September will be a special month for physics in Trento. The city will host a full calendar of science events from 11 to 15 September, to talk about physics to science lovers but also to people who never heard about it.
The University of Trento, and the department of Physics in particular, will host the Congress of the Italian Physical Society (SIF) in Povo, on what seems to be a very special congress, because the SIF celebrates its 120th anniversary since its foundation.
To emphasize the importance of this scientific event and reveal some details of the programme, a press conference was held today at the Rector’s Office with the director of the Physics department, Lorenzo Pavesi, and the president of the Italian Physical Society, Luisa Cifarelli.
And yet, the September congress will not simply celebrate the first 120 years of the Italian Physical Society.
«The title of this year’s assembly is “Passion for Physics” and this motto - explained President Cifarelli - well expresses what we want to say. The desire to learn is inherent in human nature. Our goal is to take advantage of the congress to hand down the noble values of research and the importance to support it. But the congress will also serve as an opportunity to show Italian physicists what is going on in Trento, because that is a perfect example of how research should be performed and run everywhere in Italy. There is a healthy collaboration and competition among local research institutions, and the MUSE science museum is an ideal place to disseminate the results of research».
«Trentino invested a lot in research» commented Pavesi. «With “FisiCittà” (City of Physics) we would like to give back part of what we have received, presenting physics from a different point of view, from a more accessible perspective. Physics is often perceived as a difficult subject, not suitable to everyone. But physics is always on the cutting edge, both for its theoretical applications - think of the recent discoveries on gravitational waves - and for the technological ones, and many people are passionate about it. The internet, laser beams, the numerous medical applications for radiotherapy and diagnostics, for example, are all products of physics research. This congress in Trentino, 90 years since the famous Solvay Conference which laid the basis for the foundation of modern physics, will be a fresh start for Italian physics. The quantum revolution, backed by the European Union with one billion funding, placed the University of Trento in a leading position with Quantum@TN, together with CNR and FBK. This team work is also a characteristic of the local organizing committee, which is working behind the scenes for the September congress and includes the Department of Physics and TIFPA (Trento Institute for Fundamentals Physics Applications of the National Institute of Material Physics).
The rich programme of “Fisicittà”, the week-long event on physics for everyone, was presented by physicist Massimiliano Rinaldi, member of the local organizing committee: «Our purpose is to teach the scientific method to everyone. In times of growing distrust of science, we want people to rediscover the importance of discussion and mutual learning which are the foundations of scientific knowledge».
The Italian Physical Society turns 120
The congress, which has been held for more than one hundred years (103, to be precise), will bring together more than 600 physicists from all over Italy and even from abroad, and this year’s edition will be a special one. The Society, which represents a large scientific community with diverse cultural and research interests, wants to celebrate its 120th anniversary. And the anniversary coincides with another important date as it marks 90 years since the Solvay conference of 1927, when the major physicists of the time convened to provide the basis of modern quantum mechanics. The famous debate on the nature of quantum mechanics dates back to then, with Albert Einstein saying “God does not play dice with the universe” and Niels Bohr replying "Einstein, don't tell God what to do”; Richard Feynman later joined the discussion, specifying that "Not only does God play dice, but he sometimes throws them where they cannot be seen”.
The five-day congress will take place at the Polo scientifico e tecnologico “Fabio Ferrari” in Povo, and will be organized, as is customary, in sessions and plenary meetings, tackling different subjects in a way that will attract the interest of both physicists and common people.
The seven parallel sessions will cover different areas of physics: nuclear and subnuclear physics; material physics; astrophysics; geophysics, environmental physics; biophysics and medical physics; applied physics, accelerators and cultural heritage; physics education and history of physics.
Plenaries will focus on current themes: Monday 11 September: "Il neutrino: 90 anni e ancora non lo conosciamo veramente”, Fernardo Ferroni, and "LISA Pathfinder and LISA: gravitational waves from the dawn of the universe”, Stefano Vitale; Tuesday 12: “I Pinocchi della Scienza: Storie di illusioni e frodi nella ricerca scientifica" Stefano Ossicini, and "Ioni pesanti: dalla terapia sul cancro alla missione su Marte" Marco Durante; Wednesday 13: "Ultra-Relativistic Heavy Ion Physics - Recent Results and a Future Perspective" John W. Harris and a report from physicist Wolfgang Losert; Thursday 14: "Soft optoelectronic interfaces to the brain" John A. Rogers; Friday 15: "Water and nitrogen in confinement" A. Soper.
