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…
The EPS at OECD Global Forum
The EPS was invited to attend the recent OECD Global Forum on the Knowledge Economy, which was held in Istanbul on October 22-23. The EPS was represented by Colin Latimer, EPS Treasurer.
Most OECD countries are still struggling to recover from the financial crisis of 2008 and the emerging economies have also been faced with a more recent downturn. Weak global economic growth has placed government budgets for science and innovation under threat in many countries. Previously planned increases have commonly been revised…
CERN Council hosts EPS presentation on the impact of physics to the economies of Europe
On 21 June 2013, at the open session of the CERN Council, EPS Vice president L. Cifarelli was invited by CERN Council President A. Zalewska to make a presentation of the recent independent analysis commissioned by EPS from the Centre for Economics and Business Research [Cebr] on the importance of physics – in terms of physics-based industries – to the economies of Europe.
The report, using statistics available in the public domain through Eurostat, covers 29 European countries…
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…
Dutch Physical Society hosts Physics and Politics discussion
A discussion session on ‘Physics and Politics’ – with a focus on the importance of physics to the European economy – was organised by the Dutch Physical Society [NNV] earlier this year. This event was part of the annual Physics@FOM conference, held in Veldhoven, the Netherlands, on 17-18 January.
The opinion of physicists is often publically sought in relation to events in which the application of physics is at stake; for example, in regards to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster. On a different level, funding organisations actively…
January 2012 EPS Executive Committee Meeting
The European Physical Society [EPS] Executive Committee met at the EPS headquarters, in Mulhouse, on 27-28 January 2012. One of the central tasks of this meeting was to make preparations for the upcoming EPS council, and the preceding Forum Physics and Society, which are scheduled to be held at CERN at the end of March this year.
As the first meeting of the new year, the 2011 accounts were discussed, and a budget for 2012 was drawn up. In addition, the committee will prepare a brief statement on the study “Physics and the EU economy”, to be presented…
