Support for and US Participation in the Second International Conference on Women in Physics; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; May 23-26, 2005

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Both nationally and internationally, women are seriously under-represented in physics andin other fields, such as engineering, for which physics knowledge is an essential prerequisite. The nature and magnitude of the problem varies from country to country, with some doing considerably better and others doing considerably worse than the United States. However, there is remarkable consistency in one sobering pattern: the percentage of women in physics in all countries decreases markedly with each step up the academic ladder and with each level of promotion in industrial and government laboratories. In 1999, the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP) chartered a new Working Group on Women in Physics to understand this problem and propose solutions. In 2002 with support from NSF and other sponsors, this IUPAP Working Group completed an international benchmarking effort to learn about the status and trends relating to women in physics internationally, and held the first International Conference on Women in Physics in Paris, France. More than 300 physicists--85% of them women--from more than 60 countries participated in the Conference. The Conference Proceedings, Women in Physics (Hartline and Li, 2002), was published. This award supports the participation of US physicists in the Second International Conference on Women in Physics, organized by the IUPAP Working Group, to be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in May 2005. Teams from participating countries will contribute posters and papers describing their progress along with their most significant remaining challenges and hurdles. In addition individual women physicists from around the world will have an opportunity to present a poster and abstract of their own research to foster broader impacts including broadening participation and international networking. The publication and dissemination of the Conference Proceedings will also be supported. This award is funded by the Directorate of Mathematical and Physical Science's Office of Multidisciplinary Activities.