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Posted By Administration,
Monday 15 February 2021
Updated: Monday 22 February 2021
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The Winter 2020 EPS Emmy Noether Distinction is awarded to:
ICREA Research Professor and researcher at the Institut de Ciències Fotòniques (ICFO) in Castelldefels near Barcelona in Spain « for her outstanding contributions to nano-biophysics and to numerous programs to support women in physics ».
At
ICFO, María García Parajo is the leader of the Single Molecule
Biophotonics group of IBEC-Institut de Bioenginyeria de Catalunya. She
received her Ph.D from Imperial College, University of London, UK, in
1993, from where she proceeded to take an Assistant professorship at the
University of Twente, the Netherlands, where she worked for four years
in the Applied Optics Group at MESA+ / Institute for Nanotechnology. She
moved to Barcelona in 2005 and has worked there ever since.
María
García Parajo has contributed decisively to several technical
developments that allow the mapping and the direct visualisation of
biomolecular interactions regulating life´s essential processes. The
methods she has pioneered and used have provided profound insights on
the spatiotemporal organisation of the plasma membrane of cells, which
influence diverse processes in the immune system such as pathogenic
infections (including HIV pathogenesis), autoimmunity and immune cell
migration (with direct implications in proper immune regulation and
cancer). One of her salient results (published in Cell in 2015) has led
to the direct visualisation of chromatin inside intact cells, which
allowed for the first time ever to correlate chromatin compaction to
cell differentiation.
María García Parajo has contributed
tirelessly to physics education via summer schools and training
programmes as well as by the furthering of equal opportunities and
gender equality in physics. María has contributed to and participated in
a great many activities, committees, talks, seminars, round-tables
panels, etc., oriented at creating opportunities for women scientists.
Since September 2017, María García Parajo is part of the Gender
committee at ICFO, where she has initiated a large number of actions to
increase the visibility, awareness & empowerment of young talented
female researchers promoting the successful construction of their
academic career.
Prof. María García Parajo - image credit: ICFO
Tags:
EPS Emmy Noether Distinction
EPS EOC
EPS Equal Opportunities Committee
gender equality
ICFO
nano-biophysics
nanotechnology
women in science
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Posted By administration,
Monday 15 February 2021
Updated: Tuesday 16 February 2021
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Authors: Inés Vega González, Carmen Martín Valderrama
While in the lecture hall, the relationship between students and
professors usually does not leave much room for discussion. Nonetheless,
the need to defend your own interests and ideas is becoming more and
more frequent as the career level advances. Without the tools to
effectively present your ideas, such situations can be frustrating and
demotivating and eventually, hinder a career in both academia and
industry.
To equip the sections with the important skill of
getting what you want when you want it, the Young Minds programme hosted a
dedicated online Zoom workshop on Assertiveness Training. Two slots
were scheduled on the 25th of September and on the 16th of October. Here
is what one of the participants said:
“Back in September of
last year I was offered the opportunity to attend a quite enriching
course, on the topic of assertiveness and self-improvement. This matter
at hand has gained a lot of relevance among the scientific community
over the last decades, as being assertive is a pivotal trait for anyone
with a will for sharing their ideas.
The experience
surpassed all my expectations, the small group favoured a more
personalised attention from the speaker. The seminar as a whole was a
well-structured guide over what attitudes would lead to a more efficient
work environment. Through different methods and examples, the presenter
showcased how to balance between your needs and other’s needs, that way
avoiding the risk of falling on sub-assertive or over-assertive roles,
creating tensions which may compromise your work and well-being. The
reduced number of attendees offered the chance of sharing our own
experiences, subsequently working together to solve more efficiently
similar situations for the future.
Overall, it may
be said that this experience had a positive impact on how we confront
certain events, not only in a working environment but also in all
aspects in life. I would certainly recommend a similar course to
everyone working towards improving their professional presence.”
Tags:
EPS Young Minds
training
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Posted By Administration,
Monday 15 February 2021
Updated: Tuesday 16 February 2021
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January
- 20 January: Gertrud Zwicknagl, as liaison officer for the Russian Federation in the EPS Executive Committee and member of the EPS Committee on European Integration (EPS-CEI), participates in Zoom meeting with representatives from Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR) in Dubna to discuss possiblities for collaborations EPS-JINR. The meeting was initiated by EPS Executive Committee member Eliezer Rabinovici. Radu Constantinescu participated as chair of the EPS-CEI.
