December 2015 • Vol. 24, No. 11

A PUBLICATION OF THE AMERICAN PHYSICAL SOCIETY Physicists Study Spread of Disease Page 4 WWW.APS.ORG/PUBLICATIONS/APSNEWS

Astronomy Allies Team Up to Confront Sexual Harassment By Sophia Chen This experience led Flewelling erally includes unwelcome sexual APS Appoints New Publisher When a fellow astronomer sexu- and Alatalo to start Astronomy advances and offensive remarks ally harassed Heather Flewelling at Allies, a group that serves as about a person’s gender. Sexual Matthew Salter will join the APS senior management team as pub- lisher in January 2016 with responsibility for the business aspects an American Astronomical Society a resource for people who feel assault usually refers to unwanted of the society’s journal operations. (AAS) conference, she didn’t report unsafe at astronomy conferences. sexual contact and includes rape.) Members, who wear red badges at him. At least not at first. “I am delighted to be joining APS as publisher and I look forward “I didn’t think anyone would conferences to identify themselves, to the opportunity of working with colleagues to grow and develop believe me,” says Flewelling, offer accompanied walks from the APS publishing program. It is an honor to be part of the world's a researcher at the Institute for lectures and informal networking largest physical society and to be associated with its prestigious Astronomy in Hawaii. “So I just gatherings for attendees who feel journal portfolio” Salter said. kept it to myself.” unsafe at AAS conferences. But her harasser didn’t stop. “People set up these informal Before moving to APS, Salter was Associate Director for journals in

It happened again — and again. womeninastronomy.blogspot.com [support systems] all the time, so the Asia-Pacific region based in the Tokyo office of IOP Publishing. Flewelling felt physically threat- we thought, we should formalize Prior to that, he was Asia-Pacific publisher at MacMillan Science ened enough that it was affecting this,” Alatalo says. “We thought, Communication, the parent company of Nature Publishing Group. her participation in the conference. what if the next Heather doesn’t “Matthew will be working to ensure that our journals continue to Between lectures, she would text a have a group of friends who can excel in serving the physics community,” said APS Chief Executive close friend, Carnegie Observatories The group, which began in the sum- help her through this situation?” Officer Kate Kirby. postdoc Katey Alatalo, to walk with mer of 2014, has grown to about 60 The group also helps people her from lectures or networking members. They act as confidants for navigate the formal reporting pro- Salter received his Ph.D. in chemistry from Imperial College Lon- events in order to avoid interact- astronomers who have suffered bul- cess. This role as an intermediary is don and has held research and teaching positions at Tohoku Uni- ing with her harasser. Finally, a few lying, sexual harassment, or assault important, Flewelling says, because versity in Japan, King’s College London, and the University of To- days after he harassed her again dur- but aren’t prepared to formally the process for formal sexual kyo. He is a native English speaker, fluent in Japanese, and also ing the January 2014 AAS Meeting, report it. (Institutional definitions harassment reports in astronomy speaks Mandarin Chinese and Korean. Flewelling reported him. vary, but sexual harassment gen- ALLIES continued on page 7

APS GOVERNANCE FRONTIERS IN OPTICS / LASER SCIENCE MEETING First Elected APS Treasurer: James Hollenhorst Squinting to See a Single Photon By Emily Conover professionals who do that for us,” Hollenhorst joked. “But, we have By Emily Conover When APS revised its gover- nance structure last year, a new some very smart physicists on the What’s the dimmest flash of elected position on the Board of Investment Committee who are ... light the human eye can perceive? Directors was created: treasurer. The reviewing what our financial con- A handful of photons? What about sultants are doing,” he added. The

wikimedia commons first person to fill that role will be a single photon? It’s a basic bio- James Hollenhorst, senior director of Investment Committee reviews the logical question that has yet to technology at Agilent Technologies. performance of the Society’s invest- be conclusively answered, but a He takes over for Interim Treasurer ments manager and the inverstment group of quantum optics research- and Past President policies of the Society. ers could fill in the blanks soon. Malcolm Beasley on After completing his And if humans can see a single January 1, 2016. Ph.D. at Stanford, Hol- photon, those researchers may be lenhorst worked at Bell Photons entering the eye (from the left in this diagram) pass through As the first elected able to test for quantum effects on several layers of tissue containing nerve cells before hitting the rods treasurer, Hollenhorst Labs for over a decade, human vision. and cones at the back of the retina. These light-detecting cells are high- will play a part in focusing on semicon- According to Rebecca ly sensitive but can they detect single photons? defining the responsi- ductor device physics. Holmes, a graduate student at the a burst of several photons. She Laser Science and The Optical bilities of the position. He then moved to University of Illinois at Urbana- presented the results this October Society, in San Jose, CA. In the “I think that it’s an Hewlett-Packard (HP) Champaign, her group’s research at the 2015 Frontiers in Optics / study, Holmes and her collabora- important role, and it’s Labs, and later the HP has already provided evidence Laser Science meeting, a joint tors presented human subjects exciting that it’s a new spin-off company Agi- that humans are capable of seeing meeting of the APS Division of PHOTON continued on page 6 role that is being cre- James Hollenhorst lent. At HP he worked ated, so there won’t be initially on superconduc- a tremendous amount of legacy that tivity, before eventually becoming Tracking Earth’s Carbon Cycle from Space I’ll have to conform to,” he said. director of electronics research Hollenhorst believes that the for Agilent. Later, he took on the By Emily Conover governance reform that created his role of director of life sciences and NASA new role has strengthened the Soci- Across the globe, over a chemical analysis research, before ety. “We’re really on a much firmer hundred monitoring stations assuming his current position as foundation — a more professionally regularly measure the carbon senior director of technology. managed operation — now, through Through his years in labora- dioxide concentration in our those corporate governance changes.” atmosphere — cataloging both tory management, Hollenhorst has As treasurer, his main respon- experience budgeting and dealing its seasonal fluctuations and its sibilities, Hollenhorst said, will be with finances, and he’s “always seemingly relentless rise. But to make sure that financial plan- had an interest in the financial end to better understand the impacts ning within APS is well managed, of things,” he said. But “I’m first of humanity’s constant belching that the right processes are in place and foremost a physicist and not a of greenhouse gases, scientists to monitor the Society’s finances, financial person.” are making the case that CO Computer models of atmospheric carbon dioxide levels, like the one and that there’s a solid system of 2 APS is a healthy organization, should be monitored more like shown here, could be refined with data from remote sensing with lasers. strategic budget planning. Finally, Hollenhorst said. “They obviously the weather. The existing ground- in the future, they say. “Could as well as we did in 1930,” says he will oversee the investment of have the best physics journals in based monitoring stations are not we predict the weather if we had David Crisp of NASA’s Jet Pro- the APS endowment. “Thankfully the world and provide benefits to enough to precisely predict what only 150 weather stations around pulsion Laboratory. we don’t have a bunch of volunteer members and to society that are CO2 concentrations will look like the world? Yeah, we could, about CYCLE continued on page 5 physicists who are deciding how the money is invested, but we have TREASURER continued on page 3 2 • December 2015

