Gražina Tautvaišienė - image credit: Gražina Tautvaišienė

In 2024, the European Physical Society released a calendar of inspiring physicists. Gina Gunaratnam, EPS communication coordinator and initator of the project, interviewed Gražina Tautvaišienė, president of the Lithuanian Physical Society. Professor Tautvaišienė works as an astrophysicist at the Vilnius University (VU) and is also vice-president of the International Union of Astronomy since December 2024.

How did you get to know the European Physical Society?

The European Physical Society is a well-known organisation  for all physicists. It cooperates with national physical societies to promote physics, to support physicists worldwide, and to foster international collaboration. My first encounter with EPS activities probably occurred in 2000 when the EGAS 32 conference was organised at our Institute of Theoretical Physics and Astronomy in Lithuania.  I started to follow EPS activities more closely when I became a vice-president of the Lithuanian Physical Society in 2007.

Why is it important for you to be an EPS member and to participate in its activities?

International collaboration is very important for such a small country as Lithuania. EPS has divisions covering all main fields of physics. As EPS unites scientists from 42 National Physical Societies, it is an essential platform for developing international collaboration. Lithuanian scientists often need collaboration to access large international infrastructures like CERN, ESO, ITER, etc. Collaboration is also important in order to prepare large groundbreaking research projects, networking, and mobility.

We are very glad that quite many international conferences of EPS have been organised in Lithuania. We had the 14^th European Conference on Atoms, Molecules, and Photons (ECAMP) in 2022. This conference brought together atomic, molecular, and optical physics experts to discuss recent developments and research in the field. In 2024, we held the 11^th EPS-QEOD Conference “Europhoton”, where the latest developments in solid-state physics, optical cables and waveguides were presented. In 2025, we will host the 51^st EPS Conference on Plasma Physics.

An outstanding example of a close relationship with EPS was the inauguration of the Grotthuss Laboratory as the EPS Historic Site in Žeimelis, Lithuania. This is the first EPS Historic Site in the Baltic states.

What is the aim of the Lithuanian Physical Society and its main activities?

The Lithuanian Physical Society was established in 1963. The main goal of our society is to unite Lithuanian physicists, coordinate and support their activities in order to contribute to the development of physics research in Lithuania and take care of physics teaching in universities and other educational institutions. We organise the National Conferences on Physics every two years, which attract about 600 participants. Every year, we support the physics olympiad and summer school “Fotonas” of schoolchildren. We organise annual public events dedicated to e.g. Quantum Day and European Researchers Night. Various recent events marked the UNESCO International Year of Basic Sciences for Sustainable Development. Now we prepare for the UNESCO International Year of Quantum Science and Technology.     

Why did you study physics and become an astrophysicist?

I liked sciences that required logical thinking. Physics is exactly like that. However, physics is a very broad science, and I had to decide which field to turn to. And here, the decisive role was played by the meeting of the Lithuanian Astronomical Union at the Molėtai Astronomical Observatory, which I attended after finishing the 10th grade. There, I won a place on the Lithuanian team for the meeting of young astronomers of the Soviet Union. Then my path to astronomy began. All summer, I studied astronomy at the Kaunas Public Library, studied constellations, and read various books. By the way, being a schoolchild, I really liked reading books, especially about scientists, politicians, and artists and how they lived and worked. The story of Marie Curie was very memorable. She was an inspiring role model for me.

Could you describe your current field of research?

Currently, together with my colleagues, I am working on improving methods for determining the age of stars. Knowing the age of stars is very important in many aspects. It is very important to know it in order to clarify the evolution of our and other galaxies, the evolution of stars, the characterization of exoplanets, etc. The period for such investigations is very favorable because NASA's TESS telescope is now orbiting in space and is providing important asteroseismic information for determining the stellar age. If robust seismic pulsations could be detected in all stars, there would be no problems in stellar age determinations. However, it is not possible to reliably record the pulsations of many stars, and other methods must be sought. Among these are the so-called chemical clocks - the abundance ratios of various chemical elements. The Science Council of Lithuania is funding our research “Chemical elements as clocks for determining the age of stars”. We are analysing the use of the abundance ratios of carbon and nitrogen and yttrium and magnesium chemical elements in order to determine the age of stars. Several other projects also are on the way, including the one on the investigation of planet-hosting stars.

What are the challenges of your field?

There are many challenges. As Lithuanian folk experience says - the deeper into the forest, the more trees... Much is expected in the field of exoplanet search and research. This is a relatively new field of research. Incredible planets are being discovered around other stars which are not found in our solar system. The question arises of how planets form and what their characteristics depend on. Several space telescopes have been launched into space and are planned for exoplanet research. As Vice President of the International Astronomical Union, I am entrusted with the coordination of space and ground-based research. Here, my experience in coordinating the Europlanet telescope network, which currently unites 17 observatories with medium-sized and small telescopes, will come in handy. Ground-based observations for space missions require a lot of time, and smaller telescopes are very suitable for this. I plan to significantly expand the Europlanet telescope network, which also includes the Molėtai Astronomical Observatory in Lithuania.

How would you encourage students to work in this field?

Lithuania, as a country with strong traditions in astronomy, opens up very wide opportunities for research and international cooperation. The first observatory in Lithuania was established back in 1753. The Vilnius University Astronomical Observatory is one of the oldest in Europe. At that time it had over 100 different instruments. Currently, the VU Molėtai Astronomical Observatory is also no less known. It operates the largest telescope in Northern Europe with modern instruments, and is recognized as a place for organising international schools for young astronomers.

International collaboration opens possibilities to accomplish indeed a very high level of research. E.g., the research team I am leading participated in the Gaia-ESO Public Survey, uniting more than 300 researchers. We obtained more than 300 observing nights on the 8,2-metre telescope of the European Southern Observatory (ESO).  Presently, we participate in several other large spectroscopic survey projects (4MOST on the 4.1-metre ESO VISTA telescope and WEAVE on the 4.2-m William Herschel Telescope in the Canary Islands).

Education in physics and astrophysics also opens many other opportunities for a future professional career. Lithuania is nurturing an innovative ecosystem, particularly in deep-tech and quantum computing, giving physics graduates opportunities to be part of groundbreaking projects including space research. The Research Council of Lithuania is organising enjoyable student training visits to NASA science centers in the United States.

Do you think it is important to encourage girls to study physics? What would you tell them?

I think that girls have been underrepresented in physics due to societal biases. More and more amazing women are thriving in physics today. It is important to show them as role models to girls.  The EPS calendar of inspiring female physicists is playing this role perfectly.