When the Industrial Physics Forum (IPF) begins Sept. 28 in Brazil, NIU students and faculty will join in the conversation – that is, if Anna Quider has anything to say about it.
Quider, NIU’s new director of federal relations, is spreading the word about the conference that aims to scientifically drive economic development in Latin America through basic and applied research in physics.
IPF organizers – Quider is among them – believe that promoting links between scientists, industry and societal needs provides a key strategy for sustainable technological advancement, also known as “capacity building.”
“There are a number of funded slots for graduate students and postdocs which are not presently filled, as well as openings for faculty attendance,” Quider said.
“Particularly targeted toward students, there will be a two-day entrepreneurship workshop at the end of the conference. We have lined up top speakers in an array of topics such as advanced manufacturing, health/biotech, communications/optics, energy and science policy.”
Registration is available online.
The fall conference takes place at UNICAMP (the University of Campinas, Sao Paulo State, Brazil), and will offer a rich array of sessions, ranging from technical sessions to policy and a field experience that will highlight examples of science and scientists contributing to local economic development.
Scientists and students from all countries that are members of the United Nations, UNESCO or IAEA can attend. Sessions are conducted in English.
Confirmed speakers include:
- Eric Cornell, a Nobel Prize-winning physicist; and
- E. William Colglazier, science and technology adviser to the U.S. Secretary of State.
Technical themes will cover topics such as advanced manufacturing, energy, communications, optics and health. As always, there will be the popular Frontiers of Physics talks, featuring renowned researchers who are making breakthrough scientific contributions.
A two-day short course on entrepreneurship for scientists, targeted at undergraduate and graduate students, will be offered immediately following the forum.
Hosts of the event are the American Institute of Physics and the International Centre for Theoretical Physics along with FAPESP and ICTP-SAIRFR.
For more information, contact Quider at (202) 400-1260 or aquider@niu.edu.