Inside APS This Month in Physics History Crystal Bailey, Careers Program Manager

In this new series to appear December 1910: Neon lights debut at Paris Motor Show occasionally, APS News sits down aris is known as the “City of Light,” in part and looked to all those previously invented gas with APS employees to learn about

Emily Conover because it was the first to adopt gas street light- discharge tubes for inspiration, as well as Edison’s their jobs, their goals, and the things P ing. It also hosted the first neon lights, thanks to a hugely successful incandescent bulbs. that make them tick. This month we French chemist and engineer who became known He particularly liked the design of so-called chat with Careers Program Manager as the “Edison of Paris”: Georges Claude. “Moore lamps,” invented by one of Edison’s Crystal Bailey. Experiments over almost two centuries pointed former workers, Daniel McFarlan Moore. These What do you do at APS? the way towards the gas discharge tube. Back in were tall glass tubes with electrodes at either end, In a nutshell, I work on programs 1675, French astronomer Jean Picard noticed that filled with nitrogen or CO2 at low pressure; they to help inform students and their his mercury barometer was emitting a faint glow. glowed white when high voltage was applied. But faculty mentors about the career Eventually, physicists understood that electrons they were expensive and tended to leak, so Moore opportunities for those with a from mercury atoms were captured by the glass lamps never quite caught on. Claude replaced the physics degree, as well as create Crystal Bailey barometer tube, and then released when the level CO2 with neon, and added a carbon filter so that resources and guidance that will networking. I was nearing the of the mercury dropped; these electrons excited impurities from the hot electrodes would not cause help students better prepare for their completion of my Ph.D., and I was mercury atoms in the vapor above the liquid. Much the electrodes to sputter and light to dim. Eventu- future careers, and help their fac- friends with APS Director of Edu- later, in 1855, a German ally he built 20-foot neon ulty mentors become better career cation and Diversity Ted Hodapp. physicist and glassblower tubes capable of glowing advisers. I let him know that I was looking named Heinrich Geissler for 1200 hours. What career resources should for opportunities, and he said, “As invented the “geissler Claude quickly filed a

APS members be aware of? a matter of fact there’s a new posi- tube,” a long glass tube Wikipedia Commons patent, and displayed his Most of the resources that I tion — you should apply for it.” filled with gas that glowed neon tubes in December have worked on are easily accessed I feel it proves a really important when high voltage was 1910, at the Paris Motor through the careers website: point about careers, which is that I applied across the tube. Show. People were daz- aps.org/careers. The “Becoming would’ve never thought that this The discovery of neon zled, but the tubes weren’t a Physicist” section is for people would be a job that I really enjoyed. was part of the ongoing ideal for general lighting. who are exploring what physicists I went from doing a Ph.D. in nuclear investigation of air. In But they were perfect do. We also have a new section physics with an intention to go into 1775 Henry Cavendish for signage, and in 1912, called “Job Prospects for Physi- physics education research, and observed a bit of gas Claude sold his first neon cists,” with profiles of career tracks here I am a program manager at a residue after he tried to sign to a barbershop on — for example, physics bachelors nonprofit talking about careers. That remove all the oxygen and the Boulevard Monmar- working in the private sector. We try seems like a 180, but in my role at nitrogen from a sample of tre. Soon there was a large to emphasize nonacademic tracks, APS I’m actually still teaching. I go air by fractional distilla- rooftop neon sign for Cinz- because the majority of graduates to colloquia; I talk to students; I talk tion. Then in the 1890s, ano (an Italian vermouth) the Scottish chemist and entrance lighting for will go into the private sector. In the to faculty. The point being — we Georges Claude William Ramsay identi- the Paris Opera. Claude “Career Guidance” section, there all have little itches that we like to fied neon, krypton, and xenon with M.W. Travers, founded his second company, Claude Neon, and are targeted resources for people scratch, and unexpected careers can and argon with Lord Rayleigh. made a fortune selling franchises for his neon who are moving towards actually still scratch the same itch. These gases also glowed with bright colors lighting. He received a U.S. patent for neon light- getting a career. The best resource, What do you enjoy about when high voltage was applied. Ramsay noted ing in 1915. I think, is the online Professional working at APS? neon’s distinctive hue in his Nobel Prize lecture: Automobile mogul Earle C. Anthony, the sole Guidebook, which kind of takes One of the reasons I was attracted it was “a brilliant flame-covered light, consisting distributor in California for The Packard Motor Car you through the key elements of a to physics education research was of many red, orange, and yellow lines.” (Travers Company, brought the first neon signs to America job search — everything from self that I loved the idea of serving my described it as a “blaze of crimson light.”) By the after seeing them during a visit to Paris. They were assessment, to building a network, community, and I’m certainly still turn of the century, there were several varieties perfect for his showroom in downtown Los Ange- to doing informational interviews, serving my community, probably in writing a resume, doing a good of electric discharge lighting available in Europe les, and purportedly caused traffic jams because an even more impactful way, here, and the U.S. passersby kept stopping to admire the giant glow- interview, negotiation, the whole than I would have as a faculty mem- arc. Our job board is also one of Enter Georges Claude, who worked as an ing orange-red tubes. It was dubbed “liquid fire.” ber or a teacher, perhaps. This kind electrical inspector while dabbling in scientific Claude monopolized the market until the 1920s, the most highly visited pages on of a job gives you a bird’s-eye view the entire APS website. invention. He figured out how to scale up the when his original patents expired and his trade so you can help people make con- fractional distillation, and was soon capable of secrets leaked out to competitors. Do you have any exciting nections in the field, in ways that upcoming projects? producing as much as 10,000 cubic meters of lique- Ultimately, Claude fell afoul of his own govern- benefit everyone. fied air each day. He co-founded his own company, ment. Never a fan of the French democratic system, Industrial Physics Fellow Steven How did you first get inter- Lambert and I are working on get- L’Air Liquide, in 1902, selling his product to the he supported restoring the monarchy. During the ested in physics? steel industry in particular, and it quickly grew German occupation of France in World War II, he ting an industry mentoring program When I started as an undergrad off the ground. It’s called IMPact, into an international corporation. became a Nazi collaborator. When the war ended, I was an electrical engineering Claude had originally hoped to follow in Ram- he was sentenced to life imprisonment, although and currently it’s for grad students major. But in my second year I say’s footsteps and make his own noble gaseous eventually he was paroled after his fellow scientists and postdocs, but at some point in took a physics class on electricity discoveries, but soon realized that “there was noth- pleaded for leniency on his behalf. He died in 1960 the future we might also open it up and magnetism, and I remember ing more to be done.” Instead, he set about putting when he was 90. to undergrads. this very specific moment. We were leftover neon produced as a byproduct from his Pure neon lighting glows orange-red. Investiga- How did you come to work at doing a lab. We had a fixed magnet liquefaction enterprise to good use. He disliked tors soon realized they could make other colors by APS? and a wire and a battery. You were the overly bright electric lighting used at the time, using different gases — carbon dioxide for white, I got this job the way 80% of NEON continued on page 3 all human beings do — through BAILEY continued on page 4

