International Activities

Foster international communication and collaboration between physicists

International Lectureships
The Beller  and Marshak Lectureships provide travel funds to support foreign physicists who are invited by APS units to speak at the annual March and April APS meetings.  The Beller Lectureship was endowed by the estate of Esther Hoffman Beller for the purpose of bringing distinguished physicists from abroad as invited speakers at APS meetings. The Marshak Lectureship, endowed by the late Ruth Marshak in honor of her late husband and former APS president, Robert Marshak, is to provide travel support for physicists from "developing nations or the Eastern Block" invited to speak at the annual March and/or April APS meetings.  Additional lectureships may be established as contributions allow.

International Travel Grants
With funds for collaborations between U.S. and developing country scientists often insufficient to meet existing needs and opportunities, APS has created, and now expanded, its International Travel Grant Award Program (ITGAP) thanks to additional external funding.  The grants support the travel and lodging expenses for international travel while visiting with a collaborator.  Under-represented countries and ethnic groups are given priority.  During the period of 2004-2009 fourteen awards will be given band continued expansion is a goal in terms of providing larger awards with broader aims.

International Sustainable Development Initiatives
APS continues its involvement in projects resulting from the World Conference on Physics and Sustainable Development of 2005, where 300 representatives from nearly 90 countries met in Durban, South Africa to initiate new programs to be implemented in the next 2-3 years in four thematic areas:  physics and health, physics education, energy and the environment, and physics and economic development.  Many of new projects have already been launched through partnerships between physicists, industrialists and policy makers from developed and developing countries.  Some of these include development of workshops for:  1)  teacher-trainers in Asia, Latin America and Africa that exemplify how active learning methods can be adapted to help meet the needs of students in developing countries; 2) local energy solutions and appropriate technology for developing regions in Africa; and 3) training developing country scientists in moving research results from the laboratory to the commercial environment. 

Improving Journal Access for Developing Countries
APS is now offering free on-line access to its journals for institutions located in Sub-Saharan Africa. Beginning in 2006 through 2008, not-for-profit institutions located in eligible countries can register to gain online access to APS journals. This offer is made available through the International Network for the Availability of Scientific Publications’ (INASP) Programme for the Enhancement of Research Information (PERI). Through PERI, researchers in developing and transitional countries can access international, scholarly literature from a wide range of disciplines. The APS is one of a host of publishers that provides country-wide electronic access to its journals.

Matching Membership Program
This program makes APS membership available to physicists living in developing and hard-currency-poor countries. Through the Matching Membership Program, individuals residing in eligible countries-especially those who are members of their national physical societies-may apply for a reduced-cost membership.