Reaching new heights in laser-accelerated ion energy
A laser-driven ion acceleration scheme, developed in research led at the University of Strathclyde, could lead to compact ion sources for established and innovative applications in science, medicine and industry.
Signing for gender equality in physics research
To advance recruitment and career progression of female physicists and engineers, the directors of the four NWO physics research institutes the Netherlands, AMOLF, ARCNL, DIFFER and Nikhef, have signed Gender Equality Plans. The official ceremony took place on January 22nd, 2018 at the start of the large Physics@Veldhoven conference in front of the physics community in the Netherlands. It kicked off a systematic approach to accelerate improving the gender balance in the national physics research institutes, leading to structural changes. By publicly signing the plans, the four institute directors emphasised their commitment to and the legitimacy of the agreed actions and measures for gender equality.
16th EPS Young Minds Action Committee meeting
The 16th EPS Young Minds Action Committee meeting took place at CERN, close to Geneva (Switzerland) on 10th of November 2017.
Surrounded by a fabulous landscape and immersed in the heart of the world of Particle Physics, the meeting started by welcoming two new Action Committee members: Imran Khan and Giorgio Nocerino.
Scientists observe nanowires as they grow
At DESY’s Xray source PETRA III, scientists have followed the growth of tiny wires of gallium arsenide live. Their observations reveal exact details of the growth process responsible for the evolving shape and crystal structure of the crystalline nanowires. The findings also provide new approaches to tailoring nanowires with desired properties for specific applications. The scientists, headed by Philipp Schroth of the University of Siegen and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), present their findings in the journal Nano Letters. The semiconductor gallium arsenide (GaAs) is widely used, for instance in infrared remote controls, the highfrequency components of mobile phones and for converting electrical signals into light for fibre optical transmission, as well as in solar panels for deployment in spacecraft.
Exploring the energy frontier in particle physics
The desire to understand the elementary constituents of matter and their interactions has been one of the most important drivers of physics research. In the past 50 years, major progress in the field of particle physics has been made by accelerating particles to the highest energies available (the energy frontier) and by colliding them to produce and study new particles and interactions. Recent examples are the 1992 discovery of the top quark, by the Collider Detector at Fermilab (CDF) and D0 experiments, in the Tevatron collider at Fermilab; and the 2012 discovery of the Higgs boson, by the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) and A Toroidal LHC ApparatuS (ATLAS) experiments, in the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN. These important discoveries, as well as many others, are the experimental foundations of the Standard Model (SM) of particle physics.
History of Physics Group conference: call for papers
In collaboration with the Donostia International Physics Center in Donostia-San Sebastian, the EPS interdivisional group for the History of physics will organise the 3rd International Conference on the History of Physics under the auspices of the European Physical Society from 17–21 October 2018. This will be co-organised with the 4th Early-Career Conference for Historians in the Physical Sciences of the American Institute of Physics hopefully allowing for a vigorous conference.
IUPAP Young Scientist Prize in Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics 2018: call for nominations
Nominations are sought for the Young Scientist Prize in Atomic, Molecular and Optical (AMO) Physics, which will be awarded in 2018 by the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics through Commission C15 (AMO Physics). The prize will be awarded during the 26th International Conference on Atomic Physics (ICAP) to be held from 22-27 July 2018 in Barcelona, Spain. The Prize includes a certificate, a medal, a EURO 1,000 award and an invited presentation at ICAP.
XV Seminar on Software for Nuclear, Subnuclear and Applied Physics
The “XV Seminar on Software for Nuclear, Subnuclear and Applied Physics” is organised by INFN-Laboratori Nazionali del Sud, University of Sassari and the “Centro Siciliano di Fisica Nucleare e Struttura della Materia”. It will be held at Porto Conte Hotel from May 27th – June 1st 2018, Alghero (Sardinia, Italy). The Seminar is aimed at [...]
Editorial – Scanning Khufu’s Pyramid with atmospheric muons
In a publication in Nature in December 2017 [1], teams of the ScanPyramids project [2] announced the discovery of a hitherto unknown big void in Khufu’s Pyramid in Egypt, also known as the Great Pyramid of Giza or the Pyramid of Cheops [3]. The void was found by scanning the internal structure of the pyramid using the abundant flux of atmospheric muons
Name Change: EPS Sponsored Conferences are now EPS Recognised Conferences
As of 1 January 2018, what were formerly known as “EPS Sponsored Conferences” will be called “EPS Recognised Conferences”.
Entropy 2018: From Physics to Information Sciences and Geometry
The conference will take place from 14-16 May 2018 at the Faculty of Geology, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
European Commission: towards a stronger cooperation on education
In a meeting in Gothenburg on 17 November, the European Commission set out its vision for how a European Education Area could be created by 2025.
