In Catalonia, the 23rd of April marks a special day in tradition and cultural significance: the Diada de Sant Jordi, or Saint Jordi’s Day. This celebration uniquely combines culture and love in a vibrant display of Catalan identity. On this special day, the streets of Catalan cities and villages come alive with the enchanting sight of stalls brimming with roses and books.
On this day, we express our love and affection to our loved ones by exchanging roses and books, symbolizing the timeless values of love and knowledge. But beyond its romantic connotations, Sant Jordi holds a deeper meaning for Catalans—it is a celebration of their rich literary heritage and a tribute to the patron saint of Catalonia, Saint George.
Coinciding with Sant Jordi is International Book Day, a global celebration of literature and authors. This day takes on added significance in Catalonia as it aligns with the tradition of book exchanges, and people can encounter renowned writers at bustling bookstalls where they autograph their works for fans.
At our research center, Barcelona Supercomputing Center, we embrace this cultural tradition by hosting an activity to mark Sant Jordi by organizing a book exchange among colleagues, where anybody can bring their favorite books and exchange them with others. It’s an opportunity to share and discover new literary gems.
From our research group, we also want to take this opportunity to emphasize that scientific literature is a key component in the progress and improvement of our quality of life, and in particular scientists in the field of fusion and plasma physics write scientific papers to share their knowledge and push the boundaries of the science. Therefore, we want to conclude the article by highlighting three “best paper awards” by fusion and plasma journals in 2023.
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- The Nuclear Fusion Award recognizes papers with significant scientific contributions, selected based on citation records and recommendations by the Board of Editors, with the winner chosen through a secret ballot for the greatest scientific impact.
- The PPCF Outstanding Paper Prize is a newly established annual prize by Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion (PPCF), highlighting top-quality work published in the journal. It rotates between different plasma research fields, with the first edition focusing on magnetic confinement fusion (MCF).
- The Ronald C. Davidson Award for Plasma Physics was presented by AIP Publishing in tribute to Ronald Davidson’s role as Editor-in-Chief of Physics of Plasmas for 25 years. This $5,000 annual award, in collaboration with APS’s Division of Plasma Physics, recognizes outstanding plasma physics research by authors of Physics of Plasmas papers.
Feliç Sant Jordi!