field. Experimental as well as theoretical aspects are addressed, covering mainly …
Data Science Challenges: a Complex Systems Perspective
The international meeting “Challenges in Data Science: a Complex Systems Perspective” will be held from 14-17 October 2015 at the Castello del Valentino, UNESCO Site and Faculty of Architecture of the Politecnico di Torino
Editorial – Is there a by-product of fundamental physics?
What is the aim of fundamental science? We have all asked ourselves this question, and however naive it may seem, we often have to provide an answer. When the question comes from policy makers and funding agencies, we suspect ulterior motives. Therefore, rather than explain that the purpose is to gain knowledge and understanding, which is the essence of fundamental science, it is easier to raise an equally important aspect: most of the greatest technological advances are the direct or indirect consequence of not politically oriented research. One example that is often mentioned is the invention of the laser.
Call for nomination of EPS president-elect
A number of vacancies will arise on the European Physical Society [EPS] Executive Committee in 2016, including the position of President-elect. According to the EPS bylaws, a Selection Committee has been created to establish a list of candidates for the replacement of outgoing members, and for the President-elect.
Winter 2014 Emmy Noether distinction presented to Anne L’Huillier
On 4 May 2015, the Winter 2014 Emmy Noether distinction was presented to Prof. Anne l’Huillier (Dept. of Physics, Lund University), by the European Physical Society Equal Opportunity Committee [EPS-EOC] Chair and the former EOC Chair, on behalf of the EPS President.
The ceremony took place at the Institute of Physics of the Freiburg University (Germany) and followed a very well attended seminar (Physikalisches Kolloquium) presented by the winner on the topic: “From Extreme Nonlinear Optics to Ultrafast Atomic Physics”.
International Year of Light News
The International Year of Light 2015 Closing Ceremony to be held in Mexico on 4-6 February: Save the Date
ECOC Travel Grants available for students from developing countries
Cast your vote for SPIE People’s Choice Award
Light and Colour Concert in Germany
LIGHT2015 Young Women in Photonics and Young Entrepreneur in Photonics Awards Winners Announced
The LIGHT2015 project – coordinated by the European Physical Society – is pleased to announce the LIGHT2015 Award winners. The Young Women in Photonics Award was created to recognise young female scientists who have made outstanding contributions to photonics. The 2015 award in the Fundamental category goes to Na Liu (Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems) and to Nathalie Vermeulen (Photonics Team (B-PHOT), Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB)) in the Applied/Engineering …
4th EPS Young Minds Leadership Meeting
On 29-30 May 2015, the Institute of Photonic Sciences [ICFO] in Barcelona hosted the 4th EPS Young Minds Leadership Meeting. This meeting brings together the members of the Young Minds (YM) programme of the European Physical Society [EPS]. Started in 2010, it encourages young physicists to collaborate, developing scientific, networking and outreach activities. 22 YM Sections took part in the event, representing 12 countries: Portugal, Lithuania, Italy, The Netherlands, United Kingdom, Germany, Ukraine, Spain, France, Hungary, Denmark and Poland.
Naples 4 Nepal, an EPS Young Minds activity
On 25 April 2015, at 06:11 UTC, Nepal was shaken by a violent earthquake with a moment magnitude of 7.8 Mw. Its epicentre was located in the north-west of the capital Kathmandu. In a few seconds, entire villages were flattened: nine thousand deaths, nineteen thousand people injured, with hundreds missing, and thousands more homeless.
Physical expertise for Europe
The Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft (German Physical Society, DPG) welcomes European Commission’s plans to set up a scientific advisory board.
Bad Honnef, 27 May 2015 – As surprising the dismissal of the Chief Science Adviser, Anne Glover, was for many, this decision now opens the opportunity to provide scientific advice to the European Commission on a new and broader basis. Therefore, the German Physical Society welcomes the aim of the EU Commission to establish an advisory board of at least seven scientific experts.
Investing in photonics (in Europe)
In April 2015 the European Photonics Venture Forum took place and a short video gives a powerful impression of this particularly successful event which brought together 110 people from 15 countries. Presentations included 24 short product presentations, 30 investors, and 45 one-on-one meetings. The video can be viewed directly on https://youtube/IgWa8gUNWXw or on the dedicated EPIC Venture & Finance website.
SESAME moves towards commissioning
Report on the 26th SESAME Council meeting held on 26-27 May 2015 and hosted by UNESCO in Paris. In order for commissioning to start in mid-2016, and for the first stage of Phase 1 to be completed in 2017, some additional capital funding is still needed. Egypt will join Iran, Israel, Jordan, and Turkey (which are each providing $5 million) in making a voluntary contribution, which will partly fill the gap.
The Council was updated on progress in fabricating the magnets for the main storage ring, which is being managed by CERN, in collaboration with SESAME, using funds provided by the European Union…
