In 2013, the European Physical Society launched the Emmy Noether Distinction to recognise noteworthy women physicists having a strong connection to Europe through their nationality or work.

Emmy Noether, with her fundamental and revolutionary work in the areas of abstract algebra and on the conservation laws in theoretical physics, is an exceptional historical figure for all generations - past, present and future - of physicists.

The laureates of the Emmy Noether Distinction are chosen for their capacity to inspire the next generation of scientists, and especially encourage women to pursue a career in physics. Attribution criteria therefore focus on the candidate’s

• research achievements
• endeavours in favour of gender equality and the empowerment of women in physics
• coordination of projects and management activity
• committee memberships
• teaching activities.

Nominators are encouraged to address these five points in their proposal.

The EPS Emmy Noether Distinction for Women in Physics is awarded twice a year, in winter and in summer.

The selection committee, appointed by the EPS Equal Opportunities Committee, will consider nominations of women physicists working in Europe for the 2021 Winter Edition of the Emmy Noether Distinction from the end of October 2021. As is customary for the Winter Edition of the Distinction, particular attention will be paid to senior candidates.

For the present edition, the deadline for nominations is extended to November, 1st 2021.

To make a nomination, please, email the following information to the EPS Secretariat:

• A cover letter, detailing (in no more than 3 paragraphs) the motivation for awarding the EPS Emmy Noether Distinction to the nominee;
• The nominee’s name, institution and email;
• The nominee’s CV;
• The nominator’s name, institution, and email.
• Optional: No more than 3 support letters.

Download the distinction charter and read more about the EPS Emmy Noether Distinction on the EPS website.

Author: Pascuala García-Martínez

The Equality Commission of the Faculty of Physics of the University of Valencia and the Spanish Women in Physics Group (GEMF) of the Royal Spanish Physics Society have organized the I National Virtual Meeting of Undergraduate Women in Physics last 12 July 2021. The meeting was sponsored by the GEMF and the Vice-Chancellor’s Office for Equality, Diversity and Sustainability in its 2021 call for grants for the organization of conferences, workshops and other events to promote equality between women and men and the visibility of women in academia.

The program consisted of lectures on physics by young pre-doctoral women researchers on different topics in the morning and in the afternoon, talks, round tables and working groups about gender and physics. The program is accessible in http://www.gemf-rsef.es/2021/07/01/i-encuentro-nacional-virtual-de-alumnas-de-fisica/ and the recorded videos are in https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTWVpSC0TqzxJfPOBsDYKgw

The asymmetry in the distribution by gender in the studies of the areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, STEM) represents an extraordinarily serious problem for several reasons. One of them is the demand of STEM jobs in a near future and in addition those works will be well remunerated from the point of view of salary. The lack of women in those jobs will lead to an increase in the gender pay gap that, on average, today is above 16% and reaches 45% in the highest salaries. In the area of Physics and STEM, a strong decline in female presence shows a low interest of girls in these areas mainly in secondary education.

The acronym STEM is being changed to PECS (Physics, Engineering, Computer Science), which represent areas where women are dramatically underrepresented. For example, the male-female ratio among US college majors in biology, chemistry, and many other STEM fields is now 1 to 1, while in physics, engineering, and computer science (PECS), the relationship seems have stalled at roughly 4 to 1 as evidenced by the article published in the journal Science https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aba7377. In Spain, areas such as biology, chemistry and all degrees that involve bio- are highly feminized, and even the male-female ratio is reversed in many cases.

Conferences for Undergraduate Women in Physics (CUWiP)

Since 2012, the American Physical Society (APS) is organizing Conferences for female students in the Degree in Physics in the USA. CUWiP was founded with the goal of increasing the number of female physics graduates. Through a weekend of plenary sessions, workshops, and networking events, CUWiP seeks to provide university women with a supportive community and the tools they need to be successful in physics. According to the following article https://www.aps.org/publications/apsnews/202001/cuwip.cfm there is a direct correlation between attendance at these conferences and the increase in the number of female students enrolled in the physics degree.

