The Mexican Physical Society

Working for Physics in Mexico since 1951

The Mexican Physical Society (Sociedad Mexicana de Física in Spanish) was formally founded in 1951 with 21 members that included distinguished physicists like Manuel Sandoval-Vallarta and Carlos Graef-Fernández. At present it counts with approximately 1,400 members, of whom 600 are full members and 800 are students. Students pay dues that are one half those of the full members.

The Mexican Physical Society is a non-profit organization whose main goals are to promote research and teaching in physics, to foster the interest for science in general and in physics in particular among people in Mexico, and to establish close links with similar organizations within Mexico and abroad. It has 13 topical divisions: Atomic and Molecular Physics, Fluids, Plasmas, Gravitation and Mathematical Physics, Nanosciences, Medical Physics, Optics, Cosmic Rays, Quantum Information, Nuclear Physics, Particles and Fields, Statistical Physics, and Radiation Physics. It also counts with three regional divisions located in the states of Puebla, San Luis Potosí, and Tabasco. A Directive Board is in charge of the administration of the Society and each Division has its own President.

The Society has a large diversity of activities that include its main event, the National Physics Congress that in 2008 was attended by 1700 participants that presented more than 1200 works. We also organize the divisional meetings, a variety of schools and workshops, the National meeting of specialists in science popularization, and the National meeting of high-school physics teachers. Additionally, we take care of the National contest of experiments designed by high-school students. A task force of women in physics has been recently created. The Society has the responsibility of organizing the participation of México in the Physics Olympiads at all levels: regional, national, ibero american, and international. We recently hosted in 2008 the Ibero American  Physics Olympiad in Morelia, Michoacán, with the participation of 18 countries and will host the International Physics Olympiad in Mérida, Yucatán during July of 2009. We are undertaking a large effort to include the largest number possible of High School students in the early stages of the Olympiads.

We have three main publications. The Revista Mexicana de Física has three separate sections: Research, Education and Supplements. The research section appears on a bi-monthly basis and has an international editorial board. We are looking forward to having soon all papers of this journal on line at the Page of the Society. The Education section contains mostly articles with a teaching content. The Supplements serve to publish conference proceedings in Latin America. We also publish the Bulletin, a quarterly journal, with informal news and popularization and history articles. Finally, the Ibero American Physics Catalog offers extensive information on places in Latin America, Spain and Portugal that offer college or graduate degrees in physics, research institutions in physics and of people working in research or education in physics. A CD version with an interactive searcher is available for each member of SMF.

The Society offers two major Prizes. The Prize for the Development of Physics in Mexico recognizes the lifetime achievements of an individual or group in the development of institutions, laboratories or groups of physics in Mexico. The Prize for Scientific Research rewards basic or applied physics research of excellence and is given to an individual.

Finally, we participate, with the US and Canada, in the CAM (Canada, America, México) Graduate Students Physics Conferences. In 2009 we will host the fourth of this series of conferences in Acapulco, Guerrero, from October 22nd to 24th. We are supporting the event with 50 scholarships (room shared with another student and breakfast) for graduate students from the USA and Canada.

Our permanent offices are located in the School of Sciences of the National University of Mexico in Mexico City, thanks to the support of the School. Our Page is www.smf.mx, and we invite you to consult it. Questions can also be sent to smf@fciencias.unam.mx.

Luis F. Rodríguez
President of the Mexican Physical Society (2009-2011).

Views and opinions expressed in articles are those of the authors and are not necessarily shared by the editor or the APS/FIP. We reserve the right to withhold names of authors in order to reduce the risk of additional personal hardship, for instance for speaking out on human rights issues.