- 25 January: Gertrud Zwicknagl participates in the digital meeting of WG3 Phys4Dev & Eastern/Southern States.
February
- Luc Bergé, EPS President-elect, organised and attended several meetings of the 4 workgroups dedicated to
the EPS links to the industrial sector, the preparation of the EPS
Forum, to future plans on physics for development and the next General
Assembly of the EPS co-organised with the Balkan Physical Union. He also
contributed to the preparation of the next "Rencontres Physique
Entreprise Recherche" in partnership with the French Physical Society.
- 2 February: Luc Bergé attended the EPS Executive Committee meeting.
April
- 21 April: R. Caruso, ExCom member, attended the EPJ Scientific Advisory Committee.
May
- 7 May, Luc Bergé, EPS President, and Petra Rudolf, EPS Vice-President, participated in a Panel discussion on "Career Advice for Young Physicists: a Holistic Discussion", at the EPS Young Minds Leadership Meeting (organized as on line event)
- 25 May, Luc Bergé, EPS President, Petra Rudolf, EPS Vice-President, and David Lee, EPS Secretary General, participated in EPS-IoP Code of Conduct workshop organised for representatives of EPS member societies and EPS Divisions and Groups.
June
- 26 June: Petra Rudolf, EPS vice president, gave a
keynote talk about a career in Physics at the Conference for Astronomy
and Physics Students (CAPS '21) is the UK’s premier student physics and
related conference, hosted this year by the University of Birmingham’s
Poynting Physical Society.
- 29 June: Petra
Rudolf, EPS vice president, as EPS representative attended the 38th
SESAME's Council Meeting. SESAME is the Synchrotron-light for
Experimental Science and Applications in the Middle East facility
developed in Jordan under the auspices of UNESCO.
- 30 June:
Petra Rudolf, EPS vice president, gave a talk entitled "A PhD is not
enough ... - how to prepare for a career in academia" at the WarmUp
event before the 11th Polish Symposium on Physics in Economy and Social
Science, as part of the initiative to organize EPS Young Minds career
development sessions at conferences throughout Europe.
Luc Bergé, EPS President, had the following activities:
- 7 June: Inauguration of Jena City as EPS Historic Site.
- 8 June: 6th Meeting of the WorkGroup 1 - Link to Industry
- 9 June: Meeting with Jim Gates and Amy Flatten - American Physical Society
- 10 June: Meeting with EDP Sciences - EPS Associate Membership
- 11 June: Meeting with OSA/Europe for Young Minds Webinar Series « From PhD To CEO »
- 14 June: Meeting with the Director of UFR Physique Sorbonne University for the preparation of the 2022 EPS Forum
- 15 June: Participation to the SFP Administration Council
- 16 June: Meeting with OCEM EP representatives - EPS Associate Membership
- 18 June: Meeting Carlos Hidalgo (Physics & Society) + Meeting JINR/Dubna Directorate (JINR Physics Summer School)
- 21 June: Welcome note to the World of Photonics Congress opening ceremony - CLEO/Europe
- 30 June: Preparatory meeting for the RPER event, Paris
July
- 11-16 July: Petra Rudolf, EPS vice president,
attended the 7th IUPAP International Conference on Women in Physics,
where she gave a plenary talk and participated in a panel discussion on
the status of Women in Physics in high and low GDP countries together
with Nashawa Eassa from the Al-Neelain University in Khartoum in Sudan.
The panel discussion was moderated by the chair of the ICWIP conference,
Cathy Foley. ICWIP was organized as on line event from Australia.
- 19-23 July:
Petra Rudolf, EPS vice president, attended the EPS-SIF INTERNATIONAL
SCHOOL ON ENERGY, where she was part of the Scientific Committee and
also gave a lecture.
Luc Bergé, EPS President, had the following activities:
- 5 July: Visit to EPS Mulhouse + Participation to the Ex Com Meeting
- 6 July: Interview KPMG + Preparation of the round table on quantum technologies - RPER, ParisJuly 8: 7th Meeting of the WorkGroup 1 - Link to Industry
- 9 July: 7th Meeting of the WorkGroup 4 - search for the next Secretary General
- 12 July: Meeting WorkGroup 1 - new EPS Web platform
- 13 July: Meeting with Karl Grandin - EPS HS Programme and Second preparatory meeting of the 2022 EPS Forum
- 15 July: 7th Meeting of the WorkGroup 3 - Physics for Development and actions for Eastern States
August
- 4-6 August: Petra Rudolf, EPS vice president visited the Uppsala University, where she inaugurated the EPS Historic Site dedicated to Anders Jonas Ångström and met with representatives of the ISP (International Science Programme) to solicit support for the International Training and Research (INTR) Programme.
