Conférences Exceptionelles
The Conférences Exceptionelles are organised jointly by the European Physical Society and their host, the Université de Haute Alsace, each spring and autumn. These lectures, which are given in French by an outstanding physicist, address young students from around Mulhouse: both those taking their baccalauréat, in school, and university students in their introductory semesters.
Each lecture covers a topic close to physics, yet with general interest as well; they may come from art, life sciences or even physics itself. The name, Conférence Exceptionelle, refers to the fact that they are given outside of the regular curriculum, but it also reflects both the extraordinary topics and the excellent speakers.
A vivid plenary discussion follows each presentation and, at the end of the session, students usually tend to crowd around the lecturer, either to ask more questions or to request downloads of the graphics and videos which accompanied the talk.
The first Conférence Exceptionelle was given by Nobel laureate Claude Cohen-Tannoudji, during the inauguration of the EPS Secretariat in Mulhouse; the topic was ‘Les atomes et la lumière’. The talk was such a success that it was decided to develop the concept into a regular event.
Since then, the Conférences Exceptionelles have established themselves as a fixture of the Université de Haute Alsace calendar, regularly attracting around 200 attendees from across the university and beyond.
Through these talks, the European Physical Society and the Université de Haute Alsace are helping to encourage young people to study physics. It is gratifying to see that such an impressive roster of physicists are willing to come to Mulhouse to deliver the Conférences Exceptionelles for the benefit of the local students.
The last three Conférences Exceptionelles were entitled ‘Diabète – Alzheimer: les apports de l’imagerie’, by Theo Lasser; ‘L’Art et la Science’, by Philippe Walter; and ‘Clés et serrures neuronales’, by Jean-Pierre Changeux.
For more information, please visit the European Physical Society website.