Series II, Vol. 24, No. 11 APS COUNCIL OF REPRESENTATIVES 2015 International Councilors Director of International Affairs; Terri Gaier, Director Marcia Barbosa, Eliezer Rabinovici, Annick Suzor- of Meetings; Christine Giaccone, Director, Journal December 2015 President © 2015 The American Physical Society Weiner*, Kiyoshi Ueda Operations; Barbara Hicks, Associate Publisher/ Samuel H. Aronson*, Brookhaven National Laboratory Director of Business Initiatives; Ted Hodapp, Director (retired) Chair, Nominating Committee of Education and Diversity; Dan Kulp, Editorial Patricia McBride Director; Trish Lettieri, Director of Membership; Editor...... David Voss President-Elect Michael Lubell; Director, Public Affairs; Michael Staff Science Writer...... Emily Conover Homer A. Neal*, University of Michigan Chair, Panel on Public Affairs William Barletta Stephens, Director of Finance/Controller and Assistant Contributing Correspondent ...... Alaina G. Levine Treasurer; James W. Taylor, Deputy Executive Officer/ Vice President Division, Forum and Section Councilors Chief Operating Officer Art Director and Special Publications Manager...... Kerry G. Johnson Laura H. Greene*, University of Illinois, Champagne- Miriam Forman (Astrophysics), Timothy Gay Urbana Design and Production...... Nancy Bennett-Karasik (Atomic, Molecular & Optical Physics), Jose Onuchic * Members of the APS Board of Directors Proofreader...... Edward Lee Past-President (Biological), Amy Mullin* (Chemical), Frances Malcolm R. Beasley*, Stanford University Hellman* (Condensed Matter Physics), Steven Gottlieb APS News (ISSN: 1058-8132) is published 11X yearly, Subscriptions: APS News is an on-membership publica- (Computational), Ann Karagozian (Fluid Dynamics), monthly, except the August/September issue, by the tion delivered by Periodical Mail Postage Paid at Col- Chief Executive Officer Gay Stewart* (Forum on Education), Eric Sorte, American Physical Society, One Physics Ellipse, Col- lege Park, MD and at additional mailing offices. Kate P. Kirby*, Harvard Smithsonian (retired) (Forum on Graduate Student Affairs), Dan Kleppner* lege Park, MD 20740-3844, (301) 209-3200. It contains (Forum on History of Physics), Gregory Meisner* news of the Society and of its Divisions, Topical Groups, For address changes, please send both the old and new Speaker of the Council (Forum on Industrial and Applied Physics), Young-Kee Sections, and Forums; advance information on meetings addresses, and, if possible, include a mailing label from Nan Phinney*, Stanford University Kim* (Forum on International Physics), Lowell Brown of the Society; and reports to the Society by its commit- a recent issue. Changes can be emailed to membership@ (Forum on Physics and Society), Nicholas Bigelow tees and task forces, as well as opinions. aps.org. Postmaster: Send address changes to APS Treasurer (Laser Science), James Chelikowsky (Materials), Wick News, Membership Department, American Physical Malcolm R. Beasley*, Stanford University (emeritus) Haxton* (Nuclear), Philip Michael Tuts (Particles & Letters to the editor are welcomed from the member- Society, One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740- Fields), John Galayda (Physics of Beams), Cary Forest ship. Letters must be signed and should include an ad- 3844. Corporate Secretary Ken Cole, APS (Plasma), Mark Ediger (Polymer Physics), Nan Phinney dress and daytime telephone number. The APS reserves (California Section), Carlos Wexler (Prairie Section) the right to select and to edit for length and clarity. All Coden: ANWSEN ISSN: 1058-8132 General Councilors correspondence regarding APS News should be directed Marcelo Gleiser, Nadya Mason, Gail McGlaughlin, Staff Representatives to: Editor, APS News, One Physics Ellipse, College Keivan G. Stassun* Mark Doyle, Chief Information Officer; Amy Flatten, Park, MD 20740-3844, Email: [email protected]. December 2015 • 3 Steering Small-Scale Satellites Diversity Update By Emily Conover Travel Grants Available for 2016 PhysTEC Conference The popularity of small satel- Faculty from minority-serving institutions (MSIs) are encouraged to apply lites is skyrocketing; weighing a for travel grants to attend the 2016 PhysTEC Conference, the nation’s few kilograms or less, such space- largest meeting dedicated to physics teacher education. The PhysTEC craft are an attractive way to launch Conference will be held March 11-13 at the Royal Sonesta Harbor Court instruments on a budget. But they have a problem — propulsion. in Baltimore, MD, immediately preceding the 2016 APS March Meeting. Without it, the craft are unable to Learn more and register now at: phystec.org/conferences/2016 steer or move to different orbits. Traditional chemical thrusters are Join the APS National Mentoring Community too large to cram onto a tiny, one- In your fall courses, do you have underrepresented minority undergradu- kilogram satellite, but scientists ates who have the potential to earn a degree in physics? Now is the time are now working on other types of to nominate them to participate in the APS National Mentoring Community thrusters that can be miniaturized. (NMC) as your official mentees. The NMC provides support to enable the The thrusters would boost small

