International Association of Physics Students

Last updated
International Association of Physics Students
AbbreviationIAPS
Formation1987
Headquarters Mulhouse
Location
Official language
English
President
Cyrus Walther
Affiliations European Physical Society
International Union of Pure and Applied Physics
International Science Council
Website http://iaps.info

The International Association of Physics Students (IAPS) is a non-profit umbrella organization for physics students associations. Its official seat is in Mulhouse, France in the headquarters of the European Physical Society. It was founded in 1987 in Debrecen, Hungary. [1]

Contents

Introduction

IAPS is an association of physics students and student societies from around the globe, working to promote peaceful collaboration amongst its members. These are represented by national and local committees, who meet regularly to ensure the relevance of activities. Since 1987, IAPS has worked continuously to support friendly relations and collaboration between physics students. The group supports its members in their academic and professional work by discussing and acting on scientific, social and cultural issues. IAPS is a recognised non-governmental organisation run entirely by students from around the world.

IAPS runs an annual International Conference of Physics Students (ICPS), one of the biggest student organized conferences in the world. IAPS also organizes visits to global research institutions such as CERN or Culham Centre for Fusion Energy, international physics competitions, summer schools, exchange programmes and multinational meetings.

On a daily basis, IAPS is run by an Executive Committee, which is elected at the Annual General Meeting (AGM), held during the ICPS with the participation of all member societies. Most of the activities are run through the help of student volunteers, whose collaboration is necessary to ensure that all activities are offered at prices that allow participation from countries with weaker economies.

Throughout its existence, IAPS has been accumulating a number of partnerships with several international organizations. Between the most long-standing collaborators stand the European Physical Society (EPS) and the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP). IAPS continuously pursues collaborative partnership efforts with other organizations to have a positive impact in the global scientific community. [2]

Structure

IAPS is run by an Executive Committee, which is elected at the Annual General Meeting (AGM). IAPS members may be national physics student organisations, called National Committees (NC), physics student association localised at one university or city, called Local Committees (LC) and individual members (IM) if none of the before are present where one studies. In a broad sense, all the members of NCs and LCs, as well as IMs, are members of IAPS. Membership costs are calculated for each applicant based on the type of committee and the GDP of applicant countries.

Executive committee

The IAPS Executive Committee (EC) is currently composed of 9 students, elected by representatives of the member societies. The 2022/23 EC is composed of: [3]

TitleNameNationalityAffiliation
PresidentCyrus WaltherFlag of Germany.svg  Germany Technical University of Dortmund
Vice President & Events ManagerNiloofar JokarFlag of Iran.svg  Iran Isfahan University of Technology
TreasurerMario GaimannFlag of Germany.svg  Germany University of Stuttgart
Secretary & Data Protection OfficerThibault FredonFlag of France.svg  France Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Membership and Advocacy ManagerMarisol CastellanosFlag of Guatemala.svg  Guatemala Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala
Outreach ManagerAnna ChristoforidouFlag of Greece.svg  Greece National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
PR ManagerDimitris GkavakosFlag of Greece.svg  Greece National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
IT ManagerRoberto CiccareliFlag of Italy.svg  Italy University of Turin
Recruitment ManagerGabriel MaynardFlag of Costa Rica.svg  Costa Rica Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala

