EPS NEWS
150 years of the French Physical Society : ready for new challenges !
In the French physics community the beginning of 2023 was marked by the opening ceremony of the 150 th anniversary year of the French Physical Society ( SFP ). The event took place on 16 th January in the prestigious Grand Amphithéâtre de la Sorbonne , located in the heart of Paris . Gina Gunaratnam reports .
Guy Wormser , current president of the SFP , introduced the course of the afternoon , starting with the patrons of the event : Françoise Combes , laureate of the CNRS Gold Medal in 2020 , and Serge Haroche , laureate of the Nobel Prize in physics in 2012 . They were followed by numerous and illustrious speakers , among whom Sylvie Retailleau ( French minister of high education and research ), David Elbaz ( research director at the CEA , French centre for nuclear research ), Caroline Collard ( director of the Hubert Curien Institute ) and Valérie Masson-Delmotte , palaeontologist and co-president of the GIEC ( Groupement d ’ Information et d ’ Etude sur le Climat / International Panel on Climate Change ). All through the afternoon , various topics such as the history of the French Physical Society , the scientific and societal challenges for the future of physics and our warming planet were addressed by historians and researchers in presentations and round-table discussions .
From these exchanges , it was revealed that the Society has always been dynamic and at the cutting edge of physics . Since its conception , it gathered members with different backgrounds as scientists , philosophers or teachers . Its history was detailed in a video and presented by Olivier Darrigol ( Université Paris Cité ) and Denis Gutleben ( CNRS ), both historians of science . Famous scientists including Jean Perrin , Hubert Curien and Irène Joliot-Curie were referenced having influenced and developed the Society through the ages .
The SFP evolved with the international spread of knowledge and now represents all the fields of physics . Professor Combes , astrophysicist and laureate of numerous international awards , underlined this relevance . In her specialised field , the diversity of physics is needed for her research : condensed matter , plasma physics , vacuum , to name but a few . As for Professor Haroche , he spoke about the importance of the SFP in the internationalisation of physics by its involvement in the main physical societies throughout the world ( American Physical Society , Chinese Physical Society , European Physical Society , etc .)
The French Physical Society was also mentioned as essential to science communication . Several speakers underlined the need to address challenges such as inspiring the younger generation , in particular girls . They also emphasised the importance of encouraging and supporting young women in their work . In a context of mistrust in science and success of dystopias , societies such as the SFP should play a key role to disseminate scientific knowledge .
The discussions were followed by a panel of representatives of several physical societies , who spoke of their fruitful collaborations with the SFP . Guy Wormser closed the day by inviting the participants to share a cocktail in the Réfectoire de la Sorbonne and discover the exhibition « 15 physiciennes » showing 15 female scientists . He concluded by detailing the numerous events organised all through 2023 to celebrate physics and the 150 years .
The next rendezvous is given in person in July for the SFP congress and any time online to discover all the SFP activities . n
More info Ceremony : https :// www . youtube . com / watch ? v = DP _ MkTQppx8 Agenda for 2023 : https :// www . sfp150ans . fr Exhibition of portraits of physicists " 15 physiciennes ": https :// www . sfp150ans . fr / actions-speciales-150-ans / les-expositions- 150-ans / lexposition-15-physiciennes / Website of the SFP : https :// www . sfpnet . fr /
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