Knotting the MECO Network

Abstract

The Conferences of the Middle European Cooperation in Statistical Physics (MECO) were created as an attempt to establish and maintain an exchange between scientists in the fields of statistical and condensed matter physics from Western and Eastern countries, overcoming the hurdles of the Iron Curtain. Based on personal remembrance and historical resources, the genesis and further development of MECO meetings is described. The annual meetings were interrupted in 1991 by the Yugoslav War but were re-established in 1993 and continue today. Although the fall of the Iron Curtain and the European Research programs changed the situation for the meetings considerably, the ties created by MECO still are useful to help scientific exchange. The history of European (and not only) statistical physics and the history of the MECO are tightly intertwined. It started in a time where an essential breakthrough has been achieved in statistical physics describing the features near phase transitions. In addition to the merging of solid-state physics and field theory concepts, the application of numerical methods (Monte Carlo methods) added a new pillar besides exact solutions and experiments to check theoretical models. In the following, the scientific emphasis (in general) has changed from the traditional fields of the first MECO to complexity and interdisciplinary themes as well.

One for all and all for one: on the role of a conference in a scientist's life

“…The Conference of the Middle European Cooperation in Statistical Physics was born from the idea to bridge the gap between the Eastern and Western European scientific community divided by the Iron Curtain [12]. From the very beginning, special attention was paid to the geography of participants: it was decided to change the location every year and, in addition, to ensure that the organizations hosting the conference were chosen each time on the other side of the invisible line that separated one part of Europe from another [12]. Due to these political-geographical aspects, the MECO conference can be considered as a symbolic bridge for scientific contacts not only at the personal level, but also at the level of countries.…”

“…This number is naturally limited by the time frame of the conference program as well as the physical limitations of the venue. Traditionally, the MECO conference moves from one country to another, accommodating all participants in one place for these few days [12]. Thus, a saturation of the annual number of authors can be observed: usually about 195 researchers participate, and the geography of one meeting usually includes 26 countries.…”

“…Hypothetically, these statistics might be different for predatory conferences or conferences aimed primarily at the publication of proceedings, especially if such events are occasionally organized under the auspices of the titles indexed in databases such as Scopus or Web of Sciences (these publications are considered internationally recognized and therefore desirable for authors). With rare exceptions, conference proceedings are not published for MECO [12]. Moreover, its history is longer than the modern history of scientometric evaluations.…”