Karen Hallberg - 2021 International Councilor

Principal Researcher
Bariloche Atomic Center and Balseiro Institute

Statement

I feel very honored to have been proposed as a candidate to serve as an APS International Councilor.

In addition to being passionate about my research in condensed matter physics, I am committed to bridging the gap between science, society and politics, advocating ethics in science, social responsibility of scientists, the inclusion of women and disadvantaged groups and knowledge and fact-based decision making.

Experience: I have served on several international committees such as: Council member of the Pugwash Conferences for Science and World Affairs; Argentine government representative to the Latin American Center of Physics (CLAF); board member of the Aspen Science Center; Argentine node representative to the International Institute for Complex Adaptive Matter (ICAM); member of the International Advisory Council of the International Institute of Physics (Natal, Brazil); Senior Associate Member of the ICTP (Trieste) and of the ICTP-SAIFR (Brazil); and Vice Chair of the Low Temperature Commission of the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP). I have also participated in several international committees for conferences, assessments of institutions, evaluations of researchers and projects, scientific prizes and as a coeditor of EPL (Europhysics Letters) and the Physical Review Research journals. At the national level I am a member of the Argentine Committee on Ethics in Science and Technology, which advises the Ministry of Science and Technology. From 1998 to 2006 I was a Board member of the Argentine Physical Association. In that capacity I had the pleasure of working together with APS during the 2001 economic crisis in Argentina when it facilitated free journal access and membership to Argentine physicists. Since then I feel deeply indebted to APS.

Goals to pursue: There are several lines in which APS could increase synergies at the international level:

• fostering scientific exchange, collaboration and cooperation prioritizing young physicists;
• promoting and advocating unrestricted mobility of scientists;
• encouraging diversity and breaking down social and cultural barriers;
• providing support to physicists of less advantaged developing countries for open access fees and journal subscriptions;
• sharing more widely on-line physics education programs, training and outreach;
• implementing regional-specific sections and translations to other languages, e.g. in outreach chapters of APS publications;
• connecting more with other physics societies to identify areas of possible joint advocacy interests;
• promoting bilateral societal memberships.

In our hyperconnected and fragile world, challenges have become global and require creative, inter- and multi-disciplinary, collaborative and supranational efforts. Science diplomacy is important to promote international understanding, confidence building and peace. I will be honored to contribute to the American Physical Society's leadership and commitment to these goals and to strengthen its international engagement.

Educational History (bullets)

• PhD, Physics, Balseiro Institute, Argentina (1992)
• Lic. (eq. MS), Physics, Balseiro Institute, Argentina (1987)

URL for Full Bio or CV

• shorturl.at/dfwD4

Top 5 Honors, Awards, or Recognition

• Member, Latin American Academy of Sciences
• Correspondent Member, Academy for Exact and Natural Sciences, Argentina
• Doctor Honoris Causa, Universidad Nacional de Jujuy, Argentina
• L'Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Laureate for Latin America (2019)
• Honorary Fellow, IAEA Marie Sklodowska Curie Fellowship

Most Recent APS Volunteer History

• Member, Editorial Board, Physical Review Research (PRR), American Physical Society (2019-present)

Membership in Other Societies

• Member of the Argentine Physical Association since 1986

Other Relevant Experience

• Council Member, Pugwash Conferences for Science and World Affairs
• Board member, Argentine Committee on Ethics in Science and Technology, Ministry for S&T
• Chair, Board of the Latin American Center for Physics, CLAF
• Head, Department of Condensed Matter, Bariloche Atomic Center, National Atomic Energy Commission, Argentina
• Board member, Argentine Physical Association

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