The Institute of Physics and The Physical Society

L. Cohen Secretary, IPPS

Quantum Electronics Division, K.P. Meyer, The Physical Society was founded, ship, although at the moment the Gra­ Berne, forty one applications for Indi­ in London, in 1874 as a learned So­ duate members are also about one vidual Ordinary Membership were col­ ciety for the dissemination of new third of the total. Well over 1000 lected at the recent Europhysics Confer­ knowledge in physics. Its membership members live outside the United King­ ence on “Coherent Tunable Light was quite small but included both dom, distributed over most parts of Sources”, held on 22 - 24 July in Munich. academic and non-academic phy­ the world. sicists. During the 1914-18 war physics Grants from governments began to be recognized in Britain as Publications 1) It has been announced by Professor a separate profession and the need The largest single activity is that of S.F. Edwards that the United Kingdom for a professional body was acknowl­ scientific publications which has been government, through the intermediary of edged by many of the leading phy­ greatly expanded since 1960 in both the Royal Society, has agreed to give sicists, including Rutherford and the the number of journals and in total £ 4500 to the European Physical Society Braggs, and in 1918 The Institute of bulk. The primary research journals provided a reasonable number of other Physics was founded. The activities governments give similar support. known as the Journal of Physics series of the two organizations were largely are published in five parts (shortly to 2) Professor Ben-David expects to complementary. There was consider­ be increased to six): A — General secure financial support from a public able cooperation and collaboration Physics, B — Atomic and Molecular body in Israel, in the near future. and, of course, a considerable degree 3) In a similar way the Royal Academy Physics, C — Solid State Physics, of Sciences, Sweden, will contribute an of overlap of membership. D — Applied Physics and E — Scien­ The second world war gave another tific Instruments. annual fee of $ 1000. big boost to physics which led to a At a UNESCO meeting in Paris on Two magazine type journals are also 25 June, attended by Ministers of Scien­ large increase in activity of both the published, Physics Education (bi­ tific Research, Professor Bernardini was Institute and the Society when the monthly), aimed at the level of senior invited to speak on “The European war was over. However, it was during classes in schools and the first year Physical Society as an example of the war that serious consideration was of university, and Physics Bulletin effective scientific cooperation”. It is first given to the possibility of merging (monthly) which is the chief channel hoped that this talk will encourage more the two bodies and the amalgamation of communication between the central European governments to help the EPS. finally came about in 1960 with the organization and the members but in creation of the present organization. addition has evolved into a topical Since the amalgamation, development magazine of interest to all physicists. How do I join ? has been particularly rapid — the Review journals are receiving more In accordance with Article 4 of the Constitution, membership for example has almost membership of the EPS is in three categories: prominence. “Reports on Progress in a) Individuals (membership being open to all doubled and now stands at over Physics” which was an annual publi­ physicists irrespective of nationality or place of 15 000. residence) ; cation is now a bi-monthly and publi­ b) Societies, Groups or Laboratories; cation of a new review journal in tech­ c) Individuals, as under a), affiliated to a Society Membership nological physics is about to start. which itself has joined the European Physical Society as Member category 4b. The membership structure of the Book publishing is largely confined to If a physicist IS an Individual Ordinary Member of Institute and Society is complex be­ conference proceedings, of which two the EPS, then: or three a year are issued. 1) he votes directly in the General Assembly; cause of its “qualifying” function. The 2) he is eligible for office in the EPS; function of the professional grades — 3) he is eligible for membership of Council on Fellow of the Institute, Associate of Meetings and conferences behalf of the Individual Ordinary Members; 4) he may choose to become member of one or the Institute, Graduate of the Institute The Institute and Society is divided more Divisions of EPS; and Licentiate of the Institute — is to geographically into Branches, includ­ 5) he receives Europhysics News and the special Meetings Issue directly, without charge; give recognition to the standing of ing one in New Zealand (the Austra­ 6) he receives all other publications by the Society the member, i.e. a combination of lian Branch became the independent (Information Booklets, Summerschool Com­ pendia, etc.) without charge (some of these upon education, experience and attainment Australian Institute of Physics about request). in physics. The other non-professional six years ago). There is also a division The membership fees for Individual Ordinary grades — Fellows of The Physical into Subject Groups, currently number­ Members in 1970 are: for category (a) above - 72 Swiss francs Society, Subscribers and Group Sub­ ing eighteen. The principal activity of for category (c) above - 18 Swiss francs scribers, participate only in learned the Branches is the holding of evening All applications for individual membership should Society activities and entry to these meetings but increasingly the range of be addressed to: grades is relatively open. There is activities is widening