The Enrico Fermi Research Center joins the Young Minds project promoted by the European Physical Society (EPS).
The initiative consists of the voluntary creation of a group of “young minds” willing to grow and share their knowledge concerning physics and related disciplines, thus contributing to developing and promoting the subject in the European arena.

The project was born in 2010 out of the desire of Maciej Kolwas, EPS President at the time, to achieve a threefold goal: to select future physics researchers; to promote the discipline by encouraging scientific activism among young people; and, finally, to provide them with an opportunity to connect across national borders, supporting the development of communication networks with other scholars and thus supporting the multicultural and interdisciplinary nature of science.

All those studying at the university, doctoral students and post-docs affiliated with the European Physical Society or a national body affiliated with it, in the Italian case, the Italian Physical Society (SIF), can join a Young Minds section or create a new one. There must be at least four members, such that they serve as president, vice-president, secretary and treasurer, and are then led by a local faculty advisor who can ensure continuity and promotion of the project in the place of origin.

More than sixty local sections are participating in the initiative from  32 European countries.

In our branch, the five young participants in the project are Domenica Verduci, Anna Mancini, Jacopo Signorini, Francesco Furfari and Giulio Iannelli, led by Miriam Focaccia.

Among the many opportunities the Young Minds Project offers, the most interesting is organising the Leadership Meeting, an annual conference to meet other young European researchers and share their passion for the subject. During the meeting, one representative from each Young Minds group is invited to present the activities developed by the section during the year through oral lectures and graphic presentations to succeed in winning the Best Activity award, sponsored by EPS.

The aims of the project are fully consistent with those proper to our Enrico Fermi Research Center, which every day develops new ideas to promote and encourage the popularization and dissemination of scientific culture to the public, especially to schools and universities, through original lines of research.

Wishing the fledgling group good luck, we look forward to sharing their news, including networking events, discussion forums and popularizing seminars.