National Committees

Member Nation [4] Organisation
Flag of Austria.svg  Austria Basisgruppe Physik der TU Graz
Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina.svg  Bosnia and Herzegovina Asocijacija studenta fizike BiH
Flag of Croatia.svg  Croatia Studentska sekcija Hrvatskog fizikalnog društva
Flag of the Czech Republic.svg  Czech Republic Czech Association of Physics Students
Flag of Cuba.svg  Cuba Sección Joven Sociedad Cubana de Física
Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark Fysikstuderende i Danmark (FSID)
Flag of Finland.svg  Finland Suomen Fysiikanopiskelijat ry
Flag of France.svg  France Le Réseau Jeunes SPF, Société Française de Physique
Flag of Georgia.svg  Georgia საქართველოს ფიზიკის სტუდენტთა ასოციაცია (GAPS)
Flag of Germany.svg  Germany Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft
Flag of Greece.svg  Greece Hellenic Association of Physics Students
Flag of Honduras.svg  Honduras Asociación Hondureña de Estudiantes de Física
Flag of Hungary.svg  Hungary Magyar Fizikushallgatók Egyesülete (Mafihe)
Flag of India.svg  India Association of Indian Physics Students (AIPS)
Flag of Italy.svg  Italy Associazione Italiana Studenti di Fisica (AISF)
Flag of North Macedonia.svg  North Macedonia Македонско друштво на студенти физичари
Flag of Mexico.svg  Mexico Sociedad Científica Juvenil
Flag of Morocco.svg  Morocco الجمعية المغربية للفيزياء (MAP)
Flag of Montenegro.svg  Montenegro Crnogorska asocijacija studenata fizike
Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands Studenten Physica in Nederland (SPIN)
Flag of Norway.svg  Norway Norske Fysikkstudenters Forening Trodheim
Flag of Poland.svg  Poland Polskie Stowarzyszenie Studentów Fizyki (PSSF)
Flag of Portugal.svg  Portugal Physis – Associação Portuguesa de Estudantes de Física
Flag of Serbia.svg  Serbia Asocijacija studenata fizike Srbije
Flag of Spain.svg  Spain Asociación Española de Estudiantes de Física (AEEF)
Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg  Switzerland Young Physicists Forum (YPF)
Flag of Tunisia.svg  Tunisia Physicist Community FST
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom and Flag of Ireland.svg  Ireland University Student Network (USN), Institute of Physics
Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States Society of Physics Students (SPS), American Institute of Physics

Local Committees

Member Nation [4] Organisation
Ankara, Flag of Turkey.svg  Turkey ODTÜ Fizik Topluluğu (OFT)
Antwerp, Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium Wiskunde, Informatica en Natuurkunde kring (WINAK)
Baguio, Flag of the Philippines.svg  Philippines UP Physics Sphere
Ben Srour, Flag of Algeria.svg  Algeria رائد في مجال تعليم (AAMP)
Bucharest, Flag of Romania.svg  Romania Asociația Studenților Fizicieni a Universității București (ASF-UB)
San Pedro Montes de Oca, Flag of Costa Rica.svg  Costa Rica Asociación de Estudiantes de Física y Meteorología (AEFISYMET)
Farhangian University, Flag of Iran.svg  Iran Farhangian Association of Physics Students
Guatemala City, Flag of Guatemala.svg  Guatemala Asociación de Estudiantes de Física y Matemática (AEFM)
Isfahan, Flag of Iran.svg  Iran (IUT) دانشگاه صنعتی اصفهان
Kathmandu, Flag of Nepal.svg  Nepal St. Xavier's Physics Council
Kharkiv, Flag of Ukraine.svg  Ukraine Рада молодих вчених і спеціалістів, ФТІНТ ім. Б.І. Вєркіна НАН України
Limbe, Flag of Cameroon.svg  Cameroon African Institute for Mathematical Sciences Cameroon (AIMS Cameroon)
Msida, Flag of Malta.svg  Malta S Cubed – the Science Students' Society
Manila City, Flag of the Philippines.svg  Philippines The Polytechnic University of the Philippines Physics Society (PUP Physics Society)
Nanyang Technological University, Flag of Singapore.svg  Singapore Odyssey Club
Quito, Flag of Ecuador.svg  Ecuador The Optical Society – Universidad San Francisco de Quito Capítulo Estudiantil (OSA-USFQ Capítulo Estudiantil)
Saint Petersburg, Flag of Russia.svg  Russia Сообщество студентов-физиков Политехнического университета (PCPS)
Santo Domingo, Flag of the Dominican Republic.svg  Dominican Republic Asociación de Estudiantes de Física de la Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo (AEF-UASD)

Individual Members

Students of physics or related subjects who do not have access to an NC or LC may join as IMs. Only IAPS members may attend IAPS events such as ICPS. Currently IAPS has around 150 individual members. [4]

Honorary Members

The following people were elected Honorary Fellows by an IAPS AGM:

Programs

Group picture at the International Conference of Physics Students 2014, held in Heidelberg, Germany. ICPS 2014 Group Picture.jpg
Group picture at the International Conference of Physics Students 2014, held in Heidelberg, Germany.

