Working Group
Outreach of Application for Society
This working group focuses on collecting and making available engaging stories about concrete examples of successful applications for the benefit of society from (particle) physics and related sciences. Out of a wide range of working documents and even more ideas, the stories available so far are:
- Unraveling Cosmic Mysteries: The collaboration between International Space Station and CERN
- Superconductivity – quantum mechanics at work
- Medipix detectors, from colour X-ray imaging to education
- Muography - Invisible particles help to reveal invisible structures
- Searching for hidden cavities inside the Sun pyramid in Mexico
- Einstein's Relativity in Action – the GPS Navigation System knows it
- Positron Emission Tomography: Can crystals used in particle detectors save lives?
- Accelerators to reduce pollution of maritime traffic
They are all collected on the: IPPOG witness stories web page
Conveners
Working group members
IPPOG forum contributors: Ruben Alfaro (HAWC), Beatrice Bressan (core team), Barbora Bruant Gulejova (Switzerland), Yiota Foka (GSI), Despina Hatzifotiadou (ALICE), Katharina Muller (Switzerland), Thomas Naumann (DESY).
External contributors: Pinelopi Christodoulou, Verania Echaide, Azra Gazibegovic-Bussuladzic, Lorenzo Galante.
Mandate
Concrete examples of successful applications for the benefit of society from (particle) physics and related sciences are among the most impactful and effective means to communicate the positive impact of fundamental research to society when approaching the non-scientifically educated public, including young talents who need to be motivated and inspired to engage in STEM studies. In addition to the quest for knowledge and satisfying natural human curiosity, there is a growing pressure from taxpayers for the justification of fundamental research funding requesting tangible examples of return to economy and society. In particular, the young generation that engage with STEM studies needs to be exposed to perspectives on potential careers and to examples of the impact of fundamental research to applied sciences.
Thus, the aim of the working group is to offer a structured and categorized online collection of short stories with clear messages and explanations of “science at work” in the applications and spin-offs. The ultimate goal is to connect fundamental science to everyday lives of citizens and solutions for global societal challenges.
