Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft

The German Physical Society (German: , DPG) is the oldest organisation of physicists. The DPG's worldwide membership is cited as 52,220, as of 2022, making it one of the largest national physics societies in the world. The number of the DPG's members peaked in 2014, when it reached 63000, but it has been decreasing since then. It holds an annual conference and multiple spring conferences, which are held at various locations and along topical subjects of given sections of the DPG. The DPG serves the fields of pure and applied physics. Main aims are to bring its members and all physicists living in Germany closer together, represent their entirety outwards as well as foster the exchange of ideas between its members and foreign colleagues. The DPG binds itself and its members to advocate for freedom, tolerance, veracity and dignity in science and to be aware about the fact that the people working in science are responsible to a particularly high extent for the configuration of the overall human activity. Conferences and fostering young talent The DPG itself does not carry out any research, but its conferences promote the sharing of information about the latest findings in the field of physics. The traditional spring meetings held by the DPG each year at venues across the country are among largest physics conferences in Europe, attended by around 10,000 experts from Germany and abroad. Fostering young talent is another central concern of the DPG : its conferences provide a platform particularly for younger scientists. The conferences provide students with opportunities to meet renowned scientists in person. The DPG also runs a nationwide network for physics students in the working group Young DPG. Female physicists have a forum of their own in the annual German Conference of Women in Physics. In partnership with the Bonn-Cologne Graduate School of Physics and Astronomy (BCGS), the DPG also provides a platform for students of the school to network with leaders in the field with the annual BCGS Weekend Seminar : a retreat with physics lectures across several areas including excursions and social events. Awards and school projects The DPG honours outstanding achievements in physics with awards of international repute. The highest awards which are presented by the DPG are the Max Planck Medal for work in theoretical physics, first awarded in 1929, and the Stern–Gerlach Medal for work in experimental physics, first awarded in 1933.