Author: EDP Sciences

We are pleased to share the latest news from EDP Sciences.

News from the European Physical Journal (EPJ)

Joint meeting of the Scientific Advisory and Steering Committees of the European Physical Journal

Image credit: Maria Sutter

For two days in April, more than 40 representatives of national physical societies and of the EPJ publishers and many of the journals’ Chief Editors gathered at EMPA (Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology) near Zurich under the chairmanship of the Swiss Physical Society to discuss all aspects of modern scientific publishing - ranging from individual journal development to improving support for early career researchers and the implementation of DEI principles at all levels.

In particular, the EPS Young Minds’ invited talk provided some excellent insights into what the next generation of scientists feels in terms of constraints and opportunities in this context. 2023 marks the 25^th anniversary of the launch of the EPJ and, as part of this year’s special initiatives, EPJ expressly invites young career researchers organizing, specifically, meetings for their peers to apply for sponsorship.

EPJ Applied Physics – topical issue

EPJ AP is pleased to announce completion of the special issue on “Amorphous alloys and multiscale materials: Fundamental aspects and Energy applications” edited by Zhao Zhankui, Wang Hongli and Tai Cheuk-Wai. We hope you enjoy the articles which include “Micro- and nano-sized materials for solar evaporators: a review”.

EPJ Photovoltaics – Editorial Board

EPJ Photovoltaics is pleased to share its updated Editorial Board under Editors-in-Chief Prof. Pere Roca i Cabarrocas, Laboratoire de Physique des Interfaces et des Couches Minces, and Dr. Jean-Louis Lazzari, Centre Interdisciplinaire de Nanoscience de Marseille. Editors from Europe are joined by international colleagues from Qatar, Australia and Japan.

EPJ N Nuclear Sciences & Technologies – new ‘Key Summary’

“Optimising spent nuclear fuel storage in Europe” is the latest ‘Key Summary’ from EPJ N and looks at an extensive review in EPJ N by members of the EURAD consortium. The review explores the parameters involved in choosing safe long-term storage solutions for spent radioactive fuel and recommends best practice for the industry. The ‘Key Summary’ also hears from author Dimitri Alexandre Rochman.

Astronomy & Astrophysics and Subscribe to Open (S2O)

Astronomy & Astrophysics (A&A) recently announced that it will continue to publish its research in open access for the second consecutive year under Subscribe to Open (S2O). In contrast to other core astronomy journals that have transitioned or will transition to open access via the Gold (APC) route, A&A has chosen S2O to achieve immediate open access while minimizing any potential disruption to authors or subscribers. Find out more.

Société Française de Physique 150^th anniversary – Master classes itinérantes

The first in a series of five Masterclasses on “Science publishing and Open Science” recently took place in Nice. Next stop Lyon for which registration is still open!

German Physical Society Spring Meeting - Europhysics Letters

There were four winners of the “EPL best poster prizes” at the Spring Meeting of the German Physical Society (DPG) that took place from 26-31 March 2023 at the Technical University Dresden. Congratulations to Anna C. Jäkel, Aleksandr Kostarev, Nico Schramma and Laura Strampe.

Book news - The Basics of Electron Transport in Spintronics

‘The basics of electron transport in Spintronics – Textbook with lectures, exercises and solutions’ by Vincent Baltz, CNRS researcher and group leader at SPINTEC. Based on a series of lectures given to MSc and PhD students, this book will appeal to a wide range of readers, from students at the graduate level to researchers and engineers. It allows the reader to navigate easily between concepts and to gain a broad view of spin-dependent electron transport. Learning is supported by ten extended exercises with complete solutions. Order directly from the EDP Sciences Bookstore or via your favourite online book shop.

Don’t forget our SFP anniversary books discount code - PHYS234 - valid until the end of June 2024! We are delighted to offer a 5% discount on EDP Sciences books in the following series: Savoirs Actuels / Une introduction à / Sciences & History / Enseignement Sup Physique.

With our best wishes from ‘Paris in Spring’

EDP Sciences

Networking between learned societies is a key endeavour in physics, and bridging the gap between international and national societies is an important part of that. The European Physical Society (EPS) embraces this principle with its federative nature and by directly supporting events going along such direction.

The EPS Young Minds Project, created with the aim of connecting young physicists all over the Euromediterranean area and foster their activities, also follows this path.

This Year, EPS Young Minds, collaborated with the Italian Physical Society (SIF) and the Italian Association of Physics Students (AISF) to organize a focus session aimed at young physicists in the context of the 108^th  SIF National Congress which took place in Milan from the 12^th to the 16^th of September.

The composition of  the organizing committee, formed by Dr. Antigone Marino (SIF Board Member), Federica De Domenico (AISF President) and Mattia Ostinato (EPS YM Action Committee Chair) and representatives of the local YM and AISF local groups, reflected the spirit of collaboration between different entities on both national and international level that societies such as SIF and EPS try to foster in their activities.

The session itself, was also devised to be deeply interdisciplinary, with a scientific program whose underlying theme was climate change and  energetic transition a topic highly appealing to young physicists

The event took place on the morning of the 15^th of September at the  Polytehnical University of Milan (PoliMi), and was opened by remarks from SIF President Prof. Angela Bracco, Dr. Marino, and Prof. Paolo Biagioni representing PoliMi, who welcomed the more then 50 students attendees.