With this motivation we organized this unprecedented event in Spain. We wanted to generate a network of sisterhood around interests in physics, making the role of women in physics visible, and encouraging female and male students to share discussions with senior women physicists. It is not just a place where they can receive training in physics and gender, but students will be able to participate in some activities by discussion groups that help them to create networks of cooperation and collaboration to eliminate barriers and obstacles that may find in their career path.

Prof. Pascuala García-Martínez is President of the Spanish Women in Physics Group of the Royal Spanish Physics Society:

• @GEMF_RSEF
• http://www.gemf-rsef.es/

Author: Kees van der Beek

On the 17th of July 2021, Claudine Hermann passed away at the age of 75 in Villejuif (France).

Best-known for her tireless action in favour of gender equality in science, Claudine Hermann was an exceptional person by her wit and wisdom, her keen analysis of both scientific and societal problems, her dedication and commitment to helping others and the community, and her immense energy and work force. Claudine was a physicist of the highest level, and a wonderful colleague respected by all.

After her graduation from Ecole normale supérieure de jeunes filles in Paris in 1965, Claudine obtained her physics degree in 1969. She defended her thesis in condensed matter physics, and more specifically, on the measurements of the Landé factor of the conduction electrons in GaSb, in 1976. This, and later research would prompt Claudine to formulate a highly cited critique of the manner in which k•p type band structure calculations were hitherto performed, and to propose significant improvements.  Claudine occupied an assistant position at the Ecole Normale Supérieure in Paris. She was later became lecturer, and then the first woman professor at the Ecole polytechnique in Palaiseau (France), where she was also the vice-president of the physics department from 1985 to 1992. Author of a monograph on statistical physics, Claudine’s lectures were highly praised by all and loved by students, and her contributions to all aspects of training, education, and physics research at Ecole polytechnique were numerous. We particularly cite her work on magneto-optics of metallic multilayers, on photoemission in activated semiconductors, and on optically detected magnetic resonance.

It is in the early 1990’s that Claudine started her action for the promotion of women in science. She joins the Demain la parité (“Equality tomorrow”) group in 1994, and co-authors several reports on young women’s enrolment and position in engineering curricula and in university. With Noria Boukhobzan, Huguette Delavault, and Corinne Konrad, she published Les Enseignantes-Chercheuses à l’université: demain la parité (“Lecturers at university: gender equality tomorrow?”, Harmattan, 2002). In 2000, Claudine co-authored the Science policies in the European Union: Promoting Excellence through Mainstreaming Gender Equality of the European Technology Evaluation Network (ETAN, Directorate General for Research of the European Commission). From 1999 to 2006, she would be an eminent member of the ETAN “Women and Science” group. Claudine would go on to author more than forty articles, books, and other authorative works, and has delivered countless lectures and addresses on the topic across the world.

Claudine Hermann was the co-founder and first president of the French association “Femmes et Sciences” (“Women and Science”), president of the European Platform of Woman Scientists, and a very active member, till the last, of the “Femmes et Physique” (“Women and Physics”) Commission of the French Physical Society SFP. As such, Claudine also very actively participated in EPS activities. Notably, Claudine regularly published in e-EPS, authored various editorials and columns, and was key in bringing about the EPS “Inspiring Physicists” calendar.

With the passing of Claudine, our community loses one of its most exceptional members. Her efforts to the advancement of the cause of women in science are no less than remarkable, and the example she sets unparalleled. Citing Claudine as she expressed herself in 2013: “Many young women ask me whether I am a feminist. If being a feminist means working for women to participate fairly and equally in society, then, ‘yes’, a resounding ‘yes’!”

