EPS Young Minds at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light
The second Autumn Academy at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light took place from 30 September to 2 October 2013. The aim of this two-and-a-half day event was to introduce Bachelor and Master students to the fast moving field of optical sciences including topics such as quantum information processing, meta-materials, nano-optics, photonic crystal fibres, nonlinear optics, imaging and sensing. The response was excellent. From more than 70 applications, the EPS Young Minds section of Erlangen, Germany selected 26 students and invited them to Erlangen for a packed…
Mathematical beauty behind particle production and Stokes phenomena
At the James Scott Prize Lecture in 1939, P. A. M. Dirac emphasized the theory of functions of a complex variable as an interesting mathematical theory that fulfilled his criteria of beauty. He found this field to be of “exceptional beauty” and hence likely to lead to deep physical insight [1]. The lecture was delivered a decade after he discovered the Dirac equation, the positron was found, and the concept of the Dirac sea was well established.
Dirac theory predicts that an external electric field may tilt the Dirac sea such that an electron in a negative energy…
Structural Change in Promoting Gender Equality in Research
On 21-22 November 2013, the International SAPGERIC conference on “Structural Change Promoting Gender Equality in Research” took place in Vilnius, Lithuania. The conference was organised by Vilnius University Institute of Theoretical Physics and Astronomy, under the auspices of the Lithuanian Presidency of the EU Council. Two issues were central to all presentations and discussions about the gender equality in research: awareness and accountability of the leadership in European research and visibility through…
Join Scientix as ambassador in your country
Scientix is currently recruiting science and mathematics teachers across Europe to support good practices in science education in 2014. As Ambassadors, they will contribute to the quality of education in their home country.
Numerous valuable resources for teachers are developed every day. Scientix collects teaching materials and research reports from European science education projects financed by the European Union. Scientix was created to facilitate regular dissemination and sharing of know-how and best practices in science education across the…
Featured in EPN
Most recent highlights from EPN:An eye-witness report on how the CD came about by Jacques HeemskerkPhysics funding at the German Research Foundation by Karin ZachThe scientific consensus on climate change – Combating a two-decade campaign attacking by John CookHow does light move? – Determining the flow of light without destroying interference by M.D. Davidović and A.S. Sanz
Executive and Staff Activity for November 2013
If you want to see how EPS works to support its members in different ways, here is a selection of the activities of EPS Executive Committee members and staff for the last month. Click here for the list.
- 5 November: G. Gunaratnam meets AMOPD chair D. Vernhet to work on the division’s website;
- 6 November: EPS President J. Dudley and Secretary General D. Lee meet with representatives of the Physical Society of the Russian Federation to discuss issues of cooperation and the International Year of Light 2015…
EGAS 46
The 46th Conference of the European Group of Atomic Systems [EGAS 46] will take place on 1-4 July 2014 in Lille, France.
The main goal of the EGAS conferences is to maintain contact between groups and individuals from different countries working on atomic systems and related fields. The conference series is organised by EGAS, a section of the European Physical Society’s Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics Division…
COPE European Seminar 2014
A new edition of the annual COPE European Seminar will be held on 14 March 2013 in Brussels, Belgium.
The Committee on Publication Ethics [COPE] provides advice to editors and publishers regarding all aspects of publication ethics and, in particular, how to handle cases of research and publication misconduct. Established in 1997, it now has 7,000 members worldwide representing all academic fields.
The theme of this year’s seminar is “European perspectives on publication ethics”. The organisers encourage…
EPS Council 2014
The Executive Committee will present modifications to the Constitution to make it easier to read and updated taking into account communications methods and revised structure. A list of all the modifications can be found on the EPS website.
Changes in Membership Fees for Individual Members only will also be presented to Council, modifying section 6 of Annexe 1 to the Constitution and By-laws…
Editorial — Reliable Research: Getting Science Right
Science is in the news a lot these days. This is not surprising, since there is interest from many quarters: from the public fascinated by contemporary research, to policy makers who wish to decide how best to allocate public funding to achieve particular goals.
A recent cover story of The Economist caught my attention and that of many in the scientific community. With the title of “Unreliable Research: Trouble at the lab”, the article makes the provocative and worrying claim that whilst we…
Managing the Transition to Open Access Publication
Discussions regarding open access to scientific literature began in 1990s as a result of the widespread availability of the World Wide Web. In order to better understand the implications and impact of recent policy developments, the European Physical Society [EPS] organised a Round Table on Open Access publishing at its Council Meeting on 5 April 2013. The Round Table brought together scientists from different fields (astronomy, chemistry, physics, biology…) and from different countries and learned societies. Sir John Enderby chaired the Round Table, whose participants were: J. Dudley (EPS); M. Huber (EAS); D. Kulp (APS); A. Oleandri (SIF – EPJ); B. Pulverer (EMBO); U. Schubert (EuCheMS); and J.-H. Weil (FEBS).
The Round Table showed that publishing is an essential part of scientific research, necessary for the communication of results, inspiring future research and career development. Publishing is also a core activity of learned societies. The Round Table also brought to light that different scientific communities, national contexts, and positions in learned societies have an influence on positions regarding open access to scholarly, peer reviewed articles.
Frances Saunders is the new IOP president
Dr. Frances Saunders took up her position as president of the Institute of Physics [IOP] on 1 October 2013, succeeding Sir Peter Knight. Dr Frances Saunders is the second female president of the IOP, after Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell (2008-2010, and 2011 ad interim). She will serve as IOP president until 30 September 2015.
F. Saunders is a research scientist in liquid crystal devices at the Royal Signals and Radar Establishment. She was Policy officer at the former Office of Science and Technology. From 2007 to 2012, she was the first female chief executive…