International Conference of Physics Students

ICPS International Conference of Physics Students is the International Conference of Physics Students, which is the main event of IAPS, organized yearly by one of its member committees. The purpose of the conference is to create an opportunity for physics students from all around the world to come together, to talk about science and life, to practice presenting their research and, all in all, to have a great time.

The first ICPS was organized by students of the Eötvös Loránd University, in Budapest, Hungary in the year 1986. The event had less than fifty participants, but since then, the conference has grown considerably, nowadays bringing together more than four hundred students.

The one week of the conference has its fair share of scientific, social and touristic programs. One gets a chance to listen to and give lectures on various topics in physics, to check out the laboratories of the host city, to make friends with physics students from all around the world, to get a little glimpse of the foreign cultures that gather here, and to see another part of the world.

The following were venues of the ICPS conferences:

YearLocation
2022 Puebla, Flag of Mexico.svg  Mexico (online)
2021 Copenhagen, Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark (online)
2020Not held due to COVID-19 pandemic
2019 Cologne, Flag of Germany.svg  Germany
2018 Helsinki, Flag of Finland.svg  Finland
2017 Turin, Flag of Italy.svg  Italy
2016Flag of Malta.svg  Malta
2015 Zagreb, Flag of Croatia.svg  Croatia
2014 Heidelberg, Flag of Germany.svg  Germany
2013 Edinburgh, Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom
2012 Utrecht, Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands
2011 Budapest, Flag of Hungary.svg  Hungary
2010 Graz, Flag of Austria.svg  Austria
2009 Split, Flag of Croatia.svg  Croatia
2008 Kraków, Flag of Poland.svg  Poland
2007 London, Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom
2006 Bucharest, Flag of Romania.svg  Romania
2005 Coimbra, Flag of Portugal.svg  Portugal
2004 Novi Sad, Flag of Yugoslavia (1992-2003); Flag of Serbia and Montenegro (2003-2006).svg  Serbia and Montenegro
2003 Odense, Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark
2002 Budapest, Flag of Hungary.svg  Hungary
2001 Dublin, Flag of Ireland.svg  Ireland
2000 Zadar, Flag of Croatia.svg  Croatia
1999 Helsinki, Flag of Finland.svg  Finland
1998 Coimbra, Flag of Portugal.svg  Portugal
1997 Vienna, Flag of Austria.svg  Austria
1996 Szeged, Flag of Hungary.svg  Hungary
1995 Copenhagen, Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark
1994 Saint Petersburg, Flag of Russia.svg  Russia
1993 Bodrum, Flag of Turkey.svg  Turkey
1992 Lisbon, Flag of Portugal.svg  Portugal
1991 Vienna, Flag of Austria.svg  Austria
1990 Amsterdam, Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands
1989 Freiburg, Flag of Germany.svg  West Germany
1988 Prague, Flag of the Czech Republic.svg  Czechoslovakia
1987 Debrecen, Flag of Hungary.svg  Hungary
1986 Budapest, Flag of Hungary.svg  Hungary

In addition, IAPS organizers a number of other events. In 2018, IAPS associated with the International Students of History Association (ISHA) in a Series of Conferences named HyPe (HistorY and Physics Experience), that took place in Bologna, Italy.

Excursions

Since its foundation, IAPS has organised several trips to international research facilities, either directly or through its member societies.

iaps2CERN

IAPS yearly organises annual tours to CERN, in Geneva (Switzerland). The highly successful iaps2CERN programme usually has approximately 40 participants, representing up to 20 different nationalities. The tour usually comprises visits of the CERN exhibitions, some of the experiments currently accessible and also a visit of the United Nations offices in Geneva.