development of a successful mentoring relationship. Visit aps.org/nmc/ satellites to higher orbits, let them Plasmadynamics and Electric Propulsion Lab at the University of Michigan to register for free as an NMC mentor, and then invite your mentees to fly in formation, or de-orbit them Small satellites called CubeSats can be steered and propelled by tiny ion join through the program. when their missions are complete. and plasma thrusters. Small satellites, like Cube- that skirts these issues, which she Sats — standardized cubes only development at the University APS Meetings — Child Care Grants presented this October at the 2015 10 centimeters on a side — are of Michigan (U-M). The thruster Small grants of up to $400 are available to assist 2016 APS March and APS Gaseous Electronics Con- easy to produce in large numbers generates plasma using radio-fre- ference in Honolulu. Aanesland’s April meeting attendees who are bringing small children or who incur extra and economical to launch, as they quency power coupled to an inert thruster uses a solid iodine propel- expenses in leaving them at home (i.e., for extra daycare or babysitting can piggyback on larger missions. gas, designed to generate a wave lant instead of gaseous xenon. And services). More information and the online application can be found at: But when the tiny spacecraft first known as a “helicon” that is very rather than accelerating ions with aps.org/programs/women/workshops/childcare.cfm came on the scene, people thought effective at ionizing the gas. Per- a constant voltage applied across of them as toys — and they were manent magnets create a magnetic a grid, it uses an alternating radio right, said Paulo Lozano of the Mas- nozzle that directs the plasma out Professional Skills Development Workshop for Women frequency voltage that enables it to sachusetts Institute of Technology of the ionization region and away Physicists emit both electrons and ions. She (MIT). “You would launch one of from the spacecraft. The team was With support from the National Science Foundation, APS will host a Pro- expects to be able to shrink her sys- these things into space; they would able to miniaturize this system into fessional Skills Development Workshop for female physicists at the 2016 tem to power a satellite as small as tumble along for a few orbits; they “a really small package” that can APS March Meeting. Postdoctoral associates and early-to-mid-career six kilograms. They aim to have an would work for perhaps one week fit into a CubeSat, said Timothy faculty and scientists are invited to apply. Applicants affiliated with a U.S. operating prototype in the next two … and then they would just burn Collard, a graduate student at U-M. institution/facility are eligible for travel and lodging funding consideration. years, she said. Their system is also adjustable up in the atmosphere.” Lozano’s group employs a dif- Those needing funding assistance are encouraged to apply early. The One possible solution is ion for different types of flight. High deadline for the workshop and a link to the online application can be found ferent style of ion propulsion, using powered, energy-intensive flight thrusters. These typically work by liquid salts as the source of ions, online at aps.org/programs/women/workshops/skills/index.cfm can be alternated with lower power, applying an electric field to ions, he explained at a meeting of sci- expelling them out of the craft and fuel-efficient flight, said Collard. ence writers at MIT in October. By And it can use solid or liquid pro- APS Bridge Program Application Now Open thereby propelling it in the oppo- applying an electric field to pull The APS Bridge Program is now accepting applications for Fall 2016. site direction. They have already pellants, from iodine to water, ions out of the fluid (a process “allowing you to pack more punch Underrepresented minorities interested in pursuing a Ph.D. in physics are been used successfully, including known as field evaporation) and into a smaller system,” Collard said. encouraged to apply by the March 18, 2016 deadline. Visit apsbridgepro- in NASA’s Dawn spacecraft, cur- flinging them away at high speeds, rently in orbit around the dwarf Although small satellites were gram.org for more information or email [email protected] the thruster creates a force in the first developed for students, they planet Ceres. Such thrusters can opposite direction. quickly caught on. Hundreds of operate more efficiently than chemi- To enable the electric field to small satellites were launched as cal thrusters because the ions are pull ions out of the fluid, Lozano’s APS OFFICE OF EDUCATION AND DIVERSITY start-up companies began using expelled at higher speeds than team fashioned an array of sharp, them to take images of Earth. This chemical thrusters can achieve. But tiny points (each with a tip diameter 2015 APS National Mentoring Committee was especially so after NASA they too have proved challenging to of 10 thousandths of a millimeter) started a launch program to help and Bridge Program Conference miniaturize. made of porous glass or nickel, There are several thorny obsta- scientists and students get their By Ana Aceves The NMC is an effort to increase covered with the ionic fluid, which cles to miniaturizing ion thrusters. enhances the electric field around cubes off the ground and perform the number of underrepresented The APS Bridge Program (BP) One is a buildup of electric charge the tip. In August, a laboratory test serious research. minorities who complete a bach- and the newly formed APS National on the satellite, which draws the of the system, performed under The craft also provide a viable elor’s degree in physics by pairing Mentoring Committee (NMC) held emitted ions back in after they are vacuum to mimic the conditions in option for countries without a space mentors and mentees. NMC’s goal a joint annual conference from expelled, negating the thrust. To space, successfully rotated a mag- program: “We are trying to give is to select mentors across the coun- October 9-11, 2015 at Florida Inter- avoid this, ion thrusters typically netically levitated CubeSat. space access to people that currently try who can provide students with national University (FIU). This is include a cathode that emits elec- If used for propulsion, the force don’t have space access,” Lozano guidance throughout their academic the third annual conference for BP trons — but the cathode takes up generated by an array of eight such said. The ease of creating a fleet of careers. According to APS, there and the first for NMC. precious room on the spacecraft thrusters could take a satellite from small satellites means they could be are now 84 NMC mentors. Since Bridge programs, of which this and is difficult to scale down. Addi- an orbit at an altitude of 400 kilome- useful tools for communications, mentoring is an essential part of the is one, aim to increase the num- tionally, such thrusters commonly ters up to 800 kilometers, Lozano navigation, or climate studies, APS Bridge Program, holding these ber of underrepresented minorities ionize a gas, like xenon, to create said, and this performance could Lozano said. annual conferences together brings — defined as African Americans, plasma — the source of the ions. be improved by packing more tips And scientists are setting their added value to the participants. Hispanic Americans, and Native Unfortunately, such gases are diffi- into each thruster. To avoid charge sights higher still. “You can theo- For Camila Monsalve, an under- Americans — who earn a Ph.D. in cult to store and take up more space buildup on the satellite, the polarity retically do missions ranging from graduate at FIU, the conference physics. To help these students suc- than a solid or liquid propellant. can be switched at intervals to emit Earth observation and weather mon- ceed, the NMC provides a national was a unique experience. “[This] Therefore, said Ane Aanesland ions of the opposite charge. itoring in Earth orbit, all the way network of mentors at participating conference was an eye-opener,” of Ecole Polytechnique in France, Another satellite propulsion up to sending them out to provide Ph.D.-granting institutions. APS she said. “I have never felt so “You look at a system where you option presented at the Gaseous basic measurements of other bodies funds six of the ten total sites across comfortable and identified in an don’t need these things.” She and Electronics Conference, the Cube- in the solar system,” said Collard. the country. MENTORING continued on page 4 her team have developed a thruster Sat Ambipolar Thruster, is under “You can actually escape Earth.”

