Author: Dina Izadi

Art an Amazing Fact in Science

Integrating art and imaginative methods into science education can enhance conceptual understanding in a variety of ways. Creative activities can spark curiosity and wonder and lead to deeper exploration of science topics that reveal students’ understanding beyond traditional tests. Students learn to think outside the box, explore different perspectives, and find innovative solutions, which are essential in scientific inquiry. Art-based science projects often involve collaboration, fostering teamwork, and communication skills that lead to deeper and more meaningful understanding. 

The book Art an Amazing Fact in Science is the second book related to the IYPT Physics Competition which was published by the Ariaian Young Innovative Minds Institute, after the IYPT Proceeding 2010-2011. This book is a collection of physics problem solutions from various IYPT tournaments that combine science, art, and creativity: https://heyzine.com/flip-book/79055176c1.html

Reducing the Gap Between Science and Art, Creating Opportunities for Social Activities

This is a link to find our several festivals and after introducing ISAC (Imagination in Science by Art in different Cultures) in two previous years now we have started our new event as ISAC Talk festival .

We are going come together to hold various events in ISAC (Imagination in Science by Art in different Cultures) Talk Community which are useful in explaining scientific concepts by art especially when those concepts are complex. Community holds festival in different categories. By combining art and science, we can create powerful learning experiences that foster curiosity, understanding, and appreciation for the world around us.

Ariaian Young Innovative Minds Institute (AYIMI) and ADIB Science and Technology Institute (ADIB) jointly in Iran, are the main organisers of this event. There are several working groups from different countries who will join us and the main aim of this event is giving annual grants to students who needs to participate in tournaments, conferences, etc.

All related information and the rules are on our website: https://ayimi.org/en/

Statement by the Executive Committee of the European Physical Society

24th March 2025

The European Physical Society (EPS) has the mission to advocate and promote physics research and its contributions to the economic, technological, social and cultural advancement in Europe. As a federation of more than 40 National Physical Societies, the EPS engages in activities that strengthen ties among the physicists in Europe, in physics research, science policy and education. The EPS designs and implements programmes to develop the European physics community. It provides a forum to share best practices to promote physics, and thus support international collaboration and physicists worldwide.

Fostering diversity and inclusion in the physics community is a core component of the European Physical Society's mission. We thus firmly believe that diversity in perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences is essential for driving innovation, creativity, and excellence in physics and all related issues.

Our constitution emphasizes the importance of providing equal opportunities for all individuals, regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, age, disability, or socioeconomic background.

By encouraging a diverse and inclusive environment, we can help to ensure that the brightest minds from all walks of life are given the opportunity to contribute to the advancement of science. We are committed to creating a supportive and respectful atmosphere where everyone feels valued and encouraged to reach their full potential. This commitment extends to our policies, programmes, and practices designed to promote equity, eliminate barriers, and support the professional growth of underrepresented groups.

Because the EPS represents the whole European physics community, we stand united in our resolve to cultivate a culture of respect, collaboration, and mutual support. Diversity strengthens our society and we remain dedicated to building a more inclusive and equitable future for all members of the EPS and the wider scientific community.

From Strangeness in Quark Matter to Nuclear Chemistry for Sustainable Fuel Cycles : EPJ Web of Conferences publishes two notable proceedings from French events

“SQM 2024 – The 21st International Conference on Strangeness in Quark Matter was held in Strasbourg, France, June 3-7, 2024

This 2024 edition marked the 21^st in the series and was held in France for the first time. It was also the first fully “in-person” edition since the pandemic. A total of 280 participants from 26 countries convened at the Palais de la Musique et des Congrès in Strasbourg to discuss recent experimental and theoretical advancements during a week-long programme including 210 oral and poster presentations.

The focus of the Strangeness in Quark Matter Conference is on the role of the strange and heavy-flavour quarks in the field of ultra–relativistic nucleus–nucleus collisions, Quark Gluon Plasma physics and in astrophysical phenomena. Specific time is devoted to open questions and new developments as well as lectures dedicated to graduate students and young scientists.”

If this EPJ Highlight has piqued your interest, you can read the full proceedings in open access now.

B. Hippolyte (chair), C. Cheshkov, R. Guernane and A. Maire (Eds.), 21st International Conference on Strangeness in Quark Matter (SQM 2024), Strasbourg, France, June 3-7, 2024, EPJ Web of Conferences 316 (2025)

Organised by the French Commissariat à l’énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA), the 6th International ATALANTE Conference on Nuclear Chemistry for Sustainable Fuel Cycles (ATALANTE-2024) was held in Avignon, France, Sept 1-6 2024

The event explored “subjects and issues that cover almost all the fields of the nuclear chemistry related to the nuclear fuel cycles:

• Actinide and fission product chemistry
• Uranium ore processing and purification
• Actinide separation
• Pyrochemistry and chemistry for molten salt reactor
• Actinide material & fuel fabrication
• Waste conditioning and long-term evolution
• Nuclear chemistry for geological repository
• Safeguards and analytical developments”

The full proceedings can be read in open access now.

P. Guilbaud (Ed.), 6th International ATALANTE Conference on Nuclear Chemistry for Sustainable Fuel Cycles (ATALANTE-2024), Avignon, France, September 1-6, 2024, EPJ Web of Conferences 317 (2025)

Nurting community dialogue on social media

EPL is now on Bluesky

Please follow https://bsky.app/profile/epljournal.bsky.socialfor the latest news and articles, including Free-to-Read Editor’s Choice and Perspectives.

EDP Sciences leaves Twitter/X

The academic world is changing, and so are we. On 31^st January 2025, EDP Sciences left Twitter/X as part of the #HelloQuitX movement, in favour of prioritising platforms that support our values. This decision reflects our commitment to professionalism, transparency, and community-driven dialogue. Follow us on LinkedIn, BlueSky, and our website for the latest updates.

Perpetual access to digital archives

We would like to take the opportunity to remind you that value is still being found in our digital archive collections, and that purchase of these gives perpetual access to this valuable science.

Journal de Physique digital archives (1872 to 1997)

We were delighted to conduct research in 2024 and discover that many articles in the Journal de Physique archives are still being cited today. The collection includes research from pioneers in physics, including Nobel laureates such as Marie Curie and Louis de Broglie, both of whom were instrumental in founding EDP Sciences in 1920.

Discover the Journal de Physique archives, including the most cited articles in the collection. 

Annales de Physique digital archives (1914 to 2009)

For many years, Alain Aspect, who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2022, was the Editor in Chief of the Annales de Physique. This collection now forms part of the archive of The European Physical Journal (EPJ), an ongoing series of peer-reviewed journals covering the whole spectrum of physics and related interdisciplinary subjects.

Learn more about the Annales de Physique archives.

Author: Alessandra Fantoni

Dear EPS Member,



Nomination is open for 2 (two) new ordinary board members of the EPS Nuclear Physics Division (EPS-NPD).  


The members of the Board are expected to attend Board meetings, which take place twice a year. Please note that the newly elected board members will be invited at the board meeting planned on May 8th-9th at Catania (details will be mailed in due course). 

Some of the activities of the NPD are the following:

The board produces publications on various nuclear physics related topics, for example so called EPS Position Papers and provides input to the EPS on issues related to nuclear physics and relations to other European and international bodies interested in nuclear physics and policy.  

For more information, you may visit the NPD website.
http://www.eps.org/?page=npd  

For a nomination to be valid:
 - the nomination has to be supported by two other Individual Members. They may either sign the nomination form or send a support letter independently by email.
 - it must be accompanied by a statement of consent from the nominee
 - the elected candidate must be or become an EPS Individual Member (https://www.eps.org/general/register_member_type.asp? )
 - the nominee must send a short CV in pdf or .doc format
- the nominee must send a half page candidate/campaign statement (length ½ page)

- it must be received at the EPS secretariat by 30th April 2025.
 
Please send it by e-mail to the two following addresses:
secretariat@eps.org and raquel.crespo@tecnico.ulisboa.pt

January

9th January: Alessandra Fantoni had an online meeting of the EPS Nuclear Physics Division with:
- elections of scientific secretary
- elections of NPD chair elect
- selection of the 2024 Lise Meitner winners

In January, Karin Zach organised and participated in a meeting between the EPS and DPG presidents with the presidents or representatives of 14 EPS member societies, which took place on the occasion of the opening of the German activities for the International Quantum Year in Berlin.

Members of the EPS Executive Committee:
Mairi Sakellariadou (EPS President), Luc Bergé (EPS Past-President), Anne Pawsey (EPS Secretary General), Karin Zach, Anna Lipniacka, Andreas Schopper, Katharina Lorenz, Christian Beck, Alessandra Fantoni, Stuart Palmer, Anna Di Ciaccio, Eugenio Coccia, Ian Bearden and Roberta Caruso.

Members of the EPS Staff:
Anne Pawsey (EPS Secretary General), Xavier de Araujo, Milan Milicevic, Ophélia Fornari (working with Sophie Baumann), Chahira Boudeliou, Gina Gunaratnam, Ahmed Ouarab, Jean-François Kammerlocher and Amy Guibal (currently replacing Adriana Zerafa.)

Members of the EPL Staff:
Frédéric Burr (EPL Staff Editor), Kevin Desse and Tomy Zede.

The United Nations has proclaimed 2025 as the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology in recognition of the 100th anniversary of the birth of modern quantum mechanics — the theory that describes the behaviour of matter and energy at atomic and subatomic scales. The international year was launched on the 4th February 2025 with an event at UNESCO headquarters in Paris. With over 1000 participants the event brought together scientists, industrialists, students and members of the physics and quantum community. The EPS president attended alongside the presidents of the German, French and UK physical societies. Attendees heard from Nobel laurates Anne L’Huillier, Bill Philips, Alain Aspect and Serge Haroche, they were treated to discussions on the importance of quantum science for sustainable development, education in quantum fields and the current state of the quantum industrial sector. 

The EPS is a participating partner in the International Year of Quantum Science and Technologies and we are looking forward to events throughout the year. In April we will inaugurate the City of Göttingen as an EPS historic site. We are preparing a special issue of EPN on quantum science and technology and we are looking forward to the many and varied events which our member societies have planned throughout the year. These range from quantum games and even an escape room organised by the German and Swiss Physical societies, exhibitions of quantum science held at London’s Royal Society and la Palais de la Découverte in Paris. Publications highlighting historic journal articles from the Italian Physical Society and in Physics World, summer schools for undergraduate and post graduate students held in Lithuania and Moldova, France and Italy, plus events focused on Policy Makers in held not only Brussels but also in Poland. Finally, we should not forget education, many of our members are creating educational resources in their country’s languages, so that the fascinating topic of quantum science is accessible to everyone. 

FLTR: Doris Reiter, Karin Zach, Claus Lämmerzahl, Mairi Sakellariadou, Klaus Richter, Bernhard Nunner, Wiebke Schuppe und Dieter Meschede
Image credit: DPG

A thorough understanding of attendees and their specific needs is crucial for designing conferences that are both relevant and effective. Thus, in summer 2024, we conducted a survey on researchers’ perceptions of and expectations towards scientific conferences. The survey was also distributed to the European Physical Society, and you might have participated in it (see previous article). Thank you very much for your contribution!

Survey participants considered scientific conferences useful and important. In particular, participants expected to explore research objectives and network at their next planned conference. Participants’ expectations of what to gain at their next planned conference largely did not differ between conference formats. The only exception were participants’ networking expectations, as virtual participants had lower expectations to network than in-person participants (Figure 1). Based on this, it can be argued that differences between in-person conferences and alternative formats become marginal once virtual and hybrid conferences can enable effective networking.

Figure 1. Participants expectations of what to gain at conferences

The variables were measured on a Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree). Dots represent means and error bars represent 95% confidence intervals. The five factors were measured with three to six items. Significant differences between in-person and virtual participants are marked with a *.

Participants’ conference expectations differed based on individual characteristics, such as career stage, geographical context, and personal circumstances, revealing that not all researchers need the same of conferences. Networking was the only factor that all participants expected to benefit from, highlighting that this is universally valued across all researchers and career stages.

Early-career researchers had higher expectations regarding acquiring general information, career development and securing scientific follow-up opportunities compared to senior researchers. Simultaneously, researchers from the Global South had higher expectations to acquire general information, explore research objectives and secure scientific follow-up opportunities compared to their researchers from the Global North. Furthermore, disadvantaged researchers (defined as those facing challenges with visa restrictions, childcare responsibilities, funding, and disabilities) had higher expectations for acquiring general information, career development and securing scientific follow-up opportunities compared to more privileged researchers. This highlights that researchers who are typically underrepresented and disadvantaged in traditional in-person conferences often stand to benefit the most from attending, as they pursue outcomes that go beyond networking.

Overall, the results highlight the potential of virtual and hybrid conference formats to meet the diverse expectations of researchers while significantly reducing travel-related greenhouse gas emissions and enhancing inclusivity by removing barriers like funding and visa restrictions. Virtual and hybrid formats can currently effectively address many conference objectives, except for networking, which requires innovative tools to support informal exchanges.  To transition toward sustainable practices, conference organizers should define clear goals, adopt purpose-driven formats, and invest in advanced technologies that cater to diverse researcher needs. These changes can align conferences with environmental and social sustainability goals while addressing the evolving needs of the global research community.

Annex

The results of the survey will be published in a research article that is currently under review. Complerte info can be found here.

The Galilean Academy of Sciences, Letters and Arts in Padua is now an EPS Historic Site, in honour of Galileo Galilei.

The plaque unveiling ceremony took place on January 18, 2025, conducted by the President of the European Physical Society (EPS), Prof. Mairi Sakellariadou, and the President of the Academy, Prof. Giovanna Zaniolo, during the annual academic Galilean Day, in the presence of the academicians and of the public (Fig. 1).

Fig. 1: Unveiling of the plaque. FLTR: Angela Bracco, President of the Italian Physical Society (SIF), Mairi Sakellariadou ,
President of the European Physical Society (EPS) and Giovanna Zaniolo, President of the Accademia Galileiana. Credits Accademia Galileiana.

The event began with an introduction by Prof. Zaniolo, including the reading of congratulatory messages from the Senator Maria Elisabetta Alberti Casellati, Minister for Institutional Reforms and Regulatory Simplification, and the President of the Veneto Region, Luca Zaia. This was followed by a brief explanation by myself of the motivations for the designation (see below), as well as remarks by Prof. Sakellariadou and Prof. Bracco, President of the Italian Physical Society (SIF), on the role of their respective Societies.

Fig. 2: The emblem of the Accademia Galileiana. Credits Accademia Galileiana.

The Academy is the oldest among the scientific ones still active in Italy, having been founded on November 25, 1599, under the name Accademia dei Ricovrati. Its motto, Bipatens animis asylum—inscribed on its emblem (Fig. 2)—is a verse from Boethius, inspired in turn by the allegoric description in Homer’s Odyssey of the Cave of the Naiads, with its two entrances. The motto was chosen to symbolize a refuge for the convergence of contemplative life and active life, between theoretical speculation and practical application.

Fig. 3: “Sala Guariento”, the meeting room of the Accademia. Credits Accademia Galileiana

The ceremony took place in the meeting room of the Accademia (Fig. 3). This, initially the Chapel of the Carrarese Palace, was magnificently decorated by Guariento di Arpo around 1350, one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites. At the time, Padua was under the ruling of the Carrarese family, still independent of Venice, that will conquer it in 1405. Born five years after the departure of Giotto from Padua, Guariento dealt with the indelible footprint of the Tuscan genius, while developing an original pictorial language echoing the culture of his city. In the frescoes of the Chapel, he focuses on the divine power, narrating episodes from the Bible. The one in Fig. 4 is from the Book of Daniel, on the Babylonian exile of the Jews. Having three young Jews refused the order of Nebuchadnezzar to worship a statue, the king commanded to hurl them into a fiery furnace, but they were saved by the Angel of the Lord. In the painting, the king appears astonished, above the disordered mass of terrified soldiers, in stark contrast to the solemn calmness of the angel and the three victims, emerging unscathed from the furnace.

Fig. 4: The Three Young Men in the Fiery Furnace, by Guariento di Arpo. Credits Accademia Galileiana

The name of the Accademia was changed to Galileiana in recent years, to celebrate Galileo Galilei as one of its founding members. We read his name in the minutes of the first session on November 25, 1599, the only scientist amongst university professors of law and of philosophy, men of letters, learned nobles and quite a number of ecclesiastics. Some academicians were good friends of  the young Tuscan, having together discussions on a wide range of philosophical and cultural issues, being him versed in music, in drawing and in writing of science, not only opening the way to modern science but also as masterpieces of Italian literature. On the other hand, the fight would become unavoidable with the Paduan philosophers, dogmatic followers of Aristoteles, not able to accept the Galileian discoveries.

Galilei had already been active in the organization of the group since several months. Indeed, on the Ides of August 1599, he had signed a note in the Album amicorum of Thomas Seget, describing himself as “Noble Florentine Mathematician and Professor at the Paduan Academy.” Seget, a Scottish poet then in Veneto and one of the first foreign Ricovrati, would later be in Prague in 1610 with Kepler when the astronomer confirmed the Medicean Stars. There, Seget would compose the famous epigram with the words Vicisti Galileae.

Fig. 5: The trajectory of a projectile; a) asymmetric in Nova scientia by Nicolò Tartaglia in 1537; b) symmetric for Galilei in 1599

In his dedication, Galilei drew a parabola (Fig. 5 b) to illustrate the motion of projectiles, a trajectory he had discovered through an experiment conducted with Guidobaldo del Monte in 1592, the year Galilei arrived in Padua. In his book of motion, Discorsi e dimostrazioni intorno a due nuove scienze, published in 1638, Galilei will describe the experiment: he launched a metal, perfectly spherical, ball on an inclined surface, such that the ball, gently pressing on the surface, would leave a trace of its passage. The experiment is remarkably simple, and revolutionary. Until then, following Aristotle, it was believed that, on Earth, there were only two types of motion: violent and natural, both rectilinear—initially violent in the direction of the cannon's barrel, finally natural, vertically downward toward the Earth's centre, as the initial impetus was exhausted. This was also the case of the most important textbook on the subject, the Nova scientia by the great mathematician Nicolò Tartaglia. Galilei demonstrated that the motion is symmetrical in ascent and descent, entirely of the same type. This marked the beginning of his journey toward discovering the laws of motion, a path he was still following in 1599 and which would lead him to them in 1604.

The text of the plaque, after commemorating Galilei’s contributions, also notes that: “Among the early members of the Ricovrati was Elena Lucrezia Cornaro Piscopia, elected a member in 1669 and that became the first woman in the world to earn a university degree in 1678. In subsequent centuries, the Academy counted among its members figures such as Benjamin Franklin and John Herschel among foreign scientists, and among Italians Tullio Levi-Civita, Gregorio Ricci Curbastro, Bruno Rossi and Antonio Favaro, who oversaw the monumental National Edition of the Works of Galileo Galilei.

Author: Amy Walter - image credit: EDP Sciences

We are very pleased to share our latest updates with you as the year ramps up to full speed following the winter break. In our news this month…

New funding collective supports equitable access to global acoustics research.

The journal Acta Acustica, owned by the European Acoustics Association, is transitioning to Diamond open access from January 2025, removing all costs for both readers and authors https://acta-acustica.edpsciences.org/news/323-acta-acustica-to-transition-to-diamond-open-access-in-2025

Preparing to celebrate the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology

February 4th marks the Opening Ceremony of the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology. Under the auspices of UNESCO, this event recognizes 100 years since the initial development of quantum mechanics.

We would like to celebrate this initiative by recommending 'Ultra-cold atoms, ions, molecules and quantum technologies' by Hélène Perrin, Robin Kaiser, and Michèle Leduc. Foreword by Alain Aspect (Nobel Prize).

• More info, official site IYQ: https://buff.ly/3C4ka89
• More info about the book https://buff.ly/40vQLM9

EPJ B welcomes new Editor-in-Chief Philipp Hövel

The European Physical Journal B is glad to announce that Dr. Philipp Hövel (Saarland University, Saarbrücken, Germany) has been appointed as Editor-in-Chief for the section on statistical physics and complex systems.

Dr. Hövel will work alongside Prof. Egger to continue guiding and developing the journal.

The journal and the Publishers, take the opportunity to thank Prof. Heiko Rieger whose work and leadership have been invaluable. (https://www.epj.org/epjb-news/2848-epjb-welcomes-new-editor-in-chief-philipp-hoevel ).

Research highlights
“ f(R) gravity with spacetime torsion” by Hitender Kumar, Tanmoy Paul and Soumitra SenGupta, published in EPL, has been highlighted in Europhysics News- EPN 55/5: The Universe (November 2024). See https://epn.eps.org/epn-55-5/#1

We are delighted to announce the publication of several new special issues:

• EPJ D Topical Issue - Atomic Spectra and Oscillator Strengths (ASOS14)
  
• EPJ B Topical Issue - New Trends in Statistical Physics of Complex Systems: Theoretical and Experimental Approaches

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.

The European Physical Society launched the Emmy Noether Distinction to recognize noteworthy female physicists who have a strong connection to Europe through their nationality or work.

Emmy Noether, with her fundamental and revolutionary work in the abstract algebra and on 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 to promote gender equality and the empowerment of women in physics
• coordination of projects and management activity
• service to the scientific community and research administration

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

Commencing 2022, the EPS Emmy Noether Distinction for Women in Physics is to be awarded once a year, to two distinguished women in physics. Namely, the Emmy Noether Distinction will be awarded to an early- and mid–career laureate, as well as to a more advanced candidate, as a Distinction for her full career.

To make a nomination,  apply via this site or submit the following documents 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 and providing the proposed citation (for.... or in recognition of.... One sentence, <30 words);

• 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

Read more about the EPS Emmy Noether Distinction on the EPS website

The European Physical Society (EPS) is at the forefront of integrating innovative technologies into education with Discovery Space teacher training including AIMLOW: Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Online Workshops. These initiatives aim to inspire educators, equip them with modern pedagogical tools, and provide students with engaging learning experiences rooted in inquiry and critical thinking.

Discovery Space: A Gateway to Exploratory Learning

Discovery Space is an ambitious EU-funded project designed to facilitate students’ inquiry-based learning using an online Enhanced Learning Environment. Students are guided through differentiated pathways tailored to students’ progress.  Learning scenarios engage learners in a variety of physics and non-physics topics, from genetics to astrophysics and everything in between. Discovery Space seeks to transform traditional education by placing students in active problem-solving roles while leveraging AI as a guiding tool.

EPS project officer Michael Gregory is in charge of the Discovery Space Teacher Training Academy, providing professional development online and across Europe.  In-person workshops have already taken place in Bulgaria and Spain, with more planned for 2025 there, in France and across Europe.  Keep an eye on the Discovery Space website: https://discoveryspace.eu/ or contact the author to be informed of when there are upcoming workshops near you!

Training sessions are planned and executed in collaboration with local partners, and the specific contents adapted to local needs and requests.  Workshops last anywhere between 1.5 hours and a whole day, and either focus exclusively on Discovery Space or often include more general sessions on AI in the classroom and low-cost experiments.  These sessions introduce educators to the platform’s features, and differentiated learning scenarios like “The Magic of Refraction” and "Zookeepers of the Galaxy."

Discovery Space Learning Scenarios

“The Magic of Refraction” is a learning scenario that kicks off with live demonstrations inspired by the popular Science on Stage webinar series “It’s not magic, it’s science you don’t see”, (https://www.science-on-stage.eu/event/webinar-its-not-magic-its-science-you-dont-see-part-7) followed by guided experimentation with simulations, collaborative data collection, and differentiated analysis to explore Snell’s Law and refraction. The scenario’s emphasis on whole-class data fosters a collaborative learning environment. Students analyze results with varying levels of complexity, from reviewing individual data points, to taking averages, to linearizing data to plot trend lines - the experience is adapted to the learning needs of each student.  This differentiated approach to analysing whole-class generated data was met with considerable enthusiasm - when piloted at the National Science and Mathematics Gimnazija in Sofia, Bulgaria, students asked to stay late on Friday  evening to continue their analysis and discussions.

Michael presenting Discovery Space scenario “The Magic of Refraction” at National Science and Mathematics Gimnazija, Sofia, Bulgaria.
(Photo taken by Nasko Stamenov)

“Zookeepers of the Galaxy” is a versatile learning scenario that blends astrophysics and artificial intelligence, offering teachers a novel way to make complex topics engaging and interactive. First piloted during the final session of AIMLOW, then further developed for various workshops across Spain - in Cuenca, Burgos and Espinosa de los Monteros. Its dual focus—covering key curriculum concepts like the known universe while introducing machine learning—has been enthusiastically received and highlights the growing need for resources that bridge 21st-century skills with traditional science education.

Students begin by categorizing galaxies based on visual patterns, foreshadowing the creation of a machine learning model in later phases. The scenario progresses with adaptable activities to extract a dataset of images from the Zooinverse dataset (www.zooniverse.org), then guides learners to use their dataset to train Google Teachable Machine to classify galaxy images. Through experimentation, they explore how dataset size and training parameters impact the success of their models. Reflection phases encourage critical thinking, with learners at varying levels discovering the balance between accuracy, training time, and resource use. By combining astrophysics with cutting-edge AI concepts, “Zookeepers of the Galaxy” empowers students and teachers alike, sparking curiosity and building essential skills for the future.

Student view in the “Zookeepers of the Galaxy” Learning Scenario

Several more learning scenarios are already available on the Discovery Space Enhanced Learning Environment, with even more in development, and the possibility for teachers to copy, modify and create their own scenarios adapted for their own classrooms!  Topics currently covered range from evolution, genetics, astrophysics, seasons and electricity.  Topics in the works include taxonomy, microscopy, modern physics and more!

AIMLOW: Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Online Workshops

Complementing the Discovery Space initiative is AIMLOW, a six-week online course that introduces educators to the world of artificial intelligence and its practical applications in teaching. Spearheaded by Michael Gregory of EPS and Kalina Dimitrova from Sofia University, AIMLOW is a hands-on course that demystifies complex AI concepts and showcases their relevance to the classroom.

Kalina works on creating AI algorithms for particle physics experiments and takes interest in explainable AI methods.  She used her expertise to create our own simplified language model, image classifier and image generator for AIMLOW to explain how all of these aspects of AI work.  To learn more about these, see the AIMLOW course outline: https://discoveryspace.eu/join-the-aimlow-courses-and-empower-your-teaching-with-ai/ and the recordings of the sessions on the EPS YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@EuroPhysSoc.

Throughout the course, AIMLOW shared the focus on a theoretical foundation of how AI works and applications to classroom practice, with sessions focused on language models, image classification and image generation.  The final two sessions were more focused on classroom applications, with one session on sharing best practices and teacher resources, and the final session took teachers through the Discovery Space learning scenario “Zookeepers of the Galaxy”, which guides students to create an image classifier using Google Teachable Machine, while learning about galaxy classification and Hubble’s Tuning Fork.

Fostering a Community of Innovative Educators

A key outcome of Discovery Space and especially AIMLOW has been the creation of a vibrant community of educators eager to embrace technology as a transformative force in education. Workshops and training sessions often serve as a platform for collaboration, with educators exchanging ideas and sharing best practices.

