Dutch Physical Society hosts Physics and Politics discussion
A discussion session on ‘Physics and Politics’ – with a focus on the importance of physics to the European economy – was organised by the Dutch Physical Society [NNV] earlier this year. This event was part of the annual Physics@FOM conference, held in Veldhoven, the Netherlands, on 17-18 January.
The opinion of physicists is often publically sought in relation to events in which the application of physics is at stake; for example, in regards to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster. On a different level, funding organisations actively take part in the debate around the agenda for innovation and the national economy, and the European Physical Society is – at present – preparing a survey of the importance of physics to the European economy.
With this in mind, the Physics@FOM session discussed how physicists could effectively reach out to the public, and ultimately to politicians, in order to raise awareness of the importance of physics to society. Questions posed included: should physicists be encouraged to engage the public more often? How can physical societies speak on behalf of their community? How do funding agencies play their role?
These issues were introduced by three speakers: Luisa Cifarelli, European Physical Society president; Beth Taylor, the director of communications and external relations at the Institute of Physics; and Jos Engelen, the chair of the Dutch research funding agency, the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research.
The session concluded with a short clip of former US president Bill Clinton, speaking at last year’s World Economic Forum, discussing his aims for the next decade – and revealing himself as a great supporter of physics.
