EPS Council 2015
The annual meeting of the EPS Council took place on 27-28 March 2015 at the Physik Zentrum in Bad Honnef, Germany. It was attended by around 50 delegates, representing EPS Member Societies, Associate Members, Individual members, Divisions, Groups and Committees.
The review of the activities of the EPS in 2014 demonstrated that it is active and lively in federating the European Physics Community. The EPS also contributed to many policy debates throughout the year.
The EPS Young Minds initiative continues to expand. There are now over 30 sections in 15 countries, bringing together the new generation of leaders in science. They organised dozens of public outreach initiatives for the local schools and general public around Europe. The EPS Forum Physics and Society presented the outcome of it seminar on “Improving the Image of Physics”, with recommendations for the EPS and policy makers.
Throughout 2014, the EPS was heavily involved in preparations for the International Year of Light and Light-based Technologies [IYL 2015]. This included preparations for the IYL 2015 Opening Ceremony (http://www.epsnews.eu/2014/12/international-year-of-light-news-8/) and for the Light in Europe 2015 project [LIGHT2015], http://www.epsnews.eu/2015/01/light2015-photonics-discover-the-power-of-light/.
The EPS Round Table brought together representatives from civil society, policy makers and industry to discuss how to influence science policy. U. Schubert from EuCheMS, E. Molino from IBM, G. Rossi from ESFRI, K. Flaig-Rüttgers from Photonics 21 and P. Hardaker from the Institute of Physics covered topics such as future planning for research infrastructures to good practice guides to interact with policy makers.
The EPS Council also provided the opportunity to present the EPS Edison Volta Prize winners for 2015 with their medals. The prize for outstanding contributions to physics went to the three principal scientific leaders of the European Space Agency’s [ESA] Planck Mission, Nazzareno Mandolesi, Jean-Loup Puget, and Jan Tauber. The three laureates gave an overview of the exciting research and discoveries from the Planck Mission. http://www.epsnews.eu/2015/02/2015-eps-edison-volta-prize-goes-to-esas-planck-mission-team/.
Finally, Council saw the hand over of the EPS Presidency from John Dudley to Christophe Rossel. Council warmly congratulated John Dudley, recognising his significant contributions and achievements for the EPS in the past 2 years. Christophe Rossel will be the EPS President from 1 April 2015 until Council 2017.
