APS News October 2019, Vol. 28, No. 9
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Forum on Physics and Society APS Members Work For 02│ Generous Gift to APS 03│ Videos Available 04│ 'Keep STEM Talent Act' 08│ Proving Einstein Right October 2019 • Vol. 28, No. 9 aps.org/apsnews A PUBLICATION OF THE AMERICAN PHYSICAL SOCIETY CAREERS INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS A New Guide for Job Seekers Highlights from the 2019 Canadian-American- BY LEAH POFFENBERGER Mexican Physics Conference BY PALOMA VILCHIS or some early career physi- cists, the way forward after he Canadian-American- to the original facility. We dressed receiving a degree is clear— F Mexican (CAM) Graduate in mining gear, took the mine heading towards academia or a elevator, walked two kilometers, field that grabbed their interest T Student Physics Conference and finally, at the entry of the lab, in school. But others may find is a gathering of physics students we left our mining gear behind. themselves wondering what to do from Canada, Cuba, Mexico, and with a physics degree or where to the United States, and has been The group was divided to shower go next in their careers. organized every two years since and get dressed in clean room APS and the Institute of Physisc 1994. This year, the CAM confer- gear—a process the scientists and Publishing (IOPP) in the UK have ence took place from July 24 to 27 employees at the lab do every day. teamed up to alert early-career in Sudbury, a small town in Ontario, We saw PICO 40 and PICO 60, which physicists to the many possibilities known for the world-class science are both dark matter detectors, and in the field with a new publica- facilities of SNOLAB—the Sudbury the beginning of the construction tion: the APS Careers 2020. Modeled Neutrino Observatory—located of the Helium and Lead Observatory after Physics World Careers pub- in a nickel mine two kilometers (HALO), which will be used to detect lished by the IOPP, which focused on resource to APS members. underground. supernovas. career information for UK and EU “APS Careers 2020 is targeted to The CAM Conference was hosted After the tour, we returned to physicists, the APS guide provides all members, with a special focus jointly by SNOLAB and Laurentian Laurentian for a special function invaluable information for job on early career physicists,” says University. Laurentian opened its in the planetarium: Paul-Émile doors to around a hundred graduate Legault, the director of the facility, seekers in the United States. The Bailey, who managed the project Paloma Vilchis guide will be available to all APS from the APS side. “We made an students for the conference, which gave a talk about how to find con- members by the end of October. effort to make sure this guide has featured plenary talks and parallel stellations with the identification room for the first plenary of the Crystal Bailey, Head of Career something beneficial to members sessions on a variety of topics, tours of a specific star at any time of the day, given by Adrien Liu (McGill Programs at APS, has been at all levels of their careers.” of SNOLAB, and various networking year. We then split into groups for University), a cosmologist, who working closely with Tushna And serving members, espe- and career growth opportunities. an evening of networking at dif- spoke about his research on the Commissariat and Edward Jost, The conference kicked off before ferent locations around Sudbury. beginning of our universe’s history, both of IOPP, to launch the new registration with a tour of SNOLAB On Thursday morning, students publication and provide a valuable CAREER GUIDE CONTINUED ON PAGE 4 and SNOLAB+, the 6300 m2 addition gathered in the main conference CAM CONTINUED ON PAGE 6 EDUCATION AND DIVERSITY UNITS New APS Program Promotes The APS Forum on Outreach and Engaging the Public Positive Perceptions of STEM BY ABIGAIL DOVE Teaching ver two thousand members BY LEAH POFFENBERGER strong, the Forum on O Outreach and Engaging wenty years ago, APS the Public (FOEP) is a home for launched the PhysTEC people who believe that telling T program to help address the world about physics is just as a shortage of physics teachers in important as the research itself. the United States through teacher The forum provides a platform training programs. But some for physicists interested in public students may still shy away from outreach—science writing, press pursuing STEM education as a relations, policy, public lectures— career, due to misconceptions about to connect and share ideas and teaching as a profession. best practices. Many members are To address the myths about well-known authors and physics teaching and improve the per- communicators. Don Lincoln Jim Kakalios ceptions of high-school teaching FOEP’s mission of communi- people’s perception of the teaching to be able to learn how to engage figures in the science communi- as a career, APS