A note from Program Chair, Ichiro Takeuchi, on FIAP sessions at March Meeting 2018 in Los Angeles.

At the APS March Meeting in 2018, FIAP will again host many stimulating invited symposia. These include a joint symposium with GMED (Topical Group on Medical Physics) on the theme of Physics Changing Medicine on Tuesday March 6th at 2:30PM and a joint symposium with FPS (Forum on Physics and Society) on Advancing Innovation for Industry and Society to be chaired by David Seiler (NIST) on Tuesday March 6th at 11:15PM. The distinguished speakers for the FIAP-FPS symposium include Ken Gabriel, formerly of DARPA and Google, and now the President and CEO of the Charles Draper Lab.

Wednesday March 7th is FIAP’s Industry Day with a theme of Big Data and Physics - Bits to Knowledge. The target audience are students, early career scientists, and industry people plus academics who are interested in what's happening in industry and Big Data. New applications, services, and products are emerging as Big Data grows in importance. Software and systems are being deployed that can digest enormous datasets and extract meaningful insights. Industry Day features sessions on Data Science as the Driving Force for Modern Industrial Physics to be chaired by Maria Longobardi from FECS (Forum on Early Career Scientists) and the FIAP-AIP session on Put Big Data in Your Physics Toolbox to be chaired by FIAP’s Steven Lambert. Among the presenters are speakers from Netflix, Uber and Google, who will discuss how Big Data is impacting their work, and help us see how it might affect our daily lives as well as physics research. Back by popular demand, the midday session for the Industry Day will be the symposium on Physics that Changed the World to be chaired by Eli Yablonovitch (UC Berkeley).

FIAP will wrap up its invited symposia on Thursday March 8th with the annual Physicists as Entrepreneurs session at 11:15AM, and the joint FIAP-GIMS (Topical Group on Instrument & Measurement Science) Awards session at 2:30PM where winners of the George E. Pake Prize, Distinguished Lectureship on Applications of Physics Award, and Keithley Awards will deliver their invited talks. The Awards session will be followed by a reception.

Additionally, FIAP is organizing focus sessions with a number of invited speakers. The FIAP focus sessions include Integer and Fractional Quantum Hall Effects and Related Topics and Moore’s Law: More and Beyond.

FIAP will also sponsor sessions specifically designed for students and early career physicists to learn about careers in the private sector. On Monday at noon FIAP and APS Careers will host a special lunchtime session (pizza included!) in which representatives from industry will briefly describe their career path and answer questions about physics careers in the private sector. Topics will include research opportunities for physicists in industry, strategies for successfully pursuing industrial jobs, and advice on how to thrive in this exciting and challenging work environment. Students can also sign up for the Graduate Student Lunch with the Experts on Tuesday. Round table discussions over lunch with an industrial physicist provides an opportunity to ask questions in a more relaxed setting. There will also be a Careers Fair where your company can connect with students interested in working in your field.

Join your colleagues in Los Angeles for Industry Day or for the entire week. There’s always interesting talks, new people to meet, and new equipment and techniques to learn about in the equipment exhibit. See you there!

Ichiro Takeuchi
Vice Chair FIAP Executive Committee

Opinions expressed represent the views of the individual authors and not the American Physical Society or author’s employers.