Luc Bergé, EPS President, had the following activities:
- 23 August: Meeting online with Richard Zeltner, Chair of the Young Minds AC, for the EPS Forum
- 26 - 27 August: Visit to EPS Headquarters, Mulhouse, France
- 30 August am: Debriefing with ATOS for the Round Table on Quantum Technologies - RPER
- 30 August pm: Last preparatory meeting for the RPER, Paris, France
October
Luc Bergé, EPS President, had the following activities:
- Oct. 2: Participation to the award ceremony of the Balkan Physics Olympiads
- Oct. 6: Inauguration of the Ampère Museum as EPS Historic Site - Lyon
- Oct. 12:
Presentation of the T. Gero Medal to Prof. J. Devreese at Antwerp
University and inauguration of the synchrotron hall of UC Louvain as EPS
Historic Site
- Oct. 14: Meeting APS-ICTP-EPS
- Oct. 15: Inauguration of the Magnus Haus, Berlin, as EPS Historic Site
- Oct. 19: Partial preparatory meeting of the EPS Forum
- Oct. 20: Participation to the 30th IUPAP General Assembly
- Oct. 26: 4th preparatory meeting of the EPS Forum
- Oct. 28-29: Participation to the EPS Grand Challenge Meeting - Magnus Haus, Berlin.
November
Luc Bergé, EPS President, had the following activities:
- November 17: Meeting with the EPS Secretariat at Mulhouse.
- November 19: Participation in the EPS Executive Committee Meeting
- November 22: Visit to ITER with the Swiss Physical Society and the Technology and Innovation Group of the EPS
- November 24: Online meeting for the recruitment of a new Associate Member with CMD Chair
- November 26: 5th preparatory meeting of the EPS Forum
December
Luc Bergé, EPS President, had the following activities:
December 6 : 10th WG1 Meeting (Link with industries)
December 10 : Zoom meeting between the EPS and World Quantum Day Initiative
December 13 : 9th WG3 Meeting (Physics for development and actions toward Eastern countries)
December 20 : 6th preparatory meeting of the EPS Forum
Tags:
activities
EPS Executive Committee
EPS Staff
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Posted By Administration,
Thursday 11 February 2021
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Author: the Institute of Physics
The Institute of Physics has called on policy-makers across the UK to
level up student learning outcomes by backing a new subject-specific
programme of support for teachers.
In a new report, Subjects Matter,
the IOP is urging governments across the UK to commit to establishing
an entitlement for teachers which ensures at least half of their
professional learning is subject specific.
The idea is that such a
system would provide all students, in all schools, with access to
high-quality subject teaching. This would increase the number of
well-educated students and consequentially increase overall UK economic
productivity. It would also reduce the current disparity of academic
performance between UK regions.
The report, says this change would
raise student academic outcomes, and ultimately economic prosperity,
through increases in UK workforce productivity.
It states
that – in terms of improved attainment and progression rates – teaching
quality has been shown to be the single most important school-related
factor in determining student outcomes.
Jonathan Flint CBE, IOP
President and a former managing director at BAE Systems, commented on
the business case to invest in teachers. He said:
“Great teachers
inspire the best outcomes in their students, whatever their subject.
They are key to the UK’s future prosperity, and this proposal to raise
teaching standards is an opportunity we must seize as soon as possible.
“Governments
across the UK have a real chance here, to improve student outcomes over
the long term while also tackling the economic emergency posed by the
pandemic. By investing in the teaching workforce of today, we can better
equip more students with the knowledge, understanding and abilities
that will fuel the industries of tomorrow.”