Feedback from AIMLOW participants has been especially positive, with teachers reporting increased confidence in using AI and a deeper understanding of its potential. With the fast-pace with which AI is becoming increasingly present in society, teachers are hungry to learn more - both to help in their work, and to teach students about this constantly evolving technology.  Following the enthusiasm for “Zookeepers of the Galaxy”, more Discovery Space learning scenarios are being developed to combine areas of the science curriculum with basic AI skills.

Michael presenting Discovery Space at “Un Viaje en el Espacio” teacher training day at Museo de las Ciencias de Castilla la Mancha, Cuenca, Spain.
(Photo by Jose Luis Olmo Risquez)

Discover the future of education with EPS—where curiosity meets innovation.

Discovery Space professional development for teachers will continue to take place online and in-person across Europe.  For information on upcoming workshops, check the Discovery Space website: https://discoveryspace.eu/ or contact the EPS Project Officer Michael Gregory: michael.gregory@eps.org.

image credit: IYPT

The International Young Physicists' Tournament (IYPT) will take place from 29th June to 6th July 2025 in Lund, Sweden. Sam Edgecombe, chairman of IYPT Sweden, invites you to take part in the event.

What is IYPT?
The International Young Physicists' Tournament (IYPT), sometimes referred to as the "Physics World Championship," is an annual international competition for high school students (pre-university). The purpose of hosting IYPT 2025 in Lund is to showcase Sweden as a knowledge nation, promote education in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics), especially physics, encourage creativity and independence among youth, and enhance international understanding and collaboration.

Every summer, 17 problems of both theoretical and experimental nature are released. These problems can be interpreted in various ways and are sometimes unsolved. Solving them mimics real research, where experiments are conducted to investigate a phenomenon, compared with theory, and then compiled into a proposed solution.

Students compete by “fighting” against each other: one student presents their proposed solution to an IYPT problem (published a year in advance), while another student acts as an opponent. An international jury of physicists grades the participants. After five rounds, a final is held among the top three countries.

IYPT in Lund
IYPT is a unique opportunity for high school students to work with physics and present their results in an international setting. By hosting the IYPT final in Lund, we hope to inspire participants to pursue higher education and careers in physics and natural sciences in Sweden and the Skåne region.

The Medical Faculty and the Department of Physics have made some teaching facilities available free of charge, for which we are very grateful.

We expect teams from approximately 40 countries, including Australia, Austria, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Taiwan, Croatia, Czechia, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Iran, Italy, Kazakhstan, South Korea, Macau, Mexico, Nepal, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Türkiye, Uganda, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, and the USA. 36 countries are pre-registered at the time of writing.

We are looking for more countries to participate in the IYPT. If you are interested in organizing the IYPT in your country, please get in touch with us and we can provide you with more information about how to take part. You could also apply as a visitor to the IYPT 2025 an experience the IYPT for yourself firsthand.

The IYPT 2025 is only possible thanks to our partners and sponsors:
Skolverket (Swedish National Agency for Education), Jacob Wallenberg Foundation, Jane Street, Visit Skåne, Visit Lund AB, Beijer Foundation, Olle Engkvist Foundation, Wenner-Gren Foundations, Einar Hansen Allhems Foundation, Oscar and Maria Ekman's Donation Fund, Magnus Bergvall Foundation, the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research, Sven and Dagmar Salén's Foundation, Bertil Wollert's Scholarship Foundation, Lund Municipality, Region Skåne, Carl Tryggers Foundation and Vernier.

About
IYPT Sweden is a nonprofit organization. Its purpose is to motivate youth, promote their research and problem-solving skills, and stimulate their passion for science through the current 17 IYPT problems. Additionally, the organization selects and sends Sweden's IYPT team to the international competition.

Contact: info@iyptsweden.org
Website: www.iypt.se
Instagram: @iypt_sweden

Preliminary Program

June 29, 2025:

• Arrival
• Jury meeting

June 30, 2025:

• Opening ceremony with drawing of lots
• First Fight

July 1, 2025:

• Second Fight
• Half-day activity

July 2, 2025:

• Third and fourth Fights

July 3, 2025:

• Full-day excursion

July 4, 2025:

• Fifth Fight
• Half-day activity

July 5, 2025:

• Final
• Award ceremony and closing dinner

July 6, 2025:

• Departure
• First day of the International Organizing Committee (IOC) meeting

July 7, 2025:

• Second day of IOC meeting

July 8, 2025:

• IOC departure

image credit: ISE

19th December 2024, ISE, press release. Prof. Dr. Moniek Tromp, Director of the Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials, Chair of Materials Chemistry at the University of Groningen (The Netherlands), was elected by the ISE General Assembly on 26 April 2024 as the new President of Initiative for Science in Europe (ISE). Prof. Tromp took office on 1st January 2025.

She succeeds Prof. emeritus Dr. Martin Andler, Laboratoire de Mathématiques, Université de Versailles-Saint Quentin, the current ISE President, whose mandate ran until 31 December 2024. He was elected President on 24 mars 2017.

ISE members wish to jointly welcome Moniek Tromp and look forward to working under her leadership.

Moniek Tromp is currently the chair of Materials Chemistry and her research focusses on the development and application of operando spectroscopy techniques in catalysis and materials research, incl. fuel cells, batteries, photochemistry, etc…, with a focus on X-ray spectroscopy techniques. Application of the techniques to fundamentally or industrially interesting processes and materials have provided unprecedented insights in properties and mechanisms. She has had many important national and international roles, e.g. board member of the Dutch Funding Agency (Science Domain), chair of the Dutch Network for Female Professors  (LNVH), chair of the Young Academy Europe (YAE), and president and board member of the Young Academies Science Advice Structure (YASAS) and Science Advice for Policy by European Academies (SAPEA) (the science advice mechanism of the European Commission) respectively. She is therefore very well embedded in management and policy at national and international level. Her leadership is further exemplified by her current positions as Engineering director of the Faculty of Science and Engineering and Research director of the Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials (40 principle investigators, ~300 staff in total). As Captain of Science of the Topsector Chemistry, she advises the Dutch government, esp. on innovation and industry policy.

ISE members want to warmly thank Martin Andler for his dedication, enthusiasm and commitment during his more than seven years of presidency at ISE.

“I am delighted that ISE has chosen Moniek Tromp as my successor. She is an outstanding scientist, with a broad spectrum of expertise, ranging from fundamental research to industrial applications. She also has extensive experience in science policy. Moniek was the Chair of the Young Academy of Europe (YAE), a member of ISE, and as such was a member of ISE’s Executive Committee between 2020 and 2022. Open science, researchers’ careers and scientific advice are some of the important topics that she has been involved in. She is very committed to European research and innovation.” says Martin Andler, outgoing ISE President.

Our offices will be closed between Christmas and New Year.
The EPS offices will be closed between 23rd December 2024 and 1st January 2025. Click here to contact us per email.

 2023 EPS Emmy Noether Distinction - Mid-career

The EPS has decided to award the 2023 EPS Emmy Noether Distinction (mid-career) to Lavinia Heisenberg, professor at the Faculty of Physics and Astronomy, University of Heidelberg, Germany "for her fundamental contributions to gravitational physics and theoretical cosmology, for her engagement for women in science and her outstanding leadership".

Prof. Lavinia Heisenberg has achieved groundbreaking advancements in alternative gravitational theories, particularly in their cosmological applications. Her innovative geometrical studies have redefined the conventional understanding of General Relativity, offering new perspectives. More recently, she has made significant contributions to the study of black holes and gravitational waves.

She has been honoured with the prestigious Latsis Prize of ETH, the Buchalter Cosmology Prize, the Simons Emmy Noether Award of the Perimeter Institute, the Gustav-Hertz Prize of the German Physical Society, and the General Physics Prize of the Swiss Physical Society. She was also a finalist of the Art of Leadership Award (ALEA) 2023 of ETH and she is a recipient of ETH’s Diversity Award and the Empowering Women Award in Switzerland and more.

2023 EPS Emmy Noether Distinction - Full career

The EPS has decided to award the 2023 EPS Emmy Noether Distinction (full career) to Gloria Platero, research professor at the Materials Science Institute of Madrid of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), "in recognition of her remarkable contributions to the theoretical understanding of out-of-equilibrium (Floquet) systems and their impactful application to quantum materials, for her excellent mentorship of young researchers and for tirelessly fostering female talent in physics."

Prof. Gloria Platero studied Physics at the Autonomous University of Madrid (UAM)  and received her PhD in Condensed Matter Physics there in 1984. After working as assistant professor in Madrid, she did her postdoc at the Max Planck Institute for high magnetic fields in Grenoble and then joined the Materials Science Institute of Madrid first as a postdoc, then as staff researcher. She progressed to Director of the Condensed Matter Theory Department and  she was also Honorary Professor at the UAM.  She was involved in several EU networks and was invited for research stays in different  international research centers. From 2017 till 2021 she was  Mercator Fellow at the University of Regensburg. She is Fellow of the APS (Quantum Information Division) and Secretary of the C8 Commission (Semiconductors) of the IUPAP. She will become Chair on January 2025.

Along the years, she has investigated  time periodic driven systems (a topic known as Floquet Engineering).  Her research, in the field of Quantum Nanotechnologies, focuses on the theory of spin qubits in quantum dot arrays, their manipulation and the transfer of quantum information.

Recently, she also investigates the role of  the topological edge states in low dimensional topological insulators for the transfer of quantum information with high fidelity.

More info:

The 18th Persian Young Physicists’ Tournament, PYPT, was held on 28th-29th November 2024 by the Ariaian Young Innovative Minds Institute, AYIMI and ADIB (cultural and Artistic Institute) with teams from different schools.

The jurors were from different countries , Uk, Poland, Italia and Iran. This edition was in two different categories, online for individual participants and onsite for team members. The best four teams got medals as follows:

- First team: Artin Radmatin, Ramiya Rahjou, Mohammad Hossein Ezzati, Baran Bahman, Niki Abtahi, Elyar Ferdisizadeh received gold medal
- Second team: Bahareh Asadi, Elina Roohi, Parnian Hashemi, Parisa Shahmansouri received silver medal
- Third team: Tara Pourhosseini, Arman Ardavani, Mehravh Zhagoul Irani , Paya Taybi , Seyed Reza Hosseini , Mahna Hashemi received Silver medal
- Fourth team: Atoosa Esmaili, Helia Azimzadegan, Dina Mandouzei, Avin Shafiei received Bronze medal

The best students after their participating in a workshop will be selected as Iran team to participate in the International Young Physicists' Tournament, IYPT 2025, to be held in Sweden.

image credit: AYIMI

Nominations are now open for the following  EPS central prizes.

These prizes are open to nomination from EPS members including chairs of divisions or groups, representatives of member societies, and EPS individual members.  All EPS members (with the exception of the executive committee)  are eligible for the awards. Early Career scientists should be EPS members or members of member societies. 

Nominations are open for the following distinctions, awards and medals. 
• EPS Early Career Award
• Gero Thomas Medal
Nominations may also be submitted for EPS fellows and EPS honorary members.

The EPS encourages nominations from the entire community, especially for members of underrepresented groups and which reflect the geographical diversity of the EPS

For consideration during Council 2025, nominations must be received by 31st March 2025. 
Nominations should be submitted via this website. 

The Women in Physics Group (GEMF) of the Royal Spanish Society of Physics organised a symposium earlier this year. It was held in the frame of the XXXIX Biennal of the society in Donostia, Spain in July 2024. It aims to discuss issues related to strategies to increase the presence of women in physics, to make their achievements visible and to defend the interests and equal rights and opportunities of women physicists.

Pas García (left), president of the GEMF, introduced Ursula Keller (right).
The talk was entitled ‘Dual-comb generation from a single laser cavity’ - image: GEMF

Ursula Keller proposal and plenary presentation

Proposal for the theme of Dialogue 2: ‘Women's leadership in physics’ moderated by Itziar Otegui, head of outreach at CIC nanoGUNE. In this dialogue between a more senior (Ursula Keller from ETH Zurich) and junior (Irene Abril, member of our group and PhD student at the University of Cambridge, THANK YOU, IRENE!), the central challenges to achieve equality in science were addressed. They reviewed the data, analysed institutional strategies and highlighted that the process is stagnating. We must try to move towards a new model of inclusive leadership in which the importance of male allies is fundamental.

Symposium ‘Women in Physics’

As part of the Physics Biennial, the Women in Physics Symposium was held with the participation of 8 oral presentations. The GEMF symposium aimed to discuss issues related to strategies to increase the presence of women in physics, to make their achievements visible and to defend the interests and equal rights and opportunities of women physicists. The Symposium included an invited talk by Lorena Fernández, computer engineer, director of digital identity at the University of Deusto and STEAM disseminator, as well as an expert on gender and science, especially in the field of ICTs.

PART 1: Moderated by Màriam Tórtola, secretary-treasurer of the GEMF.

• Marta Seror, of the Institute of Physics of Cantabria. ‘Traces and Trails: Women Professors of Atomic, Molecular and Nuclear Physics in Spain’.

Marta recalled that the percentage of female professors in physics is 15%, and dedicated the presentation to the female professors of FAMN (Atomic, Molecular and Nuclear Physics). In this study, she conducted a series of interviews with active and retired female professors from Spanish public universities, analysing the extent to which gender influences or has influenced their scientific careers and academic trajectories. In addition to the testimonies collected, another purpose of the study was to locate and highlight female professors in this discipline. The characteristics of this branch of knowledge make the physics of the very small a field in which women have played and continue to play a particularly relevant role.

• Míriam Comet-Donoso, Universitat de Barcelona, “No questions asked: gendered participation patterns in higher education in physics”

This study was also carried out by M. Romagosa-Torrallardona UB, T. Donoso-Vázquez,UB, A. T. Danielsson Stockholm University, P. Folgueiras-Bertomeu UB and S. Estradé UB. The study addressed the different dynamics in the participation of physics students in class according to their gender. Women tend to ask fewer questions than men, which reflects the social norms that prioritise obedience and non-disruptive behaviour in women. In contrast, men tend to engage in more explanatory discourse, in line with gender stereotypes that value confidence and competitiveness. The study employed a mixed design comprising quantitative observations (n=900) and, for the qualitative part, a focus group discussion that corroborated these disparities in classroom participation.

• Ana Xesús López Díaz, de la Universidad de A Coruña, “Gender approach in university teaching: activities of the Grupo de Innovación Docente Multidisciplinar para a Igualdade de Xénero (GIDMIX)”

This work also carried out by A. Ramil (UdC), M. Carreiro (UdC), C. López (UdC) and E. Aguayo (USC), highlighted the importance of teaching with a gender perspective to improve the quality and social relevance of the knowledge, technologies and innovations that are produced. It can also stimulate critical thinking and develop competencies that enable students to avoid gender blindness in their future professional practice. However, diagnoses of the degree of integration in the classroom reveal disparities between universities and, in general, partial integration. Among the causes identified are the lack of teacher training on gender issues and the lack of methodological guides on how to introduce the gender dimension, as well as practical examples of how to apply it in different subjects.

• Rocío Vilar Cortabitarte, of the Institute of Physics of Cantabria, ‘Strengthening equality and diversity at the Institute of Physics of Cantabria’.

S. Martinez, M. Ceballos, J. Piedra, J. Sáinz-Pardo, R. García, D. Herranz, L. Graafland, R. Domínguez,and K. Vaaiyapuri.
The talk presented the fantastic activities carried out by the Equality and Diversity Commission of the IFCA (CSIC-UC), which earned them the recognition of the second prize of the equality award granted by the CSIC in 2018. The work of the commission was also awarded the VI Equality Award of the University of Cantabria in 2022. The main objective of this commission is to include the gender and diversity perspective in the daily development of IFCA's scientific work.

PART 2: Moderated by Ana X. López, vice-president of the GEMF.

• Núria Garro, of Faculty of Physics of the University of Valencia, “Tornem als instituts: activities to make women in Physics studies more visible’”

The work was also carried out by M. Delgado, P. García-Martínez, S. Planelles and M. Tórtola, from the UVEG.
In this communication, the activity ‘Tornem als instituts’ was presented, carried out by students of the Faculty of Physics of the University of Valencia in the 22/23 and 23/24 academic years and supervised by the professors of the Comissió d'Igualtat. The activity consists of holding informative talks in secondary schools, with the speakers being students of the faculty and the educational centres targeted being those in which they themselves studied. In figures, ‘Tornem als instituts’ has been very well received: in the first two editions, a total of 45 students, 40 women and 5 men, signed up for the activity, and informative talks have been given in 34 schools in the three Valencian provinces. The estimated number of students receiving these talks is around 3,500.

• Màriam Tórtola, of the Faculty of Physics of the University of Valencia, ‘Meitner Project - Remembering the pioneers of Nuclear and Particle Physics’.

With the participation of C. Escobar, N. Falcó, I. Laderescu, O. Mena, A. Molina, R. Molina, M. Moreno, D. Muñoz, S. Orrigo, J. Palacios, S. Pastor, D. Rodríguez, S. Rubio, B. Rubio, J. L. Taín and M. Villaplana, from the Institute of Corpuscular Physics (CSIC / University of Valencia).
Proyecto Meitner is a scientific dissemination initiative with the aim of recovering and highlighting the contribution of the great pioneers of nuclear and particle physics through the figure of Lise Meitner. This project, which combines science with artistic disciplines, includes activities as diverse as a play, a conference on science and gender, a teaching mentoring programme, a science and art competition, videos on social networks and a lot of educational material to give visibility to women in science, bringing scientists of the past and present in Nuclear and Particle Physics to all audiences. Proyecto Meitner has received grants from organisations such as FECYT, CSIC, the University of Valencia and the Provincial Council of Valencia, and has been awarded the second STEAM Alliance prize for female talent by the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training in 2023.

• Matilde Ariza Montes, from the ‘Pedro Espinosa’ Secondary School, ‘Women scientists with the gait of giants’.

In this magnificent and inspiring presentation, Mati Ariza told us about the activities that she has been carrying out in her school for some time with the aim of making female profiles in the scientific world visible so that students can discover references in fields such as physics, thus encouraging scientific vocations from an early age. In this work, hundreds of women of national and international relevance have been searched for their achievements in science and, secondly, they have been selected for their actions, which have been worthy of the prominence they enjoy in the field of science. The work has led to the creation of a database for subsequent publication as a reference book.

Participation of the European Physical Society (EPS)

We would like to thank Gina Gunaratnam, Communication Coordinator, European Physical Society, that sent us the fantastic calendars of “Inspiring Physicist 2024” that we offered to participants.

NORNDIP, the Annual Conference of the Nordic Network for Diversity in Physics, took place at the University of Bergen, Norway, in May 2024. See:  https://indico.cern.ch/event/1384666/overview

These conferences typically have a balanced mixture of invited physics talks and gender talks. Gender talks cover gender-balance reports from Nordic Countries. Each conference has a special leading theme, in 2024 the theme was "Microaggression", the leading  theme of the 2025 conference will be "Diverse trajectories - Challenging the norms in physics research and culture”.

Below, a short report from the leading themes of gender-talks. Adrienne Taxler reported on quantitative studies of barriers to diversity in physics in academia, quoting sexual harassment, hostile climate, microaggressions as often quoted problems. Randi Gressgård reported on her studies of microaggressions in academic institutions, noting that people of color and women are often subtly marked as intruders even by  persons with good intentions.

According to studies, women and minority people are assumed to be inferior or more junior in rank than they actually are, through little encounters signalling lack of competence, skill or intelligence. Every female professor I know was asked at least once "Are you a student here?" during her professorship career, and not because of her young looks. It is because only ‘When you look like what they expect a professor to be, you are treated like a professor’. Siri Øyslebø Sørensen  and Eva Amundsdotter reported on the project GenderAct, an institutional project running at the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences of the University of Bergen, Norway.

The gender (in) balance at  the Faculty is stable for the last 20 years. The project had as a first part a task to understand the complicated causes of gender imbalance in this specific environment,  then mobilize for change and transform patterns as the last step. During this process it was learned that resistance towards the topic of gender as such is  common in academic institutions. This resistance takes forms of gender hostility - discomfort associated with becoming aware/ conscious and gender blindness - strong belief in meritocracy as neutral. There is a resistance to change and transform gendered patterns that takes forms of undermining, distracting attention, pretending,  sabotage,  avoidance,  disclaiming. The practical forms of resistance observed for this particular project  in interaction with leaders of the departments were:  no open reactions, just ‘whispering in the hallways’, action plan is approved, but not followed up on, open critique in plenary meeting.

The next phase of the GenderAct project will study the resistance to change, and how to deal with it. The most optimistic report was by Maria Saline, a coordinator of Gender Initiative for Excellence, GENIE at Chalmers University in Gothenburg, Sweden. The project seems to be on a good way to reverse barriers to female faculty hiring and retention by investing in excellent hires.

EDP Sciences physics archives demonstrate enduring influence

As the year rapidly draws to a close and planning for next year’s resources begins, we are delighted to be answering queries about our multiple physics archive collections including Annales de Physique archives (1914 to 2009), The European Physical Journal - Applied Physics (EPJAP) archives (1998 to 2015) and, notably, our most substantial archive collection, the Journal de Physique archives (1872 to 1997). The latter contains 125 years of excellence - including seminal papers by Marie and Pierre Curie, Henri Becquerel and Louis de Broglie – and is still being cited frequently by modern day researchers, demonstrating the enduring influence of the science published within.

Find out more about our archives, including the most cited articles in the Journal de Physique archives collection. 

Congratulations to Dr. Daniel Lincot, Awarded the 2024 Alexandre Edmond Becquerel Prize

EPJ Photovoltaics extends heartfelt congratulations to Dr. Daniel Lincot, our Honorary Editor-in-Chief, on being awarded the 2024 Alexandre Edmond Becquerel Prize. On September 23, 2024, at the 41st European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition, both Editors-in-Chief of EPJ Photovoltaics, Prof. Pere Roca i Cabarrocas and Dr. Jean-Louis Lazzari,  joined in celebrating Dr. Lincot’s achievement. Together with the EDP Sciences Team, they commend Dr. Lincot for his well-deserved honor and his significant contributions to the field of solar energy.

Dr Daniel Lincot is awarded the Becquerel Prize- image credit: EDP Sciences

FLTR: Jean-Louis-Lazzari (EiC of EPJ Photovoltaics), Veronica Bermudez (Associate Editor of EPJ Photovoltaics),
Daniel Lincot (Honorary EiC of EPJ Photovoltaics), Pere Roca (EiC of EPJ Photovoltaics), Christophe Ballif, Chair Becquerel Committee

EPJ Web of Conferences now indexed in Scopus.

We are thrilled to announce that EPJ Web of Conferences has been accepted for indexing in one of the world’s largest abstract and citation databases of peer-reviewed literature, Scopus.

EPJ Web of Conferences is an open access publication series focused on publishing high-quality conference proceedings in the fields of Physics and related sciences. Read more about what the indexation means for the journal. 

Discover recently published proceedings from EPJ Web of Conferences

• EOS Annual Meeting (EOSAM 2024), Naples, Italy, September 9-13, 2024
  L. De Stefano, R. Velotta and E. Descrovi (Eds.)
  
• 11th EPS-QEOD Europhoton Conference on Solid-State, Fibre, and Waveguide Coherent Light Sources (EUROPHOTON 2024)
  

Vilnius, Lithuania, August 25-30, 2024
A. Michailovas, J.I. Mackenzie, F. Pirzio and E. Cormier (Eds.)

 EPJ Special Topics updates

The latest special topic in EPJ Special Topics is a 246-page technical design report presenting a detailed description of all aspects of the LUXE (Laser Und XFEL Experiment). This is published in open access, read it here.

Europhysics Letters news

In 2024, the journal EPL sponsored cash prizes again to the Best Activity Awards of the EPS Young Minds. See the article in the September issue of EPN.

EPL benefits from one of the largest collections of “transformative agreements” in the world. Many authors can therefore publish in open access in EPL free of charge, ensuring maximum dissemination of their work. Check the latest Editorial for details.

BOOK: 40 expériences de physique élémentaire issues des leçons de Marie Curie

It would be remiss of us not to mention a new book about one of our founders, Marie Curie.

This title presents lessons given by Curie to student Isabelle Chavannes, sourced directly from her notebook which was discovered in 2003. Published in French, the book reproduces the experiments taught to Chavannes using modern techniques, and includes related experiments which provide students and the science-curious with an easy way to understand essential concepts such as pressure, density, the weight of air, and more.

Discover a fun and progressive introduction to experimental physics by one of its most eminent figures, available in our Bookstore.

image credit: PiA

Author: Arnulf Quadt

Göttingen, 1st November 2024 -

Dear "PiA - Physics in Advent" friends,

Under the motto "still 24 experiments until Christmas" we offer 24 entertaining physics experiments to do yourself again this year. Due to the great interest from abroad, physics in Advent will, as in previous years, also be available in English.

PiA is designed for pupils in grades five to ten and from 11 to 18 years of age. However, based on the experience of previous years, parents, teachers, students or those simply interested in physical phenomena also take great pleasure in it. This year, adults in companies, departments and circles of friends are also encouraged to join in as a team and solve the riddle. You can watch a simple experiment every day from 1 to 24 December on YouTube, which you can be easily do yourself using standard household materials. Afterwards you will try to explain the phenomena, with four possible answers. The next day, the solution is available - again via YouTube video. If you wish, the results can be evaluated: individually, for a school class or even for whole schools. The best participants, classes or schools receive prizes. In addition to iPods, books and experiment kits, there are also
- win a trip to Dallas for NBA basketball games supported by Dirk Nowitzki
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mm7yY_a4nw4
- a trip to London to the Harry Potter film studios
- a jump in a vertical wind tunnel
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WyO_RNN2gYo
- a ride in a hot air balloon
- a flight in a glider

Since 1 November, anyone can now register at https://www.physics-in-advent.org  or https://www.pia.eu Further information can be found there or at the social media channels:
https://www.facebook.com/PhysikImAdvent
https://twitter.com/PhysikImAdvent
https://twitter.com/PhysicsInAdvent
https://www.instagram.com/physikimadvent
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtm36YNHodlXx0mYLa8vUIw
or in the WhatsApp-channel https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaCXItcAe5ViGzW9Zd15


In the past years, PiA has always been a great success: in 2022 about 70,000 registered participants (~50% female) from more than 72 countries participated. Most of them were students from Germany, Austria or Switzerland. The PiA YouTube and websites were visited more than 2.5 million times.

The project is supported by numerous people from science, television or politics:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WntHPDlDiDI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPxyxsxGxV8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfBWC_977qE

Flyers and posters can be requested free of charge via the contact website:
https://physics-in-advent.org/contact

"PiA - Physics in Advent" is offered with the support of the Wilhelm and Else Heraeus Foundation in cooperation with the German, Dutch, Austrian, Swiss and European Physical Societies, the Association of German Engineers, the German Aerospace Center, the MNU Association for the Promotion of MINT Teaching, IUCAA (India), ECYGDA, IM3O, TUM, German patent office, Global Sphere network, Science on Stage, Komm mach MINT, Leifiphysik and MINT Zukunft schaffen. It takes place in cooperation with the successful project "Maths in Advent" and "Krypto im Advent".

