The International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP) was founded in 1922 to stimulate and facilitate international cooperation in physics, and the worldwide development of science. Many branches of physics are represented in the IUPAP International Commissions, which are assigned specific tasks as defined in the mandates of each commission. Presently, there are twenty specialized commissions, four affiliated commissions, twelve inter-union groups, and nine working groups.
The mission of IUPAP is to assist the worldwide development of physics, to foster international collaboration in physics, and to assist in the application of physics in solving problems of concern to humanity; IUPAP carries out this mission by sponsoring international meetings, fostering communications and publications, encouraging research and education, fostering free circulation of scientists, promoting international agreements on symbols, units, and nomenclature, and cooperating with other organizations on disciplinary and interdisciplinary problems.
It is the responsibility of the U.S. Liaison Committee for IUPAP (USLC/IUPAP),
- to promote the aims of IUPAP by active participation of its members in the Commissions, i.e., fostering in the U.S. and abroad the development of physics research in academia and industry, promoting diversity and careers of young scientists, strengthening international collaboration and planning of large future facilities, and addressing issues affecting the conduct of science, as well as global issues affecting humanity worldwide;
- to develop initiatives and collaboration on joint projects with the American Physical Society and associated societies and the IUPAP Commissions;
- to nominate U.S. members for the IUPAP Commissions; and
- to recommend for nomination by the NAS delegates to the IUPAP General Assembly.
The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is the U.S. adhering body to the International Council for Science (ICSU) and its Unions. Accordingly, the NAS has the responsibility to foster U.S. participation and cooperation in international science activities; to communicate to the National Science Foundation (NSF), and other U.S. Government Institutions the importance of IUPAP’s activities to international collaboration in science, to free exchange of scientific information and free circulation of scientists, to international agreements and standards, and also the broader impact of physics on development around the world.
Participation in IUPAP General Assemblies and Congresses
The 26th International Union of Pure and Applied Physics General Assembly, held October 13-18, 2008 in Tsukuba, Japan saw participation from approximately 106 members representing 41 countries. The USLC/IUPAP supported six U.S delegates to the general assembly: Robert Austin, Chair, E. Dan Dahlberg, Amy K. Flatten, Vera Lüth, Kennedy Reed, and Dean Zollman. Read the delegation's summary of the 2008 IUPAP General Assembly (110KB PDF).
RESOLUTION PRESENTED
The USLC presented a resolution to IUPAP in support of SESAME, which was approved. View IUPAP General Assembly resolution (13KB PDF).
ELECTION OUTCOMES
Two U.S. representatives were elected Vice-Presidents from the commission chairs: Samuel D. Bader (C10), Argonne National Laboratory; and Patricia McBride (C11), Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. A number of U.S. chairs were also elected for IUPAP commissions: Peter Mohr (C2), Robert Hallock (C5), José Nelson Onuchic (C6), Samuel D. Bader (C10), Patricia McBride (C11), Kennedy Reed (C13), and James Gubernatis (C20). Furthermore, Simon Swordy (C4) was elected Vice-Chair and Dean Zollman (C17) and Katharine Gebbie (C15) were elected secretaries.
Learn more about General Assembly outcomes.
The IUPAP International Conferences on Women in Physics
The USLC/IUPAP awarded travel grants to young physicists from developing countries to attend and share their research with other female physicists at the 3rd IUPAP Women in Physics Conference (ICWIP) in October 7-10, 2008, Seoul, South Korea. The International Organizing Committee consists of the IUPAP Working Group on Women in Physics, which was established in 1999 to address the severe under representation of women in physics and develop strategies to increase women physicists worldwide.
With 283 attendees from 57 countries, the 3rd IUPAP Conference on Women in Physics was dedicated to celebrating the achievements of women in physics throughout the world, networking toward new international collaborations, building each participant's capacity for career success, and aiding the formation of active regional working groups to advance women in physics. Women remain a small minority of the physics community in most countries. Global society will fully benefit from the contributions of all physicists only with the inclusion of women of all races and nationalities within the physics community. As a whole, physics contributes to economic development and to the solution of major challenges, such as energy, health, climate change, water, education, and sustainability. To accelerate progress, both men and women in physics must champion this agenda.
