ATRAP measures most accurate antiproton magnetic moment ever
The ATRAP experiment at CERN’s Antiproton Decelerator [AD] has measured the magnetic moment of the antiproton with highest accuracy to date. ATRAP’s new result may help to eventually unveil one of the great mysteries of modern physics: the matter-antimatter imbalance of the Universe. Results are described in a paper published in Physical Review Letters last month.
In order to make the most accurate measurements of the antiprotons’ properties, the ATRAP’s team was able…
International Master classes in Particle Physics
Master classes are a unique opportunity for high-school students, where they can hunt particles at the Large Hadron Collider [LHC] and analyse real data from the experiments. Each year, in spring, research institutes and universities around the world open their doors and invite students for daylong visits. This year’s International Master classes were organized in March, under the auspices of the International Particle Physics Outreach Groups [IPPOG], and attracted more than 10 000 students.In the Master class, students gained insight into the international organization of modern research in…
Planck results: Universe older, slower and still challenging
On 21 March 2013, ESA’s Planck satellite revealed the most detailed map ever created of the cosmic microwave background [CMB], the relic radiation from the Big Bang. The results from Planck’s new map provided an excellent confirmation of the standard model of cosmology with unprecedented accuracy. However, the existence of unexplained features may challenge the foundations of the current understanding of the Universe.
According to the Big Bang theory, the Universe rapidly expanded from extremely hot and dense plasma of photons…
ALMA, an international partnership to discover space
After 10 years of construction the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array [ALMA] based in Chile was inaugurated on 13 March 2013. The ceremony marks the completion of all the major systems of the giant telescope and the formal transition from a construction project to a fully-fledged observatory.ALMA is funded by an international partnership comprised of the European Organization for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere [ESO], by the U.S. National Science Foundation [NSF] and by the National Institutes of Natural Sciences [NINS] of Japan…
Festival of Science 2012 at Bauman Moscow State Technical University
The Festival of Science is the day when the Bauman Moscow State Technical University [BMSTU] opens it doors to numerous curious visitors and welcomes school children, high school graduates, and first-year university students.
BMSTU organised its second Festival of Science at the end of 2012. Every department of the university displayed information describing the research and education in science. Participants could also attend a variety of master classes, lectures, seminars and reports on different scientific topics, presented by senior students, postgraduates and…
EPS QEOD Prizes awarded to F.Capasso and M.Lewenstein
The European Physical Society [EPS] and the EPS Quantum Electronics and Optics Division [EPS QEOD], are delighted to announce the 2013 winners of its two most prestigious prizes in Quantum Electronics and Optics. Since 1996, these prizes are awarded every two years, and recognize the very highest level of achievements in applied and fundamental research in optical physics.
The 2013 Prize for Applied Aspects of Quantum Electronics and Optics is awarded to Federico Capasso, professor…
Open Access: a challenge on the boil for scientists and publishers
A Round Table session on Open Access, introduced and moderated by Professor Sir John Enderby, President of the Institute of Physics [IoP] from 2004 to 2006, was hosted during the 2013 EPS Council meeting. Participants with various interests and backgrounds confronted their views on the evolving landscape of scientific publications. Professor Enderby opened the discussions by a presentation of the different, counteracting interests in scientific publications of researchers, funders, librarians and information managers, publishers, small and medium enterprises, and the general public. The recent statements by governments on the implementation of open access [OA]…
The EPS Edison Volta Prize: double celebration
At EPS Council in Strasbourg, on 5 April 2013, the award ceremony of the EPS Edison Volta Prize 2012 took place in the presence of two of the three winners: Rolf Dieter Heuer and Stephen Myers.
The European Physical Society, the Centro di Cultura Scientifica “Alessandro Volta”, Como, Italy (birth town of A. Volta) and EDISON, Milan, Italy (Europe’s oldest energy company, founded in 1884) established the EPS Edison Volta Prize to promote excellent research and achievement in physics…
Council 2013: Results and new horizons
The annual meeting of the EPS Council was hosted by the University of Strasbourg in the premises of the Institut de Science et d’Ingénierie Supramoléculaires, attended by around 80 participants: the members of the EPS Executive Committee, the representatives of EPS Individual Members, Member Societies and Associate Institutions, and the chairs of EPS Divisions and Groups.
One of the main items was the official launch of the EPS study on “The importance of physics to the economies…
EPS and EuCheMS are joining forces
On the occasion of the EPS Council 2013 in Strasbourg, a memorandum of understanding [MoU] was signed between the European Association for Chemical and Molecular Societies [EuCheMS] and the European Physical Society [EPS] by presidents Ulrich Schubert and Luisa Cifarelli.
EuCheMS and EPS share many objectives, such as community building, scientific excellence, communication and representation of their respective members to European policy makers. The two Societies recognise that issues in…
A scientific council to advise the European Commission President
The “Science and Technology Advisory Council” will advise European Commission President J.M. Barroso directly on “how to create the proper environment for innovation by shaping a European society that embraces science, technology and engineering.” It “differs from other advisory bodies in the Commission in that it does not have a specific subject remit, but tackles issues that are of cross-cutting nature, with a clear societal dimension.”
The members of the Science and Technology Advisory Council were chosen by JM Barroso, in consultation with…
The 15th Anniversary of EPJ
The launch of the European Physical Journal [EPJ] in 1998 as a merger of Il Nuovo Cimento, Journal de Physique and Zeitschrift für Physik, triggered a succession of mergers and transformations of existing journals of the founding partners. After 15 years, EPJ is proud to present itself as a continuation of several European journals, with its 9 different sections that cover the main fields of core physics.
The strategy in the last few years to develop journals that target specific needs of the scientific community has…