We are looking forward to your participation!

With best regards,
Arnulf Quadt, for the PiA team

January

16 January: A. Di Ciaccio and A. Fantoni, EPS Executive Committee members, participated in the tenth preparatory meeting of the 2nd EPS Forum
17 January: Mairi Sakellariadou participated in a workshop dedicated to the International Year of Basic Sciences and Sustainable Development; online meeting with short presentation as elected President of the EPS
20 January: A. Di Ciaccio and A. Fantoni, EPS Executive Committee members, participated in the awards and distinction committee meeting
29 January: A. Di Ciaccio and A. Fantoni, EPS Executive Committee members, participated in the EPS Exec Committee board

February

Feb. 8: participation in a zoom meeting with the American Physical Society for the preparation of Council 2024
Feb. 16: participation in the EPS Young Minds Action Committee Meeting in Barcelona
Feb. 16: participation in the 16th WG3 Meeting (online)
Feb. 19: 11th Preparatory Meeting of the Forum
Feb. 22: Online Meeting with Commissioner Ivanova’s cabinet

March

April

April 11&12: Mairi Sakellariadou visited the EPS headquarters in Mulhouse. She worked on the website renewal project with Ahmed Ouarab and Gina Gunaratnam
April 11: Alessandra Fantoni participated in the online e-EPS board meeting ; Luc Bergé participated in the online workshop on BPU11 Congress - Publications.
April 12: Alessandra Fantoni, Anna Di Ciaccio and Luc Bergé: Participation in the EPS Executive Committee online meeting : Luc Bergé: online participation to the Technology & Innovation Group meeting
April 18: Interview for candidates to the conference manager position at EPS
April 24: Anna Di Ciaccio, Participation in the EPS Awards and Distinctions Committee online meeting. Production of a short document with guidelines for the EPS prizes

May

7th May: Alessandra Fantoni, Anna Di Ciaccio, Luc Bergé participated in the online meeting between ExComm and EPS D/G chairs
7th-8th May: Anna Lipniacka participated in the conference of the Nordic Network for Diversity in Physics, NORNDiP, financed by NordForsk.

Alessandra Fantoni also had following activities:
9th-10th May: Nuclear Physics Division Board meeting in Oslo
14th-15th May: participation in the Energy Group meeting at Cadarache and visit of ITER
17th May: participation in the online meeting of the Editorial Board e-EPS newsletter

June-July-August

Luc Bergé prepared a call for receiving proposals to recruit the next EPS president-elect
Anna di Ciaccio participated in a meeting of the EPS HEPP division and sent a proposal for an EPS Historical Site
4th July: Alessandra Fantoni participated in the EPS Executive Committee meeting (online)
10th July: Alessandra Fantoni participated in the EPS Group Salaries meeting (online)

September

Luc Bergé had the following activitites:
September 6th: Participation in the TIG meeting (online)
September 18th: Organisation and participation in the 1st meeting of the Presidential Search Committee (online)

September 10: Mairi Sakellariadou participated in the panel discussion: “Collaboration, Outreach, and Engagement for the 2025 International Year of Quantum Science and Technology” Bologna on SIF annual meeting

September 16th-20th: Alessandra Fantoni participated in the NPA-XI conference in Dresden with talk on EPS&NPD
September 23rd-27th: Alessandra Fantoni participated in the Second ANP conference in Thessaloniki with talk on EPS&NPD

September 25th: Alessandra Fantoni, Anna Di Ciaccio and Luc Bergé participated in the EPS Executive Committee Meeting (online)

October

October 14th: Alessandra Fantoni and Luc Bergé participated in the working group on EPS salaries
October 22nd: Luc Bergé organised and participated in the 2nd Presidential Search Committee

Anna Di Ciaccio had the following activities:
Participated in the meeting between the executive committee and EPS member societies.
Participated in the Science Europe meeting with the NSFC
Participated in the Governing Board meeting of Science Europe
Participated in the 2024 European regional meeting of the global Research Council of Science Europe in Tallin

Anna Lipniacka had the following activities:
Participated in the meeting between the executive committee and EPS member societies.
Participated in a preparatory meeting for the next conference for the Nordic Network for Diversity in Physics (NORNDIP), that will take place in May 2025, in Gothenburg Sweden, at the Chalmers University. This will be the seventh yearly conference of this network.

28th-29th October: Alessandra Fantoni organised and participated in the 88th NPD Board meeting in Orsay

November

Anna Di Ciaccio had the following activities:
Nov 1th: chair of the meeting of the Distinctions and Awards Committee
Nov 13th: Participation to the Exec Committee meeting
Nov 19th-20th: Participation to the High Level Workshop of Science Europe - Budapest (Hungary)
Nov 20-22th: invitation to the Science World Forum - Budapest (Hungary)

Luc Bergé had the following activities:
November 13th: Participation to the Executive Committee of the EPS
November 22nd: Meeting with the EPS Secretary General in Mulhouse about the EPS salaries
November 27th: Third online meeting of the EPS Presidential Search Committee

November 7th-9th: Mairi Sakellariadou participated in the Falling Walls Science Summit 2024

November 13th: Alessandra Fantoni participated in the EPS Executive Committee (online)
November 19th: Alessandra Fantoni participated in the NuPECC Long Range Plan Symposium at Bruxelles with a talk on the EPS-NPD activities

December

December 17th: Luc Bergé participeted in the TIG Board meeting
December 17th: Anna Di Ciaccio organised a meeting on the reactivation of the EPS-Alessandro Volta Prize
Anna Di Ciaccio took part in the discussions on the formulation of the EPS Quantum Statement

Members of the EPS Executive Committee:
Mairi Sakellariadou (EPS President), Luc Bergé (EPS Past-President), Anne Pawsey (EPS Secretary General), Karin Zach, Anna Lipniacka, Andreas Schopper, Katharina Lorenz, Christian Beck, Alessandra Fantoni, Stuart Palmer, Anna Di Ciaccio, Eugenio Coccia, Ian Bearden and Roberta Caruso.

Members of the EPS Staff:
Anne Pawsey (EPS Secretary General), Xavier de Araujo, Milan Milicevic, Ophélia Fornari (working with Sophie Baumann), Chahira Boudeliou, Gina Gunaratnam, Ahmed Ouarab, Jean-François Kammerlocher and Amy Guibal (currently replacing Adriana Zerafa.)

Members of the EPL Staff:
Frédéric Burr (EPL Staff Editor), Kevin Desse and Tomy Zede.

Author: Lorena Ballesteros Ferraz and Gina Gunaratnam

Lorena Ballesteros Ferraz is postdoctoral researcher at the Laboratoire de Physique Théorique et Modélisation, CNRS Unité 8089, CY Cergy Paris Université in France. She participated in the writing of the editorial of the EPS calendar of inspiring physicists in 2024, together with Sébastien Mouchet and Riccardo Muolo. They are engaged in gender equality and inclusion in physics.

How did you get to know the European Physical Society?

As a bachelor’s student at the Complutense University of Madrid, I was fortunate to have several professors who were actively involved in the management of the Spanish Physical Society. Through their connections, I gained access to the society’s publications, sparking my interest in the field. Later, when I pursued my PhD in Namur, Belgium, I was introduced to Europhysics News through the Belgian Physical Society, further broadening my engagement with the European physics community.

Could you describe your current field of research in a few words?

I am currently focused on various aspects of measurements in quantum physics, where, unlike in most everyday situations, measuring fundamentally disturbs the system's state. For instance, when we measure the temperature of an oven, the measurement does not alter the temperature. However, in quantum physics, measuring the state of an atom changes that state. My research explores different techniques for extracting information from quantum states, ranging from weak, where the disturbance is minimal, to ideal strong measurements. Additionally, I am interested in understanding the energetic balance involved in these measurement processes.

What are the challenges of your field?

Quantum physics is a fascinating and deeply intriguing field. Despite its status as one of the most reliable theories in science, it remains highly counterintuitive, leading to rich and ongoing debates about its interpretation and real-world implications. Among the most surprising aspects of quantum physics is the role of measurement, which continues to be a subject of intense discussion and diverging interpretations. On the technological front, the challenge lies in refining measurement protocols to achieve greater precision and energy efficiency. These advancements hold significant potential for future applications, including the development of more sensitive sensors and the advancement of quantum computing.

How would you encourage students to work in this field?

I find quantum physics, particularly the study of quantum measurements, to be an incredibly exciting and intriguing field. I encourage students who enjoy thinking outside the box and grappling with counterintuitive phenomena to join and contribute to the evolution of this discipline. Quantum physics also has a bright future, with numerous advanced applications on the horizon. Therefore, I also suggest students interested in driving technological innovation to explore this field and be part of its development.

Why is it important for you to encourage girls to study physics?

Early in my education, even during the final years of secondary school, I noticed that I was one of the few women pursuing a path in science and technology. This trend continued as I began my degree in Physics. I believe this imbalance exists because women are not sufficiently encouraged to pursue these fields. However, research shows that diversity is crucial for advancing scientific innovation. The involvement of women in our field is not only essential for the progress of science, but also for empowering young girls to pursue their dreams without being constrained by traditional gender roles.

More info

• EPS calendar of inspiring physicists 2024

• Opinion letter by Sébastien Mouchet, Lorena Ballesteros Ferraz and Riccardo Muolo in Europhysics News

EPS members are invited to nominate candidates for EPS Fellows and EPS Honorary Members. These distinctions will be conferred at Council 2025

EPS Fellows

EPS Members are invited to nominate EPS Individual Members as EPS Fellows. Individuals whose achievements in physics, whether in research, industry or education and/or through commitment to the EPS warrant specific recognition are eligible to become EPS Fellows. 

More information about EPS Fellows, including the list of current EPS Fellows and the rules for nomination, is available on the EPS website.

Nominations can be submitted electronically via this website

Honorary Members

EPS Members are invited to nominate outstanding individuals as Honorary Members of the EPS.
Distinguished persons whose outstanding achievements in physics or a related science whom the European Physical Society especially desires to honour can be elected EPS Honorary Members. In addition, distinguished individuals whom the EPS may desire to honour for exceptional service to the Society in furtherance of its aims and objectives shall also be eligible to become Honorary Members.

More information, including the list of current EPS Honorary Members and the rules for nomination, is available on the EPS website.

Authors: Riccardo Muolo & Gina Gunaratnam

In 2024, the EPS released a calendar of "Inspiring Physicists". Read the interview of Riccardo Muolo, postdoctoral researcher at the Tokyo Institute of Technology in Japan. He wrote the editorial of the calendar, together with Lorena Ballesteros Ferraz and Sébastien Mouchet. They also published an opinion letter about the Matilda Effect in the Society's magazine EPN.

How did you get to know the European Physical Society?

Some colleagues in Namur, Belgium, told me about the society and its monthly magazine, so I checked it out and I was impressed by all the initiatives regarding outreach and education.

Could you describe your current field of research in a few words?

My field is complex systems, at the edge between physics and applied mathematics. More specifically, I study the emergence of collective behaviors, such as synchronization, in an ensemble of elementary units. They way in which such units interact with each other shapes the collective dynamics, which is way richer than the individual ones. The whole is much more than the sum of its parts.

What are the challenges of your field?

Until now, we have developed solid theoretical tools, but what is missing is a bridge towards observations and experiments. There are some models with many variables claiming that they explain certain phenomena, but to me they don’t make much sense because they work only for a specific phenomenon with variables and parameters chosen ad hoc. I think the main challenge now is to build models closer to reality that are still meaningful and can help us not only explain, but also understand, what we observe.

How would you encourage students to work in this field?

Be curious. The field of complex systems is intrinsically interdisciplinary and gives the chance to work with researchers from many different fields. Besides the technical skills that are required to carry out any research in physics and mathematics, in complex systems the key is to be curious and open minded: one has to be able to communicate with scientists from sociology to biology, meaning that we need to understand different approaches and ways to treat problems. It can be hard at first, but in the end it is so rewarding. Interdisciplinary research is very exciting!

Why is it important for you to encourage girls to study physics?

I think that we need science to reflect the composition of society. So this is related to have more girls in physics, but in general to have a more diverse and heterogeneous environment. This mainly for two reasons. First, because only a truly diverse environment can foster new ideas and tackle the many challenges ahead of us. If we put in a room only people with the same mentality and background, we are missing a whole lot of perspective. Second, because, whether we like it or not, science, and physics in particular, is a tool of power. Our research shapes the future in good and in bad, and our discoveries have a tremendous impact on society. Given its importance, we need everybody at the table and we must keep it democratic and transparent as much as possible.

Short Bio

I studied physics (Bachelor) and applied mathematics (Master) in Florence, Italy. For a year, I was PhD student of biology at the VU Amsterdam, The Netherlands, but then moved back to mathematics starting a PhD in Namur, Belgium. After my graduation, I moved to Tokyo for a postdoc, position that I currently hold.

Besides my academic activity, I’m involved in an outreach project in Italy called “Penne Amiche della Scienza” (the Italian version of the US Letters to a Pre-scientist) in which we connect a scientist with a primary or middle school class and have them write letters to each other.

FLTR: Elisabetta Paladino, Anna Di Ciaccio, Petra Rudolf, Pas Garcia Martinez and Sara Pirrone - image credit: S. Pirrone

Author: Sara Pirrone on behalf of the SIF-CPO

The 2024 edition of the National Congress of the Italian Physics Society (SIF), which brings together around 800 Italian physicists for a whole week, was held in Bologna from 9 to 13 September. The Congress, composed of plenary plus 7 parallel sessions dedicated to different fields of physics, represents the meeting point of the scientific community, where Italian researchers, teachers and students find their common background. During the Congress, Round Tables are also organized on specific topics, and particularly this year the SIF Equal Opportunities Committee (CPO) has planned the Round Table entitled: Actions towards Equal Opportunities in European Physical Societies, moderated by Anna Di Ciaccio, member of the SIF CPO.

The invited participants were Pas García Martínez, Chair of the "Women in Physics" group of the Royal Spanish Physical Society, Elisabetta Paladino, invited as representative of "Women for Quantum", Sara Pirrone, Chair of the CPO of the Italian Physical Society and Petra Rudolf, Chair of the Equal Opportunities Committee (EOC) of the European Physical Society (EPS).

Pas Garcia Martinez presented the activities of the Specialised Group “Women in Physics”, created in 2002 according to the guidelines of IUPAP (International Union of Pure and Applied Physics). She presented statistics and figures on the presence of women and men in physics in Spanish universities, as well as projects and initiatives to improve the balance. Among them: the organization of biennial conferences "Women in Physics", where only women can be speakers; the organization of webinars on different related topics; a calendar dedicated to women scientists; the application of the "Women in Physics" program, and of the Equity Plan actions against sexism and violence.

Elisabetta Paladino, presented the "Manifesto of Values" written and supported by the international group W4Q (Women for Quantum), composed of more than 200 women senior professors in the broad field of quantum physics. The W4Q Manifesto of Values aims to make the quantum scientific community aware that despite "social policies" (i.e. regional, national, and EU initiatives) in the field of gender equality, in many cases the change is only symbolic. The aim is to achieve real change, to question the way research (quantum) is currently conducted, and to open a dialogue for change.

Sara Pirrone presented figures and statistics on the gender balance in academia and research organizations in Italy and summarised the main actions carried out by the CPO-SIF from 2017 to date, dedicated to concrete support for gender equality. Among them: the organization of dedicated facilities for childcare offered during the Annual National Congress; the creation, since 2020, of the annual "Laura Bassi" award to promote the talent of women in physics; the realization of the SIF Gender Budget report, analysing data from the Annual Congress since 2010, showing the presence of women in different roles (chair, invited speaker, section president).

Petra Rudolf illustrated the actions of the EOC of EPS, as The Emmy Noether Distinction for Women in Physics; The Code of Conduct for EPS conferences; Round tables, seminars, and workshops on career and gender issues and how to face harassment. She presented also many ongoing actions, as well as: Cooperation with EPS Divisions & Groups, monitoring projects for Gender Fairness in Physics, increasing participation of women in committees, addressing the number of women nominations for EPS Prizes/Awards, and promoting young women and minorities. Besides, the Train-the-trainers workshop is in preparation for 2025.

After the talks, a debate was opened, and many interesting questions and comments came from the audience on different subjects. From the discussions, some points were highlighted, among these, for example, the need to continue to realize activities not only in the field of Equal Opportunity, but also to extend actions related to the inclusion of diversity, ethnicity, and, last but not least, the serious matter of harassment. Besides, the relevance of collaboration among different organizations was highlighted.

The EPS Plasma Physics Division asks you to consider nominating a suitable person or persons for the:

• 2025 Alfvén Prize
• 2025 Innovation Prize
• 2025 PhD Research Award
  
• 2025 EPS-PPCF Sylvie-Jaquemot Early Career Prize

which will be presented at our next annual conference, to be held in Vilnius, Lithuania in 2025, (July 7th -11th).

The deadlines for nominations are:

• Alfvén Prize: Monday, November 11th 2024 (23:59 central European time).
• Innovation Prize: Friday, February 14th 2025 (23:59 central European time).
• 2025 PhD Research Award : call open from October 1st to November 22nd 2024
• 2025 EPS-PPCF Sylvie-Jaquemot Early Career Prize: Friday, February 28th 2025 (23:59 central European time).

The descriptions of the prizes and the relevant nomination forms can be found at http://plasma.ciemat.es/eps/awards
Please note that nominations from previous years will not automatically be considered for this year's prizes, but we encourage you to re-submit any still suitable and promising nomination that has so far been unsuccessful.

The international physics community has a diverse and global membership, and both nominees and recipients of EPS awards need to reflect that diversity to ensure that all physicists have an opportunity to be recognized for their impact in the field. Nominations of individuals from groups that are historically underrepresented in physics, such as women, LGBT+ scientists, scientists from a Black or other minority ethnic background, scientists who are refugees or have been displaced from their country of birth, disabled scientists, and scientists from institutions with limited resources, are especially encouraged.
Nominees for and holders of EPS awards are expected to meet certain standards of professional conduct and integrity. In particular they have an obligation to avoid fabrication, falsification and plagiarism, and they have an obligation to treat people well, which prohibits abuse of power, requires fair and respectful relationships with colleagues, subordinates and students, and eschews bias, whether implicit or explicit. Violations of these standards may disqualify people from consideration or lead to revocation of awards.

John J. Hopfield and Geoffrey E. Hinton - image credit: The Nobel Prize Foundation

Author: Christian Beck

EPS congratulates the winners of the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics, John J. Hopfield and Geoffrey E. Hinton “for foundational discoveries and inventions that enable machine learning with artificial neural networks.” The laureates used tools from physics to develop methods which underpin machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI.) These tools have applications in many areas of science and form the basis for the developments in protein structure prediction recognised by the 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

Prof. Christian Beck, member of the EPS executive committee said that the award of the 2024 prize "illustrates that fundamental research in statistical physics can ultimately lead to ground-breaking applications in machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI). John Hopfield developed his first model of neural networks more than 40 years ago, since then the developments have been rapid. Geoffrey Hinton is sometimes regarded as the 'godfather' of AI, and these days modern machine learning techniques and AI are used in almost all fields of science to process information, analyse the structure of complex systems, make forecasts, and much more. The dynamics of neural networks provides a tool to identify patterns given some incomplete information, aiming for states that locally minimize the effective free energy. Applications are numerous and have created an 'industrial revolution' of powerful new algorithms that learn from past experience, in a similar manner to how human brain does this.

Sébastien Mouchet - image credit: S. Mouchet

Authors: Sébastien Mouchet & Gina Gunaratnam

In 2024, the EPS released a calendar of "Inspiring Physicists". Read the interview of Sébastien Mouchet, researcher & honorary senior lecturer at the University of Mons, Belgium and the University of Exeter, UK. He wrote the editorial of the calendar, together with Lorena Ballesteros Ferraz and Riccardo Muolo.

How did you get to know the European Physical Society?
As a master’s student at the University of Namur, Belgium, I attended the annual meeting of the Belgian Physical Society (BPS) organised in Namur in May 2011. BPS is a member society of the European Physical Society. I became a member of the BPS and started receiving the Europhysics News. I remember that the issue that I got at that conference featured an introduction to natural and bioinspired photonics co-authored by Pete Vukusic (https://www.europhysicsnews.org/articles/epn/abs/2011/03/epn2011423p20/epn2011423p20.html) whose group hosted me for about 4-5 years as a postdoctoral researcher later on in my career. It was a surprising coincidence as I was at the time carrying out my master’s thesis in this field.

Could you describe your current field of research in a few words?
The field of natural and bioinspired photonics investigates optical effects in natural organisms, typically phenomena arising from photonic structures, and takes inspiration from these effects and the related optical structures to develop novel technological applications.

What are the challenges of your field?
One of the main challenges in natural photonics is to understand how nature produces photonic structures, often very regular structures at the 100-nm scale that compete in terms of performances with structures fabricated by nanotechnology. Unveiling the exact developmental stages of these structures would be a big step forward.

How would you encourage students to work in this field?
This field of research is very multidisciplinary. It involves some aspects of physics and photonics, of materials science as well as of biology. It also relies on both experimental and numerical approaches. I often try to adapt the project of eager students to what they want and what motivates them: more simulations, only simulations, more experiments or only experiments; more physics, more materials science, or more biology depending on what they are interested in.

Why is it important for you to encourage girls to study physics?
Since the second year of my bachelor’s degree to the end of my master’s degree in physics, my cohort was exclusively composed of men. I had a great time but one must admit that it was a bit peculiar. I could not imagine that girls and women are less good at or less interested in physics. I think that science and research have much to gain from being more inclusive and diverse.

More info

• EPS calendar of inspiring physicists 2024

• Opinion letter by Sébastien Mouchet, Lorena Ballesteros Ferraz and Riccardo Muolo in Europhysics News

FLTR: Alberto Del Guerra, Alessandra Fantoni and Laura Harkness-Brennan - image credit: A. Fantoni

Author: Alessandra Fantoni

The 2024 EPS Nuclear Physics Division applied-nuclear-physics prize was awarded at the recent EPS applied nuclear physics conference held in Thessaloniki, Greece from 23rd-27th September 2024 https://hnps.eu/ANP2024/.

The prize was awarded jointly to:

Prof. Alberto Del Guerra from the Department of Physics University of Pisa and INFN Sezione di Pisa, Italy “in recognition of his outstanding and seminal contribution to the development of new radiation detectors and methods for clinical and preclinical molecular imaging systems and applications”

and Prof. Laura Harkness-Brennan from the University of Liverpool, UK “in recognition of her outstanding contribution to the application of advanced gamma-ray spectroscopy together with imaging technology and techniques to the areas of nuclear medical imaging, homeland security, nuclear decommissioning and environmental monitoring.”

At the prize ceremony, Prof. Del Guerra and Prof. Harkness-Brennan gave entertaining and thought-provoking talks entitled “A life for radiation medical physics” and “Next Generation Gamma-ray Imaging”, respectively. Together the presentations gave an excellent perspective on the applications of nuclear physics knowledge and techniques to addressing real-world challenges.

The attached photos show the prize recipients and them receiving their certificates from EPS nuclear-physics-division-board chair Dr. Alessandra Fantoni.

Nominations Open: October 1 - December 1, 2024

Elections Period: January 1 - March 31, 2025

Mandate Begins: July 2025

Term Length: 4 Years (renewable for an additional 4 years)

We invite all members to participate in the upcoming elections for new Board members of the EPS Plasma Physics Division. This is an excellent opportunity to shape the future of our community and contribute to the advancement of plasma physics.

Who Can Nominate?

All EPS Individual Members, member of the EPS member societies, EPS associate members and members of the collaborating societies. Self-nominations are possible.

How to Nominate?

Submit the nomination form via email with the subject line “EPS Plasma Physics Division Board Nomination”.

Voting Eligibility

All EPS Individual Members are eligible to vote in the elections.

Join us in strengthening our community and driving innovation in plasma physics!

For more information, visit our website.

14th October 2024, The Institute of Physics, press release

Dr David Sands FInstP CPhys NTF PFHEA, Independent Educational Physicist has been awarded the 2024 Institute of Physics Phillips Awards.

The Institute of Physics (IOP) is the professional body and learned society for physics, and the leading body for practising physicists, in the UK and Ireland. Its annual awards proudly reflect the wide variety of people, places, organisations and achievements that make physics such an exciting discipline.

The IOP awards celebrate physicists at every stage of their career; from those just starting out through to physicists at the peak of their careers, and those with a distinguished career behind them. They also recognise and celebrate companies which are successful in the application of physics and innovation, as well as employers who demonstrate their commitment and contribution to scientific and engineering apprenticeship schemes.

David Sands has received their award for work in higher education, particularly degree accreditation and the development of the new Institute of Physics accreditation scheme.

Congratulating this year’s Award winners, Institute of Physics President, Professor Sir Keith Burnett said: “On behalf of the Institute of Physics, I want to congratulate all of this year’s award winners. Today’s world faces many challenges which physics will play an absolutely fundamental part in addressing, whether it’s securing the future of our economy or the transition to sustainable energy production and net zero. Our award winners are in the vanguard of that work and each one has made a significant and positive impact in their profession, whether as a researcher, teacher, industrialist, technician or apprentice. I hope they are incredibly proud of their achievements, they really should be.There is so much focus today on the opportunities generated by a career in physics and the potential our science has to transform our society and economy and I hope the stories of our winners will help to inspire future generations of scientists."

We are looking for candidates with expertise and interests in issues relevant to the EPS community including education, outreach, science policy, gender equality, scientific publishing as well as excellent contact with the scientific community.

The Executive Committee is responsible for developing and steering the activities of the EPS.  Its members are expected to actively participate in the discussions and work of the Executive Committee. The members draft discussion documents, represent the EPS in various circumstances (Member Society meetings, Division and Group Boards, EPS projects, etc.), chair EPS Action Committees, and contribute to the aims of the Society.  Executive Committee members also ensure a dialog with various EPS constituents -- Member Societies, Divisions and Groups, Individual Members, Associate Members.

The members of the executive committee are drawn from lists nominated by the constituents of the EPS. 

In addition to the President, and vice-President, or President-elect as the case may be, the composition of the Executive Committee is as follows:

• Member Societies with more than 10,000 effective members designate a representative on the Executive Committee.  Currently, the IoP (UK) and the DPG (DE) meet this condition and will designate their representative on the Executive Committee.
• Other Member Societies are represented on the Executive Committee by 3 members elected by Council.
• Divisions and Groups are represented on the Executive Committee by 4 members elected by Council
• Individual Members and Associate Members are represented on the Executive Committee by 1 member each, elected by Council

Nominations in each category can be made by members of the respective categories. E.g. D/G chairs should nominate candidates for the division and group list. All Individual members of the EPS can  propose candidates for the individual member seat. 

If you would like to propose candidates please send the name, short CV and contact details of the proposed candidate to secretariat@eps.org. The deadline for nominations is 21st February 2025.

The current composition of the Executive Committee is: 

Members in italics are eligible to stand for re-election. 

The eligible countries are Albania, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, North Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Turkey. Ukraine, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia.