The representatives assembled in Seoul unanimously recommend the following actions to the IUPAP 26th General Assembly in Tsukuba, Japan:
- Promote through the IUPAP Liaison Committees and physical societies the formation of additional regional or national working groups for women in physics.
- Publicize site visits as an effective tool for improving the "climate" of physics workplaces, and encourage their implementation to help the workplaces become more supportive of both women and men.
- Actively encourage organizers of IUPAP-sponsored conferences to provide, associated with the conference programme (a) professional development workshops for attendees and (b) outreach activities aimed at the public and to engage both girls and boys from an early age in the excitement of physics.
- Charge the IUPAP Working Group on Women in Physics (a) to oversee the administration of a global survey of physicists in 2009, (b) to continue to assess the progress of women in physics, (c) to make useful resources available globally through the internet, (d) to organize the 4th International Conference on Women in Physics in 2011, and (e) to report at the 27th IUPAP General Assembly in 2011.
- Urge IUPAP Liaison Committees and physical societies to take the leadership in their countries to encourage.
The first IUPAP International Conference on Women in Physics was successfully held in Paris, France, in March 2002. This conference served as an initial focal point for ongoing activities to implement strategies developed there. Along with the second IUPAP International Conference on Women in Physics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in May 2005, the third Conference was dedicated to providing an opportunity to share the scientific accomplishments of participants as well as analyzing international progress in promoting women in physics. The fourth conference was held in Stellenbosch, South Africa in April 6-8, 2011. Visit the official website for addtional information. The videos of the plenary speakers can be watched in the following link: http://physics.yale.edu/4th-international-conference-women-physics.
International Travel Grant Award Program
Recognizing that funding for collaborations between developed and developing country scientists is often insufficient to meet existing needs and opportunities, the International Travel Grant Program (ITGAP) was established following the initiative of the American Physical Society Forum on International Physics (FIP), the APS Committee on International Scientific Affairs (CISA) and the APS Divisions of Nuclear Physics (DNP), Physics of Beams (DPB), Particles and Fields (DPF), and Plasma Physics (DPP). Awards of up to $2,000 USD will be made based on 6-month competitive cycles. 
The USLC/IUPAP provided partial support for the American Physical Society’s International Travel Grant Award Program (ITGAP). View a complete list of awardees from December 2004 to February 2011.
Canadian American Mexican (CAM) Graduate Student Conference
 CAM 2009 participants in Acapulco, Mexico Photo: Gordon Drake
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The USLC/IUPAP supports international outreach, such as the Canadian American Mexican (CAM) Conference, a biennial conference jointly sponsored by the American Physical Society (APS), Canadian Association of Physicists (CAP), and Sociedad Méjicana de Física (SMF) that affords physics graduate students an opportunity to attend a unique conference planned by and for them with mentorship from senior staff of the physics societies in each of the three countries. Students have an opportunity to introduce their recent findings in the various subfields of physics as well as address concerns particular to physicists in the early stages of their careers. In addition, CAM promotes international collaborations among the North American countries and allows participants to develop an appreciation of the different experiences of graduate students from across North America. Through special topical and technical sessions, students have the opportunity to gain a broader view of physics beyond their own classrooms and research laboratories. This conference also features sessions dedicated to exploring career options available to young physicists, along with a career fair for those seeking employment.
The first CAM Conference was held in 2003 in Merida, Yucatan, Mexico, with the responsibilities for hosting subsequent conferences rotating among the three participating countries. The hosting of CAM Conferences rotates among the 3 countries--the United States in 2005, Canada in 2007, with a return to Mexico for its fourth cycle in 2009. Organized by the Sociedad Mejicana de Física, CAM 2009 was held in Acapulco, Mexico, from October 22-24, 2009, where USLC/IUPAP operations officer share with the students the importance of science policy and science diplomacy. Approximately 136 graduate students from the three countries attended the 2009 CAM conference.
