i n s i d e - Perimeter Institute

evidence for eternal inflation, new approaches to themeasure problem in eternal inflation in talks by J.Garriga, L. Susskind, R. Neil, and A. Guth, and talksdiscussing alternatives to inflation by P. Steinhardt, W.Xue, P. McFaddden, R. Penrose, J. Lehners, and I. Bars.The Challenges conference concluded with a paneldiscussion led by A. Albrecht, B. Freivogel, L. Marsini-Houghton, M. Kleban, and A. Brown. Each panel memberposed a question to the audience, which led to a livelydebate on the merits of inflation and its alternatives.Women in Physics Canada—Matthew JohnsonAs anyone who has spent any time in a physicsdepartment (or indeed at Perimeter) has no doubtnoticed, there are relatively few women in physics.There is much lively debate in the academy over the reasonsfor the lack of women in science more generally, butno real consensus. While in the long run it would certainlybe good to better understand the causes, in the short term,it is important to support those women who have chosen acareer in physics. Supporting young female physicists wasthe goal of the inaugural “Women in Physics Canada”conference, jointly hosted by Perimeter Institute and theInstitute for Quantum Computing in July 2011.Regional conferences for undergraduate women in physicsexist in the US, and somewhat broader conferences forwomen in science take place in Canada, but to the bestof our knowledge this was the first conference aimedat female students of physics in Canada. The emphasiswas on student presentations, to allow young physiciststo develop skills important to their continuing success.The packed scientific schedule included three days ofpresentations, through which attendees got a glimpseinto areas of physics as diverse as astrophysics, quantuminformation, biophysics, physics education research, andmuch more. There were 34 contributed student talks,and they were of consistently high quality, with interestingphysics and clear presentations.The student talks were complemented by five keynotelectures from world leaders in astrophysics (VictoriaKaspi, McGill), quantum gravity (Fotini Markopoulou, PI),quantum information (Michele Mosca, IQC), biophysics(Melanie Campbell, UW), and cosmology (Neta Bahcall,Princeton).The schedule also included two elements devotedspecifically to women in physics — a panel discussionentitled “Personal Perspectives on Being a Womanin Science,” and a keynote lecture on “Progress andChallenges for Canadian Women Physicists.” AdrianaPredoi-Cross (former chair of Canadian Association ofPhysicists’ committee to encourage women in physics)gave a fascinating and informative talk describing otherCanadian initiatives aimed at encouraging girls andwomen in physics, which put the conference in context.Panel participants for Tuesday morning’s panel wererefreshingly frank about challenges they had faced in theircareers, and somewhat optimistic about how things havenow changed, particularly in regards to maternity andparental leaves of absence.Our motivation in organizing “Women in Physics Canada”was to give young women the opportunity to create asupport network of peers, and to learn from more seniorwomen the challenges of the job, both in general andthose that apply more specifically to women. In theserespects, the conference was even more successful thanwe could have hoped. We were truly overwhelmed by theenthusiasm of the participants, and there is a great dealof momentum, including several volunteers, to make surethe event happens again. It is also clear that there arevery many talented young women in Canada and beyond,ready to make their mark on physics.—Sarah Crokefall 2011 21