Areas Of Research

Welcome to the web pages of the Statistical and Nonlinear Physics Division (SNPD). The SNPD is a division of the European Physical Society (EPS) that represents and provides a forum for scientists interested in statistical and nonlinear physics, complex systems and interdisciplinary applications (pictures courtesy of P. Manneville and A.-L. Barabasi).

List of Board members of SNPD. Many thanks to Paul Manneville whose term as board member of EPS-SNPD ended in 2020. Welcome to Erik Aurell (KTH Stockholm) as a new board member.

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Call for Nominations for the 2021 prizes:

1. EPS Statistical and Nonlinear Physics Prize The EPS Statistical and Nonlinear Physics Prize is awarded by  EPS for outstanding research contributions in the area of statistical physics, nonlinear physics, complex systems and complex networks. The prize winner will have made ground-breaking and agenda setting contributions for the development of this field. The prize can be shared by up to 2 persons. The prize consists of a glass trophy and a cash sum. Prize winners can have any nationality.

2. EPS-SNPD Early Career Prize This prize is awarded to an early career scientist (defined as having obtained his/her PhD less than 6 years ago at the time of nomination) who has made outstanding research contributions to an area of statistical physics, nonlinear physics, complex systems, or complex networks, as evidenced by a top quality and highly cited paper in an international journal. The prize can be shared by up to 2 persons. The prize consists of a glass trophy and a cash sum. Prize winners can have any nationality.

Please send your nomination to the Chair of the EPS Statistical and Nonlinear Physics Division, Prof Christian Beck, c.beck@qmul.ac.uk with the subject header "EPS-SNPD prize nomination", attaching a brief description of the most important research contributions of the candidate (maximum 2 pages), and a list of up to 6 key publications.

Deadline for nominations for the 2021 prizes is 20 June 2021. The prize selection committee consists of the current board members of the Statistical and Nonlinear Physics Division of EPS in consultation with external experts.

To nominate a suitable candidate for the EPS Statistical and Nonlinear Physics Prize, several scientists can join together in their nomination letter if they wish so. Anybody can nominate, you do not need to be an EPS member.
For the EPS-SNPD Early Career Prize, self-nominations are not allowed but early career scientists who think they are suitable for the prize may ask a senior academics to nominate them.

The next prizes will be awarded in autumn 2021.

History: The previous prizes (2019) were awarded during the EPS conference "Statistical Physics of Complex Systems" at Nordita/Stockholm 7-11 May 2019. 

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History: The above prizes were created by EPS in 2017 and are awarded every 2 years.

The previous prize winners were:  2017---Peter Grassberger and Itamar Procaccia

                                                          2019---Sergio Ciliberto and Satya Majumdar

The early career prize went to Laura Foini, Edgar Roldan (2017), Karel Proesmans, Valentina Ros (2019) 

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Aims of the Division

The objective of the Statistical and Nonlinear Physics Division (SNPD) is the advancement of research in statistical and nonlinear physics, the dissemination of key results in this area to the general public, and the promotion and coordination of interdisciplinary research. More specifically, the SNPD aims to form an umbrella organization for coordination of research in statistical physics, nonlinear physics, complex systems and interdisciplinary applications and

• to promote studies and dissemination in this general research area
• to facilitate contacts between members
• to encourage collaboration and exchange of knowledge between different disciplines
• to stimulate the interest of young scientists in the field of statistical physics, nonlinear physics, and complex systems
• to organize and support conferences and workshops
• to maintain contacts with related divisions within EPS
• to communicate with similar organizations worldwide

Areas of research

Research areas represented by the division include (but are not restricted to)

• nonequilibrium statistical physics .
• complex networks
• nonlinear dynamical system
• chaos and turbulence
• stochastic modelling
• spin glasses and disordered quantum systems
• pattern formation
• long-range interacting systems
• phase transitions and critical phenomena
• interdisciplinary applications in physics, biology, economics, and social sciences

Past conference highlights

• Statphys26 took place in Lyon on 18-22 July 2016 and was sponsored by EPS as a Europhysics conference. The board of SNPD had its annual board meeting in Lyon on the occasion of Statphys26. The SNPD also hosted an honorary dinner for the new Boltzmann medalists in Lyon.
• Dynamics of Complex Systems was yet another Europhysics conference organized by the Division and this took place in Warwick 18-20 May 2016.
• Dynamics Days 2016 (Corfu) was sponsored by EPS as well (6-10 June 2016).
• Crossroads in Complex Systems: This Europhysics conference took place 5-8 June 2017 at IFISC in Palma de Mallorca. There was a special session organized by the Statistical and Nonlinear Physics Division (SNPD) of EPS.
• SigmaPhi conference on Statistical Physics. This was supported by EPS as a Europhysics conference. There was also a satellite summer school on New Trends in Statistical Physics for young researchers, organised by SNPD immediately before the conference.
• 2017 saw the 100th anniversary of the life and work of Marian Smoluchowski (1872-1917). On this occasion the Statistical and Nonlinear Physics Division organised the Anniversary Smoluchowski Symposium/1st EPS conference on Statistical and Nonlinear Physics in Krakow (4-8 September 2017).
• The EPS Statistical and Nonlinear Physics Divsion joined forces with the EPS Condensed Matter Division and the Sektion Kondensierte Materie of DPG to organize a joint DPG/EPS spring conference in Berlin 11-16 March 2018. More than 6000 participants attended this huge meeting.
• New interaction between EPS Plasma Physics Division and EPS Statistical and Nonlinear Physics Division: Joint sessions organized at the 45th Plasma Physics Conference in Prague 2-6 July 2018.
• Statistical Physics of Complex Systems. This joint EPS-Nordita conference was organized by our Division in Stockholm 7-11 May 2019.
• Statphys27 took place in Buenos Aires 8-12 July 2019 and was sponsored and supported by EPS-SNPD. There was a special EPS session during this conference.

Prizes: see top of page for EPS Statistical and Nonlinear Physics Prize

Future conferences: See bottom of page

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Partnerships:

The EPS Statistical and Nonlinear Physics Division has links with the IOP Nonlinear and Complex Physics Group. We also collaborate with the Fachverband Dynamik and Statistische Physik of the DPG. The journal  EPL is published under the scientific responsibilty of EPS, with a large section on statistical physics and complex systems. 

Board Members