The deadline for applications for a fellowship from the international component of the communication programme is 1st November 2024.
For details and the application procedure see here.

The Division of Quantum Electronics and Optics of the European Physical Society is delighted to announce that the 2024 laureates of the prestigious Prize for Research in Laser Science and Applications are Prof. Jens Limpert (Friedrich Schiller University and Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering, Jena, Germany) and Dr. Jan Rothhardt (Helmholtz Institute Jena, Germany). The prize is awarded to Prof. Limpert and Dr. Rothhardt in recognition of their pioneering research “for the development of compact high-power coherent extreme-ultraviolet sources and material-specific nanoscale extreme-ultraviolet imaging.” . The prize will be presented on August 27, 2024 during the 11th EPS-QEOD EUROPHOTON conferenece in Vilnius, Lithuania.

The 2024 Prize for Research in Laser Science and Applications is awarded to Professor Jens Limpert and Dr Jan Rothhardt from Jena, Germany. In close collaboration, Jens Limpert and Jan Rothhardt have developed new insights and technologies for the realisation of benchtop extreme ultraviolet sources with synchrotron-like brilliance. By applying high-power femtosecond fibre laser systems and the concept of coherent combination of multiple fibre amplifiers, Jens Limpert and Jan Rothhardt have invented high-harmonic sources with high conversion efficiency, where the photon flux exceeds the state of the art by several orders of magnitude. Jan Rothhardt and Jens Limpert have used their invention to explore new approaches to nanoscale imaging and wavefront sensing. For example, their extreme ultraviolet microscopy has enabled the first mapping of the chemical composition of semiconductor samples at the nanoscale. Their work opens up untapped potential in nanoscience and materials science, for example in the development of efficient nanoelectronics, energy and data storage devices, and in biological imaging, with applications ranging from the detection of cancer cells to the study of the interaction of pathogens, drugs or nanoparticles with biological cells. The committee particularly appreciated the collaborative spirit and innovative approaches to research that have led Jens Limpert and Jan Rothhardt to these remarkable achievements.

Jens Limpert is Professor of Physics at Friedrich Schiller University and Head of the Fibre Technology Centre at the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Finemechanics in Jena, Germany. He earned his doctorate in physics from the Friedrich Schiller University of Jena in 2003 and was a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Bordeaux, France. Since 2005, he has been leading research activities on high-power laser sources in Jena. He has received three (Starting, Consolidator and Advanced) grants from the European Research Council ERC and numerous distinctions such as the Lothar Späth Award in 2019.

Jan Rothhardt is a research group leader at the Helmholtz Institute Jena and a lecturer at the Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Germany. Jan Rothhardt received his doctorate in physics from the Friedrich Schiller University of Jena in 2010. After a post-doctoral period at the Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique in Saclay, France, he returned to Jena and held several leading positions before becoming a research group leader at the Helmholtz Institute. Jan Rothhardt's research has been recognised by several awards, including the 2020 Röntgen Prize.

Jens Limpert and Jan Rothhardt now receive the 2024 Prize for Research in Laser Science and Applications , a major prize awarded on behalf of the European Physical Society by its Quantum Electronics & Optics Division (QEOD). The prize is awarded every two years in recognition of recent work by one or more individuals (not more than three) for scientific excellence in the field of laser science and applications, broadly defined.  Relevant topics include laser source development, power scaling concepts, pump source development, nonlinear optics, ultrafast sources, materials science, spectroscopic and characterisation techniques, and applications both in optics and photonics and in other fields.

Prof. Jens Limpert (left) and Dr. Jan Rothhardt (right) - image credit: Fraunhofer IOF Jena

Discovery Space is an EU-funded project to develop an Exploratory Learning Environment to facilitate students’ inquiry and problem-solving through learning scenarios featuring virtual and remote labs. Students will be guided through differentiated learning pathways, customized by their input as they progress through learning scenarios covering a variety of topics. For more information on Discovery Space, please see: https://discoveryspace.eu/.

EPS is one of eight project partners, and is in charge of the teacher training academy for Discovery Space, and will be developing a number of in-person and online workshops and courses throughout the project.

In October and November, EPS will be running an online mini-course on AI in the classroom: AIMLOW - Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Online Workshops. The course will be led by Michael Gregory (EPS EU Project Officer) in collaboration with Kalina Dimitrova (Sofia University, PADME, ALICE). Sessions will include:

• Language models / text generation
• Image recognition
• Image generation
• Misconceptions on AI
• Classroom applications
• Discovery Space

Sessions will be semi-independent, and can be attended individually according to interest. Certificates of completion will be provided for teachers who attend the whole course. The course will finish with an introduction to Discovery Space as a tool to transform your classroom into an AI-assisted deep-learning environment.

Thursday Sept 26th, Michael will present a Scientix webinar to introduce Discovery Space and AIMLOW. As a Scientix Ambassador, this will be Michael’s 6th Scientix webinar, and is expected to generate excitement about Discovery Space throughout the Scientix community. There are also plans to present Discovery Space at an upcoming PhET webinar.

In-person workshops are being planned across Europe to train teachers on the Discovery Space Enhanced Learning Environment, with learning scenarios created from project partners:

• University of Bayreuth (Germany)
• University of Deusto (Spain)
• Ellinogermaniki Agogi (Greece)
• Institute of Communication and Computer Systems (Greece)
• LabsLand (Spain)
• Athens Technology Center (Greece)
• NUCLIO – Núcleo Interactivo de Astronomia e Inovação em Educação (Portugal)
• European Physical Society

EPS-led workshops will kick-off in Sofia, Bulgaria on September 28th to coincide with European Researchers’ Night celebrations, and more will follow in France and Spain. Please get in touch if you are interested in organising a workshop for teachers in your part of the world.

image credit: Michael Gregory

Discovery Space is funded by the European Union under grant agreement No 101086701. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.

 

Front side of the institute of physics of the University of Graz - Image credit: Gina Gunaratnam/EPS

Authors: Sonja Draxler and Heinz Krenn

Following the decision on 16 November 2023, the building of the Institute of Physics at the University of Graz has been honoured with the distinction of an EPS Historic Site, an award of great importance for achievements in physics and research. The nomination is the result of an initiative by the First European Centre for the History of Physics (ECHOPHYSICS, founded by Peter Maria Schuster).

In a festive ceremony on 7th June 2024, a commemorative plaque was unveiled by Mairi Sakellariadou, President of EPS, and Peter Riedler, Rector of Graz University, on the facade of the physics building at Universitätsplatz 5 in Graz.

The celebration was embedded in a symposium on the historical construction of the physics building and its leading figure Ludwig Boltzmann. It was a special honour for us that a great-grandson of Ludwig Boltzmann, Dieter Fasol, also participated in the symposium and gave a lecture on “Ludwig Boltzmann, Ilse M. Fasol-Boltzmann and Artificial Intelligence”.

The physics institute was built between 1872-1876 under the supervision of the physicist August Toepler and was considered one of the most modern physics research centres at the time. What was so special about this building? Sun ray corridors running through the entire ground floor of the building enabled optical experiments to be carried out in all rooms using heliostats. At the back side of the building iron-free rooms for galvanometric measurements were established, and an astronomical observatory was attached to the building.

August Toepler himself unfortunately could not use this modern building for his studies as he was appointed to the Royal Saxon Polytechnic in Dresden and left Graz in 1876. Ludwig Boltzmann was appointed as his successor. In 1876 he moved into the new institute building in his second professorship in Graz as full professor of general and experimental physics.

Besides Ludwig Boltzmann, a number of other renowned physicists worked, researched and taught in this building: August Toepler, Albert von Ettingshausen, Walther Nernst, Svante Arrhenius, Alfred and Kurt Wegener, Viktor F. Hess, Erwin Schrödinger, Adolf Smekal, Hans Benndorf, Paul Urban, Otto Burkard, Wilhelm Nordberg, Günther Porod.

Floor plan from the building according to designs by August Toepler - Image credit: W. Höflechner, Archiv der Univ. Graz, post-processed by H. Krenn

Physics Lecture Hall in 1913 - Image credit: K. Rumpf, Publications of the Archive Univ. Graz, vol. 40,  post-processed by H. Krenn

Unveiling the memorial plaque by EPS President Mairi Sakellariadou and Rector Peter Riedler on 7th June 2024
Image credit: K. Tzivanopoulos, Univ. Graz, Communications and Public Affairs

On 14th-15th May, the Energy Group (EG) of the European Physical Society met in Cadarache (France) for its annual meeting that, this year, was celebrated at the Cadarache Château just next to the chantier of the largest nuclear fusion experiment under construction: the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER).

On 14th May, 19 EPS members gathered at the Cadarache Château to visit the ITER site located nearby. After a brief lunch at the ITER canteen the group was briefed by three members of the ITER Staff about the project, its key features, and the visit highlights.

The group first visited the Assembly Hall where the main reactor components are pre-assembled prior to their transport inside the neighbouring tokamak pit for final assembly. The assembly hall is just overwhelming for its dimensions and amount of high-tech equipment it contains. Two superconducting Toroidal Field coils were located on the pre-assembly station together with one of the nine 40-deg vacuum vessel sector. Similarly, in the Central Solenoid area of the hall, 2 modules of the CS coils stack were also being assembled.

Then the group moved to the tokamak pit where the final tokamak will be located and where the actual fusion experiments will take place. The pit is less impressive but far more important for the final function it will play. This is a higher quality clear area that will be soon very crowded by hosting an increasingly large number of components that will be finally assembled inside it. At present only the 2 lowermost Poloidal Field (PF) coils (PF5 and PF6) are installed down inside the pit.

Following the visit, at 5 PM the group returned to the Château where the workshop started to focus on four main themes: (a) critical issues associated to the present EU de-carbonization plans ( “energy trilemma”), (b) developments in the field of energy production and optimization (fission, fusion, energy storage, etc.), (c) impact of global warming on society, for example in terms of natural disasters and (d) contribution of EPS to the discussion on energy matters within the EU institutions.

Regarding this last point, the presence of Prof. Mairi Sakellariadou (new EPS President) was particularly appreciated. Indeed, Mairi presented her views on the priorities and goals that the EPS-EG should be focussing on in such dialogue with the EU Institutions. She also showed a strong interest in following up regularly our group activities.

The group of participants at the ITER HQ ready to visit the ITER construction platform.  

The ITER tokamak building

The ITER Assembly Hall

The ITER Assembly Hall: the TF-vessel assembly area (left) and CS assembly area (right).
Inside the ITER Assembly Hall: 2 (wrapped) TF coil is being mounted on the vacuum vessel sector.

Inside the ITER Assembly Hall: the Central Solenoid coils modules being stacked together.   

Inside the ITER Tokamak Pit: 18 TF coils gravity supports surround the PF6 coil (all wrapped).
The grey central post will be later replaced by the stack of 6 superconducting coils modules (Central Solenoid).

Dinner at the Cadarache Château

As we move towards the second half of 2024 we have many updates to share with you, read on to find out what we’ve been up to...

Discover the latest news from EDP Sciences, an Associate Member of the European Physical Scociety.

Journal de Physique digital archives

To think that once a journal is archived, no researcher is interested in it anymore would be a misunderstanding of its continued contextual value. We were delighted to conduct research recently and discover that many articles in the Journal de Physique archives are still being cited today.

Find out more about our archives, including the most cited articles in the collection.

The European Physical Journal series

The EiCs of The Editors-in-Chief of EPJ Photovoltaics, Pere Roca i Cabarrocas and Jean-Louis Lazzari, would like to highlight two important papers recently published:

• Georgia Kakoulaki, Nigel Taylor, Sandor Szabo, Robert Kenny, Anatoli Chatzipanagi and Arnulf Jäger-Waldau (2024),
  Communication on the potential of applied PV in the European Union: Rooftops, reservoirs, roads (R³),
  EPJ Photovoltaics 15, 2 (2024), https://doi.org/10.1051/epjpv/2023035
  
• Heather Mirletz, Silvana Ovaitt, Seetharaman Sridhar, Teresa M. Barnes, Prioritizing circular economy strategies for sustainable PV deployment at the TW scale,
  EPJ Photovoltaics 15, 18 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1051/epjpv/2024015
  

The EPJ Web of Conferences team was delighted to publish the proceedings of the 26th International Conference on Computing in High Energy and Nuclear Physics (CHEP), organized by Jefferson Lab, which took place in Norfolk, Virginia, from 5–11 May 2023. Read more about the event and discover the proceedings.

The EPJ Scientific Advisory committee is pleased announce the nomination of two new members: Konstantinos Bachas, representing the Hellenic Physical Society (read the news here) and Adam Maj, representing the Polish Physical Society (read the news here)

EPL (Europhysics Letters)

EDP Sciences welcomes the appointment of the new Editor-in-Chief of EPL, Professor Richard Blythe, effective from May 1^st. Read more about the experience Professor Blythe brings to the position.

The EPL 2023 Highlights collection showcases a selection of 40 of the most cited, downloaded and accessed articles published in EPL in 2023. These articles had a significant impact on the international community, and cover topics including “condensed matter physics, network physics, complex systems, black hole physics, many-body quantum systems to cite a few, as well as recently growing fields such as quantum information and amorphous topological matter.”

EDP Sciences Books news

The training years are often the most important; did you know that Einstein spent part of his youth in Lombardy, an extremely fruitful and determining period for the rest of his career? To know more, dig into WHEN ALBERT BECAME EINSTEIN ! Back to the future, you might be interested by RADICAL INNOVATION DESIGN , a free e-book about a systematic and usage-driven innovation methodology to ensure usefulness for users and profitability for companies !

Join the conversation on social media

We have many exciting projects planned for 2024 and we look forward to sharing them with you as soon as we are able. Do follow us on your social media platform of choice if you'd like to be among the first to hear from us - we're on LinkedIn, X (Twitter), and Instagram and now Bluesky and Mastodon too!

FLTR: Monika Ritsche-Martke, Petra Rudolf and Ilaria Zardo - image credit: Gina Gunaratnam

Petra Rudolf, chair of the EPS Equal Opportunities Committee, and Gina Gunaratnam, EPS communication coordinator, interviewed Ilaria Zardo [IZ], from the Department of Physics, University of Basel (CH), and Monika Ritsch-Marte [MRM], from the of the Institute of Biomedical Physics, Dept. of Physiology & Medical Physics, Medical University of Innsbruck (AT). They are laureates of the EPS Emmy Noether Distinction 2022.

Why did you choose physics?

IZ: I was interested in Greek, Latin and Philosophy. When I told my parents I wanted to study physics, it was a big surprise. Especially to my father who wondered why I had studied all these subjects to "end up" with sports (in Italian "physics" and "sports" is the same word).

MRM: I wanted to find a position in relation to Nature. I come from an academic family, so they encouraged me. But outside, I didn't get positive reactions. After having attended the Open Days in Innsbruck, I knew that I wanted to get a master's degree in sciences.

What is the most rewarding aspect of your career and what difficulties did you encounter?

MRM: It is nice to have recognition from the community but the most rewarding is when I do active research, when I get results and I understand things from Nature.

In the 80s', women had to face difficult times. There were aggressive attitudes.  My younger brother and my husband are also scientists and they were offered positions while I didn't get one.

IZ: The most rewarding is when I first finish a project. When I realise that I found something. When I have gone through all the paths to get where I want to go and I reach it, this is a rewarding moment. It is also beautiful to see the same way of thinking/development in people you work with.

Difficulties: We are trained to be scientists but not to deal with people. You have a strong contact with your colleagues. You need trust and faith. This is very challenging.

Recommendations to encourage diversity

IZ: I am extremely happy to have a very diverse group: different countries, different backgrounds. I was motivated by a colleague who told me that you gain much more from someone who is different from you, who will have another approach to a problem.

MRM: Quotas are important to get women involved [in research groups] and I don't care about being called "Quotenfrau" ("quota woman" in German). It shouldn't be the aim but is a necessary measure to have more women. If they can do the job, they should be given the chance. 

Career and family

MRM: I married a colleague! So there was competition between us. It is difficult to get everything you want once you have a family. I consider it a "fermionic principle ": either you choose the field of research you are interested or the place where you want to live. You cannot have the two at the same time. My advice: be determined but flexible. And ask yourself the following: What is something I cannot live without?

In my case, I changed fields: from theoretical physics, I switched to medical physics.

IZ: "I am not a hero!" I have three children and my husband is also a physicist working in industry. I would advise to not pay attention to judgement. When asked about children, you can answer that your husband is never asked about them.

More info

• EPS Emmy Noether Distinction
  
• EPS Emmy Noether Distinction 2022 for Ilaria Zardo and Monika Ritsch-Marte
• Monika Ritsch-Marte Research Group
  
• Ilaria Zardo Research Group and  announce on the website nanoscience.unibas.ch

Author: Ariane Wenger

 Are you a researcher planning to attend scientific conferences? 

Please consider participating in and distributing this survey on researchers’ expectations of conferences that Ariane Wenger – a doctoral student at the Transdisciplinarity Lab (TdLab), ETH Zurich – is conducting as part of her dissertation on changing research exchange practices. The short (10 minutes) online survey is aimed at researchers of all scientific disciplines and career stages who are planning to attend scientific conferences. In particular, opinions and views of researchers from all around the world are appreciated. Participation in the survey will not only enrich this study, but will also help to identify avenues for enhancing current conference practices, benefiting the wider academic community.

The survey can be accessed here: https://ww3.unipark.de/uc/cexp1/.

Thank you very much for your support!

Authors: Anna Grigoryan and Carmen Martín Valderrama

Monday 25th of March was the first day of the Young Minds (YM) Leadership Meeting (LM) at the EPS Forum 2024 in Berlin. More than 70 participants from the YM network, representing 30 YM sections, as well as guests from other associations, were welcomed by the LM organization committee chair Anna Grigoryan, the EPS Secretary General Anne Pawsey and EPS Former Chair Luc Berge. EPS YM former chair Mattia Ostinato presented an overview of the YM program and the newly elected YM chair Carmen Martín Valderrama was presented to the participants. Following two masterclasses on scientific writing given by the EDP Science Senior publisher Isabelle Auffret-Babak and Publishing Director Anne Ruimy, the participants attended the lecture given by Antigone Marino on Impostor Syndrome. Could not be missing the "From PhD to CEO" panel discussion, always inspiring, in collaboration with OPTICA. The panelists were Co-Founder of Keequant Imran Khan and Co-Founder of Quantune Jan Kischkat.

Tuesday 26th of March, the day started with the Nobel Prize Laureates' Lectures. The opportunity to attend such interesting sessions was allowed by the co-location with the EPS Forum. The morning continued with lecturer Tatevik Chalyan on writing a successful grant application, after which Steven Goldfarb presented the talk “Why we bother – the urgency of education and outreach”. To further connect with other YM delegates, a networking session was conducted and the LM concluded with the YM activity poster session and the corresponding “Young Minds Best activity award by EPL” ceremony where the YM sections PONYS and SPAM Caserta received the winner's certificates from EPL and 250 euros.

The meeting brought together YM delegates from more than 10 different countries, as well as many interested students and young researchers from outside of the YM network, making it a great success. Beyond the programme of the LM, the participants could learn about industrial opportunities and attend lectures from world-class researchers conducted in the EPS Forum. Thanks to the European Physical Society and Luc Bergé for the invitation and this opportunity and congratulations to the organization for the success of the event.

We believe that scientific outreach, cultural exchange and mutual understanding, and peaceful international collaboration are more important than ever and we believe that bringing young scientists together and equipping them with tools and skills is a great way of fostering these aspects.

We are very excited that so many young minds gathered for the meeting, and we are very much looking forward to the Leadership Meeting in 2025.

The Fritz London Memorial Prize is an international prize supported by the endowment created at Duke University by John Bardeen, a generous gift from the late Horst Meyer, and donations from Oxford Instruments. It is awarded once every three years and is intended to recognize outstanding experimental and theoretical contributions to low temperature physics. Background information and a list of previous London Prize winners can be found at: https://physics.duke.edu/fritz-london-memorial-prize

The members of the 2025 London Memorial Prize Committee are: P. Hakonen (Chair, Aalto U., Finland), Eva Andrei (Rutgers U., USA), Laura Greene (FSU and MagLab, USA), H. Mooij (TU Delft, Netherlands), and Y. Okuda (Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan).

Nominations and supporting letters should be sent to the Chair of the Prize Committee:
Prof. Pertti Hakonen
pertti.hakonen@aalto.fi
Subject: London Memorial Prize

The deadline for the receipt of nominations and supporting letters is November 15, 2024.

The nomination letter should clearly state all of the following:

• The basis for the proposed prize.
• Publications on which the nomination is based.
• An assessment of the impact on the low temperature community.
• Relevant biographical information and institutional affiliation.
• Supporting letters (no more than 4) should be submitted together with the nomination materials.

There are no restrictions on who could receive this award. It has been the policy of the committee to avoid giving the award for work that has already been recognized by the Simon Memorial Prize or by other comparable awards. The committee also looks more favorably on recent work as compared to work whose significance has been apparent for a long time.

Are you already registered? Check our calendar of events and visit the conference websites to know the deadlines and benefit from early bird registration fees!

• Calendar of events
• EPS Conference Service
  

On 25th and 26th March, the EPS organised its second Forum at the Henry Ford Building of Freie Universität Berlin in Germany. Prepared for more than a year, the EPS Forum welcomed 405 registered participants taken in charge by 8 EPS staff members and 9 student helpers. 213 master, PhD students and postdoc fellows from 35 different countries attended this second edition of the Forum. Unlike its first edition in Paris (2022), this event hosted a majority of young researchers (53.2% of attendees), mainly coming from outside the EPS community.

The EPS Forum (www.epsforum.org) proposed a series of conferences and workshops on the following topics: Atomic, molecular and optical physics for quantum technologies; applications of nuclear and particle physics to society; condensed matter and applications to industry; energy management, pollution and climate; artificial intelligence, brain inspired processing systems and applications; and photonics.

The first day (“Physics Meets Industry”, 25th March) was devoted to the employment of early career physicists in Europe and fostered direct exchanges with stakeholders of many industrial companies working in the above fields. It was opened by a plenary speech given by Iliana Ivanova, European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth.

The second day (“Fundamental Physics”, 26th March) hosted a general conference on physics, addressing the same fields from a fundamental perspective and starting with a plenary session that welcomed the Nobel Laureates Anne L’Huillier, Klaus von Klitzing, Stefan Hell and the ERC Scientific Council representative Nicola Spaldin. 64 early-career researchers, including several EPS Young Minds, could present their research during a poster session organised in the afternoon.

On the whole 70 invited speakers and round table panelists accepted our invitation to participate in the Forum. The preparation of this major event involved 40 representatives of the EPS Member Societies, Divisions and Groups, Associate Members, members of the EPS Executive Committee and of the EPS Secretariat. It also led to an efficient cooperation with the EPS Young Minds, who held a very successful Leadership Meeting, and the International Association of Physics Students.

This edition of the EPS Forum was financially supported by 19 sponsors and 11 exhibitors. It again demonstrated the possibility to make all the EPS components regularly work together over a year to promote the young generation of European physicists, to bridge the gap between academic research and industry, and to still advertise the latest developments in fundamental physics at the highest level.

Image credit: Bernhard Wannenmacher

A discussion between Klaus von Klitzing and Stefan Hell

Anne L’Huillier’s plenary talk

Coffee break at the exhibitors’ booth

The Plasma Physics Division of the European Physical Society is happy to announce its 2024 prizes.

2024 EPS - PPCF Sylvie Jacquemot Early Career Prize

We are pleased to announce that we have received an outstanding array of nominations for the 2024 EPS - PPCF Sylvie Jacquemot Early Career Prize. The quality of submissions reflects the remarkable talent, the strength and vitality of our community. We would also like to express our sincere gratitude to all those who took the time to submit nominations.

After careful consideration and evaluation of numerous outstanding nominations, we are delighted to reveal that the winner of the first EPS - PPCF Sylvie Jacquemot Early Career Prize is:

Dr. Varchas Gopalaswamy from the University of Rochester, USA, for "the development of statistical modelling to achieve accurate predictions of laser fusion experiments thereby improving implosions and achieving record Lawson products for direct-drive on OMEGA".

His dedication, innovation, and commitment to advancing the field of plasma physics has truly distinguished him as a rising star in our community.

We extend our heartfelt congratulations to Dr. Varchas Gopalaswamy for this well-deserved honour. His exemplary work serves as an inspiration to us all, demonstrating the profound impact that early-career researchers can have on the field.

In addition to the prize of 1,500 EUR and a certificate, Dr. Varchas Gopalaswamy has accepted our invitation to give a talk on his work at the 50th EPS Conference on Plasma Physics, which will take place in Salamanca, Spain, from July 8th to 12th, 2024.

2024 EPS Plasma Physics Division Innovation Award

With great honour and admiration, we announce that Dr. Anthony B. Murphy from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) in Australia is the recipient of the 2024 EPS Innovation Prize. This honour reflects his significant role in the advancement of thermal plasma processes, showcasing his reputation as the leading expert in the field.

Dr. Murphy’s extensive research over more than three decades has led to groundbreaking developments, especially in predictive modeling for arc welding. His innovations have improved the precision and efficiency of metal fabrication processes, marking a significant step forward in the application of thermal plasmas. His current work in expanding these models for use in wire-arc additive manufacturing represents a promising frontier in manufacturing technologies.

His venture into green plasma technology, particularly his research on the plasma-catalytic production of ammonia, underscores his commitment to pioneering sustainable industrial processes. These efforts highlight Dr. Murphy’s ability to blend scientific inquiry with practical solutions for environmental sustainability.

Dr. Murphy’s collaborative endeavors and dedication to the field have not only contributed to the scientific community but have also spurred innovation across industry. His work embodies the spirit of the EPS Innovation Prize, celebrating not just scientific achievement but the practical application and societal impact of these innovations.

By awarding Dr. Murphy the EPS Innovation Prize, we not only honour his past contributions but also recognize his ongoing commitment to innovation. His work serves as an inspiration for future advancements, embodying the innovative spirit and pursuit of excellence that the prize aims to celebrate.

2024 EPS PPD PhD Prize

The 2024 EPS PPD PhD Prize has been awarded as follows:

• Dr Lucas Rovige (Institut Polytechnique de Paris, France) for his thesis “Optimization, stabilization and optical phase control of a high-repetition rate laser-wakefield accelerator“
• Dr Baptiste Frei (École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland) for his thesis “A Gyrokinetic Moment Model of the Plasma Boundary in Fusion Devices“
• Dr Toby Adkins (University of Oxford, UK) for his thesis “Electromagnetic instabilities and plasma turbulence driven by the electron-temperature gradient“
• Dr Mathias Hoppe (Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden) for his thesis “Runaway-electron model development and validation in tokamaks”

The Physics Beyond Colliders (PBC) Study was launched in 2016 to explore the opportunities offered by CERN’s unique accelerator and experimental area complex and expertise to address some of the outstanding questions in particle physics through experiments complementary to the high-energy frontier. Together with the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) experiments, the PBC proposals form a synergistic partnership, which fosters an ecosystem beyond collider-based research and diversifies CERN’s science programme at the precision and intensity frontiers.

