The Biophysical Society is an international

scientific society A learned society ( ; also scholarly, intellectual, or academic society) is an organization that exists to promote an academic discipline, profession, or a group of related disciplines such as the arts and sciences. Membership may be open to a ...

whose purpose is to lead the development and dissemination of knowledge in

biophysics Biophysics is an interdisciplinary science that applies approaches and methods traditionally used in physics to study biological phenomena. Biophysics covers all scales of biological organization, from molecular to organismic and populations ...

. Founded in 1958, the Society currently consists of over 7,000 members in

academia An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

, and

industry Industry may refer to: Economics * Industry (economics), a generally categorized branch of economic activity * Industry (manufacturing), a specific branch of economic activity, typically in factories with machinery * The wider industrial sector ...

. Although the Society is based in the United States, it is an international organization. Overseas members currently comprise over one third of the total.

Origins

The Biophysical Society was founded in response to the growth of the field of biophysics after World War Two, as well as concerns that the

American Physiological Society The American Physiological Society is a non-profit professional society for physiologists. It has nearly 10,000 members, most of whom hold doctoral degrees in medicine, physiology, or other health professions. Its mission is to support research ...

had become too large to serve the community of biophysicists. Discussions between prominent biophysicists in 1955 and 1956 led to the planning of the society's first meeting in

Columbus, Ohio Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...

in 1957, with about 500 attendees. Among the scientists involved in the early effort were Ernest C. Pollard, Samuel Talbot,

Otto Schmitt Otto Herbert Schmitt (April 6, 1913 – January 6, 1998) was an American inventor, engineer, and biophysicist known for his scientific contributions to biophysics and for establishing the field of biomedical engineering. Schmitt also coined ...

, Kenneth Stewart Cole, W. A. Selle, Max Lauffer, Ralph Stacy, Herman P. Schwan, and Robley C. Williams. This meeting was described by Cole as "a biophysics meeting with the ulterior motive of finding out if there was such a thing as biophysics and, if so, what sort of thing this biophysics might be."

Organization

The Biophysical Society is governed by four officers: the President, President-elect, Past-President Secretary, and Treasurer, as well as by a Council of twelve members in addition to the officers. These offices are elected by the membership of the society. The Council appoints an executive officer to oversee the functions and staff of the society. The society has a number of committees that help to implement its mission. The committees are: Awards, Early Careers, Education, Finance, Member Services, Membership, Committee for Inclusion and Diversity, Nominating, Professional Opportunities for Women, Program, Public Affairs, Publications, and Thematic Meetings. The Biophysical Society also supports subgroups focusing on smaller areas within biophysics. The current subgroups are: Bioenergetics, Mitochondria, and Metabolism,

Bioengineering Biological engineering or bioengineering is the application of principles of biology and the tools of engineering to create usable, tangible, economically viable products. Biological engineering employs knowledge and expertise from a number ...

, Biological Fluorescence,

Biopolymers Biopolymers are natural polymers produced by the cells of living organisms. Like other polymers, biopolymers consist of monomeric units that are covalently bonded in chains to form larger molecules. There are three main classes of biopolymers, ...

in vivo,

Cell Biophysics Cell biophysics (or cellular biophysics) is a sub-field of biophysics that focuses on physical principles underlying cell function. Sub-areas of current interest include statistical models of intracellular signaling dynamics, intracellular transpor ...

Cryo-EM Cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM) is a transmission electron microscopy technique applied to samples cooled to cryogenic temperatures. For biological specimens, the structure is preserved by embedding in an environment of vitreous ice. An ...

Exocytosis Exocytosis is a term for the active transport process that transports large molecules from cell to the extracellular area. Hormones, proteins and neurotransmitters are examples of large molecules that can be transported out of the cell. Exocytosis ...

and

Endocytosis Endocytosis is a cellular process in which Chemical substance, substances are brought into the cell. The material to be internalized is surrounded by an area of cell membrane, which then buds off inside the cell to form a Vesicle (biology and chem ...

Intrinsically Disordered Proteins In molecular biology, an intrinsically disordered protein (IDP) is a protein that lacks a fixed or ordered protein tertiary structure, three-dimensional structure, typically in the absence of its macromolecular interaction partners, such as other ...

Membrane Biophysics Membrane biology is the study of the Biology, biological and Biochemistry, physiochemical characteristics of Biological membrane, membranes, with applications in the study of cellular physiology. Membrane bioelectrical impulses are described by the ...

Membrane A membrane is a selective barrier; it allows some things to pass through but stops others. Such things may be molecules, ions, or other small particles. Membranes can be generally classified into synthetic membranes and biological membranes. Bi ...

Structure & Function, Mechanobiology,

Molecular Biophysics Molecular biophysics is a rapidly evolving interdisciplinary area of research that combines concepts in physics, chemistry, engineering, mathematics and biology. It seeks to understand biomolecular systems and explain biological function in ter ...

Motility Motility is the ability of an organism to move independently using metabolism, metabolic energy. This biological concept encompasses movement at various levels, from whole organisms to cells and subcellular components. Motility is observed in ...

