Amy Flatten (APS)

With 2018 having come to a close, I appreciate the chance to begin the new year by reflecting upon the international activities APS undertook over the past year, many of which were offered through a partnership of the Forum on International Physics (FIP), the APS Committee on International Scientific Affairs (CISA), and the APS International Office. As some of you may be aware, the FIP Chair, Past Chair and Chair-Elect, all serve on CISA, allowing for a great opportunity for coordination.

This past year, APS and the Sociedade Brasileira de Física (SBF) continued to offer an exchange program for physics Ph.D. students, postdocs, and professors in the United States and Brazil. Moreover, APS and SBF partnered to host the "SBF-APS São Paulo School of Advanced Science on Experimental Neutrino Physics", held December 3-14, at the University of Campinas (Unicamp), in Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil. The idea for the school came from discussions by CISA, following a successful APS-SBF Young Physicists Forum that was held in Baltimore, in 2016. The School included approximately 100 Ph.D. students/early pos-docs representing diverse countries, including ~ 20 participants from the United States.

Likewise, APS continued to lead the SESAME Travel Award Program, a partnership of 11 scientific societies in Europe and the United States that support training opportunities for scientists in the Middle East. Likewise, APS also served developing country physicists through FIP’s International Research Travel Award Program and also through the Entrepreneurship Workshops cosponsored by APS, the UK Institute of Physics, International Centre for Theoretical Physics and other societies.

As we look ahead to 2019, we can feel energized about the growing opportunities for APS to serve the international physics community. In past issues of the FIP Newsletters, I have shared news of the Task Force on Expanding International Engagement, launched by APS CEO, Kate Kirby. The Task Force has spent 18 months reaching out to APS members and partners regarding how the Society can expand its offerings, strengthen its connections, and ensure its long-term value to the international physics community.

I am pleased to announce that the Task Force’s report and recommendations were presented to the APS Council of Representatives at its meeting this past November 2018. Likewise, the Task Force report and recommendations will be highlighted as the APS News “Back Page” feature in the January 2019 issue, and will be available on the APS website in the new year. I look forward to working with FIP in 2019 to expand the Society’s international engagement. We can feel proud of our past efforts and can anticipate an exciting year ahead.