The fifth PBC annual workshop was held from 25 to 27 March at CERN to explore new ideas and avenues aiming to answer open questions of the Standard Model and beyond, and to provide updates of ongoing projects.

The Super Proton Synchrotron (SPS) North Area (NA) is one of the major fixed-target experimental facilities available at CERN and it is at the very heart of many present and proposed explorations for Beyond the Standard Model (BSM) physics. The NA includes an underground cavern (ECN3) for experiments requiring high-energy/high-intensity proton beams. Several proposals have been made for experiments to operate in ECN3 in the next decade and beyond. All of them require higher intensity proton beams than currently available. One of these proposals studied within PBC, SHiP (Search for Hidden Particles), aiming for a comprehensive investigation of the Hidden Sector in the GeV mass range at a dedicated Beam Dump Facility (BDF) [1], has been recently approved. Together with the activities of NA64, an experiment leading the searches for light dark particles with a versatile setup suited for electron [2], positron [3], muon [4] and hadron beams [5], this will significantly strengthen CERN’s focus towards dark-sector searches.

The FASER [6] and SND [7] experiments, now taking data at the LHC and originated in the first phase of the PBC initiative, contribute to both New Physics searches and to the study of very high-energy neutrinos. The proposed Forward Physics Facility (FPF), located in the line of sight of the interaction point 1 of the High Luminosity LHC (HL-LHC) 620 m away from it, could increase sensitivity to BSM physics by a factor of about 10,000 over FASER and it could allow for the detection of  thousands of neutrinos at TeV-energies per day with the potential of contributing to the measurement of parton-distribution functions with improved precision, benefitting the HL-LHC physics reach. The experiment consists of a series of sub-detectors of relatively small size. The FPF detectors’ layout definition and the corresponding integration studies have made significant progress as one of the main PBC-supported studies in view of the publication of a document describing the facility’s technical infrastructure by mid-2024.

proANUBIS [8], CODEX-beta [9] and MATHUSLA [10] are also actively being studied and would be located at large angles to the collision line of sight at the ATLAS, LHCb and CMS experiments.

Remaining in the realm of the Standard Model, a new NA60+[11] experiment with lead ions and NA61/SHINE[12] with light ions aim to uncover the onset of the Quantum Chromo Dynamics (QCD) phase transition at energy scales only accessible at the SPS, holding promise to decode the phases of nuclear matter in the non-perturbative regime of QCD. Understanding QCD means further to unravel the emergent properties of baryons and mesons. The AMBER [13] experiment plans to determine the charge radii of kaons and pions and to perform meson spectroscopy, in particular with kaons, within a wide range of experimental activities proposed beyond the next accelerator long Lshutdown (LS3). A substantial study has been carried out to enhance the number of identifiable kaons in the hadron beam delivered to AMBER. This could be achieved by improving the vacuum conditions and by the implementation of a dedicated optics in the beamline to the experiment.

To complement results obtained at AMBER’s predecessors COMPASS, HERA, and other experiments using a polarized beam and/or target, the LHCSpin collaboration  presented their proposal [14] to open a new frontier and to introduce spin physics at the LHC with a gaseous polarised target following the successful commissioning of the SMOG2 unpolarised-gas cell [15]. This would result in a new probe for studying collective phenomena at the LHC. Moreover, this would provide access to the multi-dimensional nucleon structure in a kinematic domain of hitherto limited exploration and make use of new probes, for instance by using charm mesons.

The TWOCRYST collaboration aims to demonstrate the feasibility and the performance of a possible fixed-target experiment in the LHC to measure electric and magnetic dipole moments (EDMs and MDMs) of charmed baryons [16], offering a complementary platform for the study of Charge-Parity (CP) violation in the Standard Model. These baryons would be generated by the collision of the protons of the secondary beam halo channelled by a crystal onto a target. MDM and EDM would be determined by measuring the baryon spin precession in the strong electric field of a crystal installed immediately downstream of the target.

The conceptual design of a beamline to produce a tagged neutrino beam to improve the precision of neutrino cross-section measurements has been developed combining the ENUBET [17] and NuTag [18] proposals. This design would significantly increase the amount of tagged neutrinos generated within a given geometric acceptance and energy band.

The Gamma Factory (GF) collaboration, which aims to demonstrate the principle of the Gamma Factory in the SPS, reported the progress achieved at IJCLab (France) in the development of the laser system required for this facility. The GF scheme is based on resonant excitation of ultra-relativistic partially stripped ions (that could be made available at the SPS and LHC) with a laser beam tuned to the atomic transition frequencies, followed by the process of spontaneous emission of photons. The resonant excitation of atomic levels of highly ionised atoms (ions) is possible due to the large energies of the ions generating a Doppler frequency boost of the counter-propagating laser beam photons by a factor of up to 2g, where g is the relativistic factor. Spontaneously-emitted photons produced in the direction of the ion beam, when seen in the laboratory frame, have their energy boosted by a further factor of 2g. As a consequence, the process of absorption and emission results in a frequency boost of the incoming photon of up to 4g ². In the GF scheme, the SPS (LHC) atomic beams play the role of photon “frequency converters” of eV-photons into keV (MeV) X-rays (γ-rays). These intense and quasi-monochromatic beams could be used in a variety of atomic, nuclear and particle physics experiments [19] and they could potentially find application to energy production or nuclear-waste transmutation as well as the generation of intense positron and muon beams for future accelerator facilities.

High quality factor superconducting radio-frequency cavities, similar to those used for the acceleration of charged particles in accelerators, can also be used to detect axions (hypothetical particles that might be able to explain both the strong CP violation problem and account for dark matter) and even gravitational waves, and they can also be of interest for developing multi-qubit systems. The design and fabrication of a superconducting cavity for the heterodyne detection of axion-like particles over a wide range of masses [20] is the subject of a joint project between PBC and the CERN Quantum Technology Initiative. Atom Interferometry is another subject of common interest between the two CERN initiatives and PBC has demonstrated the technical feasibility of installing an atom interferometer with a baseline of 100 m in one of the LHC access shafts [21].

The charged-particle EDM collaboration presented the status of their approach to build a prototype ring that would validate the main concepts of a ring required to perform the first direct measurement of a proton EDM [22] and evaluate the sensitivity reach of such measurement.

The proposed injectors of the Future Circular electron-positron Collider (FCC-ee) [23] will significantly expand the variety of the offer of the CERN accelerator complex in terms of beam types and parameters, potentially opening up the possibility of new experiments. New ideas have been also presented, ranging from the measurement of molecular EDMs at the ISOLDE (Isotope Separator On Line DEvice) Radioactive Ion Beam Facility, over the prospects for antiproton physics at the Antiproton Decelerator (AD) and the Extra Low ENergy Antiproton (ELENA) ring, to the measurement of the gravitational effect of the LHC beam.

With these highlights in stock, many fruitful discussions, the annual workshop concluded as a resounding success. The PBC community thanked Claude Vallée (CPPM, Marseille), who retired as PBC co-coordinator and co-founder of the PBC initiative, after almost a decade of integral work, and welcomed Gunar Schnell (UPV/EHU & Ikerbasque, Bilbao) who will take on this role.

A small part of the community who contributes with lively discussions and innovative proposals and projects to the success of PBC.
Credit: K. Bernhard-Novotny (CERN)

[1] SHiP Collaboration, BDF/SHiP at the ECN3 high-intensity beam facility, CERN-SPSC-2022-032 ; SPSC-I-258

[2] Yu. M. Adreev et al. , Search for Light Dark Matter with NA64 at CERN,     Phys.Rev.Lett. 131 (2023) 16, 161801

[3] Yu. M. Adreev et al. , Probing light dark matter with positron beams at NA64,     Phys.Rev.D 109 (2024) 3, L031103

[4] Yu. M. Adreev et al. , Exploration of the Muon g−2 and Light Dark Matter explanations in NA64 with the CERN SPS high energy muon beam, arxiv:2401.01708 ; accepted by PRL

[5] S. Gninenko et al., Test of vector portal with dark fermions in the charge-exchange reactions in the NA64 experiment at CERN SPS, arxiv:2312.01703

[6] H. Abreu et al., First Direct Observation of Collider Neutrinos with FASER at the LHC, Phys.Rev.Lett. 131 (2023) 3, 031801

[7] R Albanese et al., Observation of Collider Muon Neutrinos with the SND@LHC Experiment, Phys.Rev.Lett. 131 (2023) 3, 031802

[8] A Shah et al., Searches for long-lived particles with the ANUBIS experiment, PoS EPS-HEP2023 (2024) 051 / A Shah et al., Installation of proANUBIS – a proof-of-concept demonstrator for the ANUBIS experiment, PoS LHCP2023 (2024) 168

[9] C Aielli et al., The Road Ahead for CODEX-b, arXiv:203.07316

[10] C Alpigani et al., An Update to the Letter of Intent for MATHUSLA: Search for Long-Lived Particles at the HL-LHC, arXiv:2009.01693

[11] NA60+ Collaboration, Letter of Intent: the NA60+ experiment, CERN-SPSC-2022-036; SPSC-I-259, Geneva, 2022, https://cds.cern.ch/record/2845241

[12] NA61/SHINE Collaboration, Addendum to the NA61/SHINE Proposal: A Low-Energy Beamline at the SPS H2, CERN-SPSC-2021-028 / SPSC-P-330-ADD-12, Geneva 2021, https://cds.cern.ch/record/2783037/files/SPSC-P-330-ADD-12.pdf

[13] C Quintas et al., The New AMBER Experiment at the CERN SPS, Few Body Syst. 63 (2022) 4, 72

[14] P. Di Nezza et al., The LHCspin Project, Acta Phys.Polon.Supp. 16 (2023) 7, 7-A4

[15] C. Boscolo Meneguolo, et al., Study of beam-gas interactions at the LHC for the Physics Beyond Colliders fixed-target study, JACoW proceedings (2019)

[16] S. Aiola et al., Progress towards the first measurement of charm baryon dipole

moments, Phys. Rev. D 103, 072003 (2021).

[17] F Acerbi et al., Design and performance of the ENUBET monitored neutrino beam, Eur.Phys.J.C 83 (2023) 10, 964

[18] A Baratto-Roldan et al., NuTag: proof-of-concept study for a long-baseline neutrino beam, arXiv:2401.17068

[19] D. Budker, M. Gorchtein, M. W. Krasny, A. Pálffy, A. Surzhykov (editors), Physics Opportunities with the Gamma Factory, Annalen der Physik, Volume 534, Issue 3 (2022)

[20] A Berlin et al., Heterodyne Broadband Detection of Axion Dark Matter, Phys. Rev. D 104, L111701

[21] G. Arduini et al., A Long-Baseline Atom Interferometer at CERN: Conceptual Feasibility Study, arXiv:2304.00614", CERN-PBC-REPORT-2023-002, Geneva, 2023, https://cds.cern.ch/record/2851946

[22] F. Abusaif, et al., Storage ring to search for electric dipole moments of charged particles: Feasibility study, CERN Yellow Reports: Monographs, CERN-2021-003, Geneva, 2021, https://cds.cern.ch/record/2654645, doi=10.23731/CYRM-2021-003

[23] M. Benedikt et al. (editors), Future Circular Collider Study. Volume 2: The Lepton Collider (FCC-ee) Conceptual Design Report, CERN-ACC-2018-0057, Geneva, December 2018. Published in Eur. Phys. J. ST.

Author: Alicia Palacios

Nominations are being sought for the Young Scientist Prize in Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics which will be awarded by the AMOPD Division of the EPS for the fourth time in 2025. The award ceremony will take place during the fifteen European Conference on Atomic and Molecular Physics (ECAMP XV) to be held in Innsbruck, Austria, June 29 – July 4, 2025.

Deadline for nominations is 15th November 2024.

More info

• Call for nominations
• Website of the EPS AMOPD
  

In 1964, Peter Higgs published his famous paper on a self-consistent theory of vector bosons with non-vanishing mass, paving the road towards today’s theory of electroweak interactions of elementary particles. The mass-creation mechanism implied the existence of a new particle, today known as the Higgs boson. This  spin-zero particle is fundamentally different from all other known elementary particles.

For several decades, all experimental efforts to find this new particle were unsuccessful, until in the 1990s precision experiments at highest energy electron positron colliders measured effects consistent with those created by virtual Higgs bosons in quantum fluctuations. Although not yet  an unambiguous discovery, the High Energy Particle Physics Division of the European Physical Society reacted by awarding at the 1997 International Europhysics Conference on High Energy Physics in Jerusalem the prestigious EPS HEPP Prize to Peter Higgs, together with Robert Brout and Fraçois Englert, who had independently and almost simultaneously discovered and published the mass-generation mechanism back in 1964.

The indisputable discovery of the Higgs boson, by then the holy grail of elementary particle physics, had to wait for new record energies to be reached at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider. In  2012 the ATLAS and CMS experiments independently announced the discovery of a new particle which was subsequently shown to have all the predicted properties of the precious Higgs boson. The European Physical Society reacted promptly and awarded the 2013 EPS HEPP Prize to the two experimental collaborations and three of their leading scientists at the EPS conference which took place in July 2013. Both, François Englert and Peter Higgs joined the conference. Peter Higgs gave a highlight talk – challenging the organizers by using a classical overhead projector – and explained the theoretical developments which allowed him and his colleagues to come up with nothing less than a brilliant break-through for elementary particle physics. Sadly, Robert Brout, who died in 2011, didn’t live to see this historical event. Not unexpectedly, only a few months after the conference, François Englert and Peter Higgs had to return to Stockholm, this time to receiving the 2013 Nobel Prize in Physics.

On the 8^th of April 2024, Peter Higgs died in Edinburgh at the age of 94. The elementary particle community has lost a visionary theorist and a very modest and polite friend.

Impressions of the EPS HEP conference with Peter Higgs and François Englert, Stockholm 2013 - image credit: Gina Gunaratnam/EPS

The EPS Forum and Council meeting were held at the Freie Universität Berlin 25th to 27th of March. This lively event brought together 400 physicists from 35 separate countries and involved over 200 students in a sessions of conference sessions, round tables and formal and informal networking.

 
First day at the EPS Forum 2024 in Berlin

Anne L'Huillier with participants of the forum

Second day with the plenary session of Anne L'Huillier

Mairi Sakellariadou takes over from Luc Bergé as EPS President
at the EPS Council meeting 2024

APS President Young-Kee Kim and EPS President Mairi Sakellariadou
at the EPS Council meeting 2024

more images in EPN issue 55-2

EPL is delighted to announce the arrival of a new Editor in Chief Richard Blythe of the University of Edinburgh who will take up the role on 1st May 2024. Prof. Blythe takes over from Dr. Alessandra S. Lanotte, of Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Istituto di Nanotecnologia, CNR-NANOTEC, who acted as interim Editor in Chief for the first quarter of 2024. 

Richard Blythe holds a personal chair in complex systems at the University of Edinburgh, UK. He studied Physics at the University of Bristol, UK, participating in an exchange year at the Technische Hochschule Darmstadt, Germany, before pursuing a PhD in nonequilibrium statistical mechanics at Edinburgh. In his research, Richard builds models of complex interacting systems at the microscopic scale and applies both mathematical and computational tools to understand the collective phenomena that emerge. He has particular interests in transport and structure formation by model active particles, whose dynamics are inspired by the motion of bacteria and birds. He has also collaborated extensively with linguists on modelling human social dynamics and the process of language change, gaining insights into how social and cognitive interactions at the individual scale shape the collective properties of language at the population scale. Throughout his career, Richard has played key roles in bringing research communities together through a variety of activities including collaboration networks, workshops and summer schools.

Richard Blythe - image R. Blythe

JET Tokamak’s Latest Fusion Energy Record Shows Mastery of Fusion Processes

• EUROfusion welcomes winners of young scientist contest EUCYS
  
• Joint European Torus facility JET ends 40-year run of world-leading fusion research
  
• From Beakers to Factories: Transforming Ideas into Industrial Solutions
  
• French long-pulse fusion facility WEST reaches for 1000 second discharges
  

Herwig Schopper, EPS President from 1995 to 1997, celebrated his 100^th birthday on 28 February

Herwig Schopper was born in Lanškroun (Landskron), in a German-speaking region of what is now the Czech Republic. Shortly after the end of World War II, he started studying physics at the University of Hamburg where he received his PhD in 1951. He soon embarked on a prestigious academic career which took him to professorships in Mainz, Karlsruhe, and later in Hamburg, making landmark contributions to experimental nuclear physics, particle physics, and accelerator technology. During these years, he already demonstrated his talents as a science administrator: in 1973, he was appointed chairman of the DESY board of directors; in 1981 he began an eight-years term as Director-General of CERN, notably overseeing the construction of the large electron-positron collider LEP in the same 27 km tunnel which today houses the Large Hadron Collider.

Following his term of office at CERN, Herwig started a new career as science diplomat that keeps him active to this day. From 1992-94, he served as president of the German Physical Society, and from 1995-97 he was president of the EPS. In subsequent years, he held several important positions at UNESCO, including chairing the advisory committee for the International Basic Science Programme (2003-2009). Guided by his strong personal vision of “science for peace”, he embarked on his most ambitious science diplomacy project: the SESAME light source in the middle east which was inaugurated in Jordan in 2017.

On 1 March, Herwig's unique personality and countless achievements were celebrated at CERN with a festive symposium, “A century in physics”, by a prestigious line-up of speakers who had witnessed different stages of his life and career, including Nobel Prize Winner Samuel Ting and Herwig's children Doris and Andreas. In a short message, EPS President-elect Mairi Sakellariadou recalled Herwig Schopper’s merits as the president who steered our society with his characteristic quiet and unassuming, but highly effective approach to management through the tumultuous period when the seat and the secretariat were moved from Geneva to Mulhouse, saving the EPS from a severe political and financial crisis. The EPS is immensely grateful to its former president for his leadership and for his lifelong devotion to science and peace: congratulations Herwig on your uncountable achievements, and good luck and good health for many more years to come!

A more comprehensive appraisal of Herwig Schopper’s life and work will appear in a forthcoming issue of Europhysics News (55/2).

Three generations of CERN Directors-General: Herwig Schopper and Fabiola Gianotti cutting the birthday cake, critically watched by Rolf Heuer - image credit: Rüdiger Voss

"Outstanding achievements in fundamental and applied quantum physics, encompassing quantum teleportation, novel entangled states and related applications such as quantum communication, quantum cryptography, and quantum computation; and for exceptional services to the European physics community."

Prof. Zeilinger is an Emeritus Professor at the University of Vienna. In 2022 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics alongside Alain Aspect and John Clauser.

Prof Zeilinger has also worked tirelessly for the European Physics Community. He is a former President of  the Austrian Physical Society and the Austian Academy of Sciences and he has been at the forefront of the development of a European Quantum Technology Strategy.

Anton Zeilinger at the annual meeting of the Austrian Physical Society in September 2022 in Leoben where he received the honorary membership of the ÖPG.

First Gold Medalist team members who also received the PYPT Trophy  :  Elyar Ferdosizadeh, Mohammadhossein Ezzati, Baran Bahman, Ava Alebouyeh from Valed School

Other five gold winners are from Valeh , Farzanegan 2 and 7 and Kish schools as follows: Aran Soufizadeh, Niki Abtahi, Niki Teimoori, Sarina Nosrati, Artin Radmatin, Niyayesh Vasegh, Negar Sharifi, Zahra Arab Beik , Nikoo Mohseni Zadeh Tehrani, Diana sadat Hashemi, Pariya Ahmadi, Mahtab Zare Dehnavi, Parinaz Farhadkhani, Saina Safarian, Saina Osanlou,Parmiss Khoshamal ,Maedeh Saeidi, Elena Zarei, Farin Daei, Shanli Omrany, Narges Alinezhad, Narvin Taheri,  Zahra Mahnavian, Baran nasrpour, Dina Karimizadeh, Sogand Radka, Nita Jafarzadeh 

The Silver medalists are from Farzanegan Rasht, Mihan, Kish,  Rahe Roshd , International, Shahid Soltani and Mofid 1schools as follows :  Seyedeh RoniaSahafi, Seyedeh Saba Sojasi, Taranom Jamshidi, Yasna Kamran,Sava Akbari Khalil Abad, Zahra Fazaie; Amir Hossein Karimi, SinaSaleh Abadi, Taha Sedaghat, Parsa Namjoo, parsa Shahrokhi ; soroosh salimzadeh,  Arad Khosravani, Roham Ghasemi, Amirali Rezaei, Reza Zaherbin, Amirreza Nadalizade, Arad Bayani, Kian Taghizadeh, Amirmohamad Poomohamad, Seyed Yazdan Seyed Mohseni,  Parmida Hosseinzade, Nazanin Zahra Mostafavi,  Aram Alimohammadi,  Yasaman Zarein,  Parmida Mehrian; Radin Qashqai, Kourosh Souri, Amirreza Babaei, Bahram JadidBonyad,  Mohammad Arshadfard; Mohammad Hussein Abdi, Shayan Shahri, Amirhossein Neshat, Mohammad Parsa Nazifi, Mohammad Hossein Pourbakht, Amirali Faryadras

AYIMI is an EPS Associate Member.

The biggest challenges in physics and how this might affect society in the coming decades are captured in a new open access ebook from the European Physical Society.

The book, Physics for Society in the Horizon 2050, explores some of the most pressing and promising aspects of modern science in support of better living standards: from the smallest objects we observe such as particles, atoms, and cells, to the large scientific enquiries on stars, galaxies, and the mysteries of the universe.

The encyclopaedia-like work is part of the European Physical Society’s project ‘Grand Challenges: Physics for Society at the Horizon 2050’. The project explores our ability to imagine and shape the future by assessing how physics can help us understand nature and how physics can help tackle major issues affecting the lives of citizens by 2050 making recommendations of actions to policy makers.

Carlos Hidalgo, editor of Physics for Society in the Horizon 2050, says: “This book explores some of the most pressing questions in physics and supports EPS’s Horizon strategy. The interesting thing about the perspective of this work is the human ability to imagine and shape the future by making use of the scientific method and how interdisciplinarity enables connections to be established across various fields of knowledge to address some of the grand scientific and societal challenges that lie ahead us.”

The book is available in full for anyone to read on the IOPscience platform and is aimed at professionals involved in advancing the scientific method, and those with an interest in how science can shape society.

The International Commission for Optics (ICO) was created in 1947 as an Affiliated Commission of the IUPAP.

In 1982, ICO established the ICO Prize, to be given each year to an individual who has made a noteworthy contribution to optics, published submitted for publication before the age of 40. You will find details about the prize at: https://www.e-ico.org/blog/awards/ico-prize/

PHYSICS MATTERS! it is a fact, but it is also a monthly series of open LIVE colloquia, prepared by the Forum on International Physics (FIP) of the American Physical Society (APS)  [Physics_Matters][opinion] [SIF-article].

Initiated during the COVID time, these on-line colloquia, are part of the “Physics for Development” program, and support international engagement for and by developing communities. Since November 2020, we have produced 40 PHYSICS MATTERS colloquia on popular science topics and accessible worldwide via zoom. Those scientific expeditions aim at transcending geographical borders and stimulating the frontiers of knowledge! After the main speaker has made their presentation there is ample time for the online audience watching via zoom to ask questions of the speaker.

The colloquia series targets a broad audience, from early career scientists to members of the public with curious minds eager to learn more about science. The PHYSICS MATTERS colloquia series involves research centers initially selected from within the partner countries of the SESAME project (Synchrotron-Light for Experimental Science and Applications in the Middle East) in Jordan.

The establishment of the SESAME Light Source in Allan, Jordan, is the result of an extensive scientific and diplomatic effort, in the middle of conflict and now a war zone! Although extremely challenging, this light source has been in operation since 2008. The 5 operating beam lines are welcoming 157 scientific proposals, which were received in response to the 6^th call, which closed in September. 2023, for beam time to be used between January and Jully 2024.  

That resilient spirit resonates in each PHYSICS MATTERS episode. The colloquia series has revisited the SESAME journey from its origins (see the July 2022 gathering of 17 pioneers and friends of Herman Winick honoring his life-long engagement; or in January 2023, when Eliezer Rabinovici elaborated on the whole process, which took decades to enable that light in the Middle East). “In the 1990’s, it has been a worthy challenge to bring around the table the conflicting middle east scientists and diplomats” said Ada Yonath, Nobel price 2009 of crystallography. Prestigious scientists, including Chris Llewellyn-Smith, Eliezer Rabinovici, and Rolf Heuer, have enriched PHYSICS MATTERS with profound insights, aligning with the spirit of Science for Peace. Andrea Lausi and Gihan Kamel highlighted SESAME's achievements in 2021, while Zehra Sayers and Kirsi Lorentz emphasized its regional impact in 2022.

We have travelled virtually though each member country of the SESAME, but emphasizing specific scientific excellence. Our scientific expeditions have also opened more routes through Iran, Pakistan and Palestine [SIF article].

Beyond LIVE expeditions, our episodes delve into paleontology, paleoanthropology, and cultural heritage, harnessing light and neutron sources to illuminate the past.

PHYSICS MATTERS scientific topics also explore the societal challenges, we use photon and neutron beams to understand the structural/atomic phenomenology, and this allows the gates of innovation to be opened. We're addressing environment and health, pushing boundaries for universal benefit in our daily lives, guided by sustainable development principles.

PHYSICS MATTERS has covered upcoming projects such as Light Sources in Africa and the Caribbean, inspired by SESAME's pioneering model, fostering ambitious endeavors.

Beyond exploring scientific cases, we also focus on particle accelerators, which are the tools to generate synchrotron light and their resulting discoveries [WG14]. The ever-increasing energetic acceleration of charged particles enables us to reach today unforeseen frontiers, with thanks for advanced particle accelerators. As a matter of fact, particle accelerators are the bases of more than one-third of the Nobel Prices in Physics and Chemistry [CBI]! Particle accelerators have largely shaped human knowledge! From well-known High Energy Physics Accelerators probing the standard model, to light or neutron sources, acting like “large microscopes”, particle accelerators describe nature from the micro to the macroscopic levels.

Hence, we've spotlighted global particle accelerators, including Brazil's SIRIUS and Spain's ALBA, nations associated with SESAME. In November 2023, Physics Matters held a colloquium on accelerator contributions to Science and Society!

Transferring such knowledge will be the topic of the April 2024 forum, introducing Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC), as a complement to in-person schools, to develop education in Africa, with the African School of Fundamental Physics and Applications (ASP).

As well, later this year, we will join forces with the Institute of International Education (IIE), where women in STEM are playing an essential role. The role of women in science has been emphasized during a satellite meeting in 2023 LIVE from Jordan [Virtual]. It expanded on an earlier Physics Matters presentation ,which portrayed the role of scientific women in the Middle East in June 2021 [Gihan].

These educational colloquia complement the PHYSICS MATTERS episodes, which have shone a spotlight on higher education in Pakistan and Iran, while emphasizing their local centers of excellence.

In addition, we have joined forces and gained momentum with other international organizations like Physics-Without-Frontiers (PWF), Engineers-Without-Borders (EWB) or the Union on International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP). The IUPAP has celebrated its 100 years anniversary and its renovated vision on some Physics Matters episodes [FIP Newsletters]. Similar to the FIP, “the mission of the IUPAP is to assist in the worldwide development of physics, to foster international cooperation in physics, and to help in the application of physics toward solving problems of concern to humanity is more important than ever”, said Silvina Ponce Dawson, president designate of IUPAP.