Claudine Hermann - Image credit: Morinsan via Wikimedia

Maria Garcia Parajo – Laureate of the Winter 2020 EPS Emmy Noether Distinction / photo: Maria Garcia Parajo

Maria Garcia Parajo is the laureate of the Winter 2020 EPS Emmy Noether Distinction. On behalf of e-EPS, Kees van der Beek, chair of the EPS Equal Opportunities Committee, spoke with her on the application of physics to cell biology, inspirational figures in physics, and empowerment of women physicists. COVID-19 restrictions oblige, the interview was carried out remotely.

Kees van der Beek (KvdB): Maria, again, my warmest congratulations on the occasion of the Winter 2020 EPS Emmy Noether Distinction. Can you shortly describe what you are currently working on, and why you feel that it is important?

Maria Garcia Parajo (MGP): For the last ten years, my team and I have been working on how the internal organisation, in space and in time, of biomolecules inside living cells regulate cellular functions.  We develop optical techniques and instrumentation that have the necessary ultrahigh spatio-temporal resolution and sensitivity to detect individual molecules and the events relevant for cellular functions. Our research thus truly has two sides: the development of sophisticated optical and biophysical tools, and then, there is their application in the physiological context of living cells.

In the first, we have the development of different far-field and near-field techniques for super-resolved imaging of individual molecules (on scales much smaller than those imposed by the diffraction limit of light). Far-field methods typically use stimulated emission, which was the object of the Nobel prize in 2014, as well as single molecule localisation methods in which the center of mass of a given molecule is pinpointed. A near-field imaging technique that we use a lot in our group exploits plasmonic modes in nano-antenna.

The second side concerns applications. I wish to cite two examples, in which high spatio-temporal resolution is particularly important. The first is related to the pandemic. We all know that the COVID-19 virus has specific receptors on its outer shell; both the virus and the host cell membranes can be seen as ligands to these receptors. The manner in which the receptors organise themselves in space and time determines how strong the virus attaches to host cells. The spatio-temporal organisation of the receptors is therefore important to regulate the affinity of the virus to the host cells. Another example is the organisation of DNA or of chromatin inside the nucleus. This determines the basic mechanisms of the cell functions. We are particularly interested to the immune system and pathogen binding. Finally, there is the issue of cancer, which is intimately related to the migration and adhesion of rogue cells in sites where they do not belong. It is the deep and constant interplay of physics, physical binding mechanisms, and biology that fascinates me.

KvdB: Can you tell us how you arrived in this exciting field?

MGP: I followed a long trajectory, starting from electronic engineering. I quickly realised that the courses that fascinated me most were those that had to do with physics, including electromagnetism and solid-state physics. I therefore enrolled in a Physic Masters programme at my Alma Mater. All the while, I was looking for opportunities to study solid-state physics, and chose a Master programme in semiconductor physics at Imperial College. For my PhD, I fabricated semiconducting quantum dots in III-V semiconductor heterostructures. One of the bottlenecks was that our fabrication process rendered these structures highly inhomogeneous. It was therefore very difficult to study their optical properties, e.g. through photoluminescence (PL), since these were averaged out by material heterogeneity. This is why I searched for new approaches to study the PL of individual structures, and had the opportunity to pursue such during my post-doctoral appointments in Paris and in Twente in the Netherlands. The challenge in the latter group was to measure the fluorescence of individual (bio-) molecules at room temperature. A major breakthrough occurred through my interactions with Carl Figdor, an immunology professor at Nijmegen university. Together, we realised that my ultra-sensitive optical technique could be applied in living cells. For the first time, I could see the signal coming from bio-molecules, in vivo! This was something really new – a signal from a living, moving entity! From that initial thrill, I became truly fascinated with the field that I have never left since.

KvdB: Have you ever considered any of your colleagues as role models? Do you consider yourself to be a role model? 