TREASURER continued from page 1 something to be very proud of.” cists created the preprint repository unreliable sources of information But navigating the waters of the arXiv, and were early adopters of online only makes APS’s role NEON continued from page 2 open-access publishing movement online dialogue. “We’ve in fact more essential, he said. APS “has is a prominent challenge he fore- invented some of the technologies the opportunity — but also has the argon with a trace of mercury for simple signage, and fans of retro sees. “That’s a trend that goes well that are prominent in communica- responsibility — to be a voice of blue, or helium for gold — and later chic still seek out neon tubes out beyond scientific publishing,” he tion these days,” he said, citing reason and the voice of information expanded the palette even more by of nostalgia. said. “Everybody these days wants the development of the World you can trust about science, and the judicious addition of phosphor Further Reading all information to be free, and yet Wide Web at CERN. Managing physics in particular.” Hollenhorst coatings. In the 1950s and 1960s, Boyd, Jane, and Rucker, Joseph. it costs a lot of money to produce the challenges and harnessing the believes APS should leverage its neon tubes were key components “A Blaze of Crimson Light: The Story of Neon,” Chemical Heritage Magazine, quality information.” opportunities of communicating in reputation as a reliable source as in digital computer circuits, and in Summer 2012. However, the physics commu- this landscape will be prominent much as possible. “That will be the first desktop calculators. The Claude, Georges. “The Develop- nity has been ahead of the curve on issues for APS, Hollenhorst said. possible only if we’re financially golden age of neon lighting is now ment of Neon Tubes,” The Engineering open access, he points out. Physi- The proliferation of low-quality, stable,” he added. over, but neon is still used for small Magazine, November 1913, pp. 271-274 4 • December 2015