The 2011 Canadian-American-Mexican Physics Graduate Student Conference (CAM2011) will be hosted by the American Physical Society in Washington D.C., from September 29th to October 1st, 2011. Along with the scientific presentations, 2 additional panel discussions will help the international audience of graduate students to better understand the important contributions of scientists beyond laboratory research. These panel discussions are: 1) “Careers in Science Policy – Challenges, Opportunities, and Case Examples;” and 2) “Science, Foreign Policy and Diplomacy – Role of Scientific Societies & Other NGOs.” The deadline for abstract submission is June 30th. For more information, please visit http://cam2011.princeton.edu/.
- Chair
Samuel David Bader Argonne National Laboratory - Chair Elect
Patricia McBride Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory - Operations Officer
Ana M. Ferreras NAS Program Officer - Secretary
Amy K. Flatten Director, Office of International Affairs American Physical Society - American Association of Physics Teachers
Gordon Ramsey Loyola University – Chicago - American Institute of Physics
Benjamin B. Snavely Corporate Secretary, American Institute of Physics - American Physical Society
James Vary Iowa State University - American Physical Society
Herman Winick Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory, SLAC - Acoustical Society of America
Philip L. Marston Washington State University
MEMBERS-AT-LARGE
- Sonia Bahar
University of Missouri at St. Louis - Barbara V. Jacak
Stony Brook University - William Dorland
University of Maryland - Anthony M. Johnson
University of Maryland - Allan MacDonald
The University of Texas - Vasudevan Lakshminarayanan
University of Waterloo
EX OFFICIO - Chair, Board on Physics and Astronomy
Marc A. Kastner Massachusetts Institute of Technology - Chair, U.S. Advisory Committee for the International Commission for Optics (USAC/ICO)
I.C. Khoo Pennsylvania State University - President, International Society on General Relativity and Gravitation
Abhay Ashtekar Penn State University - American Association of Physicists Medicine
Harold Paganetti Massachusetts General Hospital - Executive Officer, American Physical Society &
Secretary General, IUPAP Kate Kirby American Physical Society - Executive Officer, American Association of Physics Teachers
Warren Hein American Association of Physics Teachers - Executive Director and CEO, American Institute of Physics
Fred Dylla American Institute of Physics - NAS Foreign Secretary
Michael T. Clegg University of California, Riverside
| IUPAP COMMISSION MEMBERS - Symbols, Units, Nomenclature, Atomic Masses, and Fundamental Constants (C2)
Peter Mohr National Institute of Standards and Technology - Statistical Physics (C3)
Michael Schick University of Washington - Cosmic Rays (C4)
TBA Low Temperature Physics (C5) Robert B. Hallock University of Massachusetts - Biological Physics (C6)
José N. Onuchic University of California at San Diego - Semiconductors (C8)
Chris Van de Walle University of California, Santa Barbara - Magnetism (C9)
Julie Borchers National Institute of Standards and Technology - Structure & Dynamics of Condensed Matter (C10)
Samuel David Bader Argonne National Laboratory - Particles and Fields (C11)
Patricia McBride Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory William C. Carithers Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory - Nuclear Physics (C12)
Donald Geesaman Argonne National Laboratory - Physics for Development (C13)
Kennedy Reed Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory - Physics Education (C14)
Dean Zollman Kansas State University - Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics (C15)
Katharine B. Gebbie National Institute of Standards and Technology - Plasma Physics (C16)
Mark Koepke West Virginia University - Quantum Electronics (C17)
Yoshihisa Yamamoto Stanford University - Mathematical Physics (C18)
Michael Loss Georgia Institute of Technology - Astrophysics (C19)
Virginia Trimble University of California, Irvine - Computational Physics (C20)
James Gubernatis Los Alamos National Laboratory
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RESOURCE LINKS
The USLC/IUPAP is supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. MPS-0650065.
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