12th EPS Young Minds Action Committee meeting
The 12th EPS Young Minds Action Committee meeting took place at the University of Konstanz (Germany) on 28 November 2015. The YMAC meets twice a year to discuss the most relevant information of the EPS Young Minds project. This time, all members of the committee were present (Ulrike Ritzmann, Antigone Marino, Enrique Sanchez, Bence Godó and Eva Salvador) along with the President of the EPS, Christophe Rossel, the EPS Project leader for YM activities, Ophélia Fornari and the Director of the Institute of Nuclear Research (Debrecen, Hungary), Zolt Fülöp. They welcomed two new members, Robert Caruso and Jonas Berzins. The meeting opened with a presentation of the activities of the Konstanz YM-jDPG section by Karl-Philipp. The continuous growing of the number of Young Minds Sections around Europe was highlighted.
Physics in the square!
The central square of Naples Piazza del Plebiscito was trasformed into a big village of science for the 29th edition of “Futuro Remoto” from 16-19 October 2015. This event on scientific promotion and dissemination promoted by Fondazione Idis-Città della Scienza, University of Naples Federico II and Regional Education Office, was dedicated to the theme of frontiers.
Portraits of young physicists: Fatema Tanjia, a pursued dream
I met Fatema years ago. In our Physics Department we were not used to hosting foreigners, but one day I saw an elegant young woman of oriental descent, dressed in a beautiful sari. I thought immediately we were going to have the chance to exchange about our cultures. Indeed, now, after 5 years, I have a story to tell: the story of a young courageous woman physicist, a great example of cultural integration.
EPS Young Minds Session at EuNPC
In the early stage of their training, young researchers need to learn a lot of skills for their future career. In order to assist with these challenges, the EPS Young Mind Project organised a special session at the European Nuclear Physics Conference, which took place in September in Groningen (NL). In this session invited speakers gave overview talks to train young scientists for their professional knowledge as well as in promoting science.
An introduction of the Young Minds Project was given by Ulrike Ritzmann highlighting the fast growth of the project in the last five years and the variety of different actions of the self-organised sections. More than 30 self-organised sections in Europe engage in outreach activities, seminars and workshops to promote science and to broaden the knowledge in science and beyond train their professional skills.
The power of physics: physics as myth-buster
The Young Minds Valladolid section is included in the non-profit association Physics League which has engaged in several outreach activities in 2015. One of them is a show to demystify some of the most common beliefs of pseudo-science called “The power of physics”. In this show some apparently ‘paranormal’ tricks or “superpowers” are easily explained with physical laws. For instance:
- Levitation: We have constructed the same levitating system with steel rods used by ‘yogis’ in…
4th EPS Young Minds Leadership Meeting
On 29-30 May 2015, the Institute of Photonic Sciences [ICFO] in Barcelona hosted the 4th EPS Young Minds Leadership Meeting. This meeting brings together the members of the Young Minds (YM) programme of the European Physical Society [EPS]. Started in 2010, it encourages young physicists to collaborate, developing scientific, networking and outreach activities. 22 YM Sections took part in the event, representing 12 countries: Portugal, Lithuania, Italy, The Netherlands, United Kingdom, Germany, Ukraine, Spain, France, Hungary, Denmark and Poland.
Naples 4 Nepal, an EPS Young Minds activity
On 25 April 2015, at 06:11 UTC, Nepal was shaken by a violent earthquake with a moment magnitude of 7.8 Mw. Its epicentre was located in the north-west of the capital Kathmandu. In a few seconds, entire villages were flattened: nine thousand deaths, nineteen thousand people injured, with hundreds missing, and thousands more homeless.
Outreach to high school students
The University Jaume I of Castellón regularly organizes career orientation sessions for high school students called “Connecta amb la ciència”,which publicises the opportunities for study and training offered by the university in scientific disciplines. The GOC Young Minds section joined this effort and visited several high schools in order to explain everyday phenomena of nature related to light.
An interdisciplinary “pan-European” association
In 2013, the intergovernmental framework for European Cooperation in Science and Technology [COST]1 launched the targeted network TN1301: Next Generation of Young Scientists: Towards a Contemporary Spirit of R&I – Sci-GENERATION. Sci-GENERATION aims to elaborate contemporary scientific thought thereby disseminating a new spirit of research and innovation in Europe.
3rd Leadership Meeting of EPS Young Minds
In June 2014, representatives of the EPS Young Minds sections were invited to present and discuss their activities at the 3rd Young Minds Leadership Meeting. These activities range from colloquia presenting research in physics to visits of local industry to a variety of activities sharing the fascination for physics with the public.
EPS Young Minds was created in 2010 to connect young scientists around Europe and support them by training their communication and scientific skills. The goal is to give them the opportunity to organise various events and create a European wide network of young researchers. At present…
Everybody wants to see the sky
A modern person is bonded tightly to the different types of screen, starting from a smartphone to a cinema screen. Especially, young people are affected in this way. Frequently, they search and watch the beauty of the Nature on the laptop while the amazing physical phenomena surround us everywhere. The simplest example is the stellar sky that attracts human sees around the Globe during the centuries. These thoughts and ideas have inspired the EPS Lviv Young Minds section members to let anyone and particularly young and kids get more comprehension about celestial objects by the practical experience in the Astronomical Observatory…
EPS Young Minds at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light
The second Autumn Academy at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light took place from 30 September to 2 October 2013. The aim of this two-and-a-half day event was to introduce Bachelor and Master students to the fast moving field of optical sciences including topics such as quantum information processing, meta-materials, nano-optics, photonic crystal fibres, nonlinear optics, imaging and sensing. The response was excellent. From more than 70 applications, the EPS Young Minds section of Erlangen, Germany selected 26 students and invited them to Erlangen for a packed…