International Physics Competitions

PLANCKS is an annual international physics contest for bachelor and master students. It is usually a three day event and can include in addition to the competition itself scientific program like a symposium and excursions, as well as social events and the award ceremony. PLANCKS is arranged by different IAPS member committees. [5]

In May 2014, the A-Eskwadraat student association held the first PLANCKS edition in Utrecht. Since then, it took place every year at varying places: [6]

YearLocationWinning country
2024 Dublin, Flag of Ireland.svg  Ireland Flag of Germany.svg  Germany
2023 Milan, Flag of Italy.svg  Italy Flag of Italy.svg  Italy
2022 Munich, Flag of Germany.svg  Germany Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom and Flag of Ireland.svg  Ireland
2021 Porto, Flag of Portugal.svg  Portugal (online)Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom and Flag of Ireland.svg  Ireland
2020 London, Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom (online)Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom and Flag of Ireland.svg  Ireland
2019 Odense, Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark)Flag of Germany.svg  Germany
2018 Zagreb, Flag of Croatia.svg  Croatia Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands
2017 Graz, Flag of Austria.svg  Austria Flag of Spain.svg  Spain
2016 Bucharest, Flag of Romania.svg  Romania Flag of the Czech Republic.svg  Czech Republic
2015 Leiden, Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands
2014 Utrecht, Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands

IAPS also support other physics competitions, such as the Ortvay competition (organised by the Hungarian NC) and the International Physics Tournament. [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International Mathematical Union</span> International non-governmental organisation

The International Mathematical Union (IMU) is an international organization devoted to international cooperation in the field of mathematics across the world. It is a member of the International Science Council (ISC) and supports the International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM). Its members are national mathematics organizations from more than 80 countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CERN</span> European research centre in Switzerland

The European Organization for Nuclear Research, known as CERN, is an intergovernmental organization that operates the largest particle physics laboratory in the world. Established in 1954, it is based in Meyrin, western suburb of Geneva, on the France–Switzerland border. It comprises 23 member states. Israel, admitted in 2013, is the only non-European full member. CERN is an official United Nations General Assembly observer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Physical Society</span> Organization of physicists

The American Physical Society (APS) is a not-for-profit membership organization of professionals in physics and related disciplines, comprising nearly fifty divisions, sections, and other units. Its mission is the advancement and diffusion of knowledge of physics. It publishes more than a dozen scientific journals, including the prestigious Physical Review and Physical Review Letters, and organizes more than twenty science meetings each year. It is a member society of the American Institute of Physics. Since January 2021, it is led by chief executive officer Jonathan Bagger.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International Union of Pure and Applied Physics</span> International non-governmental organization that assists in worldwide physics development

The International Union of Pure and Applied Physics is an international non-governmental organization whose mission is to assist in the worldwide development of physics, to foster international cooperation in physics, and to help in the application of physics toward solving problems of concern to humanity. It was established in 1922 and the first General Assembly was held in 1923 in Paris. The Union is domiciled in Geneva, Switzerland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Max Planck Society</span> Association of German research institutes

The Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science is a formally independent non-governmental and non-profit association of German research institutes. Founded in 1911 as the Kaiser Wilhelm Society, it was renamed to the Max Planck Society in 1948 in honor of its former president, theoretical physicist Max Planck. The society is funded by the federal and state governments of Germany.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Association for Psychological Science</span> Academic research society

The Association for Psychological Science (APS), previously the American Psychological Society, is an international non-profit organization whose mission is to promote, protect, and advance the interests of scientifically oriented psychology in research, application, teaching, and the improvement of human welfare. APS publishes several journals, holds an annual meeting, disseminates psychological science research findings to the general public, and works with policymakers to strengthen support for scientific psychology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Erasmus Student Network</span>

The Erasmus Student Network (ESN) is a Europe-wide student organisation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">German Physical Society</span> Physics organisation in Germany

