Author: Hans Peter Beck and Maurizio Musso

The 7^th joint annual meeting of the Austrian Physical Society (ÖPG [1]) and the Swiss Physical Society (SPS [2]), held at the Technology Campus of the University of Innsbruck / Austria from August 30^th to September 3^rd, 2021, will go down in the annals of the ÖPG and SPS as a great success. Over 600 participants attended on site an extremely successful program [3], thanks to the very constructive interaction of all board members of the SPS and the ÖPG in preparation and final design of the joint conference, both with regard to the plenary session and the topical sessions, and also with regard to the entire award ceremony for prizes awarded by ÖPG and SPS, the ceremony including the binational Charpak-Ritz Prize, jointly awarded by SPS and the French Physical Society SFP [4].

This year lectures in the plenary session spanned a wide range of physical and physics-related aspects [3], i.e. from surfaces at the atomic scale to materials, from quantum states to quantum optics and quantum technologies, from particle colliders to free electron lasers, from exoplanets to black holes, from physics and education to physics and society, in particular also in connection with innovative products by start-ups, with renewable energy and its repercussion on the climate, and with quality of life in connection with medical applications of physics-related technology.

Stimulated by the talks given in the plenary session and in the topical sessions, and by the personal exchange during the poster sessions, where some are accessible online [3], it was indeed possible to show what the advantages of a personal exchange are, being again achievable with the Covid certificate being checked at the registration desk, and where it became self-evident that physicists are predominately fully vaccinated.  When new contacts are made, when informal conversations spontaneously arise and where one can build up mutual trust, the glue is formed to do further and better research, allowing trying out new ideas in physics, which are the base for the proposition and realization of new projects. It is this inspiring vibe that motivates young members to stay long-term members of the two societies and thus allows to actively shape the future activities of the two societies, which get then also constructively reflected by the associated activities of the EPS.

Winners of the prizes of the Austrian and of the Swiss Physical Society, and the winner of the binational Charpak-Ritz Prize of the Swiss and of the French Physical Society, together with the presidents of the French, Swiss and Austrian Physical Societies. The prizes have been bestowed during the 7^th joint annual meeting of the Austrian and Swiss Physical Society in Innsbruck/Austria from 30^th August to 3^rd September 2021.

[1] Austrian Physical Society http://www.oepg.at/

[2] Swiss Physical Society https://www.sps.ch/en/home

[3] Program of the Joint Annual Meeting of ÖPG and SPS 2021 https://indico.cern.ch/event/1015032/timetable  

[4] French Physical Society https://www.sfpnet.fr/

Previous report: https://www.eps.org/blogpost/751263/367164/Traditional-Joint-Annual-Meeting-of-two-physical-societies-2021