MENTORING continued from page 3

academic environment.” down what is valuable to them Of the 180 people registered for before any “high-stakes” exam. the conference, 50 to 60 were stu- This would grant them perspec- Physics Ph.D.s Study the Spread of Disease dents. The list of attendees included tive and relieve them from added By Alaina G. Levine representatives from APS, bridge pressure to do well. programs, and colleges and uni- In addition to plenary talks, At the Massachusetts Institute of versities from across the country. there were several parallel sessions Technology, Kevin McCarthy was Following welcoming remarks conducted throughout the confer- tidying up his dissertation on direct by Ted Hodapp, director of APS ence. These were designed so that detection of dark matter when his Education and Diversity, Mary one session would target mentors mind began to wander. Ennui wasn’t James, dean for institutional — typically faculty and graduate a factor. “The research I was doing diversity at Reed College, gave students — and the other session in astrophysics was exciting and the first plenary talk of the con- would target mentees — typically fun,” he says, and yet, “I realized ference, addressing the question undergraduates. These sessions had that a career along the academic of what access really means. She panelists from APS, directors of track would constrain what I wanted described the “Marie Curie effect” bridge programs, various faculty, to do. … My potential impact from — the idea that someone from a and peer-mentor students. The focus discovering new particles was far marginalized group needs to be a here was on providing mentorship in the future.” So he wondered if prodigy to succeed in physics — an training and career options for both he could make a more accelerated effect that could be an impediment undergrad and graduate students. impact in another field. for most minority physics students. In one such session, graduate McCarthy wound up diving head Kevin McCarthy Ewan Cameron James stressed the value of savvi- student Pierre Avila, of the Univer- first into epidemiology, the study of ness, resilience, and perseverance sity of Houston, Clear Lake, shared disease patterns and transmission in doing something relevant in the real passions. “Epidemiologists are a in physics research. the ways in which he learned how human populations. It’s a field that world,” he shares. “As exciting as diverse population,” says Cameron. In his plenary talk, Richard Red- to effectively communicate with requires the same data-intensive astrophysics is, there’s something “Some focus on fieldwork in-coun- dick from the University of Texas mentors and the impact of a posi- drive and skills on which many special about the potential to change try, some focus on one disease or at Austin explained that students tive mindset on one’s performance. physics fields also rely. Through people’s lives.” another on the medical side, where benefit the most from mentoring The conference concluded with some creative networking, he Today he is a senior compu- others center on the computational by being responsive, understand- a series of plenary talks focusing learned of the Institute of Disease tational statistician in the spatial and mathematical aspects of disease ing reciprocity, and having many on graduate school admissions and Modeling (IDM), which is part of ecology and epidemiology group modeling.” mentors. He also discussed the the value of the GRE to the pro- Intellectual Ventures, an enterprise (SEEG) in the department of zool- “It was not an easy transition,” founded by Nathan Myhrvold, a “cultural taxation” that results from cess. Brian Beckford — the former ogy at the University of Oxford. says McCarthy of his career choice, not compensating faculty of color manager of the APS Bridge Pro- physicist who completed his post- Cameron researches the geospatial “but my training in physics helped doc under Stephen Hawking. for mentoring a disproportionately gram and now at the University distribution of malaria, and in par- foster a mindset that, given some large number of students (since stu- of Michigan — and Ted Hodapp IDM is devoted to identifying ticular he models the relationship system I am studying, I can take the and analyzing epidemiological dents of color seek them out). He suggested to admissions offices that between the prevalence of parasites broader view and identify what are advised mentees on how to find a “recommend” the GRE, but do not models of transmission of diseases in the bloodstream vs. the annual all the things that play a role in how such as malaria, polio, and HIV. mentor, stating the importance of look at it, to remove the recommen- rate of clinical illness. By analyzing the system behaves.” This moun- getting to know personalities since dation from the website because it In addition to understanding how data from hundreds of different sites tain-top perspective has aided him diseases ebb and flow through popu- people are not “brains on a stick.” may discourage underrepresented in Africa, drawing from government as he examines the available infor- Joseph Brown from Stanford minorities from applying. lations, “We seek to translate the mation about disease incidence. “In and non-governmental organization University gave a plenary talk on Although faculty dominated the epidemiological model into reason- the health field, data often comes (NGO) surveys, demographics, and the topic of increasing diversity by conference in numbers, their voices able policy actions,” he explains. health records, he and his team have in through national-level reporting “The work is less on ‘long-shot’ changing the culture of the acad- did not. During discussions, under- developed highly detailed geospa- structures,” where patients often research and more on engagements emy. He explained “stereotype grad, and graduate students freely tial maps of malaria prevalence. self-report to clinicians, he explains. with countries to aid programs to threat” as: “a vigilant state in which voiced their opinions and concerns. Nations and NGOs can use his But that accounting system could reduce disease burdens.” a person is alert for signals that con- The result was a vigorous dialogue information to decide what protec- have gaps, especially since the data After joining IDM in 2013 as a firm stereotypes.” In disciplines that with students and each other on how tive and treatment measures