Prominent organizations such as CERN, IUPAP, and UNESCO have collaborated to spearhead the International Year of Basic Sciences and Sustainable Development (IYBSSD), aimed at fostering education and advancing sustainable development goals.

In March 2024, we're honored to host the UNESCO Basic Science head to discuss SDGs and the new International Decade of Sciences for Sustainable Development (IDSSD).

In conclusion, FIP's overarching goal is to expand the audience of PHYSICS MATTERS, facilitating the transfer of knowledge between developed and developing communities, while simultaneously empowering the latter. The SESAME light source, amidst conflict-ridden regions of the Middle East, stands as a symbol of resilience and collaboration, bringing together scientists from diverse backgrounds in the pursuit of scientific discovery. Embodying the spirit of human knowledge transfer, PHYSICS MATTERS serves as a catalyst for curiosity and enlightenment, fostering a community of open-minded individuals committed to advancing science for the betterment of humanity. Together, we can contribute to an educated and peaceful world, where the pursuit of knowledge transcends boundaries and promotes understanding and cooperation on a global scale.

------

References

[Physics_Matters] “When Physics Matters!“ by C. Darve, Societa Italiana di Fisica, SIF Prima, Feb. 2024

[Opinion] “How Can We Scientists Engage In Building a Worthy Scientific World?“ by C. Darve, APS

[SIF-article] " An epic journey across the quantum landscape to the APS March Meeting", by C. Darve - Societa Italiana di Fisica, SIF Prima Pagina, 4 April, 2023

[WG14] IUPAP Working Group 14 on Accelerator Science, https://iupap-wg14.web.cern.ch/  

[CBI] "Could particle accelerators help the environment? Students to propose innovative ideas", by N. Delerue and C. Darve, Societa Italiana di Fisica, SIF Prima Pagina, Sep. ‘23

[Virtual] , APS March Meeting Satellite Sites Increase Virtual Meeting Attendance by Nearly 20%, APS Newsletter, 2 June 2023

[Gihan] SESAME: the new adventure of the Middle East women scientists , Physics Matter June 2021.

[FIP Newsletters] FIP Newsletters 2023

Author: Monica Constatin and Enrique Sánchez Bautista

In an ever-evolving landscape of scientific progress, where breakthroughs continually reshape our understanding of the world, the role of civil society in science is becoming increasingly vital. Recognising this mutual exchange between civil society and researchers, initiatives like Citizen Science^[1] have emerged as powerful conduits for public engagement with scientific research. Strongly supported by the European Commission, Citizen Science fosters collaboration between citizens and the scientific community, paving the way for impactful contributions to knowledge and policy formation.

The Surrounded by Science (SbS) project, funded by the Horizon 2020 programme, promotes and advocates for Citizen Science and other forms of informal scientific education. The European Physical Society (EPS) continues its committment of promoting scientific engagement by holding the second EPS Citizen Science Competition. This is an initiative designed to bring citizens closer to current research projects via Zooniverse, an online platform facilitating civil society to get involved and to engage in scientific research.

Building upon the success of the first EPS Citizen Sience Competition 2022, this second edition invites individuals to embark on a thrilling scientific journey between 1st-29th February 2024, where participants are encouraged to join the GWitchHunters project on the Zooniverse platform and participate in the classification challenge posed by the project. The GWitchHunters project focuses on enhancing the capabilities of the Virgo Gravitational Wave detector, offering participants a unique opportunity to contribute to a real gravitational wave astronomy experiment. The competition not only empowers citizens to actively participate in scientific research, but also offers enticing incentives, namely the change to win one of the three travel grants to explore the cutting-edge facilities of EGO-Virgo, European Gravitational Observatory, located in Pisa, Italy. As such, winners of these grants will gain firsthand experience in state-of-the-art research facilities, further enriching their scientific knowledge. 

Beyond this competition, initiatives like Surrounded by Science and the Science Chaser app offer additional avenues for engagement of civil society in STEM subjects, underscoring the multifaceted nature of informal science education. By leveraging digital tools and innovative methodologies, these initiatives strive to democratize access to scientific knowledge and foster a sense of ownership and empowerment among citizens who are not professionally involved in research. If you want to participate in the competition, visit the competition page on the SbS website.

Author: Luc Bergé

After Paris in 2022, Berlin will host the second Forum of the European Physical Society (EPS) on March 25 and 26, 2024 at the Henry Ford Building of Freie Universität Berlin.

What is the EPS Forum?

The Forum is an exceptional meeting prepared by all EPS bodies, Member Societies, Divisions and Groups, and Associate Members.

Opened by European Commissioner Iliana Ivanova, the first day (March 25) "Physics meets Industry" will propose various tutorial talks and many round tables on the industrial developments in different fields of physics.

The second day (March 26), starting with a Nobel session, will address the latest scientific advances in the same physics topics. Anne L'Huillier, Klaus von Klitzing, Stefan Hell will be there to deliver plenary talks.

What are the topics of the EPS Forum?

The scientific topics of the Forum will cover a wide range of fields in physics:

-   Atomic, molecular and optical physics for quantum technologies

-   Applications of nuclear and particle physics to society

-   Condensed matter and applications to industry

-   Energy management, pollution and climate

-   Artificial intelligence, brain inspired processing systems and applications

-   Photonics

Who is the EPS Forum for?

Early-career and senior researchers are invited to participate in the Forum. Young researchers (master, PhD students and postdocs) are particularly invited to come to Berlin, discover the most recent employment opportunities in the physics-based industry sector and exchange with world-renowned researchers.

The EPS will support the travel and lodging expenses of 100 physics students.

Check the programme at https://epsforum.org/programme/

There is still time to register until March 3 at https://www.epsforum.org/register/

Author : Barbara Pasquini

The conference series "Electromagnetic Interactions with Nucleons and Nuclei (EINN)" began in 1995, establishing a biennial tradition on Santorini and Milos Islands in Greece until 2009. In 2011, it was successfully relocated to Paphos (Cyprus), with an  online edition due to the COVID pandemic in 2021. The conference series delves into both experimental and theoretical facets of nuclear and hadron physics, serving as a dynamic platform for the exchange of ideas and the exploration of current and prospective advancements in these fields. The conference has unofficially been a counterpart to the US Gordon Conference on photonuclear physics and is held in alternate years. No proceedings are produced, in the tradition of Gordon and Euroconferences, in order to encourage the frank exchange of even tentative information.

The 15^th EINN conference took place in Paphos from 31^st October to  4^th November 2023, attracting approximately  100 participants from Europe, North America, and Asia. EINN 2023 was a recognized conference of the European Physical Society and of  STRONG-2020 within the European Union's Horizon2020. It covered a spectrum of theoretical and experimental developments in hadron physics, including the partonic structure of nucleons and hadron spectroscopy, the  muon magnetic moment, dark-matter searches, the electroweak structure of light nuclei, new experimental facilities and physics searches, lattice QCD, the integration of machine learning methodologies in QCD and the potential of quantum computing towards solving QCD.

A highlight of the conference was the evening plenary poster session, which drew a large attendance with lively discussions. The top three posters, selected  through a secret vote by all attendees, were authored by promising young researchers from the Cyprus Institute and Mainz University. Recognized with the prestigious EPS poster prize, these awardees presented their work in dedicated talks during the plenary session.

The conference was further enriched by two parallel topical workshops: one on the QCD analysis of nucleon structure and another on experimental opportunities and detector challenges anticipated at the forthcoming Electron-Ion Collider (EIC). These workshops featured selected contributions from submitted abstracts alongside invited presentations.

Preceding the conference, a two-day meeting on "Frontiers and Careers in Photonuclear Physics," attracted considerable interest. Tailored as a platform for Ph.D. students and postdoctoral researchers in nuclear and hadron physics, this event facilitated research presentations, discussions on career paths, and the establishment of professional networks. Approximately 30 students and postdoctoral fellows participated in the conference by receiving full support.

As Quantum Chromodynamics takes a central role in contemporary physics research worldwide, the EINN conference is poised to maintain its crucial role as a significant international forum, especially for young physicists, in the foreseeable future.

For more information, see https://2023.einnconference.org/ and https://einnconference.org/

Acknowledgements:

We thank the following institutions and agencies for supporting EINN2023 and the pre-conference on “Frontiers in Photonuclear Physics”: Jefferson Lab, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Center for Frontiers in Nuclear Science (CFNS) at Stony Brook U., Washington University, INFN, Mainz University, the European Physical Society, STRONG-2020  within the European Union's Horizon2020, the Cyprus Tourist Organization

Author: Amy Walter

Journal de Physique digital archives

Only two months before the major EPS event of 2024! you can still register to participate in the EPS Forum that will take place at Freie Universität Berlin, Germany, on 25th and 26th March 2024.

Devoted to a rich variety of hot topics in physics - from atomic physics, photonics, condensed matter physics to nuclear physics and energy management - the EPS Forum will propose exceptional presentations given by industrial leaders and world-renowned physicists together with exciting round tables on urgent societal challenges.

Opened by European Commissioner Iliana Ivanova, the 25^th March will be dedicated to the employment of early career physicists. The 26^th March will allow participants to listen to talks given by prestigious invited speakers, including the Nobel Laureates Anne L'Huillier, Klaus von Klitzing, Stefan Hell, and Nicola Spaldin, member of the ERC Scientific Council. 

Check the programme at https://epsforum.org/programme/ and register at https://www.epsforum.org/register/

The EPS will support the travel and lodging expenses of 100 students!

EPS calendar of Inspiring Physicists 2024 | images and design: Xavier De Araujo

Author: Anne Pawsey

The 2024 EPS Calendar of Inspiring Physicists has been released. Featuring EPS Members, Laureates of EPS awards and Nobel Prize Winners this initiative aims at presenting inspiring female physicists who can act as role models for the next generation of scientists. Every month, a new physicist can be discovered in the calendar with a portrait, a short description of her field of research and a sentence to inspire and encourage young people to study physics.

The project was led by Gina Gunaratnam, communication coordinator at the EPS secretariat and bought to the page by Xavier de Araujo, the EPS graphic designer. The rationale behind the project is to increase the visibility of women in physics. Although in recent years women have become more visible in fields where historically they were a minority, women are still missing in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics). There is therefore a need to attract more youngsters to these fields. Not only to work as researchers but also as technical staff, lab assistants, IT specialists, to name but a few. The panel of professions related to the sciences is wide and requires all talents, girls as much as boys.

Society does not always send this message: girls need to be encouraged in their choice of studying science by everyone at every stage of their education: families, teachers, media and government all have a role to play. When girls show interest in sciences, they should not be diverted from their objectives, but helped and stimulated in every possible way to facilitate their aspirations.

Our calendar is currently being distributed to our member societies and associate members throughout Europe. We hope that with this initiative and the help of enthusiastic teachers and scientists, it will inspire young pupils in 2024 and beyond.

The January Physicist is Dr. Sara Bolognesi, staff researcher in experimental physics and laureate of the 2021 EPS Emmy Noether Distinction. Read her interview here.

Stay tuned, more to come!

More info :

• The 2020 Calendar
  
• Interviews with inspiring physicists
• Interviews with EPS Emmy Noether laureates
• EPS Emmy Noether Distinction
• EPS Awards and Distinctions
• Get a copy of the EPS calendar 2024

Detailed info at: https://surroundedby.science/2024/01/31/eps-citizen-science-competition-2024/

The European Physical Society launched the Emmy Noether Distinction to recognize noteworthy women physicists who have a strong connection to Europe through their nationality or work.

Emmy Noether, with her fundamental and revolutionary work in the abstract algebra and on 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 to promote gender equality and the empowerment of women in physics
• coordination of projects and management activity
• service to the scientific community and research administration

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

Commencing 2022, the EPS Emmy Noether Distinction for Women in Physics is to be awarded once a year, to two distinguished women physicists. Namely, the Emmy Noether Distinction will be awarded to an early- and mid–career laureate, as well as to a more advanced candidate, as a Distinction for her full career.

To make a nomination,  apply via this site or submit the following documents 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

Read more about the EPS Emmy Noether Distinction on the EPS website

Author: Anne Pawsey

Nominations are now open for the EPS distinctions and awards to be remitted at Council in March 2024. These distinctions and awards recognise scientific excellence in the form of EPS Honorary Membership, Fellowships and Early Career awards and they seek to recognise  service to the Scientific and EPS community with the Gero Thomas Medal and the EPS Achievement Award.  To ensure we reward the excellence we need to attract nominations from right across the physics community and we encourage you to propose physicists from a diverse range of backgrounds.

EPS Fellows

EPS Members are invited to nominate EPS Individual Members as EPS Fellows. Individuals whose achievements in physics, whether in research, industry or education and/or through commitment to the EPS warrant specific recognition are eligible to become EPS Fellows.

More information about EPS Fellows, including the list of current EPS Fellows and the rules for nomination, is available on the EPS website.

Honorary Members

EPS Members are invited to nominate outstanding individuals as Honorary Members of the EPS.
Distinguished persons whose outstanding achievements in physics or a related science whom the European Physical Society especially desires to honour can be elected EPS Honorary Members. In addition, distinguished individuals whom the EPS may desire to honour for exceptional service to the Society in furtherance of its aims and objectives shall also be eligible to become Honorary Members.

More information, including the list of current EPS Honorary Members and the rules for nomination, is available on the EPS website.

Gero Thomas medal

The Gero Thomas Commemorative Medal was created in 2000 to honour the memory of G. Thomas, who was the Secretary General of the EPS from 1973 to 1997 and played an essential role in the growth and the development of the Society. The Commemorative Medal is awarded to individuals for their outstanding service to the Society. More information about the award, and a list of recipients can be found here: http://www.eps.org/?page=distinction_prize_gt 

EPS Members (Member Societies, Individual Members, and Associate members) are invited to make nominations for the 2023 Gero Thomas Commemorative Medal. 

Please note that The Medal may not be awarded to any person currently member or having been member of the Executive Committee in the past three years.  To complete the nomination, the nominator is asked to provide the following documents:
(i) The references of the nominee (Name, first name, full postal address, email address, phone and fax numbers)
(ii) A description of the services of the individual to the Society (maximum & A4 page)
(iii) A suggested citation (maximum 250 words)
(iv) Nominee's academic and professional background, and professional honours
(v) Three supporters statements 

All proposals will be treated in confidence. Although they will be acknowledged there will be no further communication.

EPS Achievement Award

The EPS Achievement Award is given annually by the European Physical Society for excellent contributions to the promotion and development of: EPS Divisions or their Sections; EPS Groups; EPS Committees. This award recognises activities, and achievements, which have favoured EPS internal collaboration and effectively promoted the image and the impact of the EPS within the scientific community, policy makers and other stakeholders

More information about the award can be found here: https://www.eps.org/page/distinction_prize_AA

EPS Early Career Prizes

The EPS has two Early Career prizes to be awarded each year – one each for achievements of a mainly theoretical or experimental nature. Those eligible for these awards should have made a substantial contribution to the development or reputation of physics in Europe.

"Early Career" is defined as those individuals in the first 12 years of their career in physics following their first degree or equivalent, with allowance for any career breaks.
Terms and conditions can be found at: https://www.eps.org/page/distinction_prize_ec

EPS Emmy Noether Distinction

The European Physical Society launched the Emmy Noether Distinction to recognize noteworthy women physicists who have a strong connection to Europe through their nationality or work.

Emmy Noether, with her fundamental and revolutionary work in the abstract algebra and on 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 to promote gender equality and the empowerment of women in physics
• coordination of projects and management activity
• service to the scientific community and research administration

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

Commencing 2022, the EPS Emmy Noether Distinction for Women in Physics is to be awarded once a year, to two distinguished women physicists. Namely, the Emmy Noether Distinction will be awarded to an early- and mid–career laureate, as well as to a more advanced candidate, as a Distinction for her full career.

To make a nomination,  apply via this site or submit the following documents 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

Read more about the EPS Emmy Noether Distinction on the EPS website

image credit: EPS/Xavier De Araujo

The European Physical Society wishes you a wonderful holiday season!

Our offices will be closed between Christmas and New Year.
The EPS secretariat will be closed between 21st December 2023 and 1st January 2024. Click here to contact us per email.

ATAP is aimed at active early career scientists from developing countries, supporting short-term research visits to laboratories in Europe and North America. The goal of the programme is to enable selected recipients to strengthen opportunities to conduct world-class research, and establish collaborations to enhance their scientific careers. The recipients may return to the laboratories of their alma mater to use laboratory facilities they are familiar with and re-connect with colleagues.

Details on how to apply can be found here.
The deadline for applications is 31^st March 2024.

The « Institut de Physique Nucléaire » (IPN) in Orsay, France, was recently added to the list of the Historic Sites of the European Physical Society. The laboratory, which recently became part of the Laboratoire Irène Joliot Curie (IJCLab), received this recognition with the following motivation: « Initiated in 1956 by Irène and Frédéric Joliot-Curie as an extension outside Paris of the renowned « Radium Institute » founded by Marie Curie, where in 1934 they had discovered artificial radioactivity, and of the « Nuclear Chemistry Laboratory » founded by Frédéric Joliot, the IPN hosted the first French big accelerator (a synchrocyclotron) which started operating in 1958. The creation of the IPN motivated the development of the Orsay scientific pole. Since then the IPN, which has now become part of the IJCLab laboratory, played and plays a pivotal role in the study of nuclear and hadronic physics, and beyond. »

The inclusion of IPN Orsay to the list of Historic Sites of EPS was celebrated on October 13 2023 in the Joliot-Curie amphitheater of IJCLab, with a half-day event comprising a ceremony and a mini-conference. The director of IJCLab, Achille Stocchi, opened the ceremony with a welcome speech, followed by a few words by Michel Guidal, deputy vice-president for research of the Paris-Saclay University and former director of IPN, and by Marcella Grasso, deputy scientific director of IN2P3 and former director of the Research Division at IPN. Then Luc Bergé, president of EPS, presented the role and activities of EPS, and, in particular, described the Historic Sites program. Finally, a commemorative plaque dedicated to Irène and Frédéric Joliot-Curie, showcasing the motivation for the recognition and the EPS logo, was unveiled by Luc Bergé along with Hélène Joliot-Langevin, daughter of Irène and Frédéric Joliot-Curie, and Alison Bruce, Chair of the Nuclear Physics Division Board of EPS. Other members of the NPD Board and the former directors of IPN also took part in the unveiling.

The mini-conference focused on the history of IPN, from its beginnings to nowadays. Hélène Joliot-Langevin, emeritus research director at CNRS and former director of the Physics Division at IPN Orsay, opened the conference presenting the origins of IPN in the historical context of the end of World-War II. She outlined, in particular, the efforts her parents made to reinstate France at the forefront of nuclear-physics research in Europe, and their political investment for a pacific use of nuclear power. Then Joel Pouthas, former director of the “Detectors and R&D” Division at IPN and historian of physics, gave an in-depth lecture on the history of IPN from its beginnings to recent years, a history marked by the construction and operation of various accelerators, made possible by several notable scientists supported by an outstanding staff of engineers and technicians. The former director of IPN, Sydney Galès, presented an overview of the scientific highlights of IPN throughout its more than 60 years of history, which spanned from low-energy nuclear physics, to hadron and high-energy physics, theory, radiochemistry, accelerators technology, and medical and societal applications of nuclear physics. The mini-conference was closed by a presentation of Silvia Leoni, professor of the Università di Milano and INFN scientist, which focused on the role of IPN in European low-energy nuclear physics, with a particular focus on the main achievements of the last ~15 years as well as on ongoing and future projects and collaborations.

All the presentations, photos, and a video-recording of the event can be found on the indico page: https://indico.ijclab.in2p3.fr/event/9821/

Luc Bergé, Hélène Joliot-Langevin, and Alison Bruce unveil the commemorative plaque - image credit: Silvia Nicolai

The presidents of EPS and SFP (French Physical Society), the speakers, the deputy director of IJCLab, the former directors of IPN, and the members of the NPD-EPS Board pose with the commemorative plaque at the end of the half-day event.

On 21 December 2023 at the Bogolyubov Institute for Theoretical Physics of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine in Kyiv, Ukraine will be held the XXIX Davydov Lectures in Theoretical Physics, dedicated to 50 years of the Davydov soliton. On this occasion, three members of the Board of the 'Nonlinear and Statistical Physics' Division of the European Physical Society will take part in the conference, holding a seminar: Prof. Erik Aurell of the Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden, Prof. Irene Giardina of the Department of Physics, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy and Prof. Massimo Vergassola, from LPENS, Ecole Normale Supérieure Paris, CNRS, France.

This participation is part of the initiatives dedicated by the EPS to strengthening scientific ties with the Ukrainian physics community.

Link to the conference webpage: http://bitp.kiev.ua/news

January 2023

Luc Bergé had the following activities:
January 11: Attending the IYBSSD Steering Committee Meeting.
January 16: Greetings from the EPS for the 150th Anniversary of the French Physical Society. Sorbonne Amphitheater, Paris, France.
January 18: Online meeting with Joachim Mnich - CERN
January 19: ion in the TIG Meeting.
January 23: 3rd Meeting of the EPS Forum Committee
January 24: Participation in the 14th WG1 Meeting.
January 30-31: EPS Executive Committee Meeting, Bruxelles, Belgium.

February 2023

Luc Bergé had the following activities:
9th of February: Meeting with M. Spiro and CERN member about a workshop on nuclear dissuasion 
24th of February: Participation in the EPS Forum organisation committee 
27th of February: Participation in the 13th WG3 Meeting 
28th of February: Participation in the TIG Board Meeting

March 2023

Luc Bergé had the following activities:
1-2 March: Participation in an International Advisory Committee at Leibniz University Hannover
3 March: Online meeting with EPS Secretariat about the 2024 Forum Committee
7 March: Meeting with CEA Scientific Director Philippe Chomaz (EPS Associate Memberbship) -
7 March: Participation in an IYBSSD Steering Committee meeting
14 March: Online meeting with Secretary General and Honorary Treasurer about EPS budget 2023
21 March: Online meeting with Energy Group Chairs (current and future)
23 March: Meeting with EPS Secretariat members
24 March: ExComm meeting (morning) + Extraordinary Council meeting (afternoon)
27 March: First preparatory meeting of the 2024 EPS Forum

31 March: Kees van der Beek interviewed Monika Ritsch-Marte, laureate of the EPS Emmy Noether Distinction 2022, together with Hripsime Mkrtchyan, member of the EPS Young Minds.

April 2023

Luc Bergé had the following activities:
4 April 2023: Participation in the IYBSSD Steering Committee meeting
11 April 2023: 2nd Preparatory Meeting of the 2024 EPS Forum
11 April 2023: Participation in the TIG meeting
19 April 2023: Inauguration of the Racah Institute of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel

May 2023

Luc Bergé had the following activities:
10 May: Participation in the HCERES evaluation of Université de Corse as EPS President
16 May: 3rd Preparatory Meeting of the EPS Forum
18-19 May: Participation in the 2023 Young Minds Leadership Meeting in Naples, Italy
22 May: Participation in the TIG Meeting
25 May: Participation in the ExComm Meeting in Porto, Portugal
25 May: Participation in the 2023 EPS Council in Porto, Portugal

25-27 May: Anne Pawsey, Patricia Helfenstein, Ophélia Fornari, Milan Milićević, Ahmed Ouarab and Gina Gunaratnam worked for the EPS Council in Porto, PT
26-27 May: Anna Di Ciaccio participated in the EPS Coucil meeting and was elected as EPS Executive Committee member

June 2023

Luc Bergé had the following activities:
June 12: Organisation and chairing the 16th WG1 Meeting and 14th WG3 Meeting
June 15: 4th Preparatory Meeting of the 2024 Forum
June 20: Visit Freie Universität Berlin for the 2024 Forum
June 22: Online meeting with representatives of the Ukrainian Physical Society
June 23: Participation in the Round Table EPS & European Integration of the Albanian Physics Community
June 24: Opening Ceremony for the Balkan Physics Olympiads

24th-30th June: Patricia Helfenstein, Milan Milicevic and Mariusz Meca, EPS conference assistants, Anne Pawsey, Xavier de Araujo, Ophélia Fornari, Chahira Boudeliou, Gina Gunaratnam, Ahmed Ouarab and Tomy Zede worked for the CLEO®/EQEC Conference in Munich.

July 2023

Luc Bergé had the following activities:
July 7-9: Plenary talk and participation in the Hands-on EPS-TIG Event in Petrovac, Montenegro
July 10: 5th Preparatory Meeting of the 2024 Forum
July 13: Participation in the ISE Executive Committee Meeting

4th-6th July: Gina Gunaratnam participated in the Congress of the French Physical Society celebrating its 150th anniversary.

August 2023

August 29 – Sept. 02: Luc Bergé had a plenary talk and participated in the 39th International Physics Congress of the Turkish Physical Society and in the 8th Turkish Physics Students Congress.

September 2023

2 September 2023 Karin Zach participated in the „Informal Physical Societies Exchange Conference“ (IPSEC) of the Polish Physical Society in Gdansk
12 September: Anna Di Ciaccio, EPS Executive Committee member, participated in the 6th preparatory meeting to organize the second EPS Forum in Berlin
13-14 September: Anna Di Ciaccio, Alessandra Fantoni, Karin Zach, Ian Bearden, Christian Beck, Anna Lipniacka, Katharina Lorenz, EPS Executive Committee members, Luc Bergé, EPs President, Mairi Sakellariadou, EPS President-elect and Anne Pawsey, EPS Secretary General, participated in the EPS Executive Committee meeting

Luc Bergé had the following activities:
Sept. 1st - 2nd: Participation in the 39th International Physics Conference of the Turkish Physical Society, Bodrum, Turkey (in person) and 14th IPSEC Conference (online)
Sept. 4: Internal meeting with the EPS Secretariat (2024 Forum)
Sept. 6 - 8: Participation in the 48th Meeting of Polish Physicists, Gdansk, Poland
Sept. 12: 6th preparatory meeting of the 2024 EPS Forum
Sept. 15th: Historic Site inauguration (Milutin’s Office), Belgrade, Serbia
Sept. 25-29th: Participation in the 67th IAEA General Conference and Scientific Forum as Observer, Vienna, Austria.

October 2023

Luc Bergé had the following activities:
13 October 2023: Inauguration EPS Historic Site - Institut de Physique Nucléaire d’Orsay.
17 October 2023: 7th preparatory meeting of the EPS Forum
20 October 2023: Meeting with the Taiwan Physical Society + Meeting with the Accelerator Group’s representatives
24 October 2023: Participation in the EPS TIG Meeting
24 - 26 October 2023: Participation in the 45th National Conference of the Lithuanian Physical Society, Vilnius, Lithuania
26th October 2023: Mairi Sakellariadou participated in the EENET-MTP Scientific Advisory Committee Meeting at ICTP, Trieste (on line). She also met with Anastasiia Vasylchenkova, president of the International Physicists' Tournament

November 2023

Anna Di Ciaccio participated in the organization of the EPS Forum and set up the distinctions and awards committee.

