April Meeting Goes Mile-High in 2004 Highlights New Techniques For
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January 2004 Volume 13, No. 1 NEWS http://www.physics2005.org A Publication of The American Physical Society http://www.aps.org/apsnews April Meeting Goes Junior Members Respond to Mile-High in 2004 APS Ethics Survey By Ernie Tretkoff The “Mile High” city of Denver, International Affairs, Colorado, will host as many as History of Physics, and Few physicists received for- to include not just research mis- 1500 physicists at the 2004 APS Graduate Student Af- mal ethics training as part of their conduct such as data fabrication, April meeting, to be held May 1-4 fairs; and the Topical education, though many are con- falsification, and plagiarism, but 2004. Groups on Few-Body cerned about professional ethics, also issues such as authorship, Attendees will be drawn from a Systems, Precision a study by the APS Ethics Task proper credit of previous work, wide range of research areas. APS Measurement and Force has found. and data handling and reporting. units represented at the meeting Fundamental Con- Photo Credit: The Denver Metro Convention and Visitors Bureau The task force report was sub- “This was an interesting and include the Divisions of Astrophys- stants, Gravitation, Denver has the 10th largest downtown in America. mitted to and accepted by the sobering project,” said task force ics, Nuclear Physics, Particles and Plasma Astrophysics, APS Council at its meeting in chair Frances Houle of the IBM Fields, Plasma Physics, and Com- and Hadronic Physics. approximately 45 invited sessions. November. Almaden Research Center in San putational Physics; the Forums on The scientific program will fea- There will also be numerous con- The task force, which was con- Jose. Education, Physics and Society, ture three plenary sessions and tributed and poster sessions and a vened in November 2002 in The surveys collected informa- special public lecture by newly- response to two highly publicized tion from physics department elected APS Vice President John incidents of data falsification, chairs, APS unit leadership, un- Council Deplores Restriction of Bahcall (Institute for Advanced used surveys and interviews of dergraduates, junior members Non-Classified Scientific Information Study). members of the physics commu- and corporations and national The plenary sessions will nity to ascertain the state of ethics labs. At its meeting in November, the effects of labels like “sensitive but cover a broad range of topics, in- education and awareness. The task force decided to APS Council reaffirmed a state- unclassified”, which have the po- See APRIL MEETING on page 4 “Ethics” was defined broadly See ETHICS SURVEY on page 5 ment passed originally in 1983 on tential to expand greatly the the freedom of scientific commu- restriction of scientific communi- nication, and added a preamble cation. The motion passed by House Resolution Recognizes that specifically pointed out the ill Council, in its entirety, reads: Congressional Fellowship Programs Restricting exchange of scientific sify and thereby restrict the commu- information based on non-statutory nication of information bearing a A resolution passed by the Intended to honor the 30th an- through the Fellowship program. administrative policies is detrimental particularly close relationship to na- House on October 28 (H. Con. niversary of the AAAS program During discussion on the floor, to scientific progress and the future tional security; and Res. 279) recognizes the 30th an- (the celebration of which was post- several Members of Congress health and security of our nation. The Whereas members of the Ameri- niversary of the Congressional poned until May 2004 because of spoke in praise of the Fellowships. APS opposes any such restrictions, can Physical Society have observed Science and Engineering Fellow- a hurricane in Washington, DC), Rep. Fortney “Pete” Stark (D-CA), such as those based on the label “sen- the damaging effects on science of at- ship program of the American the resolution further states that called the Congressional Science sitive but unclassified”, and reaffirms tempts to censor unclassified Association for the Advancement “Members of Congress hold the and Engineering Fellowships “a its 1983 statement that: research results; of Science (AAAS) and pledges con- AAAS Congressional Science and shining example of a collaborative Whereas the free communication Be it therefore resolved that the tinued congressional support for Engineering Fellowship Program in program that benefits all who par- of scientific information is essential American Physical Society through the program. The resolution, high regard for the substantial con- ticipate.” The fellowships, he said, to the health of science and technol- its elected Council affirms its which has now been referred to tributions that Fellows have made, are “a remarkable partnership be- ogy, on which the economic support of the unfettered communi- the Senate, finds that “Fellows serving both in personal offices