MGP: I do not really know whether the people who have influenced me in my career choices, starting with my father, are actually role models or rather, inspirational figures. Unfortunately, having evolved in a very masculine academic environment, I find no female figures among them. When I did my Ph.D. in London, there were only two women Ph.D candidates in the whole ten-story building! As for me giving inspiration to young scientists, this is a great and continuous source of pride for me. It is so extremely satisfactory to see students grow into scientific maturity, and to be able to create the environment and the conditions that have enabled them to do so, to modulate their inner capacities to this end! There are many facets to this route to scientific maturity, and I endeavour to accompany my students in every way, not only the scientific aspects. It is important to also address things such as emotions, fears, uncertainty, insecurity and self-confidence, to be in dialogue with ones students. My relation with the members of my group is thus very open. I am particularly proud of being a role model to young female scientists.

KvdB: Did you know that you were nominated for the Emmy Noether distinction?

MGP: A couple of my colleagues had actually suggested that I would be a good candidate. However, from there, I was conscientiously kept out of the loop, and to be laureate was a very happy surprise.

KvdB: You have been recognized through many prizes and awards. Is the Emmy Noether Distinction still special for you?

MGP: Yes it is, because it does not only recognise one’s scientific career, but also all the extra effort that one has put into promoting and empowering women to excel in science. Through it, the European Physical Society recognises the specific importance of empowering women and promoting gender equity and that is very important to me.

KvdB: Have you yourself encountered any difficulties rooted in gender roles or inequity?

MGP: Definitely, women are much more aware of their position than we were in the day. They are much more aware of the things that they need not accept or take for granted. When I was a student, I took the fact that I evolved in a mainly male environment as a sort of “default” situation. I started to feel the resistance against my career progression at the point where I became a post-doc and then wanted to establish myself as a young professor, and I found myself competing for grants, for papers, for last authorship, for students. That was a tough part of my career – unfortunately, many young women researchers still find a particular resistance at that stage of their career today.

KvdB: What actions do you think are most useful to help women in physics? Which one of your actions do you see as having been the most successful?

MGP: The problem of the position and career progression of women in physics is a very complicated one because it has a great man inputs. You therefore have to target many factors in parallel, something that will probably take generations. Yet, one of the most important things is that everyone, women and men, in the field is aware, is conscious of the implicit gender bias that still pervades our communities today and affects the working environment. It is the accumulation of many little things on a daily basis that causes women to snap and leave science. I really do believe that explicit bias is no longer the problem today. I also think that specific training courses in secondary and soft skills for women scientist are very important. Science is a highly competitive business and women have to acquire the necessary assertiveness, and the assurance to speak in public and put themselves on the front of the stage. Mentoring is also a very important point. Like I do with my students, it is necessary for more senior scientists to advise young women physicists how to handle uncertain, difficult or uncomfortable situations. On the other hand, I do not believe in positive discrimination or quota. To me, all discrimination is negative. Rather, as a way to avoid discrimination, I would like to recommend the creation of specific calls for women scientists (physicists), in the same way as calls can be targeted towards age groups, e.g. early career researchers. In any case, one will always have to make that extra effort, that extra little thought, to ensure that women get equal chances at all levels, be it employment, conferences, or other.

KvdB: COVID-19 has aggravated all that is not well in the world. What are the difficulties related to the COVID pandemic that you or your students encounter?

MGP: Of course. The pandemic is a major distraction from all points of view. We have had to stop all experiments. When we resumed, it was not the entire group that could return. Worse, in our case we are dealing with biological reagents, to obtain them afresh comes with major delays. 2020, however, has proved productive as far as data analysis and paper writing is concerned. I am afraid that the reduction of scientific productivity will be felt in 2021. More generally, we are all human so the pandemic affects us all. I have spent much more time giving emotional support to members of our group. Our group is very international, and many of its members went back to their home country, without always having the possibility to come back. To remain close to, and help our younger colleagues of the next generation is an extremely important part of our responsibility.