Cytoskeleton The cytoskeleton is a complex, dynamic network of interlinking protein filaments present in the cytoplasm of all cells, including those of bacteria and archaea. In eukaryotes, it extends from the cell nucleus to the cell membrane and is compos ...

Nanoscale Nanotechnology is the manipulation of matter with at least one dimension sized from 1 to 100 nanometers (nm). At this scale, commonly known as the nanoscale, surface area and quantum mechanical effects become important in describing propertie ...

Biophysics, and

Permeation In physics and engineering, permeation (also called imbuing) is the penetration of a wikt:permeate#English, permeate (a fluid such as a liquid, gas, or vapor) through a solid. It is directly related to the concentration gradient of the permeate, ...

Transport Transport (in British English) or transportation (in American English) is the intentional Motion, movement of humans, animals, and cargo, goods from one location to another. Mode of transport, Modes of transport include aviation, air, land tr ...

Activities

Since 1960 the Biophysical Society has published the ''

Biophysical Journal ''Biophysical Journal'' is a biweekly peer-reviewed scientific journal published by Cell Press on behalf of the Biophysical Society. The journal was established in 1960 and covers all aspects of biophysics. The journal occasionally publishes spec ...

'', which is currently semi-monthly, as a specialized journal in the field of biophysics. This was started because the Society perceived other scientific journals as unsympathetic to submissions by biophysicists. The society also publishes a monthly newsletter, an annual Membership Directory, and a Products Guide. The Biophysical Society sponsors a
Annual Meeting
which brings together more than 6,000 scientists for symposia, workshops, industrial and educational exhibits, subgroup meetings, and awards presentations. The meeting features a talk by that year's Biophysical Society Lecturer, chosen for significance in biophysical research and excellence in presentation; the lectures are published in the Biophysical Journal, and those since 2003 are available on video. Starting in 2010 with "Calcium Signaling" in Beijing, the society now also sponsors 3-4 smaller thematic meetings annually across the world. Since 2016, the Society has sponsored Biophysics Week each March. The week is a global event aimed at encouraging connections within the biophysics community and raising awareness of the field and its impact among the general public, policy makers, students, and scientists in the field.

Awards

The Society currently offers eleven Society Awards each year to distinguished biophysicists in different categories. The awards are: * Anatrace Membrane Protein Award * Avanti Award in Lipids * Rosalba Kampman Distinguished Service Award * Innovation Award * Emily M. Gray Award * Fellow of the Biophysical Society Award * Founders Award * Margaret Oakley Dayhoff Award * Michael and Kate Bárány Award *The Kazuhiko Kinosita Award in Single Molecule Biophysics *BPS Award in the Biophysics of Health and Disease *Ignacio Tinoco Award The Society also offers travel awards to its annual meeting, poster awards at Society-sponsored meetings, as well as other scientific conferences. The society sponsors "Biophysics Awards" at high school

science fair A science fair or engineering fair is an event hosted by a school that offers students the opportunity to experience the practices of science and engineering for themselves. In the United States, the Next Generation Science Standards makes ex ...

s across the nation.

Public policy

The Biophysical Society's Public Affairs committee responds to

science policy Science policy is concerned with the allocation of resources for the conduct of science towards the goal of best serving the public interest. Topics include the funding of science, the careers of scientists, and the translation of scientific disc ...

issues such as research, careers, and science education, and has adopted a number of positions. In February 2004, the society released a statement supporting freedom of communication of scientific data, supporting the existing policy that prior

classification Classification is the activity of assigning objects to some pre-existing classes or categories. This is distinct from the task of establishing the classes themselves (for example through cluster analysis). Examples include diagnostic tests, identif ...

strictly for national security reasons should be the only reason communication of scientific data should be restricted. The society also urged a reexamination of visa policy in the wake of several foreign-born scientists being denied permission to travel to the United States, citing the importance of their importance to the economy and security of the United States. In May 2005, the society released a statement opposing the teaching of

intelligent design Intelligent design (ID) is a pseudoscientific argument for the existence of God, presented by its proponents as "an evidence-based scientific theory about life's origins".#Numbers 2006, Numbers 2006, p. 373; " Dcaptured headlines for it ...

in science classrooms, calling it an "effort to blur the distinction between science and theology". The society is also active in supporting federal funding of science, and provides materials to assist scientists in communicating with elected officials. The society participates in the annual Science-Engineering-Technology Congressional Visits Day, in which scientists, engineers and business leaders meet with elected officials in the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...

. Beginning with the 2015-2016 year, the Biophysical Society has sponsored a congressional fellow through the AAAS Technology and Policy Fellowship Program. The purpose of the program is to provide an opportunity for BPS members to gain practical experience and insights into public policy by working on Capitol Hill while also allowing scientists to contribute their knowledge and analytical skills in the federal policy realm.

References

External links

Biophysical Society records, 1955-2009
at the

University of Maryland, Baltimore County The University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) is a Public university, public research university in Catonsville, Maryland named after Baltimore County, Maryland, Baltimore County. It had a fall 2022 enrollment of 13,991 students, 61 un ...

{{Authority control Scientific organizations established in 1957 Biophysics Biology societies Physics societies Biophysics organizations 1957 establishments in Ohio Scientific societies based in the United States