has launched cating physics to the general public profession and found that people the public and become effective cation world. Past speakers have the Get the Facts Out program in is especially crucial in today’s have a lot of misconceptions,” communicators of science. included Chad Orzel (author of the partnership with the American political climate, where attacks said David May, Education and At the institutional level, FOEP’s popular “How to Teach Physics to Association of Physics Teachers, on science—from climate change Diversity Programs Manager at main platforms include educational Your Dog” books), Sean Carroll the American Chemical Society, to vaccine safety—have become APS. “Adams and Monica Plisch, workshops to train people with (book author and host of the the Mathematical Society of commonplace. To this end, APS [APS Director of Programs], created an interest in outreach. Beyond Mindscape podcast), Henry Reich America, and the Colorado School has recognized the importance Get the Facts Out to address those practical advice for more effec- (host of the YouTube channel One of Mines. Funded by a National misconceptions, which are about of “expand[ing] public apprecia- tive science communication, some Minute Physics), Clifford Johnson Science Foundation grant, the teacher compensation, benefits, tion of physics” in its most recent training sessions also provide (graphic novelist and a consul- project will provide resources for and job satisfaction.” Strategic Plan (see APS News March specific insight into how to enter tant for the physics aspects of reaching STEM majors interested Many prospective physics edu- 2019), and with good reason: The the world of science blogging, several recent Marvel movies), in teaching. cators are choosing other careers best defense against assaults on podcasting, and social media, or and Kenneth Chang (longtime “Our PhysTEC partner, Wendy science is a scientifically literate tips for writing op-eds for larger New York Times science reporter). Adams [at the Colorado School of populace. platforms like The New York Times APS members may also remember Mines] had done a lot of research on PROGRAM CONTINUED ON PAGE 7 FOEP started in 2007 as an ad and The Washington Post. FOEP’s extremely popular physics- hoc committee within the APS “By and large we’re not born themed Escape Room from the Committee on Informing the with communication skills,” noted most recent March Meeting (see Public (CIP), gaining the charter FOEP secretary/treasurer Dan APS News April 2019). to become an official standalone Dahlberg (University of Minnesota), While FOEP members are forum in 2011. Although they do “You have to practice and learn involved in a wide variety of related work, FOEP and CIP are the most effective way to do it and outreach activities, the common now separate entities: CIP’s charge that’s not an easy thing to do.” thread is convincing the public is to provide guidance to the APS At March and April Meetings, that science—and particularly organization for how to reach the FOEP is known for its highly- physics—is important. According public, whereas FOEP’s charge is to attended sessions where APS provide the tools to APS members members can hear from inspiring FOEP CONTINUED ON PAGE 7 Revised 10/16/2019 2 • October 2019 DEVELOPMENT Industrial Physicist Selects APS THIS MONTH IN as Sole Beneficiary of Generous Estate Gift Physics History BY MARIAM MEHTER fter obtaining his degree October 1842: William Grove’s Letter to Faraday and carrying out postdoc- Describing a Fuel Cell A toral research on amorphous semiconductors, Suha Oguz worked as a scientist at the cor- oal and oil were the fuels for industrial and porate research lab of a defense technological development in the 19th and contractor. His career followed C 20th centuries, but the world might have a path into technical manage- looked very different if “gas voltaic batteries” ment, and he eventually retired had dominated instead. It was a Welsh judge after 11 years as Vice President of and scientist named Sir William Robert Grove Research and Development for a who invented a battery that turned hydrogen $7 billion business. He credits his and oxygen into electricity and water. Science success to being able to bridge the historians generally deem his invention to be gap between the engineers and the first bona fide fuel cell. scientists working on technical Grove was born in Swansea, Wales, to a local Suha Oguz and Leslie Lord research, on the one hand, and the magistrate. He was privately educated before business development staff and impact that one moment had made attending Brasenose College at Oxford University, lawyers on the other. and was impressed that the plumber where he studied the classics, graduating in 1832. Oguz remembers numerous had a warm feeling towards and an He became a lawyer in 1835, but his scientific occasions when the business staff understanding of physics.