February 2012 | Facts and Info from the European Physical Society | e-EPS
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e-EPS and EPN: the voices of the EPS

Dear Readers,

Communication is a vital cornerstone of any efficient organisation. The fact that the European Physical Society [EPS] has now – in addition to its traditional journal, Europhysics News [EPN] – a digital newsletter, e-EPS, is a sure sign that the EPS is both efficient and rooted in today’s digital world. In e-EPS, readers can find up-to-date news from the EPS and beyond, conference announcements and much more.

EPN provides highlights of hot publications in European research journals, news about the EPS and its divisions and groups, the best about past conferences and symposia, interesting features about cutting-edge research, information about education and science policy, opinions, and amusing pieces about the physics of daily life...

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Bekenstein receives Wolf Prize in Physics

Jacob Bekenstein has been announced as the recipient of the 2012 Wolf Prize in Physics, in honour of his work in formulating the thermodynamics of black holes.

Bekenstein will be presented with the award – which consists of a certificate and prize money to the sum of 100,000 USD – by Israel President Shimon Peres, at a special ceremony at the Knesset on 13 May.

Bekenstein, who hails from Mexico City, received his PhD at Princeton University in 1972. Since then, he has worked at the Center for Relativity in Austin, Texas and the Ben Gurion University, in Israel.

At present he is the Polak Professor of Theoretical Physics at the Racah Institute of Physics at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem...

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Morning on Open Access Gold model

A half-day session on the Open Access Gold model was organised on 19 January this year, at the Institut Henri Poincaré, Paris. The meeting, an initiative of the French Physical Society [SFP], was the first step in launching a discussion on the changing business models of French physics publications...

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J-PARC: recovering from earthquake

The European Physical Society sends its heartfelt congratulations to the Japan Proton Accelerator Research Complex [J-PARC], for their progress in recovering from the heavy damage suffered during the tragic earthquake of March last year...

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EPS & PPA to launch journal platform

The Physics Publishing Alliance [PPA], in a joint initiative under the aegis of the European Physical Society [EPS], is bringing together a number of physics journals which have strong scientific and editorial links with European learned societies...

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Eurypedia: the education encyclopedia

A new initiative detailing the European education systems – Eurypedia – has been launched by the Eurydice Network. Eurypedia aims to present the most accurate picture of the 38 national and regional secondary and tertiary education systems across Europe...

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EPS launches new Technology and Innovation Group

The European Physical Society [EPS] is launching a new Technology and Innovation Group [TIG], in accordance with the EPS Strategy Plan 2010+. This initiative, fostered by the EPS Executive Committee last year, confirms the longstanding role of the EPS in establishing links between industry, research institutes, society and universities within Europe...

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Belgium centre unveils safer nuclear reactor design

A new, safer method of operating lead-cooled nuclear reactors has been demonstrated at the Belgian Nuclear Research Centre. The operational model, Guinevere, uses a particle accelerator to control nuclear reactions...

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Call for Young Scientist Prize in Computational Physics

Nominations are now open for the 2012 Young Scientist Prize in Computational Physics, of the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics [IUPAP] Commission on Computational Physics [C20].

The prize, which consists of 1,000 euros, a medal and a certificate, will be given at the commission’s next Conference on Computational Physics [CCP2012], which is being held in Kobe, Japan, on 14-18 October. The winner will also be invited to present a paper at this meeting...

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Nominations open for Plasma Physics Division election

Nominations are now open for six positions on the board of the European Physical Society Plasma Physics Division. The duties of the Plasma Physics Division board members are “to promote excellent in research by rewarding researchers who have achieved outstanding scientific or technological results; to coordinate activities with other physical societies; to regularly attend board meetings; and to become individual members of the European Physical Society”...

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Informal Physical Societies Exchange Conference

The Informal Physical Societies Exchange Conference [IPSEC] is organized every two years, in the framework of the Meeting of Polish Physicists by the Polish Physical Society.

The first of such was held during the XXXIVth Meeting of Polish Physicists, in 1997, at Katowice. This event gathered the representatives of seven national societies – from the Czech Republic, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, and Ukraine – and the European Physical Society...

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Dutch Physical Society hosts Physics and Politics discussion

A discussion session on ‘Physics and Politics’ 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...

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Institute of Physics appoints Palmer temporary CEO

The Institute of Physics Council has appointed Stuart Palmer as temporary CEO, following the vacation of the position by Bob Kirby-Harris, who has stepped down due to health issues. A full-time replacement will be appointed by the council – which is headed by current president Peter Knight – in the summer...

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Results of EC consultation on scientific publishing

The European Commission has published the results of its ‘Consultation on scientific information in the digital age’. The survey generated much interest, with 1,140 responses received from 42 different countries. The European Physical Society provided input into the consultation in September...

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January 2012 EPS Executive Committee Meeting

The European Physical Society [EPS] Executive Committee met at the EPS headquarters, in Mulhouse, on 27-28 January 2012. One of the central tasks of this meeting was to make preparations for the upcoming EPS council, and the preceding Forum Physics and Society, which are scheduled to be held at CERN at the end of March this year...

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Featured in EPN

Featuring in the latest issue of EPN:

A new spin on Earth’s deep mantle
by J. Badro

Ratchets from the cold: Brownian motors with cold atoms in optical lattices
by F. Renzoni

The rediscovery of the ‘French Blue’ diamond
by F. Farges, J. Vinson, J. J. Rehr & J.E. Post

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APS Sexual and Gender Diversity Issues in Physics

A special session on ‘Sexual and Gender Diversity Issues in Physics’ will be held, as part of the March 2012 meeting of the American Physical Society, on the 28 February, in Boston. The event, which aims to draw attention to these issues, will feature talks and panel discussions on research outreach, and advocacy for greater inclusion and visibility of gender and sexual minorities in physics...

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100 Years of Cosmic Particles

An international conference, with the theme of ‘100 Years of Cosmic Particles’, will be held during 1-5 May 2012, split between the two locations of Innsbruck University, in Tyrol, and ECHOPHYSICS, in Poellau, Styria...

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