Editorial – The impact of physics in the European economy

Since its establishment in 1968, the European Physical Society [EPS] has held a dual role of learned society and federation of National Member Societies. After 45 years, these Member Societies are 41 and the EPS represents a very large and varied community of physicists. One of the main objectives of the EPS is to give them a coherent voice on matters of common relevance, despite the existence of much educational, scientific, social and geographic diversity.

Along this line, one of the crucial issues to be addressed in today’s evolving European scenario is related to…

Editorial – Horizon 2020, opportunities for research and commitment to society

In a not so remote past, scientists were a close-knit society, spending much of their time in isolated laboratories or academic institutions, sometimes referred to as ivory towers. Now however, on a par with globalization and the emergence of the information-based society, there is a growing commitment of scientists to share knowledge and opinions with society in general. And indeed it is a duty to explain how public funds are employed in the development of basic science and technology for the advancement of society…

Editorial – The European Physical Society is 45 years old

2013 marks the 45th anniversary of the European Physical Society [EPS], sealing the maturity of our Society.

The EPS was founded in 1968 as “a demonstration of the determination of scientists to collaborate as closely as possible in order to further strengthen the European Cultural unity”. Since then the EPS has grown, both in dimensions and objectives.

In the last two years, following the guidelines of its strategy plan, the EPS has been developing a number of…

Editorial: The responsibility of scientists in the economic crisis

Science is extremely rewarding for its players. We undertake our careers pushed by curiosity and the need for understanding, and we have the possibility of being at the forefront of human knowledge in a specific area. We are revealing pieces of the unknown, we see our achievements become useful technology, our ideas made reality, that save lives, bridge the world. This year we have seen the first evidence of a particle that has never been measured before, thanks to the huge amount of data collected by LHC experiments, and this event has resonated around the world as an accomplishment for all humankind. And we have seen the first treatment of a cancer patient with carbon ions…

Editorial – 15 years already

I was speaking with a colleague recently, and we were reminiscing over my first Council meeting in Leiden (NL) in 1998. That’s when it dawned on me that I have been working for the EPS for fifteen years.

As can be expected, many things have changed. In 1997, the European Union had 15 Member Countries and the EPS had 37 Member Societies. The EU now has 27, and the EPS has 41, respectively. In 1999, the EU adopted the Euro as a single currency for 11 of its Member States (now 17). The budget for research framework programmes…

EPS Edison Volta Prize 2012 awards CERN LHC

The European Physical Society [EPS], the Centro di Cultura Scientifica “Alessandro Volta” and Edison S.p.A. are proud to announce the award of the 2012 EPS Edison Volta Prize for outstanding contributions to physics to:

• Rolf Dieter Heuer, CERN Director General,
• Sergio Bertolucci, CERN Director for Research and Computing,
• Stephen Myers, CERN Director for Accelerators and Technology…

Editorial – Joining forces for science and scientists in Europe

What a nice initiative from the EuCheMS president Ulrich Schubert to invite me to participate in the General Assembly of the European Association for Chemical and Molecular Sciences. This took place on 11-12 October 2012 in Dublin, in the beautiful library of the Irish Royal Academy.

Two round table dicussions were organized, on the following items:
- What are the European needs for Member Societies
- Combining forces for Horizon 2020…

Editorial – Actions and reactions

Dear Readers,

Action Committees are established by the European Physical Society [EPS] Executive Committee to advise in specific areas and undertake the actual organisation of EPS actions.

Following the EPS Strategy Plan 2010+, the Executive Committee is now starting a discussion to renew and revive the Action Committees: proposing modifications, if appropriate, to their composition…

Editorial: Widening our 2020 Horizons

Dear Readers,

The European Physical Society [EPS] has been duly responding to various questionnaires from Brussels, to provide significant input to the European Union’s scientific policies, namely in: ‘Areas of untapped potential for the development of the European Research Area’ and ‘Towards a Common Strategic Framework for EU Research and Innovation Funding’.

In particular, the EPS has been repeatedly stressing the importance of investment…

Assessment assessed

Physicists like numbers. We measure them, calculate them and use them to test experiment against theory.

Yet we also respect numbers. We appreciate their limitations and we take extreme care to educate students that numbers are open to misinterpretation. From the first years of university-level physics teaching we stress how measurements are affected by systematic and random errors and uncertainties, and we explain and distinguish the difference between accuracy (“truth”) and precision (“reproducibility”)…

Promote your scientific heritage!

Dear Readers,

The world over, organisations like UNESCO can be seen declaring sites, buildings, monuments and gardens as the cultural or natural heritage of humankind. We are convinced that the same should apply to our scientific heritage – since science is a fundamental part of our culture. Inspired by a similar initiative of the American Physical Society, the European Physical Society [EPS] Historic Site initiative will take care of the survey of the European territory…

European Physical Society: get involved!

Dear Readers,

In almost all discussions with colleagues and students about membership in a learned society the question is asked: “what’s in it for me?” Besides the purely philosophical answer, there are many practical reasons for why membership in a learned society can be a fundamental asset for every scientist.

The European Physical Society [EPS] is a platform for your activities and a voice for your interests…