should often emanate from diverse sources research scientist, one of his first appear to emphasize innate talent, to best address these issues. be deployed in specific regions. and in diverse formats. And since projects was related to malaria. such as physics or math, he noted, “The major message of address- SEEG’s contribution to quan- McCarthy and his team are not on McCarthy used his extensive this can be an unfortunate distrac- ing culture and valuing students was tifying malaria movement across the ground obtaining the informa- computational skills to fine-tune tion to minorities during an exam. loud and clear,” says Dimitri Dou- the continent of Africa is no small tion first hand, “You have to be a model of malaria transmission Brown suggested that in disciplines nas-Frazer, physics postdoctoral feat. Between the 1970s and 2000, somewhat creative” in how you han- that simulated the actions of both that do not appear to emphasize research associate at University of there was very little research on dle, interpret, and mine the data and mosquitoes and humans, such innate talent, such as sociology or Colorado Boulder. how to effectively monitor malaria how you use it to construct models, as mosquito-biting behavior and anthropology, this threat is not as Ana Aceves is a freelance writer outbreaks, says Cameron. People he says. “We are consumers of the human-immune-system responses. apparent. He recommended that based in Boston, MA. She co-facil- were getting sick, and yet it was not data, while building relationships “I calibrated the model to different faculty confront stereotype threat itated one of the parallel sessions known in what numbers, since most with the [reporting] countries.” regions in Africa [that] had good by allowing their students to write at the meeting. data was only qualitative. Now, in For example, in analyzing polio data on mosquito biting, prevalence cases in Nigeria from 2002 to 2015, of malaria in kids and adults, fever collaboration with the World Health it was necessary to consider that vs. age,” and various other aspects Organization (WHO) and funded the reporting rate might not have of the disease, he says. The aim by the Gates Foundation, SEEG “develops high-fidelity data sets been constant over that period of was to determine the efficacy of BAILEY continued from page 2 a malaria vaccine candidate in with rigorous statistical controls,” time. When McCarthy and his fighting the disease. His team he says. WHO and host countries team noticed that the number of supposed to clip one end of the wire credit the emotional component of polio cases jumped in 2006, they discovered that the vaccine could can utilize this information to cre- to the battery, and then touch the science. Emotion shouldn’t affect ate effective healthcare programs suspected it was not because more reduce malaria infection in vacci- other end of the wire to the other their judgment or their work, but on the ground. people were contracting the illness, nated children across a range of pole of the battery, creating a mag- science would not exist if there was As McCarthy and Cameron but rather that the reporting rate had transmission conditions. netic field, which interacts with the migrated into epidemiology, increased in that year. Furthermore, not an emotional reward for under- More recently, McCarthy has magnetic field of the fixed magnet, they experienced culture shock “Our thoughts were that surveil- standing new things. focused on understanding the making the wire jump out. I wasn’t in working with human subjects. lance and vaccination systems had What do you like to do in your dynamics of polio transmission in surprised by what happened, it was “All electrons are the same,” notes gotten better” since 2006, he says. spare time? northern Nigeria. Since outbreaks of more that I had this intense moment McCarthy, “but every person is Consequently, the scientists recali- I do Morris Dancing (a type polio there are localized, this work where I could see the entire process focuses on the effect of population different. … And there are always brated their models. of English folk dancing); I’m the unfolding. I understood the math; I movements, especially from rural unexpected sociological factors. Despite the challenges of a foreman of the Rock Creek Morris could see the field lines; it all just areas to urban centers. You have to understand the human career change, McCarthy and Women, which is the local women’s came together in this beautiful Ewan Cameron is another astro- side along with the disease issues.” Cameron are thrilled they made team, and that’s a load of fun. We elegant picture. And the intimacy physicist who has made the move Teams also tend to be highly the choice to switch gears and go have a lot of performances we do into epidemiology, and they encour- between the abstract world of math to epidemiology. After a postdoc interdisciplinary. Both McCarthy in the fall and the spring, which are in astronomy at ETH Zurich, he and Cameron work with scien- age other physicists to consider it and the actual physical reality just also incidentally the two busiest returned to his native Australia to tists and engineers from fields as as well. “You can do it!” exclaims struck me as profoundly mysteri- seasons of my professional life. I go in a radically different direction: varied as computer science, biosci- McCarthy. “It’s a very different field ous. So, it was like angels sang Bayesian statistics at Queensland ences, mathematics and statistics, but don’t be intimidated. Your skills and the heavens opened up and I also play traditional Irish music, so I University of Technology. There remote sensing, cartography and will translate very well.” thought, “Wow, this is beautiful, I play the fiddle and the banjo. I love he worked on a project that utilized geography, chemical engineering, Alaina G. Levine can be have to do this for the rest of my yoga, and in the summer I garden, routine point-of-care surveillance veterinary science, and sociol- reached via her website at www. life.” That was an intensely emo- if I can manage to find some time. data to infer trends in the incidence ogy. Career paths are assorted and alainalevine.com or on twitter tionally moving experience for me. This interview has been edited of chlamydia. “I really enjoyed attuned to the individual’s personal @AlainaGLevine. I think that scientists tend to dis- and condensed. December 2015 • 5