to include, for Main Secretariat European Physical Society also a grade of Student membership. example, half-day and whole-day P.O. Box 309 CH - 1227 Carouge-Geneva, Switzerland The main “career” grade is that of meetings on subjects of local interest. An application form is included in this issue of Associate of the Institute which has The Groups are responsible for Europhysics News. about one third of the total member- organizing most of the major confer- 2 ences of which between twenty and twenty-five are held each year. In addition, the Groups hold evening, half-day and whole-day meetings as well as visits to laboratories and works. The conferences vary considerably in attendance (from 50 to 450 partici­ pants), the larger meetings tending to be those covering a broad field such as solid state physics, on which a con­ ference has been held annually for the past seven years. An increasing number of conferences are being organized on an annual basis, in ad­ dition to solid state physics there is now an annual meeting on solid state devices, atomic and molecular phy­ sics, thin films and computational physics. Education The teaching of physics, at all levels, has been a matter of concern to the Institute and Society for many years. The most direct involvement is J.W. Menter, New President of the IPPS. M.R. Gavin, Outgoing President of the IPPS. with the Higher National Certificates and Diplomas, and the Graduateship examination, but there is considerable ments or devices may be shown and vities are carried out from a house in involvement at school level, for exam­ indeed many exhibits are in the pro­ Belgrave Square, London, which be­ ple in new methods of teaching totype stage. Strict refereeing, similar came the home of the Institute in 1946. (Nuffield Project) and the “Physics at to that employed for scientific jour­ The editorial office is at the old pre­ Work” exhibitions which are organized nals, ensures that a high standard as mises of The Physical Society in for the 13 to 15 year age group. a scientific event is maintained. South Kensington, London, and to Physics Centres, which have deve­ The regulations are modified from cope with the increasing activity in loped within the last four years, give time to time to take into account this field an additional editorial office the opportunity for physics teachers in changing circumstances. A recent has just been opened in Bristol. schools to meet each other and phy­ change allows firms and universities The total financial turnover will sics teachers in the universities, one from outside the UK to participate, in exceed £500 000 in 1970 and it is aim being to emphasize that a physics addition to the special national dis­ expected that a small surplus will be teacher is a physicist as well as a plays held by invitation. produced, due largely to the surplus made on publications since most other teacher. Awards A new scheme, still in its pilot stage, activities produce a deficit. With the is designed to help the school teacher The Institute and Society now exception of small sums for special in another way by linking him with a awards twelve medals and prizes — projects, such as Physics Centres, no physicist in industry so that physics the oldest dates from 1907 and the money is made available by the Go­ can be better set in its context of newest was awarded for the first time vernment and all activities must there­ application. Yet another project is in 1970. One, the Holweck Prize, is fore be made as nearly financially concerned with the relationship be­ awarded jointly with the French Phy­ balancing as is possible. sical Society. tween university physics departments Future developments and industry, particularly concerning Administration and Finance the nature of the first degree and of Pressure of space prevents more the PhD and their relevance to the The overall control of the organi­ than a mention of several other needs of industry. zation is in the hands of the elected aspects of the work of the Institute In addition to these special projects Officers — President, four Vice-Pre­ and Society, notably the ownership the Institute and Society collects and sidents, Honorary Treasurer, Honorary of the Fulmer Research Institute (a publishes information on courses in Secretary and the Council of ten laboratory for sponsored research), universities, polytechnics and technical members. The Vice-Presidents are the Benevolent Fund and the growing colleges and on postgraduate work in each responsible for a major sector collaboration with other professional these establishments. of activity, namely: publications, scientific societies (the Council of membership and education, meetings Science and Technology Institutes) Exhibitions and exhibitions. Their committees, and the engineering institutions. The annual Physics Exhibition has along with finance and external and The maintenance of growth of its origin in the exhibitions held by professional matters, form the frame­ membership and activities is a major The Physical Society in the early years work within which the Institute and concern as is the means by which of the century. It has grown with the Society operates. these activities can be financed. Last growth of the hardware of physics, The day-to-day activities are carried but not least is the expectation that particularly in the past twenty five out by a full-time staff numbering the Institute and Society will play an years. about ninety, under the general admi­ increasing part in national and inter­ The special characteristic of the nistration of the Secretary. With the national affairs of concern to physics exhibition is that only new instru- exception of editorial work, all acti- and physicists.

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