Editorial — Outreach for All
One of the most rewarding experiences in preparing for the International Year of Light next year has been to see at firsthand just how many physicists are committed to science outreach. It has been extremely encouraging to learn about the many outreach initiatives throughout Europe. With global concern about public misunderstanding of science and technology, outreach is a hot topic, and ambitious programmes such as the Horizon 2020 “Science with and for Society” aim precisely at developing innovative ways of connecting science with the public.
“Outreach” is of course a very broad term, encompassing many different types of activity. Many research…
The Fabra Observatory
The Fabra Observatory in Barcelona, Spain was recognised as an EPS Historic Site during a specific event held on 9 May 2014.
Since 1904 the Fabra Observatory is one of the characteristics of the skyline of Barcelona. It was built by the Royal Academy of Sciences and Arts of Barcelona – which 2014 commemorates its 250th anniversary – under the direction of two academicians, Eduard Fontserè (meteorologist) and Josep Comas i Solà (astronomer) with the sponsorship of…
Blackett Laboratory, place of dozen discoveries
The Blackett Laboratory, home of the Department of Physics of the Imperial College based in London, United-Kingdom, was designated as EPS Historic Site on 30 April 2014. The Imperial College physicist Professor Tom Kibble had the privilege to unveil the commemorative plaque in presence of a large audience and EPS President John Dudley. Prof. Antonino Zichichi, past EPS president and member of the Blackett Group was invited to give a talk at the ceremony.
Since its inauguration in 1961, the building has hosted numerous eminent physicists, including…
International Year of Light News
Philatelic IYL 2015 in Liechtenstein
The yellow IYL 2015-stamp with a facial value of 0.55 CHF and the motto “Preparing the International Year of Light-Technologies, Physical section, Scientific Society of Liechtenstein” is the first IYL 2015 commemorative stamp…Tell us about your events for the global IYL2015 calendar! The global IYL2015 website will be live in a month or so, but meanwhile the landing page at www.light2015.org has appeared. The site will be progressively filled with content covering all aspects of the planned activities and events…
An unconventional 4-quark particle
On 9 April 2014, researchers at the LHCb experiment published a paper validating the existence of an exotic particle, which appears to be a tetraquark. The LHCb spokesperson Pierluigi Campana said: “We are very happy to have confirmed this particle, which is in fact a very strange object.”
Precisely 50 years ago, George Zweig and Murray Gell-Mann independently introduced the Quark Model, which is a fundamental cornerstone in particle physics. The model is a perfect tool to understand how matter interacts…
EPS Council 2014
The Council of the European Physical Society met at the International Centre for Theoretical Physics in Trieste, Italy on 4-5 April 2014. Over the two day meeting, Council delegates listened to presentations summarising the activity of the EPS in 2013, as well as programmed activities in 2014 and beyond.
The highlights of EPS activity for 2013 are available in the Annual Report, which is available on the EPS website.
In particular, EPS Council elected the incoming members of the Executive Committee. The EPS would like to…
Shaping science policy in Europe
The Lisbon Strategy was adopted by the Heads of State and Government of the European Union [EU] in 2000. By moving science into a central position for the development of a European knowledge-based economy and society, its adoption at political level seems to have been a powerful catalyst for the increased involvement of scientists in science policy in the EU.
Recognising the need for scientists to act collectively in order to contribute to shape the future of science policy in…
EPS Emmy Noether Distinction for Women in Physics – Spring 2014
It is a great pleasure to announce that the spring 2014 EPS Emmy Noether Distinction for Women in Physics goes to Dr. Rumiana Dimova from the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces in Potsdam, Germany.
The distinction was awarded to Rumiana Dimova for her distinguished contributions to membrane biophysics, in particular for the important breakthroughs she has made in recent years in two major fields, namely electric field effects on membranes and aqueous microcompartments within vesicles, pioneering the use of new experimental…
How physics impacts Italian economy
In 2013 the Italian Physical Society [SIF], in collaboration with some of the major Italian research institutions, Centro Fermi, CNR, INAF, INFN and INRIM, commissioned an independent and quantitative analysis concerning the impact of all the industry, commerce and business sectors based on physics and physics-derived technology on the Italian economy. The study, conducted by the Deloitte, a firm specialised in business and statistical analysis, covers a 4-year period, from 2008 to 2011.The study takes into account all sectors of the economy where the use of physics…
One conference to bring them all
The community of experts in the fields of accelerator and large experimental physics control systems has grown effectively from the early 1930′s. Since 1989, the ICALEPCS biennial conference series highly contributes to support the community.
Since the first accelerators were built in the 1930′s, new discoveries and observations have been made in many fields of physics. These led to new questions and bigger and more efficient apparatus were needed. Since then…
Exhibition on Radu Balescu’s life
An exhibition on Radu Balescu’s life (1932-2006) was held from 6-20 May 2014 at the Library of Human Sciences of the Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium. Radu Balescu was the first laureate of the EPS Hannés Alfven Prize for his outstanding scientific work in the field of statistical physics of charged particles and of controlled fusion. This exhibition was first shown at the Library of the Academy of Sciences of Romania in September 2012.
Radu Balescu was born in 1932 in Bucharest, Romania, of a Belgian mother, and acquired Belgian nationality…
Good results for ISE and the best is yet to come
The partners of the Inspiring Science Education [ISE] project have begun to see the result of their work during the first year of the project.
Science education is an investment for both society as a whole and the next generation of scientists. Bringing scientific culture into primary and secondary schools will inspire children to embrace scientific careers as well as enhance scientific awareness of future generations of policy makers, teachers, lawyers, etc…