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Posted By Administration,
Monday 18 January 2021
Updated: Monday 25 January 2021
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Author: Cyril Deicha
The Annual Meetings of the Liechtenstein Scientific Society and the Astronomic Working Circle took both place on Nov 5th
2019 in Schaan near the Observatory „Cassiopeia“. By chance, all
relevant decisions could be voted then! Nobody could guess that some
months later, all meetings were going to be cancelled due to the
corona-pandemic. Among the decisions unanimously voted was the final
confirmation of Liechtenstein’s application for 2 international
contests, the „Teachers Award“ of the EPS [1], and the „Exoplanet Naming Process“ of the IAU (International Astronomical Union) [2].
The publication of the results of the Exoplanet Contest
gave rise to a festive event in the physics lecture hall in Vaduz
(19.12.2019). Dr. Daniel Miescher, the Head of the Office of education,
awarded several participants. Newspapers reported about it, an the
event was broadcast on the national Radio [3].
During the New Year’s greetings ceremony (09.01.2020) at Vaduz castle,
I had the honour to explain to reigning Prince Hans-Adam II (whom I
knew is always very interested in science), some details about the
newly named Star and Exoplanet [4].
We participated in several international meetings, lectures and surveys (this year by videoconference): „National outreach coordinators“ (04.02), EPS council (29.05), Union
des Physiciens (13.06) , „Science teaching at distance“ (19.10), „Best
practices in science communication“ (23.10).
In a gap between two
sanitary lock-downs, a workshop on the Newton-Cassegrain telescope in
Schaan could be attended (09.09.2020) but it was difficult to hold
social distancing, thus there were no more such events.
We started „real-time events“ by means of WhatsApp video: an excursion showing the petrifying
springs in the alpine forest (Apr. 2020), a glance to mountain
illuminations and celestial objects on National Day (15.08.2020) [5], a unique observation opportunity of the Great Jupiter-Saturn conjunction during a short cloudless moment (22.12.2020).
Currently
we are preparing a chronicle and new internet platforms. The
possibilities of new media we discovered this year are indeed very
interesting, so we will develop them in the future.
C. Deicha, Liechtenstein’s nominee for the EPS Teacher’s Award giving a lecture in Vaduz ( 19.12.2019)
[1] Nominated: Dr. Cyril Deicha
[2] Nominated: „Fürstenplanet“ and “Liechtenstern“
[4] The IAU had surpisingly choosen „Umbäässa“ and „Pipoltr“ (name of insects in local dialect)
[5] Photo : Saturn, illuminated mountains above Vaduz by night https://www.exclusiv.li/Portals/0/Gallery/Album/12334/_AEX_0035.jpg
Tags:
EPS Member Societies
Liechtenstein
Liechtenstein Physical Society
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Posted By Administration,
Monday 18 January 2021
Updated: Monday 18 January 2021
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Author: Dalibor Paar
Education systems around the world cannot follow the extremely fast
development of science and technology, which is why methods should be
developed to give children an insight into STEM areas and motivate them
to turn to modern professions at an early age.
In the last two
years, the Croatian Physical Society has been implementing the project
"Scientific education from an early age" supported by the Croatian
Ministry of Science and Education. The main purpose of the project is
the introduction of modern physics topics in kindergartens and schools,
with emphasis on the teaching of physics from the age of four. The
results of the program are beyond expectations. The children are
enthusiastic about physics and want more.
Within these activities,
children are introduced not only to basic physical concepts, but also
to current topics of today's science and technology. Topics include
entering the atomic level, understanding how a computer works to the
black hole at the center of our galaxy. All activities are based on a
multitude of experiments that introduce physical concepts in an
interesting way. The aim of these activities is to emphasize the
importance of physical experiments and scientific model in all levels of
education.
To illustrate how children perceive these topics, here are some of their statements after the program (age 5-6 years):
- I liked Schroedinger's cat the most.
- I liked drawing a lot of electrons. And count the electrons in the Radium atom.
- I didn’t know about atoms before, and now I know they made nature.
- I learned that lightning has energy.
As
a contribution to these activities, our member Nikola Poljak published a
series of booklets "Physics for Children 3+" entitled ABC Physics,
Mechanics, Optics, Thermodynamics, and Nuclear Physics.
Tags:
Croatia
Croatian Physical Society
education
outreach
schools
STEM
teaching
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Posted By Administration,
Monday 18 January 2021
Updated: Monday 18 January 2021
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Author: Swiss Physical Society
The world celebrates this year the 450th birthday of Johannes Kepler
(1571-1630), whose planetary laws are based on the invariance of
physical quantities as the angular momentum. Many scientists consider
the formulation of the motion laws as the kick-off of modern physics.
