International Affairs

The APS Office of International Affairs urges all APS units to consider the needs of our international colleagues who comprise in excess of 22% of the Society’s membership and whose numbers continue to grow.  

Over two-thirds of Physical Review articles are submitted by colleagues from outside of the United States.  The Office of International Affairs stands ready to assist you in pursuing your unit’s international connections and interests.  We welcome your involvement with some of our existing programs listed below and encourage you to share with us any initiatives that you believe would prove beneficial to the international physics community.

International Travel Grant Award Program

The International Travel Grant Award Program (ITGAP) promotes international scientific collaborations between APS members and physicists in developing countries.  Grant recipients receive up to US$2,000 for travel and lodging expenses for international travel while visiting a collaborator for at least one month.  One or both partners in the collaboration must be a member of at least one of the APS units* that supports ITGAP.  There are two competitive application cycles each year. 
ITGAP Website

* Units Supporting ITGAP

• Forum on International Physics (FIP)
• Division of Nuclear Physics (DNP),
  
• Division of Physics of Beams (DPB), 
• Division of Particles and Fields (DPF)
  
• Division of Plasma Physics (DPP).

Journal Distribution 

  APS Journal Access for Developing Countries

• A. Free online access for institutions in Sub-Saharan Africa & Bangladesh
  This program provides free on-line access to its journals for non-profit institutions located in eligible countries in Sub-Saharan Africa and Bangladesh.  Access is made available through the International Network for the Availability of Scientific Publications (INASP) Programme for the Enhancement of Research Information (PERI).  PERI provides researchers in developing and transitional countries with access to international, scholarly literature from a wide range of disciplines. 
    PERI Website
   
• B. ICTP Electronic Journals Delivery Service
  APS participates in the Electronic Journals Delivery Service (eJDS), which is administered by the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP).  This service is aimed at providing scientific literature to scientists at institutions in developing countries that do not have access to sufficient bandwidth, thus, making it impossible or too difficult to download material from the Internet.  Through eJDS, scientists receive individual mathematics and physics journal articles via e-mail. 
    eJDS Website
   
• C. CD-ROM versions of APS journals
  Each year, APS provides ICTP with a limited number of CD-ROMs that ICTP distributes to academic and research institutions in developing countries.  The CD-ROMs are mounted on a server for use by individuals at that institution.
   
• D. FIP Journal and Book Exchange Program
  The APS Forum on International Physics (FIP) maintains a list of prospective donors and the books and journals that they have available for donation.  The recipient typically pays for shipping. 
    FIP Website
   
• E. Consortia
  APS has established multi-institutional agreements (consortia) in many countries to help broaden access to institutions that might otherwise be unable to afford or gain access to APS journals.
   
• F. Iraqi Virtual Science Library
  APS is one of many publishers that are partners in the Iraqi Virtual Science Library (IVSL).  The IVSL is a digital portal that provides Iraqi universities and research institutes with free access to millions of full text articles from over 17,000 premier scientific and engineering journals and their archives, in addition to technical content and educational resources. 
    IVSL Website
   

Lectureships

Each year the APS Committee on International Scientific Affairs (CISA) invites the APS Divisions, Topical Groups, and Forums to submit nominations of candidates for lectureships that are awarded each year.  The lectureships support travel for distinguished speakers during units’ sessions at the March and April APS meetings.

• Beller Lectureship
  The Beller Lectureshipwas endowed by the estate of Esther Hoffman Beller for the purpose of bringing distinguished physicists from abroad as invited speakers at APS meetings.  Three Beller Lectureships are awarded each year.
    Beller Lectureship Website
   
• Marshak Lectureship
  The Marshak Lectureship, endowed by the late Ruth Marshak in honor of her late husband and former APS president, Robert Marshak, provides travel support for physicists from developing nations or Eastern Europe who are invited to speak at APS meetings. 
    Marshak Lectureship Website

Visa Information

The APS visa website provides APS members and international visitors with information and news on matters related to U.S. visas.  This site serves as a resource for updates on U.S. visa policy as well as information on how to apply for a visa to the United States. 
  APS Visa Information

Matching Membership Program

The Matching Membership Program was established in order to make APS membership available to physicists living in developing and hard-currency-poor countries.  Through the Program, individuals residing in eligible countries may apply for a reduced-cost membership (i.e., Matching Membership), which is available in one of two categories:

• Sponsored Member
  A half-price membership is available to those who have an individual or institution who will sponsor them and provide payment.
   
• Funded Member
  A free membership is available to individuals on a limited basis. Applicants who are unable to pay and who do not have a sponsor may request APS support.

Matching Membership Program enrollment is limited to 1.5% of the current APS membership level. 
  Matching Membership Program Website

Human Rights

APS is committed to the human rights of physicists.  Through its Committee on International Freedom of Scientists, APS monitors and advocates for the rights of individual scientists in the United States and around the globe.  The Society also awards the Andrei Sakharov Prize every two years to a scientist “to recognize outstanding leadership and/or achievements…in upholding human rights.”
APS Human Rights Information

Contacts

• Dr. Amy K. Flatten,
  Director, International Affairs
  Phone: (301) 209-3236
  flatten@aps.org
   
• Ms. Michele Irwin,
  International Programs Administrator
  Phone: (301) 209-3237
  irwin@aps.org