After a brief introduction to YM and AISF, made by the respective chairs, the scientific session started with Prof Francesco Romanelli (University of Rome “Tor Vergata”) , who talked about the physics behind nuclear fusion and the state of the art technology currently employed in realizing fusion reactors for producing electrical energy. Its talk was followed by Dr. Davide Faccialà (Institute of photonics and nanotechnology- National Research Council), on how the techniques of ultrafast spectroscopy are used to investigate the energy harvesting properties of perovskites, and its application to the design of better performing solar panels.

The event was closed by Prof. Claudia Pasquero (University Milano Bicocca), whose talk was focused on the extreme interconnectedness of climate as a physical system, how physics studies it, and how even small changes can lead to extreme climate events.

The session had a very good success, reflected also by the intensity of the Q&A sessions, where the young participants showed all their interest for the topics and engaged in a fruitful discussion with all the speakers.

Such success is yet another example on how the interaction between national society like SIF and  international federative societies, such as EPS, can not only reinforce the bonds within them, but also foster the realization of important events and have an impact on the next generation of researchers.

image credit: Mattia Ostinato and Antigone Marino

This year the European Physical Society organised its first EPS Forum at Sorbonne University in Paris.

Watch our video here: https://youtu.be/McU8Vz2okAI

In April 2022, the Lisbon Young Minds section organised the event “Mental Health @ Técnico”, at their home institution, Instituto Superior Técnico (IST), with the goal of discussing the very important topic of mental health, with a particular emphasis on academic contexts. This event comprised two different moments, a workshop and a round table.

The first session, which took place on 5^th April, consisted of the workshop named “Academy diploma? Yes, but don’t forget your mental health!” given by Dr. Isabel Gonçalves, psychologist and head of the Academic Development Office of IST. During this workshop, the participants were invited to share their ideas and personal experiences concerning mental health in general and from the point of view of a student getting their bachelor’s, master’s or PhD diploma.

The second session, which took place on the 7^th of April, consisted of the round table titled “Mental Health in Academia — Let’s Talk About It!”, also moderated by Dr. Gonçalves. The panel of this event was quite diverse, to represent several points of view within the academic community. More specifically, it was comprised by Prof. Luís Oliveira e Silva, full professor at the Physics Department of IST and president of the School Council; Dr. Daniela Magalhães, psychiatrist; Mariana Moreira, PhD student and member of the IST Student Club for Mental Health and Inclusion; and Marta Bárbolo, MSc student and member of the IST Student Support Unit. Moreover, the participants themselves also played a major role in the discussion, either by asking questions to the panel, or by sharing their own points of view. The plurality of ideas thus promoted a very interesting, thoughtful and enlightening debate, which contributed not only to identify some of the main issues related with mental health that exist within the IST community — not only among the students, but also among the professors and the staff —, but also to discuss and propose solutions to address and mitigate them.

In brief, this event fully achieved its intended goal: promoting a fruitful discussion on the topic of mental health at IST. The participants’ feedback was very positive: both the audience and the round table panel agreed that it was definitely a successful event that encouraged an ongoing open debate on this important matter, and contributed to the personal development of the participants.

• https://www.facebook.com/EPSYoungMindsLisbon
  
• https://www.instagram.com/youngmindslisbon/
• https://twitter.com/EPSYMLisboa

image: EPS Young Minds

Gender bias in STEM areas is a palpable reality that we cannot ignore. To face this challenge, the involvement of institutions and scientific societies is vital. The Spanish Optical Society (SEDOPTICA) is committed to being inclusive, striving to provide an environment where all people feel valued and respected, and also have access to the same opportunities. The Women in Optics and Photonics Area started working in 2018 with the following activities:

MENTORING PROGRAMME

This programme aims to connect women researchers to offer a professional support network:

Connected women scientists
Connected Women Scientists is a series of periodic meetings where we invite women scientists to give technical talks grouped by topic. From May 2020, the format was moved to webinar format, reaching a total attendance of 330 users (visit: SEDOPTICA-Youtube channel).

Count on them
Count on them initiative compiles short reviews of women researchers in optics and photonics to promote and facilitate the organisation of gender equal, peer-to-peer events. The objective is to create an open database for anyone who wants to use it when looking for speakers for their events. This initiative also enhances the visibility of their scientific work to other people, such as journalists or people required for counselling on these areas of expertise.

MEET THE WOMEN RESEARCHERS

The 'Meet the Women Researchers' programme was launched in January 2019, with the aim of disseminating the work and experiences in their careers at all levels, from predoctoral to emeritus professors. The women participating in this activity belong to both academia and industry. So far we have 34 interviews with different researchers/teachers/technologists/disseminators of Optics and Photonics.  Written and video interviews have received about 6700 and 500 views, respectively.

DISSEMINATION PROGRAMME AND SOCIAL MEDIA 

Quantitative analysis of the situation of women in optics and photonics in Spain
We are currently collecting quantitative data about the situation of women researchers in the field of Optics and Photonics in Spain. We are performing a statistical study of the doctoral theses defended in Spain in the last five years. To do so, we are using the Ministry of Education's TESEO database, and classifying them according to UNESCO codes. The theses were classified separating whether these descriptors had been chosen by men or women. This study will be presented in the IEEE EDUCON2022 (March, Tunisia), and published as proceeding.

We continue working in these kinds of studies to offer more detailed analysis.