FIP Sessions and Events at the APS March meeting

Harvey Newman

There will be four invited paper sessions and one contributed paper session sponsored or co-sponsored by FIP, at the APS 2011 March meeting. All of the invited sessions will take place in Ballroom C4 in the Dallas Convention Center. The contributed paper session V24 will be in room D167. The March meeting runs from Monday March 21 through March 25.

Critical Materials for Global Science and Technology
B8. MONDAY, MARCH 21, 2011, 11:15 AM - 2:15 PM
Chair: William Barletta, U.S. Particle Accelerator School, MIT and UCLA

“Critical Materials for Global Science and Technology” will explore the impending threat of exhaustion of key materials, from Helium-3 to Lithium to Tellurium that drives progress in our modern world. This trend, with multiple causes from the rising demand of emerging economies to the highly localized concentration of some elements, has remained below the radar for the population at large, as well as the majority of the physics community.

Shaping Regional Identities through Research Funding Policies
T8. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 23, 2011, 2:30 PM - 5:30 PM
Chair: Giulia Pancheri, INFN Frascati National Laboratories

"Shaping Regional Identities through Research Funding Policies"will tackle some of the key funding policy issues that shape the progress and character of entire world regions, in areas from energy and information technology infrastructures, to the structure and modes of operation of educational and research institutions, to the governmental framework and its level of support for innovation, to the support for science and the view of its role in each nation and region. The distinguished speakers include Luisa Cifarelli, President of the European Physical Society; Carlos Alberto Aragão de Carvalho, President of the National Council of Science and Technology (CNPq) of Brazil; Rohini Godbole, a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee to the India Prime Minister; Jean-Pierre Ezin, Commissioner for Human Resources, Science and Technology of the African Union; and Harriet Kung, Associate Director of Science for Basic Energy Sciences of the Department of Energy.

History of Physics and International Programs
V24 Contributed Paper Session, Thursday, March 24, 8 AM. Room: D167
Chair: Gloria Lubkin, AIP, editor emerita of Physics Today.

This session is co-sponsored with the Forum on the History of Physics. FIP-related talks at this session concern US-Finland cooperative research and education, physics in Africa, the impact of materials science in Latin American countries, and the perspective of an American postdoc in East Asia.

Migrations of Physicists
X8. THURSDAY, MARCH 24, 2011, 2:30 PM - 5:30 PM
Chair: Noemie Koller, Rutgers University

“Migrations of Physicists”, co-organized with the Forum on the History of Physics, will track the major movements of physicists among the regions of the world including Central Europe, Russia before and after the Fall of the Soviet Union, and China and the U.S., as well as the research and training networks and programs that have arisen to provide researchers’ with improved “mobility,” a key aspect of a physicist’s work and life.

Experiences and Issues for Young Physicists in the International Arena; Impact on the Future of Physics (Followed by a Panel Discussion)
Y8. FRIDAY, MARCH 25, 2011, 8:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Chair: Amy Flatten, American Physical Society

“Experiences and Issues for Young Physicists in the International Arena; Impact on the Future of Physics”,co-organized with the Forum on Graduate Student Affairs, will address some of the key issues facing students and young physicists living and working abroad, from visa issues, to attitudes towards women in academia in different countries, to working in large international collaborations, to the language barrier. Following the presentations, OIA Director will chair a panel on “Issues Facing International Physicists and the Future of Physics”

Harvey Newman  is a Professor at Caltech, a high-energy physics experimentalist and Chair of the FIP. He is also engaged in work on Digital Divide issues in many regions of the world. During 2010, as FIP Chair-Elect and FIP Program Chair he organized the FIP sessions for the APS Spring 2011 meetings.

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Disclaimer—The articles and opinion pieces found in this issue of the APS Forum on International Physics Newsletter are not peer refereed and represent solely the views of the authors and not necessarily the views of the APS.