Members of the EPS Executive Committee until 31st May 2023:
Luc Bergé (EPS President), Petra Rudolf (EPS Vice-President), Andreas Schopper, Cornelis van der Beek, David Lee (EPS Secretary General until 31st March 2023), Anne Pawsey (EPS Secretary General), Eliezer Rabinovici, Eugenio Nappi, Gertrud Zwicknagl, Ian Bearden, Mairi Sakellariadou, Roberta Caruso, Stuart Palmer, Teresa Peña and Ursel Fantz.

Members of the EPS Executive Committee from 1st June 2023:
Luc Bergé (EPS President), Mairi Sakellariadou (President-Elect), Anne Pawsey (EPS Secretary General), Karin Zach, Anna Lipniacka, Andreas Schopper, Katharina Lorenz, Christian Beck, Alessandra Fantoni, Stuart Palmer, Anna Di Ciaccio, Eugenio Coccia, Ian Bearden and Roberta Caruso.

Members of the EPS Staff:
Anne Pawsey (EPS Secretary General), Manon Couqueberg, Xavier de Araujo, Ophélia Fornari, Patricia Helfenstein, Chahira Boudeliou, Gina Gunaratnam, Ahmed Ouarab and Jean-François Kammerlocher.

Members of the EPL Staff:
Frédéric Burr (EPL Staff Editor), Kevin Desse and Tomy Zede.

Author: Local organizing committee

The 48th Congress of Polish Physicists was held in Gdańsk from September 1 to 7, 2023. The congress was organized by the Polish Physical Society Main Board, the Gdańsk Branch of the PSS, the Faculty of Technical Physics and Applied Mathematics of the Gdańsk University of Technology and the Faculty of Mathematics, Physics and Computer Science of the University of Gdańsk. This year's PSS Congress had a special character, as it was held on the 100th anniversary of the first Congress, which took place in April 1923 in Warsaw. The purpose of the event, in accordance with the formula adopted at previous congresses, was to promote physics, highlighting the scientific and didactic achievements in this field to date. The event was aimed at the broadly understood community of physicists, both well-established in the community and young scientists, enthusiasts, as well as physics teachers and their students. The Congress was attended by approximately 480 participants. The first two lecture days - Saturday and Sunday (September 2 and 3) were largely devoted to the didactics of physics in primary and secondary schools, as well as to the popularization of physics.

A few months before the Congress, an extensive information campaign was carried out in various related to the sciences magazines, as well as on social media. The aim of this campaign was to attract the attention of as many physicists as possible, especially teachers, and to encourage them, along with their students, to participate in this important event. The organizers, in cooperation with the Elementary School No. 86 of Gdansk and the  Gdańsk Educational Publishing House, announced a number of competitions for elementary school pupils: a contest for the mascot of the 48th Congress of Polish Physicists, a poster contest for the 48th Congress of Polish Physicists, a "Physics Festivals" contest, a "Snapshots from Physics" contest and an educational project "Together we will discover physics." A total of more than 1,700 children and young people from all over the country participated in all these activities. The ceremonial presentation of most of the prizes and awards was held at a separate session, on September 2.  A calendar for 2024 was created from the awarded artworks ("Portraits of physicists through the eyes of children"), and an exhibition was organized from the mascots submitted to the competition. In addition, during the event, the awards and prizes of the Gdańsk Department of PPS for the popularization of physics - the Ignacy Adamczewski medals - were ceremoniously presented. The medals went to Maria Alicka, Beata Bochentyn, Aleksandra Mielewczyk-Gryń and Joanna Gondek. As part of the didactics days at the 48^th Congress, it was possible to take part in the Physics Fair, i.e. to present one's own original ideas for interesting physics experiments and methodological aids, improving teaching or making the didactic process more attractive. There was also a meeting of the National Demonstrators Club. For the first time, a panel discussion "The condition of physics teaching in Polish schools - opportunities and risks" was held as part of the plenary session, due to the importance of the problem. The situation, or rather the collapse in the training of physics teachers in Poland - one of the reasons for the poor perception of physics as a subject at school and the lack of those willing to study the subject - was critically assessed. It was assessed that without top-down, structural changes in the teaching of physics in elementary and secondary school, this crisis will worsen, despite attempts to introduce various original curricula. The problems of preparing and implementing such programs were discussed at a special session entitled "Teaching Physics."

During the first plenary session of the Congress, a number of PPS awards were presented for outstanding scientific achievements, the best doctoral and master’s thesis, and awards for the best teachers and popularizers of physics. The Marian Smoluchowski Medal, the highest distinction awarded by Polish Physical Society for scientific achievements in the field of physical sciences, was awarded   to Prof. Ryszard Horodecki.

An important theme of this year's Congress was the subject related to last year's Nobel Prize: entangled states of photons and quantum computing. Participants could listen to three very interesting lectures, given by distinguished experts on these topics: Nobel Prize winner Prof. Anton Zeilinger (the lecture was conducted remotely), his colleague Prof. Marek Żukowski and Prof. Ryszard .Horodecki. The topics were also covered in many subsequent lectures during the thematic sessions. Nine plenary sessions and twenty-nine thematic sessions presented an overview of the achievements of Polish scientists, working in Poland and abroad. The lectures did not lack proposals for the further development of research in areas of physics important for the development of the economy, such as: nuclear energy, quantum materials engineering, quantum technologies and support for medicine. However, the most exciting aspect of the Congress was the topics, concerning the development of fundamental research and the search for "new physics."

Noteworthy was the numerous participation of young physicists in the poster session and in the special scientific and teaching session, where selected authors presented their achievements and ideas. A specially appointed commission awarded the most interesting "scientific" and "didactic" posters out of more than a hundred presentations. Young scientists at the meeting with the General Board of the Polish Physical Society had the opportunity to express their comments and expectations, regarding the functioning of the PPS and the financing and development of the physical sciences in Poland.

            The Congress was also an opportunity to learn about the possible research infrastructure offered by the National Center for Synchrotron Radiation SOLARIS, Extreme Light Infrastructure (ELI ERIC) and XFEL - X-ray free electron lasers. The participants could also learn about the science offers of  the publishers: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, Gdanskie Wydawnictwo Oświatowe, Wydawnictwo Szkolne i Pedagogiczne and Nowa Era.

In addition, the Congress participants had the opportunity to see the accompanying exhibitions and demonstrations: an exhibition of old prints and antique collections, old drafting tools, antique physical instruments or the "Pioneers of Physics at Gdansk University of Technology" exhibition. Of separate note is the interactive exhibition on optics, which is sure to inspire many original ideas and demonstrations to be carried out at school or at home. This exhibition remained open to organized groups and individual guests for 3 more weeks after the Congress. During this period, about 800 people explored the secrets of optics, not only from the Pomeranian Voivodeship. Some of the visitors also participated in lectures with demonstrations, providing an introduction to the topics presented at the exhibition – all in order to make the presented physical issues as close and understandable as possible for the visitors.

The Congress was accompanied by various events, integrating the scientific community, fostering the exchange of ideas and creating collegial relationships: the original Logos & Techne exhibition, presenting works, inspired by science and created using IT tools; the demonstrations of marine physics, presented by physicists who sailed to Gdansk from Lübeck on the schooner STS Kapitan Borchardt; night tours through the charming streets of Old City of Gdansk as part of the "Night of Museums" – these are only some of the events. A concert by the Bonsai String Quartet provided an unforgettable experience, and a cruise on the Gulf of Gdansk, ending the intensive time of the Congress, will certainly remain long in the memory of the participants. Of great interest was the open lecture, entitled "Quantum Cryptography: How to Break Unbreakable Ciphers?", delivered by Professor Marcin Pawłowski of the University of Gdansk. Finally, it is worth mentioning that the Congress of Polish Physicists for the first time had its own musical logo - a fanfare, composed by a young composer from Gdansk, Franciszek Rusek.

The Congress was held under the patronage of the Rector of the Gdansk University of Technology, the Rector of the University of Gdansk, the Daniel Fahrenheit Association of Universities in Gdansk, the Pomeranian Superintendent of Education, the President of the City of Gdansk, and the Governor of Pomerania and the Marshal of the Pomeranian Voivodeship, as well as the media: TVP Nauka, TVP Gdańsk, Radio Gdańsk, Pulsar, and the magazines Wiedza i Życie and Świat Nauki.

The event was sponsored by: funding from the State Budget under the Excellent Science program, "Supporting Science Conferences" module, funding under the IDUB Carbonium Supporting Conferences program of the Gdansk University of Technology, ELI ERIC, LABSOFT sp. z o.o., NETZSCH, Grupa Zibi S.A., Profi Competence, Gdańskie Wydawnictwo Oświatowe, Wydawnictwa Szkolne i Pedagogiczne, Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN and Nowa Era.

A detailed schedule of the 48th Congress of Polish Physicists and a photo gallery of the event can be found on the website: https://ftims.pg.edu.pl/48zfp

The editorial committee of EuroPhysics News (EPN) has finally returned to meeting in person, after a long hiatus due to the global Covid emergency. On 6th October, its annual meeting was hosted by the Enrico Fermi Research Center (CREF) in Rome, thanks to the CREF President Luciano Pietronero and Miriam Focaccia, Coordinator of the Enrico Fermi Museum. In 2012, Luisa Cifarelli as President of the European Physical Society, and CREF as well, proclaimed the goldfish fountain, located in the courtyard of the Institute, an EPS Historic Site.

The EPN committee had the pleasure to visit the museum dedicated to the Italian Nobel Prize winner Enrico Fermi. This was founded to preserve and disseminate the memory of the Italian scientist, defined as “the last man who knew everything” for his contributions to twentieth-century physics both as a theorist and as an experimentalist. The Museum itinerary was presented for the first time in 2015 at the Genoa Science Festival and installed permanently on the ground floor of the historic building of via Panisperna at the end of 2019. The building itself is an integral part of the museum itinerary. In the 1930s, this was the “Regio Istituto Fisico”, and Enrico Fermi and his collaborators conducted their experiments and research here. Eventually the discoveries on radioactivity induced by neutrons earned the scientist the Nobel Prize in 1938.

Combining traditional objects and panels with modern multimedia technologies, the installations allow visitors to retrace how the exploration of matter has intertwined with the historical events of the twentieth century. From beta decay to cosmic rays, from the first nuclear fission to the construction of the bomb in the Los Alamos laboratories, the story of the research begun by a group of ragazzi in via Panisperna can’t be separated from the events that changed the 20th century.

The meeting between the CREF staff and the EPN editorial board demonstrates once again how returning to meeting in person favours cultural exchange, contamination, and dissemination. Indispensable ingredients in scientific research.

More info

• CREF museum
• Fermi "goldfish" fountain as EPS Historic Site
• Subscribe to EPN

The EPN advisory board on the iconic staircase of the Enrico Fermi Research Center.
Last woman on the right, Miriam Focaccia, director of the E. Fermi Museum.
image credit: Antigone Marino

image credit: WikiMedia Commons

Author: Nicola Savic

As a part of the celebration of its 215^th anniversary, the University of Belgrade has placed a commemorative plaque on the Mansion of Misa Anastasijevic, which has been named as a “Historic Site” by the European Physical Society (EPS). Professor Milutin Milankovic had his office in this building which houses today the Rectorate of the University, where he performed his work dedicated to climate research. The University of Belgrade together with Association Milutin Milankovic (AMM), which was the main institutional proponent of this Historic Site, the EPS and the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts (SASA) organized a small ceremony dedicated to the memory of this famous scientist. 

The plaque declaring the Mansion of Misa Anastasijevic as an “EPS Historic Site” was unveiled in the courtyard of the Mansion on 15th September by Dr. Luc Bergé, EPS President, and Mr. Slavko Maksimovic, President of the AMM.  

During his opening speech, Dr. Bergé underlined that “…since 2011 the selection committee has received about 130 proposals, and around70 sites in 22 countries have been approved. Thus, theEPS Historic Sites program is very successful because it is very attractive. Our selection criteria perfectly apply to Milankovic’ office at the University of Belgrad, which today will become the first EPS Historic Site in Serbia.” 

The event was well received by the media, since there were five TV teams and several journalists present for the unveiling. The ceremony was moderated by Prof. Ratko Ristic, Vice-Rector for International Cooperation of the University of Belgrade, and Prof. Zoran Knezevic, President of SASA, who gave an overview of Milankovic’ work. Prof. Goran Djordjevic, a current member of the EPS Historic Site committee and the initiator of the proposal for the Milutin Milankovic Historic Site, as well as members of the SASA, many well-known physicists and mathematicians from Serbia and renowned university professors were present at the event, including prof. Ivan Belca, Dean of the Faculty of Physics, and Aleksandar Bogojevic, PhD, Director of the Institute of Physics.   

Milutin Milankovic (1879-1958) was a doctor of civil engineering, climatologist, geophysicist, astronomer and promoter of science, who taught at the University of Belgrade rational mechanics, celestial mechanics and theoretical physics (1909-1955). He founded an astronomical theory of climate change on Earth and applied it to the problem of the ice ages. Milankovic developed his theory of climate change to solve the problem of the Earth's ice ages during his time at the Mansion of Misa Anastasijevic. He was the first to accurately compute the climate response to insolation forcing, providing convincing evidence that astronomical mechanisms giving rise to the changes of insolation are three: the secular variations of the eccentricity of the Earth’s orbit, the precession of the Earth’s axis of rotation, and the variations of the obliquity of the rotation axis. A convincing proof of Milankovic’s theory came only after his death, with the results of CLIMAP project in the mid 1970’s. This brought a well-deserved recognition to Milankovic‘s achievements. Craters on the Moon and Mars bear his name, as well as an asteroid (1605 Milankovitch). In addition, the European Geosciences Union established the Milutin Milankovic Medal for for outstanding research in the field of long-term climate change and modeling.

Ratko Ristić, Vice-Rector for International Cooperation of the University of Belgrade and Luc Bergé, President of the European Physical Society
image credit: Nicola Savic

Beamline for Schools

Beamline for Schools 2024 is about to start! This physics competition for high school students from all around the world invites them to propose an experiment that they want to perform at a beamline. The popular competition reaches its 10^th anniversary in 2024. Three winning teams will be selected, two teams will perform their experiments at CERN and one at DESY.

There will be additional prizes for up to 40 selected teams (https://beamline-for-schools.web.cern.ch/bl4s-competition/prizes). All the prospective participants who preregister to the competition (https://beamlineforschools.cern/form/preregistration-2024) will have the possibility to follow online events and virtual visits prior to the submission of their proposal. 

The deadline to submit a proposal is 10 April 2024 at 23:59 CEST. 

Further information can be found in the official invitation (https://beamline-for-schools.web.cern.ch/sites/default/files/Invitation_BL4S_2024.pdf).

CERN International Teacher Programmes 2024

The application process for CERN’s international teacher programmes 2024 opens on 1st November 2023! The HST Programme will take place from 30 June - 14 July 2024 and the ITW Programme will take place from 4th-17th August 2024!

Apply via http://teachers.cern!

The conference “Sun in Science and Society” (https://solarnet-s3.com/), organised in the framework of the H2020 SOLARNET Project by the University of Rome Tor Vergata (Italy) and the University of Catania (Italy), was held in Venice/Mestre (Italy) at the Museo del 900 M9 from 11th – 15th September 2023.

It is well known that the Sun is a variable magnetic star that modifies the physical conditions in space creating “space climate and space weather” that can influence terrestrial environment and worldwide technological infrastructures affecting the global economy. The meeting “Sun in Science and Society” allowed heliophysics scientists to illustrate the state-of-the-art in solar theory, Sun-Earth connection and forecasting capabilities, while stakeholders and economists examined user needs and requirements.

Moreover, considering the Sun as a paradigm in astrophysics, the meeting provided a forum to discuss how recent advances in the study of the Sun can be applied to other astrophysical contexts, to identify the problems in a selected number of fields that could be tackled using methods, tools, points of views used by the different communities, and to foster collaborations between researchers working on solar studies and those working in other fields, in order to generate synergies between these communities.

The scientific programme included six sessions: 1) Solar activity and its drivers; 2) Sun, Space and Society; 3) High-Resolution ground-based telescopes and technology for solar physics; 4) Sun, Space and Society (solar physics impact on economy and society, data for 'civil 'society, education and outreach); 5) The Sun as a Rosetta Stone for astrophysics; 6) The Sun as a Rosetta Stone for physics.

The meeting was very successful, with 90 participants from European and non-European countries. The definition of the scientific programme took into strong consideration the geographical distribution, the gender balance and the relevance of the proposed contributions to the main objectives of the Conference.

During the Conference, a public event took place: “Un Sole,  Nessun Sole, Centomila Soli“. Besides some outreach talks on the Sun and on the instruments needed to observe our star, with particular emphasis on the European Solar Telescope, the public had the opportunity to enjoy the documentary “Reaching fort he Sun“. At the end of the documentary, a public debate on the importance of the Sun in our lives took place.

image credit: Francesco Berrilli and Francesca Zuccarello

The Stachelschützenhaus in Basel, CH, that housed Daniel Bernoulli's Physics Cabinet - images: Gina Gunaratnam/EPS

Author: Gina Gunaratnam

On 22nd September, the former home of the Physics Cabinet of Daniel Bernoulli in Basel was inaugurated as an EPS Historic Site.

During his time at the University of Basel, Daniel Bernoulli assembled a large collection of demonstration experiments which he used for teaching and public lectures. These were housed in the Stachelschützenhaus ("house of the crossbow men"). The building is still used by the university and is currently the centre for clinical virology.

The event started at the University of Basel. Ernst Meyer, Friedrich-Karl Thielemann and Philipp Treutlein, from the Department of Physics, welcomed the participants.

Anne Pawsey, Secretary General of the European Physical Society (EPS), introduced the Society and its Historic Sites programme. She was followed by Martin Mattmüller, from the Bernoulli-Euler Society, who described the life of Daniel Bernoulli in a captivating presentation which included descriptions of the experiments and quotations from attendees at his lectures.

Stephan Rosswog, from the University of Hamburg and Stockholm University, showed how Bernoulli’s theorem remains relevant in the extreme conditions of neutron star mergers.  Rossweg highlighted the importance of multi-messenger astronomy to obtain sufficient complementary data, as well as the enormous computational challenge of simulating these complex processes across huge length and time scales.

After the lectures, attendees walked to the nearby Stachelschützenhaus, where they were introduced to the building's current use for research. The assembly visited a part of the house before gathering in front of the plaque describing Bernoulli's achievements and where he kept his physics devices. Anne Pawsey and Philipp Treutlein officially distinguished the house as the 6th EPS Historic Site in Switzerland.

More info

• EPS Historic Sites programme
• Article in the newsletter of the University of Basel (in German)

EPS Secretary General Anne Pawsey explaining the Historic Sites Programme

Martin Mattmüller from the Bernoulli-Euler Society

Stefan Rosswog from the University of Hamburg and Stockholm University

The participants in front of the Stachelschützenhaus

Anne Pawsey and Philipp Treutlein officially inaugurating the new Swiss EPS Historic Site

The plaque in front of the Stachelschützenhaus

Back to EPS Historic Sites

The EPS is a partner in the Erasmus+ project Discovery Space. This project aims to integrate emerging technologies including artificial intelligence (AI) into tools for teaching and assessment in STEM (Science Technology, Engineering and Mathematics).

On the technical side the project aims to develop an AI companion to accompany students, whilst they carry out virtual and remote laboratory work. The aim is to guide students though the experiment, providing hints and steering the activity appropriately. 

Such technical developments need to be accepted and used by teachers in their classrooms. To facilitate this the consortium will build a community of teachers who will contribute to the design of the system so that it is fit for purpose. Teachers will act as ambassadors, to guide their community in adopting these new methods. The consortium will provide training and professional development for teachers and support for them to access Erasmus+ funds to participate.

The project will also produce a roadmap for the implementation of this technology after the completion of the project.

Now in its ninth month, the consortium is currently in the process of testing its tools to assess pupils’ cognitive skills and knowledge acquisition and is building on the success of the first Discovery Space Summer School to further develop teaching materials integrating AI.

The project consortium, coordinated by the University of Bayreuth (Germany), consists of University of Deusto (Spain), Ellinogermaniki Agogi (Greece), Institute of Communication and Computer Systems (Greece), LabsLand (Spain), Athens Technology Center (Greece), European Physical Society Association (France), NUCLIO – Núcleo Interativo de Astronomia e Inovação em Educação (Portugal).

IYPT 2023

International Young Physicists' Tournament , IYPT 2023, was held in Murree, Pakistan on 18th-25th July with participants from 14 countries. Again such as previous IYPTs, participants challenged with each others on selected problems from IYPT 2023 list. This IYPT had no Bronze medalist and the first three teams got gold and up to team ranking 8 got silver medal. Our team members from Iran who were selected from the national PYPT (Persian Young Physicists' Tournament) couldn't get any medals but in a panel with two finalists succeeded to be as the first team!! The most important parameters in such a tournaments are jurors who should be more experienced. Iran team members in IYPT 2023 were: Ramin Abdollahzadeh (Captain), Anisa Kaviani Maram, Farhan Sadeghvandi, Nita Jafarzadeh, Reza Niamanesh. The next IYPT will be held in Budapest, Hungary in July 2024.

2nd International ISAC Olympiad

The 2nd International ISAC Olympiad was held by Ariaian Young Innovative Minds Institute, AYIMI and ADIB Artistic and Cultural Institute. The participants from different countries in two sections, Art and Science, and in different categories succeeded to get medal and certificate. Participants were from Iran, Turkey, Brazil, Czech Republic, Mexico, Afghanistan and Pakistan. In total : 36 Gold, 11 silver and 7 bronze.

The European Physical Society (EPS) is happy to announce that the second edition of the EPS Forum will take place in the Henry Ford Building of the Freie Universität Berlin (FUB), Germany, from 25th-27th March 2024.
 
The EPS Forum builds on the success of the first edition held in Paris in 2022. The EPS joined forces with its 42 National Physical Societies, 18 Divisions and Groups and 40 Associate Members (https://epsforum.org/v1). After more than a year of preparation by 75 representatives of EPS members all over Europe and the EPS staff, the first EPS Forum welcomed 487 participants including 184 students from 30 different countries.

The second edition is expected to gather about 500 participants with a majority of PhD students, Postdocs and early-career researchers. It will include presentations and round-table discussions on the following topics:
·      Atomic, molecular and optical physics for quantum technologies
·      Applications of nuclear and particle physics to society
·      Condensed matter and its applications to industry
·      Physical models for energy management, pollution and climate; neuromorphic computing
·      Photonics.

The EPS Forum represents a unique opportunity to interact with both upcoming physicists and outstanding established researchers including Nobel Prize and Wolf Prize winners. It will offer a series of scientific talks bringing together researchers from all over Europe, CEOs and managers from academic institutions, large research infrastructures, multi-national companies, SMEs and start-ups involved in the above fields of research.

The first day, called “Physics meets industry”, will bring doctoral students and post-doctoral fellows closer to physics-based companies. It will promote research and technological developments carried out in the industrial sector and favour direct exchanges between attendees.

The second day will host a general conference on physics in the same fields, addressed from a more fundamental perspective and featuring high-profile scientists from Europe and beyond. Round-table discussions will also be dedicated to societal issues.

The third day will be devoted to the EPS Council, the Society's annual meeting.
 

Save the dates! The EPS Form will take place on 25th-26th March 2024 in BERLIN.

Students
The EPS will once again support the attendance of students by offering a reduced registration fee and support the travel and lodging expenses of 100 students.

A poster session will be organised to give young physicists the opportunity to present their scientific results.

Organisations and exhibitors
The EPS is convinced that the objectives of the Forum (details at https://epsforum.org), match a number of organisations' and exhibitors' priorities. To promote physics-based companies or institutions at the EPS Forum and to increase their visibility, the EPS offers the following options:
‐ Attend the Forum as an exhibitor on 25th March and/or on 26th March 2024.
‐ Advertise an organisation by choosing a promotional package.

Sponsors
The EPS offers sponsorship opportunities to support the attendance and activities of early career researchers at the EPS Forum and to support the attendance of scientists from Ukraine. These can be tailored to each sponsor. Contact us for more details at secretariat@eps.org.
 
The EPS is actively preparing the second EPS Forum and looks forward to welcoming you in Berlin in 2024!

Download the poster of the EPS Forum 2024

FLTR: GSI/FAIR Research Director Professor Karlheinz Langanke, Professor Nu Xu, Professor Taka Otsuka
and Professor Volker Koch - Image credit: GSI/FAIR

13th September 2023. Press release GSI/FAIR. Three world-renown scientists, Profs. Volker Koch, Nu Xu and Takaharu Otsuka, are currently spending long-term research stays at GSI and FAIR and its partner universities in Darmstadt and Frankfurt. They are analyzing and interpreting current experimental data and preparing the first scientific experiments at FAIR in fruitful interdisciplinary cooperation.

Professor Volker Koch and Professor Nu Xu are both from the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory. Volker Koch holds the professorship for theoretical heavy-ion physics and has been the laboratory’s nuclear physics division head. Nu Xu is professor for experimental heavy-ion physics and the former spokesman of STAR, a flagship experiment at the Relativistic Heavy-Ion Collider (RHIC) at the Brookhaven National Laboratory. Professor Takaharu Otsuka held the chair of theoretical nuclear physics at the University of Tokyo until his retirement. Taka Otsuka and Nu Xu are both recipients of Humboldt Research Awards, while Volker Koch is currently an EMMI Visiting Professor.

GSI and FAIR took the unique opportunity to discuss with these colleagues in an interview the motivation why they have chosen GSI for their long-term stay, and what personally fascinates them from the many science options at FAIR. Despite very different perspectives and different scientific expectations with regard to the FAIR research pillars, the three scientists have one thing in common: the anticipation of outstanding research prospects and decisive advances in knowledge in a unique world leading research infrastructure at FAIR. The whole interview can be read here:

GSI/FAIR: You all three are world-leading scientists and come from prestigious institutions. Why did you choose GSI for your research stays?

Volker Koch: The Rhein-Main-Neckar region is the center of gravity in nuclear science, in particular in my field of interest, which focuses on the properties of the strong force at the high-density and high-energy frontiers as it can be explored in heavy-ion collisions. There is for example the HADES experiment, which has taken exciting data in their latest runs within the FAIR Phase-0 program, which we try to understand now.  It is of great advantage to have many experts on campus and at the neighboring universities with whom we can look at these data from very different angles. In fact, I have missed such a stimulating scientific atmosphere during the pandemic and I every much enjoy the daily discussion taking place here. Of course, we also discuss the future opportunities, in particular the CBM experiment at FAIR, which we hope will answer some of the fundamental questions in our field of research.

Nu Xu: Indeed, the phase diagram of Quantum Chromodynamics, which describes the properties of the strong force as function of temperature and density, has still several open fundamental questions. I was much involved in the preparation and in the execution of experiments of the STAR collaboration where we have tried to explore whether this phase diagram exhibits a critical point like it is familiar to us from the phase diagram of water. Unfortunately, the STAR experiment left a gap in the data, which is needed to answer this question. The place from which we expect the answer is the CBM experiment at FAIR. To prepare this unique and scientifically extremely important experiment I am here.