and tween Congress and the 30 or so well-being and national security of cation at the Society’s sponsored bring to the Congress new insights on committee staff.” It reaffirms participating professional societies the United States depend; and meetings or in its sponsored journals and ideas, extensive knowledge, the House’s “commitment to sup- that select and fund the Fellows.” Whereas it is recognized that the of all scientific ideas and knowledge and perspectives from a variety of port the use of science in APS, the American Institute of government has the authority to clas- that are not classified. disciplines.” governmental decision-making” Physics, and numerous other sci- entific societies all sponsor Congressional Fellows under the auspices of the AAAS program. The New Techniques for Controlling Fluid Flow APS was one of the original societ- ies to participate in the program. Highlight the APS 2003 DFD Meeting The Congressional Fellowships en- able qualified individuals to spend New techniques for predicting a year on Capitol Hill, working in turbulent fluid flow, and modeling the office of a Member of Congress the transport of atmospheric con- or for a congressional committee. taminants were among the technical Fellows interview with personal highlights presented during the 2003 offices and congressional commit- meeting of the APS Division of Fluid tees to select an assignment that Dynamics (DFD), held 23-25 No- ABC vember in East Rutherford, New See FELLOWSHIP on page 2 Photo Credit: Skotheim & Bush Jersey. The meeting was jointly hosted by Syracuse University, Images A, B, and C: evaporatively-driven convection in a draining soap film. Stevens Institute of Technology, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, non-diffusive gaseous ignition, aero- CellsCells. Despite a difference in size observation to develop a new con- HHighlights Polytechnic University, and the City sol dynamics, and the extreme fluid of about 15 orders of magnitude, cept for high speed trains whose College of New York. dynamics of white dwarfs and neu- there is a remarkable dynamical track mimics the properties of the The scientific program featured tron stars. In addition, the meeting similarity between a red cell glid- endothelial surface layer. In both lectures on nonlinear dynamics of featured the 21st annual Gallery of ing on the endothelial surface the red cell and the skiers, accord- 8 fluid motion, and on “visiometrics,” Fluid Motion, showcasing images matrix (the glycocalyx) that lines ing to Weinbaum, one can generate The Back linking laboratory and computer and graphics from computational human capillaries and a person lift forces three to four orders of Page: simulated images to such artistic and experimental studies of flow skiing on fresh snow powder. magnitude greater than ordinary Robert A. modes of expression as painting, phenomena. The winning entries will That’s the conclusion of Sheldon lubrication theory, but the red cell Millikan: Albert photography, sculpture and digital be published in the September 2004 Weinbaum and his colleagues at is a far more efficient skier since it Einstein on his Seventieth Birth- animations. There were also eight issue of the Physics of Fluids. the City College of New York, who does not dissipate its excess pres- day. invited lectures on such topics as Lessons Learned From Red are drawing on that See DFD MEETING on page 6 2 January 2004 NEWS This Month in Physics History January 1884:First U.S. Patent for a Roller Coaster “We felt that in the old way of military advantage from new weap- doing it, too many things were cov- ons. But you have to balance that The unques- turned back to his first ous track, so that the ride ended ered and the essential features of against what you’re doing to your tioned highlight for love: inventing. where it began, and the follow- physics as a science were getting security, especially if it invites other most people of any Several years ing year Phillips Hinckle used a lost in a sea of formulas. We had countries to go nuclear. We have visit to an amusement earlier he had ridden mechanical hoist to raise the feedback that said students were to be able to reduce our reliance park is the roller on the Mauch Chuk cars to the top of the hill, rather having a hard time appreciating the on these weapons, not make new coaster, affection- Switchback Railway than being towed manually. That essential connectedness of it all.” missions for them.” ately dubbed the in Pennsylvania, a same year saw the debut of the —Joshua Socolar, Duke Univer- —Sidney Drell, Stanford Univer- “Great American former mine track first experiment with loops with sity, on restructuring introductory sity, on “reduced collateral damage” Scream Machine.” used to transport coal the Flip Flap, which rolled cars physics classes at Duke, the Chronicle weapons (mini-nukes), Oakland But coasters are down a mountainside through a 25 foot diameter cir- (the independent daily at Duke Tribune, Nov. 8, 2003 more than just mere that had become a cular loop, but closed in 1903 University), Nov.