Editorial: The EPS revises and enlarges the recruitment of its Associate Members
The European Physical Society (EPS) is an umbrella organisation and learned society gathering 42 Member Societies representating 130,000 physicists. It involves more than 3500 individual members, 17 Divisions and Groups and more than 40 Associate Members. So far, the current Associate Members have mostly consisted of small-sized companies, universities or governmental organisations. In 2017, the EPS Executive Committee decided to revise the policy for recruiting its Associate Members and to broaden the scopes of its potential sponsors towards commerce and industry, in order to render the EPS more representative.
The EPS will award the Vladilen Letokhov Medal in 2019 for exceptional achievements in laser-matter interaction
The list of the most creative Russian physicists, active during the Russian empire, the Soviet Union or the Russian Federation, includes almost 100 famous names who deeply impacted and shaped all modern physics. Every physicist should know the tribute we owe to Lev Landau, Leonid Mandelstam, Nikolay Basov, Vitaly Ginzburg, Alexander Prokhorov and so many other Russian scientists.
Yes, we can
Imagine a group of PhD students and young PhD degree holders who have wanted to make something meaningful for young physicists in Ukraine together for years. Yes, that is us, and now we are called Kharkiv EPS Young Minds Section.
2018 ESPD Prizes awarded
The European Solar Physics Division board is delighted to present the 2018 ESPD Prize winners.
EPS/IUPAP/PPCF plasma poster prize winners announced!
The international journal Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion (PPCF), the European Physical Society (EPS) and the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics are proud to present the winners of the PPCF/EPS/IUPAP PhD Poster Prize. The winners were announced at the closing ceremony of the 45th European Physical Society Conference on Plasma Physics, Prague, Czech Republic.
Diversity Prize of the Dutch Physical Society
The Netherlands’ Physical Society (NNV) is searching for institutes or departments which are doing an excellent job of the promotion of diversity and gender equality within the organisation. To honour these institutes, the NNV has established the NNV Diversity Prize.
Special Breakthrough Prize In Fundamental Physics goes to Jocelyn Bell Burnell for the discovery of pulsars
The Breakthrough Prize Recognises Bell Burnell’s 1967 Detection of Radio Signals from Rapidly Spinning, Super-Dense Neutron Stars and a Lifetime of Inspiring Scientific Leadership. 50 Years After Her Significant Role in the Discovery, Bell Burnell, of University of Oxford and University of Dundee, wins a $3 Million Physics Prize. Previous recipients of the special prize include Stephen Hawking, seven CERN scientists whose leadership led to the discovery of the Higgs Boson, and to the entire LIGO collaboration that detected gravitational waves.
SESAME hosts its first users
On 17 July 2018, the first users arrived at SESAME to perform experiments using the Centre’s XAFS/XRF (X-ray absorption fine structure/X-ray fluorescence) spectroscopy beamline, SESAME’s first beamline to come into operation.
Lasers provide first evidence that light can stop electrons
By hitting electrons with an ultra-intense laser, researchers have revealed dynamics that go beyond ‘classical’ physics and hint at quantum effects.
SPIDER 4 ITER: the largest Ion Beam Source in the world has been switched on
There is a big step forward at Consorzio RFX (the fusion research unit in Padova, Italy – partners: CNR, ENEA, INFN, Università di Padova, Acciaierie Venete Spa): SPIDER, the full-scale ITER negative ion beam source prototype has entered into operation. The first pulse was carried out on 11 June 2018, during an international inauguration ceremony which saw the participation of about 360 attendees from Europe, Japan, India and Russia.
49th International Physics Olympiad, IPhO2018
The 49th edition of the International Physics Olympiad (IPhO2018) took place in Lisbon, from 21 to 29 July. The IPhO is an annual competition in physics for secondary school students, aiming at promoting physics and the development of international contacts in physics education, involving individual theoretical and experimental exams. The IPhO began in Warsaw, Poland, in 1967, with 5 participating countries. Since then, IPhO has grown to worldwide coverage and this year 396 competitors from 86 countries attended the competition in Lisbon, organised by the Portuguese Physical Society on behalf of the Portuguese Ministry of Education.
PolarQuest: Mission accomplished! Expedition achievements and highlights
Polarquest 2018’s sailboat Nanuq has successfully completed the circumnavigation of the Svalbard archipelago closing the loop in Isfjord, just outside Longyearbyen, where the Svalbard leg of the expedition started on August 4, logging 1500 nautical miles and reaching the outer boundary of the ice shelf at 82°07 N at 16h50 UTC on August 13. The sailing conditions were “exceptionally favorable, with absolutely no ice until very high latitude and only one gale with gusts up to 50 knots” – said Captain Peter Gallinelli, upon arrival. “More than weather and ice, the real challenge was a few very poorly or completely uncharted areas, especially on the East coast of the Nordaustlandet island, where we were often surprised by unmarked shoals and sailed inside completely uncharted fjords”.
