The Physical Society of Japan is a member of the Association of Asia Pacific Physical Societies (AAPPS), a federation of 21 physical societies from 20 countries and regions in Asia and the Pacific.
Introducing AAPPS
Overview
Established in 1989, AAPPS is a federation of academic societies that aims to promote physics in the Asia-Pacific region. Currently, its members hail from 21 academic societies in 20 countries and regions in Asia and the Pacific. AAPPS promotes physics in the Asia-Pacific region through research, practical applications and education and encourages cooperation around the world. The association's main activities include the organization of the Asia Pacific Physics Conference (APPC) and publication of the AAPPS Bulletin.
Structure and operations
The executive council is made up of over a dozen directors, including the president, vice president, secretary, and treasurer. Board members are elected on the basis of nominations by member societies. The president and vice president are elected by the council from among the directors, and the secretary and treasurer are appointed by the president. Two members of JPS serve on the council and contribute to the operation and management of AAPPS.
Divisions
There are currently four divisions in AAPPS that are actively engaged in activities, including the organization of their own scientific meetings.
Division of Plasma Physics (DPP)
Division of Astrophysics, Cosmology, and Gravitation (DACG)
Division of Nuclear Physics (DNP)
Division of Condensed Matter Physics (DCMP)
Asia Pacific Physics Conference (APPC)
The APPC is an international conference of physicists from countries and regions in Asia and the Western Pacific that aims to engage in discussions on recent advancements in physics, promote exchange between physical societies and physicists in the region, and foster an awareness of and spirit of cooperation in resolving problems related to the development of research on physics, education in the sciences, and other issues that are specific or common to the region. The first conference (I APPC, 1983) was held in Singapore in June 1983. JPS took the lead in organizing this event in cooperation with the Institute of Physics Singapore, South East Asia Theoretical Physics Association, and the International Centre for Theoretical Physics in Trieste. With the inauguration of AAPPS in 1989, APPC has been organized by AAPPS since the fourth meeting (IV APPC, 1990), and is now held once every three years. The 12th meeting (APCC12, 2013) was held in Japan in 2013.
AAPPS Bulletin
AAPPS's newsletter, the AAPPS Bulletin, a bimonthly, free-access journal, was first published in June 1991. It now operates independently with its own office and staff, with contributions from physical societies in Japan, China, Taiwan, and Korea, as well as support from the Asia Pacific Center for Theoretical Physics (APCTP) in Pohang, Korea.
AAPPS-JPS Award
In order to promote research on Physics in the Asian region, JPS and AAPPS shall jointly award "AAPPS-JPS Award" for young JPS members who achieve outstanding research results in this regard. The recipient of the Award shall be a member of the JPS who has made outstanding academic achievement within 10 years of obtaining his/her PhD degree and who has been nominated for the C. N. Yang Award during the year that they obtained their PhD degree. However, C. N. Yang Award recipients shall not be eligible to receive the Award. The winners will be honored at the JPS Annual Meeting and will give an award lecture.
C.N. Yang Award
Named after Nobel Prize-winning physicist Chen Ning Yang, the first president of AAPPS, the C.N. Yang Award was launched in 1997 to promote the development of leaders in physics in the Asia-Pacific region and to honor young researchers for prominent achievements in research. Award winners are decided by a selection committee, currently appointed by the AAPPS and APCTP, from a pool of nominations, which takes into account the overall quality and significance of the contributions and creativity shown by the research. Recipients are awarded a cash prize of USD 1,000 and a certificate.
Women in Physics
Women in Physics held the first International Conference on Women in Physics in 2002 in Paris, France with the aim of developing strategies to improve the significantly low representation of women in physics and achieve equal participation in the field. In 2005, the first workshop of Asian Women in Physics was held in Pohang, Korea, with the aim of creating an international network in the Asia-Pacific region. This workshop acted as the starting point for a resolution to establish the AAPPS Working Group on Women in Physics that was proposed to the 16th meeting of the AAPPS Council, which endorsed the proposed resolution and established the AAPPS Working Group on Women in Physics. Over the years since its establishment, the AAPPS Working Group on Women in Physics has been engaged in a number of activities, including organizing meetings and enhancing regional networks.