Kepler, however, owes his success largely to the precise observation
instruments of the Swiss watchmaker Jost Bürgi (1552-1632), who is also
considered as co-inventor of the logarithm. Their fruitful cooperation
culminated around 1600, when both worked closely together with Tycho
Brahe in Prague. Everybody today knows Kepler and Brahe, but only few
know Bürgi, who did not master Latin, did not extensively publish and
consequently fell off the grid of history of science.
The SPS
helps that Bürgi finds the scientific recognition he deserves by
co-organizing an annual symposium since 2015. This year the 5th
international symposium will take place again as a two-day event, first
with a full-day workshop on Bürgi's person, work and historical
environment on Friday 30 April 2021, and on the next
day with a half-day forum, addressing future technologies. The venue is
Bürgi's birthplace Lichtensteig in the Swiss canton St. Gallen, https://www.jostbuergi.com/
The
thematic focus at the Friday workshop with four lectures is the 400th
anniversary of the publication of Bürgi's 'Progresstabulen', i.e. the
logarithms, which Bürgi constructed for his own use already in 1590, but
published them only thirty years later. A careful analysis of the
history of the logarithm shows that John Napier and Jost Bürgi are
undoubtedly to be regarded as independent co-inventors of the logarithm.
Portrait of Jost Bürgi
Tags:
Johannes Kepler
Jost Bürgi
logarithm
Swiss Physical Society
Switerland
symposium
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Posted By Administration,
Monday 21 December 2020
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The EPS would like to wish all of its members a wonderful holiday season.
The EPS headquarters will be closed between Christmas and New Year.
The EPS headquarters in Mulhouse will be closed between 23 December 2020 and 3 January 2021.Click here to contact us.
This post has not been tagged.
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Posted By Administration,
Friday 18 December 2020
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Author: Silvia Nicolai
The Nuclear Physics Division board of the European Physical Society
(EPS) calls for nominations for the 2018-2020 European Nuclear Physics
Thesis Award. This prize recognises the excellence of a recent PhD in
Nuclear Physics. Nominations are open to those having obtained a PhD
degree in experimental, theoretical or applied nuclear physics, in a
member country of the EPS. The PhD must have been defended within the
three-year period between January 1st 2018 and December 31st 2020.
Nominations should include, in one PDF file:
- the CV of the candidate
- a copy of the PhD diploma indicating the date it was obtained
- a
short summary (4 pages) of the Thesis written in English, also
providing an accessible link to an electronic copy of the full Thesis,
as well as links to any publication directly related to the candidate’s
PhD studies
- a letter of support (1 page) from the candidate’s PhD advisor
- two additional letters of support (1 page each) from scientists who are familiar with the candidate and the research topic.
More detailed information about the call of the prize can be found on the website of the EPS Nuclear Physics Division.
Nominations should be submitted by February 28th 2021 via the online nomination form.
Contact Dr. Rene Reifarth, Chair of the NPD board: reifarth@physik.uni-frankfurt.de
Tags:
call
EPS NPD
EPS Nuclear Physics Division
EPS Nuclear Physics Thesis Award
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Posted By Administration,
Monday 14 December 2020
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Author: Petra Rudolf
Dr. Jorge Mario Salazar Rios (picture) is the first grant awardee of the new International Training and Research (INTR) Programme, set up at the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) in Trieste in collaboration with the EPS.
The aim of the programme is to support researchers from developing countries who got their PhD in Europe and are now in the process of building up research facilities in their home country. By awarding them grants allowing them to come back for 1-2 months/year to the lab where they did their PhD project, these young researchers will be able stay scientifically productive while in the startup phase.
The INTR Programme is currently supported by donations from the EPS, the Optical Society (OSA) and SPIE, the International Society for Optics and Photonics, the latter two organisations providing dedicated funding for fellowships in the area of optics and photonics. The hope is that other learned societies and foundations will decide to support the INTR Programme and that EPS member societies will convince the governments of their countries. While the INTR programme is currently focused on organising short research internships by former PhD students of European institutions, it can be extended both geographically, and also to provide longer training research internships for researchers from developing countries who have not done a PhD in Europe, if the corresponding funding can be recruited.
Dr. Jorge Mario Salazar Rios
Tags:
EPS
ICTP
OSA
PhD grant
SPIE
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