The congress will start on Monday, 11 September, at Teatro Sociale in Trento with the official inauguration, during which a number of young physicists will receive prizes for their contribution to research. The prestigious "Enrico Fermi” prize, established in 2001 (marking 100 years since the birth of Fermi), will be awarded to one or more associates who made important discoveries in physics. On the occasion of the 120th anniversary of SIF, the keynote speech will be given by physicist and Nobel prize laureate Carlo Rubbia. The traditional general assembly of the associates of the Italian Physical Society will take place on Tuesday.
Fisicittà: bringing science onto the streets
Physics is fascinating and always on the move, and even people who do not have a science background might find it interesting. That’s why the Department of Physics of the University of Trento, with physicists from other research centres in Trentino (FBK, CNR, TIFPA and ECT*), is organizing a series of events for the general public. Physics will be the focus of free meetings, shows and talks that will take place during the Congress, from 11 to 15 September, both downtown and in Povo.
The programme will kick off on Monday, 11 September, with an afternoon-evening full of ideas: at 17.00 at Teatro Sociale in Trento “Emozionare con la Scienza”, a challenge to tell about science in seven-minute rounds that will make the audience curious to know more. Later the same day, at 20.45, “Uno spazio quantistico”, organized by the Italian Space Agency, will invite the audience to explore the secrets of the universe in a dialogue between Roberto Battiston (president of the Italian Space Agency) and Giovanni Caprara (scientific journalist from Corriere della Sera).
For movie-lovers the date to remember is Tuesday, 12 September, with “Science on screen”; Cinema Astra in Trento will screen three movies in which physics plays a key role: “Elysium”, with an introduction by Marco Durante and Roberto Poli; “Hidden figures” with an introduction by Barbara Poggio and Eugenio Coccia; and “Deadpool” introduced by Stefano Gialanella and Paolo Macchi.
Their goal is to provide an answer, not necessarily a scientific one, to some questions concerning the world we live in. The screenings will be followed by a discussion on the films’ subjects with experts (physicists and not) and the audience.
“Physics 2night”, a night celebration of physics, will take place on Wednesday, 13 September. From 18.00 on, young researchers will meet with the audience in several locations in the city to discuss different themes: “Appuntamento (non) al buio” at Café de la Paix (Passaggio Teatro Osele, 6), “Cavalca l'onda” at Bookique (Via Torre D'Augusto, 29), “E.R. fisici in prima linea” at Circolo culturale Don Quijote (Vicolo Adige, 31), and “Incontri ad alte energie” at Simposio (Via Antonio Rosmini, 19).
On Thursday, 14 September, all events will focus on women in physics. In the morning in Povo (Fondazione Bruno Kessler, Stringa room), a conference on the difficulties that women experience in science and in pursuing a career in science. The opening lecture is at 9.30 “Ricerca: quali spazi per le donne?”, with researchers sharing national and international data to give an overview of the current situation. Speakers are sociologists Rossella Bozzon and Francesca Sartori, provincial councillor Sara Ferrari, MP Manuela Ghizzoni, prorector Barbara Poggio, and science journalist Fabio Turone. In the second part of the morning a round table will with the title “Fisica, singolare femminile”, as part of the SIF Congress on the same subject, with important Italian women physicists: Caterina Biscari (director of ALBA CELLS), Angela Bracco (president of NuPECC), Monica Colpi (member of the eLISA Consortium Advisory Board), Speranza Falciano (member of the INFN council in Rome), Antigone Marino (former Chair of EPS Young Minds), Elisa Molinari (director of Istituto CNR NANO-S3 Modena).
The session focusing on women will be integrated with a photo exhibition on the life, work and role in society of 14 great female scientists of the twentieth century. The photo exhibition, “La scienza delle donne” (the science of women), will be held at the Polo scientifico e tecnologico “Fabio Ferrari” in Povo from 11 to 15 September (9 to 18).
The closing of the event will take place on Thursday 14, at 20.45, with “Particelle”, an evening on six fragments of physics that will be the subject of stories and personal tales from those who work with physics every day. The “I Minipolifonici” orchestra from Trento will perform on this occasion. Admission is free (limited seating), the location is MUSE.
Another exhibition will be held at Liceo Classico G. Prati, from 11 until 22 September, during the congress, on “I giocattoli e la scienza” (toys and science). This will be an interactive exhibition with objects and toys that will help explain some fun and paradoxical aspects of physics. Opening hours are from 8.10 to 17, admission is free, and experienced staff will be present to provide information on the objects on display and give guided tours to school classes.
There are therefore many opportunities to involve schools in the world of physics. A side programme also includes a series of conferences, “In viaggio con la fisica”, designed for high school students. These will be held from Tuesday 12 to Thursday 14 at Liceo Prati, Liceo Galilei and Liceo da Vinci in Trento, and at Liceo Rosmini in Rovereto.
The full programme of the SIF Congress and “Fisicittà” is available here: http://events.unitn.it/sif2017