Takaharu Otsuka: My scientific interest is somewhat different from that of my colleagues as I try to develop models, which describe the many facets of nuclear structure. Here the frontier are exotic unstable nuclei, which for example have a large number of extra neutrons compared to their stable counterparts. These nuclei and their properties are, however, crucial if we want to develop a general model, which describes the many phenomena the nuclear many-body system exhibits. For example, we have learnt in recent years that nuclear magic numbers, which are a cornerstone of nuclear structure whose explanation was awarded a Nobel Prize, are different in exotic from those in stable nuclei. We could recently show that among others the tensor force plays a crucial role in these exotic nuclei. In my career, I have benefitted very much from close contact to experimentalists, which some years ago were my colleagues at RIKEN. Now I think that in the future the NUSTAR experiments at FAIR will have the leading role in understanding many aspects of the structure of exotic nuclei beyond the present reach. In particular, I am interested in the physics, which determines the limit of existence in very neutron-rich nuclei where FAIR opens completely new perspectives. Therefore, I am happy to intensify my collaboration with my theory and experiment colleagues in Darmstadt. I hope that both sides will benefit from these activities.

GSI/FAIR: Professor Xu, you mentioned the STAR experiment at RHIC, which is one example that there are also other facilities worldwide which explore the science which will be in the focus at FAIR. Professor Otsuka, you referred to the Japanese flagship facility RIKEN. Perhaps you can elaborate where you see the advantages of FAIR and perhaps its uniqueness?

NX: The Brookhaven activities are finished leaving important questions unanswered. In my view, CBM is in the position to answer them. Actually, if there were other facilities, which were better advanced than CBM, I would have joined these activities. But there is none. If FAIR can deliver SIS100 beams the CBM collaboration will be ready for data taking. And the CBM experiment has the high-rate capabilities to decide whether a critical point exists in the QCD phase diagram or not.

VK: Indeed, to answer this fundamental science question statistics is the name of the game and CBM has the capability to deliver the required rate of data. This allows actually much more than to prove the existence of the critical point. For example, one can also explore the symmetry energy at densities twice or even three-times the value of saturation density, as it exists inside of heavy nuclei like lead. Such high densities are of crucial importance in many astrophysical environments, like core-collapse supernovae or neutron star mergers. The CBM data will also provide very valuable constraints for the nuclear Equation of State, which governs the structure of neutron stars, which are the most compact objects which one can study directly in the Universe. In fact, there are so many upcoming activities in astrophysics opening the era of multi-messenger exploration of the Universe, which all are intimately related to science, which will be, often for the first time, explored at FAIR. During my stay in Darmstadt, my colleagues and I have developed several new ideas how this complementarity can be optimally explored. I am really looking forward that FAIR will be switched on and the CBM and NUSTAR experiments start. This will be a new game in town, as we say in California.

TO: The FAIR facility offers significantly higher bombarding energies than the other facilities. This allows to explore mass regions in the nuclear chart which are not easily accessible with other accelerators, making the global activities complementary in many aspects. This opens exciting perspectives for my research interest. It is very exciting that FAIR will soon deliver for example first data on the very neutron-rich nuclei, which build the third peak in the astrophysical r-process, which is often referred to as the "gold peak". We have predicted the half-lives for the nuclei in the gold peak and it will be nice to see whether we have been right. Let me stress another important point. Also many activities at FAIR, although unique on the global level, are very complimentary. Take the symmetry energy, which my colleagues Volker Koch and Nu Xu want to study at very high densities. It is also relevant for astrophysical applications to know it at densities at and below saturation. This behavior can be studied with the R3B experiment within the NUSTAR collaboration.

GSI/FAIR: Your home countries have very strong activities in heavy-ion and nuclear structure science. Which role does FAIR play for these communities?

VK: The US Nuclear Physics community is currently preparing its Longe Range Plan, which also addresses the future opportunities of the research on high-density nuclear matter, that is the behavior of the QCD phase diagram at high densities as it will be explored at FAIR. I am not personally involved in the writing team, but I know that the intellectual interest of my theory colleagues in this field is tremendous. Personally, I am also convinced that there will be a growing American participation in CBM. 

NX: I share the view of my colleague Volker Koch concerning the interest in the US. But I like to add, that also in my mother country China there is a very large interest in the CBM physics, carried by six institutions including many postdoctoral and graduate students. The Chinese colleagues have been involved in the STAR experiment at RHIC and bring their expertise now to CBM. To underline the Chinese interest, components of the time-of-flight detector system for CBM have been built in China. They are tested and ready to be employed at FAIR. We need a SIS100 beam.

TO: There is an existing strong interaction between the Japanese and GSI activities in nuclear structure, but also in other FAIR research fields like atomic or biophysics. Some FAIR detectors developed by the NUSTAR collaboration have already been tested and used in experiments at RIKEN. But the exchange is in both directions. One interesting research field at FAIR will be hypernuclei, which is regular nuclei to which a lambda particle, which carries a strange quark, is added. Japan has a long history in hypernuclear research. But now we bring activities to FAIR based on a Memorandum of Understanding signed by RIKEN and GSI/FAIR where we jointly open research on neutron-rich hypernuclei. FAIR provides the SIS100 accelerator and the Super FRS, the equipment to produce such really exotic nuclei, and RIKEN develops and builds a novel detector which allows to study these hypernuclei. RIKEN has in fact very positive experience with such collaborative efforts abroad, for example, with a dedicated hadron physics program at Brookhaven. I am sure that also the RIKEN-FAIR project will be a success.

GSI/FAIR: What is the scientific highlight you personally wish to see delivered by FAIR?

NX: With its high-rate capability and the other available observables, CBM will answer the question whether a critical point exists in the QCD phase diagram, or not. CBM will also constrain the nuclear equation of state to a level that it has a very strong impact on the understanding of astrophysical objects like neutron stars or supernovae. I would like to add that while the high-energy programs at CERN focus on the properties of the quark-gluon plasma – the form of matter as it exists in the very early phase of the Universe, here we concentrate on the properties of matter at high densities. If CERN is the high-energy frontier, FAIR is the high-density frontier. Both programs are complementary to each other and are both necessary for understanding the QCD phase diagram.

VK: The critical point and the equation of state are certainly also on the top of my list. But CBM can do more, perhaps answer questions which we do not even think about now. For example, recent lattice QCD calculations predict that the interaction between two Omega baryons is attractive. CBM with its very high event rate is likely the only experiment, which can check this prediction.

TO: In general, I expect from the NUSTAR experiments at FAIR decisive progress in our general understanding of the nucleus as a many-body system, already from phase 0 experiments and then more once FAIR is operational.  It would be quite exciting to understand the boundaries of nuclear existence as a function of neutron excess but also in the regime of superheavy nuclei, derived from nucleons as the fundamental building blocks and the strong and Coulomb forces acting between them. But I personally would also like to explore whether hypernuclei might be a tool to probe the emergence of nuclear shapes. There are some hints, which have recently emerged that nuclei might have a wider spectrum of geometric shapes than usually assumed.

GSI/FAIR: Thank you very much for this discussion. We wish you a successful stay in Darmstadt and many fruitful returns to GSI and later to FAIR.

FLTR: Monika Ritsch-Marte, Petra Rudolf and Ilaria zardo - images: Gina Gunaratnam/EPS

Author: Gina Gunaratnam

The award ceremony of the joint meeting of the Swiss Physical Society (SPS) and the Austrian Physical Society (ÖPG) took place in early September at the University of Basel. Started with several awards of the SPS, the event continued with the prizes attributed by the ÖPG and with the distinction of the European Physical Society (EPS) dedicated to female physicists.

Prof. Petra Rudolf, chair of the EPS Equal Opportunities Committee and former president of the Society, handed over the EPS Emmy Noether Distinction 2022 to Prof. Monika Ritsch-Marte (full career) and to Prof. Ilaria Zardo (mid-career).

Monika Ritsch-Marte, from the Institute of Biomedical Physics, Dept. of Physiology & Medical Physics, the Medical University of Innsbruck, Austria, was awarded " for exceptional contributions to optical microscopy and manipulation methods and for the promotion of women’s careers in physics. "

Ilaria Zardo, researcher at the Department of physics of the University of Basel, Switzerland, was awarded "for her contributions in the methodology of characterizing nanoscale materials and the consequent discovery of their new functional properties. "

The ceremony was followed by an interview of both EPS laureates by Prof. Rudolf and a group photo with laureates of all the presented prizes in the beautiful botanical garden of the Swiss university.

More info

• EPS Emmy Noether Distinction
• SPS-ÖPG meeting 2023
• A complete report of the meeting will follow in the next issue of SPS Communications
  

Petra Rudolf presenting the EPS Emmy Noether Distinction to the SPS-ÖPG audience at the University of Basel

Group photo with all laureates of SPS, ÖPG and EPS prizes in the university's botanical garden

Science on Stage is happy to inform you that it will start a new project with the topic “Quantum Computing in STEM Education”. 20 secondary teachers can take part and they will work on the topic for around two years from 2024 to 2026.

In the project, teachers first take part in a teacher training about quantum computing and then develop and test teaching materials with the following goals:

• usable directly in physics, mathematics and/or computer science classes by teachers with little previous experience;
• get students excited about the topic of quantum computing and show career opportunities in this area;
• knowledge transfer of the underlying, fundamental quantum mechanical concepts;
• promote analytical and critical thinking, teamwork and problem-solving skills;
• clarify the relevance of this technology for the future.

Application process:

20 secondary teachers can take part and work in international teams for about 2 years. Please note that attendance at two two-day meetings in early 2024 (either 26-28 January or 16-18 February) and spring 2025 is mandatory. The project is organised by Science on Stage Germany and supported by the Wilhelm and Else Heraeus Foundation. All travel and accommodation costs as well as food will be covered.

You can download the application form. As the number of participants is limited to 20, the time of receipt of the application will also be taken into account.

More information at www.science-on-stage.eu/project/quantum-computing

Interested teachers will note that the working language is English and that they need good language skills for this project.

The third Hands-on Edition of the EPS Technology & Innovation Group on optics, powerful lasers, wakefield, plasma accelerators, and intense terahertz pulses, usually organized at CERN in Geneva, this time took place at Petrovac, Montenegro, between July 7 and 9, 2023. 34 students from Poland, Czech Republic, Croatia, and the Balkans were present to build absorption/emission spectroscopy experiments and measure transient currents in state-of-the-art timing detectors developed for CMS and ATLAS High Energy Physics experiments at the HL-LHC in CERN. For the first time, the Workshop was organized in a hybrid mode: in-person and online. Eight students attended the Workshop remotely (from Germany, Spain, Italy, and Portugal).

On the first day, students received introductory lectures. Dusan Medin, representing the local community, gave a talk titled: "Montenegro from West to East" after the Chairperson of the event, Prof. Gordana Lastovicka-Medin from the University of Montenegro welcomed participants. This was followed by a talk given by Markus Nordberg from CERN:  "The importance and role of serendipity in instrumentation innovation".  Massimo Ferrario, senior scientist at INFN Frascati, coordinator of the SPARC_LAB facility at the Frascati INFN Laboratories, where the first FEL driven by a plasma accelerator has been recently demonstrated, brought an outstanding talk: "Accelerating the future". In his fascinating talk, Massimo introduced students to new acceleration technique mechanisms and discussed the most interesting and inspiring results and applications obtained so far, including a description of the new accelerator facility EuPRAXIA based on plasma modules to built in the next decade.  A week later we learned that Massimo was one of the three winners of the prestigious “2023 Enrico Fermi Prize” of the Italian Physical Society (SIF). Congratulations to him!   The president of the EPS and research scientist at CEA (French Commission for Atomic Energy and Alternative Energies), Luc Bergé, who is also a member of the EPS-TIG Board gave a talk on THz Physics. Located between microwaves and optical waves in the electromagnetic spectrum, terahertz waves can now be exploited in molecular spectroscopy from plasma emitters produced by femtosecond laser pulses ionizing gases such as air. Luc Berge firstly overviewed the recent results on the plasma-based terahertz spectroscopy of materials in the context of the project ALTESSE; secondly, new THz radiation originating from the ponderomotively driven in strongly magnetized plasmas was discussed. Mateusz Rebarz, a laser expert from ELI Beamlines (Prague) who was also a demonstrator at the Workshop, introduced students to the potential of the laser facility, ELI ERIC while Prof. Gordana Lastovicka-Medin gave an overview of the R&D on the Low Gain Avalanche Detectors (LGAD) that are now a mature technology and baseline for the timing detectors at the ATLAS and the CMS #experiments at LHC. She also overviewed the main features of the Technique of transient currents (TCT). On the evening of day 1, participants also enjoyed exploring the historical points of Petrovac, local fortress and Gallery.

The second day started with the students' poster presentations. The poster session was aimed to give the students a chance to present the piece of research that they are particularly proud of. At the same time, it was an effective way for students to get to know each other, as well as for the lecturers to get to know the participants of the workshop. Additionally, Anna Grigoryan from Republic of Armenia, participating as the and hands-on training.  Representative of EPS Young Mind (on-line) introduced students to the association “EPS Young Minds”. For the Hands-on training, the two experiments were set: 1) Absorption and emission spectroscopy, and 2) Exploring sensors LGAD with TCT set up. The students were assigned into groups, each being in charge of realizing one subcomponent of a tutorial experiment on said topics. Since eventually all pieces had to be integrated into a complete experiment they did not only have to work on the technical tasks, e.g., assembling the electromechanical and optical setup or establishing the data acquisition, but also on the coordination of their work with other teams, where communication and interpersonal skills in technology and scientific environments was key. Lunch was offered on the beautiful sandy beach where students enjoyed a break while swimming and enjoying the local street food.   In the evening they played some games (such as chess and cards) at the beach and worked on creating presentations about their experiments (focused on reflecting on what they learnt).

On the third day, in the morning, before the resumption of the experiments, each group was tasked with presenting the results obtained the previous day. This allowed the students to think about what they were doing after performing the experiment, and through the presentation to make a recapitulation of what was done and think about the interpretation and meaningfulness of the results. This session was moderated by Eugenio Nappi from INFN Frascati. For us seniors, it was inspiring to watch and observe how the diversity of the “collaborators” backgrounds including their knowledge was brought into and affected the co-developing process. Students had different disciplinary backgrounds and they have been at different academic levels, so, all this brought different but necessary pieces necessary for them to overtake personal limits and grow up with a new skill needed not only for the sake of intellectual development but also to grow as people.  All over it was very successful event, with a lot of fun!

Images by Gordana Medin and Nevena Živković

22nd September 2023, University of Basel
Original publication: Website of the Swiss Physical Society

The event is intended to honor Daniel Bernoulli (1700-1782, a member of the world-renowned Bernoulli family of mathematicians and scientists that had been based in Basel since 1623), especially for his role in the development of physics in Switzerland, Europe, and the world, by making the original site of his research in Basel, the Physics Cabinet in the Stachelschützenhaus, an EPS Historic Site.

Daniel Bernoulli (1700-1782) studied initially medicine in Basel, Heidelberg, and Strasbourg, concluding with a thesis on respiration (containing experimental and mathematical approaches). During his scientific life he worked across many disciplines (with a focus on physics and its mathematical foundations). In 1725 he was appointed to the St. Petersburg Academy. In 1726 Leonhard Euler followed him to St. Petersburg. Later on Bernoulli intended to return to Basel for a chair in physics. But only after a vacancy in 1733 he was first successful in obtaining a professorship in anatomy and botany, being offered finally a professorship in physics in 1750. He then taught physics until 1776.

His most comprehensive work, the "Hydrodynamica" of 1733/1738 achieved a fundamental advance in hydrodynamics and laid the foundation for later progress, which included the well-known "Bernoulli Principle", relating the speed of a fluid to its potential energy. He published 74 papers and won a total of 10 Grand Paris Academy Prizes for topics in astronomy, physics, and applications to nautical problems. He was a pioneer in the development of mathematical physics by using the powerful calculus of Leibniz in Newton’s theories.

Bernoulli's predecessor as professor of physics at the University of Basel, Benedict Staehelin (1695-1750), had started a collection of physics devices and instruments that he had acquired for demonstration purposes. These pieces were set up in the 'Physics Cabinet' (the south wing of the "Stachelschützenhaus", built in 1729). Bernoulli added many more apparatuses for his research and lectures on physics – among them the experiment for the "Demonstration of the Hydrostatic Paradox" – which demonstrates that the pressure in a liquid is independent of the shape of the vessel and depends only on the height of the liquid column. Bernoulli had thus significantly expanded the collection of Basel's 'Physics Cabinet'.

While the "Stachelschützenhaus" has later been used by various other University Institutes (presently it hosts the Clinical Virology), it was the place, where Daniel Bernoulli worked for a quarter of a century, undertook research and gave his public experimental physics lectures that enjoyed great popularity. For this reason the EPS has accepted our proposal to make the "Stachelschützenhaus" an EPS Historic Site. The inauguration will take place on 22nd September 2023.

Organisation: Philipp Treutlein, Chair of the Physics Department, Ernst Meyer, President Platform MAP/SCNAT, Friedrich-Karl Thielemann, Prof. emer.

Overview of the program

• Proposals for Modifications to the EPS Constitution
  
• Proposals for Modification to the EPS ByLaws
  
• Minutes of EPS Council May 2023

and can be found here.

Please note that the French translation is of the modified version in all cases.

The modifications are to bring EPS up to date with respect to modern means of communication and to ensure compliance with Local Association Law.

The Quantum Electronics and Optics Division (QEOD) of the European Physical Society is happy to announce its 2021 and 2023 prizes. The following prizes are attributed:

• EPS-QEOD Quantum Electronics Prize
  Miles Padgett, Vahid Sandoghdar and Giulio Cerullo

• EPS-QEOD Fresnel Prizes
  Xiaochun Gong and Zuo Chao

• EPS-QEOD Thesis Prizes
  Andrea Schirato, Shima Rajabali, Gur Lubin and Sebastian Ecker

Download the complete announcement with all prizes and biographies of the winners here. The prizes were awarded at CLEO®/Europe-EQEC 2023 on Tuesday 27th June 2023 in Munich, Germany.

More info

• Press release
• Website of EPS QEOD
  

Images by Stefan Heigl - more on the CLEO©Europe/EQEC website

The EPS Council in front of the Fundação Dr. António Cupertino de Miranda, Porto

The Council of the European Physical Society (EPS) took place in Porto this year. In the beautiful premises of the Fundação Dr. António Cupertino de Miranda, representatives of EPS Member Societies, Individual Members, Associate Members, chairs of Divisions, Groups and Committees gathered to exchange ideas on the Society's activities.

The first day was dedicated to reports from the EPS president, the treasurer and various work groups. Discussions were launched around changes in the EPS constitution and participants had the opportunity to discover the candidates for several elections.  The day concluded with a dinner in the impressive contemporary building of Casa da Musica in the centre of Porto. A tribute to David Lee, former EPS Secretary General, was presented by the current EPS President Luc Bergé and several of his predecessors: Luisa Cifarelli, Maciej Kolwas, Ove Poulsen, Christophe Rossel, Petra Rudolf and Rüdiger Voss.

The second day revealed the results of elections for a renewed EPS Executive Committee. Mairi Sakellariaou, is the EPS President-Elect. A professor of Theoretical Physics at King’s College London, former co-editor at the EPL journal and current chair of the EPS Gravitational Physics Division, Mairi will succeed Luc Bergé as EPS President in 2024. Presentations of the activities of ISBSSD (International Year of Basic Science for Sustainable Development) and the congress of the French Physical Society, celebrating its 150th anniversary this year were also on the agenda. The Society's Awards were attributed as follows:

• EPS Gero Thomas Medal to Christophe Rossel
• EPS Fellows to José Maria De Teresa and Nicola Bianchi
• EPS Honorary Member to Karl Heinz Langanke
• EPS Early Career Awards to Adolfo Grushin and Jose Lado
• EPS Edison Volta Prize 2020 awarded to Klaus Ensslin, Jurgen Smet and Dieter Weiss. Profs Ensslin and Weiss each presented their work prior to the award of the prize. 

Details of all 2023 EPS Awards can be found here: https://www.eps.org/?page=distinctions

The Council ended with an online meeting with our colleagues from the Ukraine Physical Society (UPS):  Prof. Maksym Strikha Taras Shevchenko, Kyiv National University Ukraine, UPS Board Member, UPS President (2013-2016) and Prof. Mikhail Belogolovskii Comenius University, Bratislava, UPS Vice President. Both described the harsh living conditions and the losses among the scientific community who stayed in the country and carried on their work despite the war. They thanked the EPS for its support and encouraged the assembly to work on further common actions.

On the 22nd May 2023, the Faculty of Physics of the Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iași (UAIC) has been named a “Historic Site” by the European Physical Society (EPS). The Faculty of Physics in Iasi is only the second Romanian institution to receive this honour, after the Magurele Physics Campus in 2017.

A plaque declaring the Faculty of Physics at the Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iași (UAIC) as an EPS Historic Site was unveiled near the Dean’s office by the EPS representative, Prof. Goran Djordjević, member of the EPS HS committee. The messages from Prof. Luc Bergé, EPS President, Prof. Karl Grandin, EPS Historic Sites Committee president, and Prof. Djordjević himself have been conveyed during the meeting and appreciated by all participants. “I’m confident that this moment will act as a model for all next generation of students in Physics here in Iași” said Prof. Gheorghe Popa, former Secretary of State for Research in Romania and former Rector of Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iași.

The participants were made up of former and actual decision-makers at Faculty of Physics: Cristian Enachescu, Dean of the Faculty of Physics, Ionut Topala, Deputy Dean and president of Romanian Physics Society Iasi Branch, Alexandru Stancu, founder of the Museum of the Faculty, Violeta Georgescu, former Deputy Dean and Dumitru Luca, former Dean and Vice-Rector.

The EPS Historic Site plaque is a symbol to recognise that the city of Iași has been at the forefront of physics research in the region. As mentioned on the plaque, some of the scientific landmarks which shaped the world of physics are “the successful bone X-ray imaging and X-ray experiments (1896-1906) and the first scientific paper describing the effect of magnetic fields on chemical reactions (1894), both published by Dragomir Hurmuzescu. Another landmark is the first correct calculation of the theoretical magneton, the physical constant still used to describe the magnetic moment of an electron by Stefan Procopiu (1912-1913). In addition, since 1849, Teodor Stamati and later Stefan Procopiu had developed significant observations on geomagnetism in Romania. The Faculty of Physics has come a long way since then, becoming a distinct department at UAIC in 1962”.

The inauguration continued with the ceremony of awarding the title of Doctor Honoris Causa of the Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iași to Dr. Dumitru Dorin Prunariu, the first and only Romanian to go to perform a scientific mission in space.  

Visitors can now start their journey with this EPS Historic Site plaque and then continue with the Physics museum at Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iași, there where pieces of instruments and laboratory equipment dating back from late nineteenth and early twentieth century can be admired.

More information

• Faculty of Physics, UAIC
• Article about the inauguration in Romanian
• Article about the Doctor Honoris Causa ceremony in Romanian
• EPS Historic Sites

The plaque for the EPS Historic Site, Faculty of Physics at Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iași, Romania - image credit: Ionut Topala

FLTR: Ionut Topala, Violeta Georgescu, Gheorghe Popa,Alexandru Stancu, Radu Tanasa,
Cristian Enachescu, Dumitru Prunariu,Dumitru Luca, Goran Djordjević

The main building of Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iași, Romania, hosting the Faculty of Physics

FLTR: Ionut Topala, Alexandru Stancu, Goran Djordjević, Cristian Enachescu

On 19th April 2023, the Racah Institute of Physics at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Israel, was declared as an EPS Historic Site by the European Physical Society (EPS). Luc Bergé, EPS president, inaugurated the site in the presence of invited guests.

This is the first EPS Historic Site distinguished in Israel. Prof. Hanoch Gutfreund and Prof. Eliezer Rabinovici, of the Hebrew University, initiated the nomination of the institute.

Guilio Racah (1909-1965) joined the Hebrew University in 1940 when he was forced to leave Italy due to anti-Semitic persecution. Racah brought with him up-to-date knowledge of modern physics from the European scientific community which he acquired by working closely with world leaders such as Enrico Fermi and Eugene Wigner. For twenty-five years after his arrival, Racah led a revolution in the theoretical understanding of atomic spectroscopy and developed advanced group-theory based tools for the analysis of nuclear systems and elementary particles. Racah educated generations of Israeli scientists and is considered one of the fathers of theoretical physics in Israel.

His work put the Hebrew University and the Racah Institute of Physics on the world map of physics.

From left to right: Prof. Tamir Shefer (Rector of the Hebrew University), Dr. Luc Bergé (EPS president),
Profs. Eliezer Rabinovici, Hanoch Gutfreund and Nadav Katz (Hebrew University).

Images: Racah Institute

Read the latest news from EUROfusion, an EPS Associate Member.

New discovery points the way to more compact fusion power plants: https://euro-fusion.org/member-news/discovery-to-more-compact-fusion-power-plants/

Using fusion to track groundwater flows: https://euro-fusion.org/member-news/using-fusion-to-track-groundwater-flows/

TEDx Youth talk: Fusion in Fifteen Minutes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbNsHBrpxmU

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

The EPS Statistical & Nonlinear Physics Division is calling for nominations for its 2023 prizes.

EPS Statistical and Nonlinear Physics Prize 2023

OBJECT: The EPS Statistical and Nonlinear Physics Prize recognises outstanding research contributions in the area of statistical physics, nonlinear physics, complex systems, complex networks.
CANDIDATES: One or two persons that have made independent or convergent ground-breaking and agenda-setting contributions for the development of the field. Prize winners can have any nationality.
NOMINATIONS: Self nominations will not be considered. The nominators must send an email attaching a letter with a brief description of the most important research contributions of the candidate and a list of up to 6 key publications (maximum 2 pages) to the Chair of the board Raffaella Burioni (raffaella.burioni@unipr.it) with the subject header "EPS-SNPD award nomination". We encourage nominations from groups currently underrepresented in the Statistical and Nonlinear Physics Division.
AWARD CONTENT: A glass trophy and a cash sum.
DEADLINE: 20th June 2023

EPS Statistical and Nonlinear Physics Early Career Prize 2023

OBJECT: The EPS Statistical and Nonlinear Physics Early Career Prize recognises outstanding research contributions in the area of statistical physics, nonlinear physics, complex systems, complex networks.
CANDIDATES: One or two persons in their early career stage (defined as having obtained the PhD degree less than 6 years ago at the time of nomination) that have made independent or convergent ground-breaking contributions for the development of the field. Prize winners can have any nationality.
NOMINATIONS: Self nominations will not be considered. The nominators must send an email attaching a letter with a brief description of the most important research contributions of the candidate and a list of up to 6 key publications (maximum 2 pages) to the Chair of the board Raffaella Burioni (raffaella.burioni@unipr.it) with the subject header "EPS-SNPD award nomination". We encourage nominations from groups currently underrepresented in the Statistical and Nonlinear Physics Division.
AWARD CONTENT: A glass trophy and a cash sum.
DEADLINE: 20th June 2023

Further information is available at the website of the Statistical and Nonlinear Physics Division of the EPS.