Editorial – Getting girls into Physics – are we saying the wrong things?
We are all keen to engage more girls in physics. And, certainly in the UK, there have been initiatives and large amounts of money thrown at this problem for the past 30 years. Yet the percentage of girls taking physics up to age 18 and as undergraduates has remained stubbornly at about 20%. We can only conclude that everything we have tried has made NO difference to the uptake of physics by girls.
Condensed Matter in Paris 2014
From 24 to 29 August 2014, physicists from all areas of the condensed matter community met at the Pharmacy Faculty of Paris Descartes University, in the very heart of the French capital, for the 25th conference of the EPS Condensed Matter Division [EPS CMD], CMD25. On this occasion, CMD25 was organized jointly with the French Physical Society SFP’s 14th “Journées de la Matière Condensée” [JMC14], a fruitful collaboration that resulted in a bolstered attendance of well over 1000…
Towards a European pension fund for researchers
The Swiss Contact Office for Research, Innovation and Education [Swiss Core] has recently published an update on one of the ongoing hot topics in European Research. e-EPS is reprinting the article with their permission. The orginal article can be found here… A successful academic career in Europe entails a large degree of international mobility. From a European point of view and in the framework of the European Research Area [ERA], international mobility is often seen as a driver for excellence for research organisations as well as one of the key elements of the concept. However …
Future of Physics publishing
In Paris, during the last week of August 2014, the largest European meeting of the community of solid state physicists to place. This meeting was co-organised by the EPS’ Condensed Matter Division [EPS CMD] and the Condensed Matter Division of the French Physical Society [SFP].
In a special (parallel) session on Wednesday afternoon, the “future of physics publishing” was discussed with an audience of around 100 participants. Bart van Tiggelen (CNRS and SFP) introduced the session with remarks about…
International Year of Light News
IALD as Patron Sponsor
The IYL2015 consortium is delighted to welcome into its partnership the International Association of Lighting Designers [IALD] as a Patron sponsor …
Finland: It takes darkness to make light visible
Finland is a small country with a population of about 5 million people. The people working in photonics, both researchers in universities and in photonics companies form a small close knit community …
ESA celebrated 50 years at ESOC
On 28 August 2014, the European Space Agency [ESA] celebrated 50 years of European cooperation in space. Jean-Jacques Dordain, the ESA’s Director General, invited dignitaries, former astronauts, and colleagues past and present, the workforce at the European Space Operations Centre in Darmstadt, Germany [ESOC] gathered to share the success story of the ESA.
In 1964, the Conventions of ELDO (launchers) and ESRO (science and later applications) entered into force. A decade later, a single European Space Agency was established, taking over from these two organisations.
Following in Eratosthenes’ footsteps
An ancient experiment in schools around the world!
The Eratosthenes Experiment, organized by Ellinogermaniki Agogi’s [EA] Research and Development Department, on Friday 21 March 2014, in Athens Greece, on the occasion of the previous day’s equinox, received an overwhelming response, as 350 schools from 37 countries participated in this celebration of science and education, calculating the circumference of the Earth by using eLearning educational tools and simple instruments…
Cedric Linder wins the 2014 ICPE Medal for Physics Education
The International Commission on Physics Education [ICPE] is pleased to announce that the winner of the 2014 ICPE Medal for outstanding contributions to physics education is Professor Cedric Linder of Uppsala University, Sweden.
The award recognizes Professor Linder’s outstanding contributions to physics education research. His work has been notable for its range, depth and impact, as well for its international scope. Educated at universities in South Africa, the USA and Canada, Cedric Linder, in 1996, was awarded the first personal Chair in Physics Education in South Africa …
Playing with Light
Are you an Inspiring Science Teacher? Would you like to share some of your most inspiring teaching moments? If the answer is yes – then take part in the Inspiring Science Education [ISE] Competition 2014–2015 for a chance to visit London and some of its really exciting science museums and exhibitions.
This competition is all about recognising and rewarding inspirational science teaching practice and is aimed at teachers who are planning to run an exciting experiment in their science class between now and 31 March 2015, to coincide with the International Year of Light.
African School of Fundamental Physics and Applications 2014
The third biennial African School of fundamental physics (ASP) and applications took place in Dakar Senegal from 3 to 23 2014. The school explores theoretical, experimental, applied physics and computing aspects of the field. It covers a wide range of topics: particle physics, particle detectors, astro-particle physics and cosmology, accelerator technologies and some of the applications, such as medical physics, light sources, and Grid computing. The participating students are selected from all over Africa and beyond. The selected students receive full bursaries…
ESO: a view of merging galaxies in distant Universe
Using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array [ALMA], and many other telescopes on the ground and in space, an international team of astronomers obtained the best view yet of a collision that took place between two galaxies when the Universe was only half its current age. They enlisted the help of a galaxy-sized magnifying glass to reveal otherwise invisible detail. These new studies of the galaxy H-ATLAS J142935.3-002836 have shown that this complex and distant object looks like the well-known …
ESA and the EU sign a contract with Arianespace
On 20 August, the European Space Agency [ESA], acting on behalf of the European Commission, and Arianespace convened at the Guiana Space Center, European spaceport, to sign a contract for three launch services with Ariane 5 ES in order to step up the deployment of the European navigation system Galileo, the European Union’s flagship program.
With this new launch contract, a total of 12 Galileo FOC [Full Operational Capability] satellites will be …