Read about the EPS Emmy Noether Distinction

Giuliana Galati is a 30-year old physicist. After graduating in Nuclear, Subnuclear and Astroparticle Physics from Bari University Aldo Moro (Italy), she completed her PhD at Naples University Federico II, working on the underground physics experiment OPERA searching for neutrino oscillations. In 2017, she won the national "Bruno Rossi" prize for the best PhD thesis in Astroparticle Physics, awarded by the Astroparticle Physics Committee of the Italian National Institute for Nuclear Physics (INFN). In 2019, she was awarded the national prize "Ida Ortalli" for commitment and effort in the science field by the Italian Physics Society.
She is now working on dark matter search and medical physics.

Giuliana is also highly involved in science communication. She co-founded a science podcast (www.scientificast.it) aimed at conveying complex science topics in a way that is accessible to all. This podcast became one of the most famous in Italy. Moreover, recently, she became one of the authors and hosts for the Italian TV series Superquark+, aimed at disseminating science to a broad audience (http://www.raiplay.it/programmi/superquarkpiu).

Luc Bergé (LB), President-Elect of the EPS and chair of the EPS Equal Opportunities Committee, interviewed Giuliana Galati (GG).

LB: Why did you choose to study physics?
GG: I have always been very curious about how physical phenomena work, but in middle school I hated mathematics and preferred literature. In Italy, for the final exam at the end of high school, students are asked to prepare an essay. I chose the topic of “Time” and on my own, I studied the paradoxes of Einstein’s relativity. It was like falling in love! What impressed me the most was that physics seemed to be magical, but at the same time real, without tricks or illusions!
I must admit that I wasn’t really fully aware of what I was getting into!

LB: Any concerns about balancing your family life and a career in physics?
GG: Sometimes yes, but I don't think that physics is the problem. The reality is that I like what I do and if I have a computer, I can work anywhere and at any time. If at the very beginning of your PhD, you start working more than you should, later it becomes difficult to do less. You keep working also outside working hours, sometimes neglecting leisure and a social life.

LB: Are you worried about finding a job in physics?
GG: I know that it is difficult, but in general I’m an optimistic person and I think that things will go well. If I cannot pursue a career in physics, I will find a plan B!

LB:  What has been personally the most rewarding experience and also the biggest difficulty encountered so far in your career?
GG: It’s hard to think of a single rewarding experience: every time I accomplish a task, I feel rewarded. Finding a difficulty is easier: the biggest one is realizing – and it happens often to me! – that I’ve made a mistake or that I still have so much more to learn….

LB:  Did you encounter any difficulty in finding funding for a PhD or a postdoc position because you are a woman?
GG: No, I did not. In my research group there are many women and, so far, I have never felt preferences for someone just because he was a man. Nevertheless, it’s evident that most full professors are men. I hope things are already changing and that no woman will soon have to choose between having a family or a career.

LB:  Any suggestion to guarantee a balanced gender representation in physics?
GG: That’s a challenging question. I don't like those systems that have a quota for women: I don't want to be hired or win a competition just because I’m a woman.
What I would like is to have equal opportunities in physics and equal obligations outside the research world. For new mothers, it would be useful to have more supportive infrastructures, for example, day-care or kindergartens.

LB:   Any particular advice for a young aspiring researcher?
GG: The first is: “Don't give up!” I still remember that I spent the first six months at university crying every afternoon because I couldn't understand most of the lessons. I felt lost and I believed that I couldn’t make it.
The second one is: build a team. Together we are stronger when preparing for an exam or when working as researchers. Share ideas, ask for help, offer help. Don’t be a lone wolf.

LB:  Do you have any female ‘physicist cult figure’ or ‘role model’?
GG: Absolutely! One of them is Prof. Mariateresa Muciaccia, one of my Professors at university. When I was a student, she was one of the few women full professors. Her lessons were the first ones that made me say: “ok, I’m in the right place!”. I was really fascinated by her and I decided to ask her to supervise my bachelor thesis. I still work in that field of research, so without her my life would have been so different!
I could say that my cult figures are also great women like Fabiola Gianotti, but the truth is that my models are all the women with whom I work and have worked. Believe me: even if they are not famous, they are all great ones!

Giuliana Galati – Photo: Assunta Servello