Candidate for Vice - Chair

Short biography

Yvan Bruynseraede is a Professor Emeritus at the University of Leuven (KU Leuven) where he has been an Academic Staff Member since 1971. After receiving his PhD (1967) in physics from the KU Leuven, he continued research in superconductivity as a research fellow and research associate at CERN, Geneva. In 1971 he moved back to Leuven to build-up a new laboratory. He was until 2003 Head of the Laboratory of Solid-State Physics and Magnetism, KU Leuven, with more than 50 scientists.

His research is in the domain of solid state physics, particularly the electrical, magnetic and optical properties of mesoscopic and nanoscopic systems.  Over the years, his interest has included a variety of topics in superconducting tunnelling and vortices; superconducting- magnetic interactions, GMR phenomena, x-ray structural analysis and SPM techniques applied to thin films and multilayers. His work has been internationally recognized and resulted in more than 500 publications. He has enjoyed fruitful and active collaborations with scientists working in Europe, US, Russia, South America, and China.

He is Past-President of the Royal Belgian Academy, member of the Royal Society of Arts and Sciences in Göteborg, the European Academy of Sciences and Arts in Vienna, and is a Fellow of the American Physical Society.

He is a member or chairman of numerous National and International Expert Advisory and Reviewing Committees. He contributed substantially to the scientific activities of the European Commission, Science Foundation, and Research Council, as well as the US Department of Energy, and Scientific Agencies in the US, China, Chile, Sweden, Germany, Italy, Portugal, France, The Netherlands, etc. He (co)organized numerous international conferences and was chairman or member of many Program Committees. He is together with Ivan Schuller (UCSD) the recipient of the prestigious 2007 IUMRS SOMIYA Award, which recognizes outstanding research conducted by teams from at least two continents.

Candidate Statement

Yvan Bruynseraede has a strong interest in international scientific collaboration and services that further International Understanding and Exchange in all areas of Physics. Scientific research is global by its nature and many activities can only be realized by a concerted international effort including research in Condensed Matter Physics, High Energy Physics, Astronomy, Materials and Plasma Physics. In particular the APS is a highly recognized international physics society which services many outside the US and therefore encouraging participation by non US scientists in the APS FIP activities is very important. Bruynseraede is especially interested in advancing the knowledge of physics and its diffusion by fostering cooperation and communication among young physicists of all countries. These activities are of primary importance and are supported by his many contributions to the science and education agencies, as well as conference organizations. His past interactions with colleagues and extensive international activities make him ideally suited to encourage and start new international activities within the APS. He intends to concentrate his activities on the organization of sessions at APS Meetings addressing major scientific issues of international importance, and encouraging participation of international scientists in the activities of the APS.  In addition, with his vast contacts he could play a important role in promoting Asian and Latin American scientific activities relevant for APS. In the current global research activities, increasing the communication with new international APS Members via internet and other media will be a major program issue.