The German Physical Society is the oldest organisation of physicists. As of 2022, the DPG's worldwide membership is cited as 52,220, making it one of the largest national physics societies in the world. The DPG's membership peaked in 2014 when it reached 63,000, but it has been decreasing since then. It holds an annual conference and multiple spring conferences, which are held at various locations and along topical subjects of given sections of the DPG. The DPG serves the fields of pure and applied physics and aims to foster connections among German physicists, as well as the exchange of ideas between its members and foreign colleagues. The bylaws of the DPG commit the organization and its members to maintain scientific integrity and ethics, including freedom, tolerance, truthfulness, and dignity in scientific work, as well as promoting gender equality in the fields of physics and related sciences.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ye Duzheng</span>

Ye Duzheng was a Chinese meteorologist and academician at the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ludvig Faddeev</span> Russian mathematician and physicist (1934–2017)

Ludvig Dmitrievich Faddeev was a Soviet and Russian mathematical physicist. He is known for the discovery of the Faddeev equations in the quantum-mechanical three-body problem and for the development of path-integral methods in the quantization of non-abelian gauge field theories, including the introduction of the Faddeev–Popov ghosts. He led the Leningrad School, in which he along with many of his students developed the quantum inverse scattering method for studying quantum integrable systems in one space and one time dimension. This work led to the invention of quantum groups by Drinfeld and Jimbo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Independent Primary School Heads of Australia</span> Incorporated body of primary schools in Australia

The Independent Primary School Heads of Australia (IPSHA) formerly Junior School Heads Association of Australia (JSHAA), is an incorporated body representing the heads of independent primary schools in Australia. Officially established in September 1952, the Association is broken into state branches, with six offices across Australia. The organisation currently has a membership of nearly 380 Full Members, 60 Associate and Life Members and 23 Overseas Members. Combined, the member schools employ around 6,000 people, and are responsible for educating about 100,000 primary aged children.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Herwig Schopper</span> Particle physicist

Herwig Franz Schopper is a German experimental physicist. He was the director general of CERN from 1981 to 1988.

<i>International Students of History Association</i> International organization for students, created in 1990

The International Students of History Association (ISHA) is an international non-governmental organization of students of history. Based and active mainly in Europe, ISHA's goals are to facilitate communication and provide a platform of exchange for students of history and related sciences on an international level.

The International Conference of Physics Students (ICPS) is an annual conference of the International Association of Physics Students (IAPS). Usually, up to 500 students from all over the world attend the event, which takes place in another country every year in August. The event includes the opportunity for students at bachelor, master and doctoral level to present their research, whilst listening and interacting with invited speakers of international reputation. During the event, usually lasting between 5 and 7 days, the IAPS holds its Annual General Meeting (AGM) and elects a new Executive Committee. The choice of the host country of ICPS is made two years in advance.

The Independent Association of Prep Schools is a schools association, representing around 670 preparatory schools.

The Association of Applied Biologists (AAB) is a United Kingdom biological science learned society. From its foundation in 1904 until 1934, the institution was the Association of Economic Biologists. It publishes research and holds conferences in different specialisms of applied biology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Werner Nahm</span> German theoretical physicist

Werner Nahm is a German theoretical physicist. He has made contributions to mathematical physics and fundamental theoretical physics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paolo Giubellino</span> Italian physicist

Paolo Giubellino is an experimental particle physicist working on High-Energy Nuclear Collisions. Currently he is the joint Scientific Managing Director of the Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research (FAIR) and the GSI Helmholtz Centre for Heavy Ion Research (GSI) and Professor at the Institute of Nuclear Physics of the Technische Universität Darmstadt.

Sigfried Bethke is a German physicist and science manager.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Günter Petzow</span> German materials scientist (1926–2024)

Günter Petzow was a German materials scientist and the director at the Max Planck Institute for Metals Research.

References

  1. Jim Grozier (2010). "History of IAPS (Made in Hungary)" (PDF). European Physical Society. Retrieved 2017-01-06.
  2. 1 2 IAPS Official Website, International Association of Physics Students, 2015-11-01
  3. IAPS EC, International Association of Physics Students, archived from the original on 2016-12-17, retrieved 2017-01-06
  4. 1 2 3 "List of {IAPS} Members". {iaps}. 2013-11-16. Retrieved 2017-09-03.
  5. "What is PLANCKS | {iaps".}
  6. "Previous PLANCKSs | {iaps".}