FRONTIERS IN OPTICS / LASER SCIENCE MEETING

CYCLE continued from page 1 Inside the Beltway At the Frontiers in Optics / Laser for predictions of future carbon would avoid many of these issues. Science and the Political Pendulum Science meeting this October in dioxide levels, and their effect Such experiments would beam By Michael S. Lubell, APS Director of Public Affairs San Jose, researchers discussed on our climate. a laser down to Earth’s surface, efforts to collect hundreds of thou- In July 2014, NASA launched and use a telescope to monitor the In politics, 10 years is an On such a politically polar- sands of measurements daily from the Orbiting Carbon Observa- reflected light. The wavelength eternity. A decade ago, in the ized landscape, it’s easy to see space using sunlight and laser tory-2 (OCO-2), dedicated to of the laser would be targeted to aftermath of dramatic Democratic why bipartisanship is an extraor- remote sensing, with the goal of capturing a satellite’s-eye view a particular absorption line, and successes in the 2006 election, dinarily rare commodity. When amassing enough data to tease of the carbon cycle. It is now could be varied to measure sev- pundits were sounding the death political jousting takes precedence out the complex web of carbon training its three high-resolution eral points along the line. And knell of the Republican Party. over reaching compromises, and dioxide sources and sinks, and grating spectrometers on Earth with a pulsed laser, timing can be They were dead wrong. intransigence becomes the guiding predict how they might change from an altitude of 700 kilome- used to calculate the path length Like the mythological phoenix, principle of either party, gridlock as the planet warms. ters. These spectrometers observe the light has travelled, which is the Republican Party has risen from becomes inevitable. For science, the political ashes. It now has a that’s bad news. As U.S. global sci- Carbon dioxide is constantly sunlight reflecting from Earth’s important for estimating the CO2 being emitted and absorbed, surface, and monitor three near- concentration. commanding majority of 247 to entific leadership wanes, continuing by both natural and human infrared wavelength bands for Such experiments will be 188 seats in the House of Represen- to put research on autopilot will not tatives — its largest margin since processes. As plants burst into absorption signatures of CO2, better at making meaningful have a happy ending. 1930 — and a controlling margin of growth in the spring, they take and, for reference, O2. OCO-2 measurements in a variety of The latest budget deal, which 54 seats in the Senate. It also counts up carbon, and CO2 levels in the makes a million measurements atmospheric conditions, with even will probably avert government atmosphere drop, only to rise as it orbits Earth each day. Due to better spatial resolution: Whereas 33 governors, including two in the shutdowns during the next two heavily Democratic states of Mas- again in the fall. But CO2 in the imperfect atmospheric conditions, passive sensors typically observe years, provides a ray of hope. Under atmosphere doesn’t stay put — only about 100,000 to 200,000 of a spot a few kilometers across, the sachusetts and Maryland, as well as the agreement, which takes seques- it travels around the planet with those measurements are useable. corresponding width for LIDAR 68 out of 98 state legislative cham- tration off the table, non-defense global wind patterns. The results can then be used to could be about 50 to 100 meters, bers. (Nebraska has a nonpartisan, domestic discretionary spending, unicameral legislature.) “We’re already measuring calculate the CO2 concentration Abshire says. in which science is embedded, is a bunch of things from space,” in the path the sunlight traversed NASA has future plans for Today, pundits are predicting poised to rise by slightly more than Crisp says — including important through the atmosphere. “It’s such a mission: Active Sensing Democrats will be wandering the seven percent, not including the political wilderness for decades to climate variables such as precipi- really a pretty simple device; it of CO2 Emissions over Nights, effects of inflation. Still, at the end tation and albedo (the reflectivity basically is the spectrometer you Days, and Seasons (ASCENDS). come. Don’t bet on that predic- of the two-year period, research of Earth’s surface). But concen- used in physics class,” says Crisp, Preliminary tests of LIDAR tion either! spending in constant dollars will The public is fickle, and in pol- trations of CO2 in the atmosphere the science team lead of OCO-2. systems in aircraft have been remain well below its fiscal year vary by only a few percent over- The mission follows earlier consistent with traditional gas itics the pendulum is constantly 2004 peak. swinging. So too is political support all, so satellite instruments must efforts to measure CO2 from sampling measurements. What will almost certainly be accurate to within a few tenths space with spectrometers, includ- Measuring carbon dioxide will for research and trust in science. remain unchanged for the dura- of a percent to be useful. “We’ve ing a Japanese effort, GOSAT, be useful in understanding how Ten years ago, the Republicans tion of President Obama’s term is never been able to make a mea- which launched in 2009. to deal with our climate crisis, and Democrats were of one mind: the acerbic relationship between surement as precise as the one we These satellites make passive Crisp says. The measurements federal support of science needed a the White House and congres- need to make to measure carbon measurements that rely on the sun, can improve models, and provide big boost. In 2006, the Bush Admin- sional Republicans, who have istration unveiled the American dioxide until recently,” Crisp says. and as a result are easily foiled by more information to policy mak- reflexively opposed almost all of Competitiveness Initiative, with Of the more than 30 billion cloudy skies or haze, which can ers. In the future, such methods the president’s spending priori- the goal of doubling funding over tons of carbon dioxide that are impede measurements at high could also allow remote monitor- ties since he took office in 2007. a decade for three agencies: the emitted each year, only about latitudes in particular, Abshire ing of what a country is emitting From that perspective, it’s hard to Department of Energy’s (DOE) half stays in the atmosphere. says. And polar regions are dark — and whether it is sticking to its see how President Obama’s sup- Office of Science, the National The remainder is taken up in the one season a year, making sun- end of climate treaties that limit port of science will have much Science Foundation (NSF), and biosphere, with much of it going lit measurements impossible. greenhouse gas emissions. impact on the final deliberations the National Institute of Standards into the oceans, which absorb “And if you’re studying prob- But treaty validation is only of a GOP congressional majority and Technology. Democrats, who about 10 billion tons a year. The lems like what’s happening in one step of the process. “Not only that has strayed from its traditional took control of Congress the fol- rest goes into plants and soil, but Siberia in the summertime, or do they tell you whether or not pro-science stance. lowing year, unveiled their own scientists haven’t been able to even in northern Canada, having somebody’s following the rules, To be sure, there may be some Innovation Initiative and swiftly account for exactly where it all coverage up there is obviously they tell you whether or not the exceptions, most notably Sen. moved forward with the America ends up. “There’s a missing sink,” essential,” Abshire says. “It’s a rule that you’re following works Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, COMPETES Act of 2007 that drew says James Abshire of Goddard tremendously challenging remote in reducing carbon dioxide emis- Reps. Michael McCaul and John Space Flight Center, “so there’s sensing experiment.” sions,” Crisp says. For example, wide bipartisan support for setting science agencies on a seven-year Culberson of Texas, and Randy an absorption of CO2 that can’t be But according to Abshire, if you plant trees, does that really Hultgren of Illinois. accounted for in the present cli- a satellite equipped with Light reduce carbon dioxide levels? doubling path. Scroll forward to 2015. Today Unfortunately, the partisan mate models.” Understanding this Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) Space-based measurements could science divide is likely to extend missing carbon sink is important — the laser version of radar — provide a means of finding that out. if you open a conversation with the average Republican member beyond disagreements over spend- of Congress about America’s flag- ing levels. Trust in science and trust ging global scientific leadership, of scientists, once overwhelmingly you will likely get a tepid response. embraced by Republicans, has Spending less, not more, on any fallen victim to disputes over the Edible Optics, Tracking Bugs, and More government activity, save defense, role science should play in policy- is central to the GOP budget goals making and the conduct of scientists more generally. By Emily Conover laid out by Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.), the newly elected speaker of the The House Science, Space and Optics research and applica- House of Representatives. Technology Committee, for exam- tions of all types were on display Edible Optics After his Republican colleagues ple, has repeatedly questioned the and under discussion at this year’s elected him to the top slot with 236 validity of science used by the Frontiers in Optics / Laser Sci- out of 247 possible votes, Ryan Environmental Protection Agency ence (FiO/LS) a joint meeting of pledged to repair what he char- and the National Oceanographic the Optical Society and the APS acterized as a “broken” House of and Atmospheric Administration Division of Laser Science, held Representatives. Unlike his pre- in advancing policies on climate in San Jose, California. decessor, John Boehner (R-Ohio), change and pollution. The com- 3D-printed optics who was a quintessential insider mittee has also questioned the At first glance, 3D printing and dealmaker, Ryan said he would impartiality of peer-review practices seems unsuitable for creating devolve legislative power to House at NSF in setting agency priorities optics components, which must committees and the rank-and-file and evaluating proposals. Finally, have incredibly smooth surfaces membership. And he pledged to the committee has supported leg- that are not achievable with stan- “wipe the slate clean,” making defi- islation that would bar the federal dard 3D printers. “Fortunately Lollipop lenses are delicious and amusing but also offer a way to teach cit reduction and tax reform top government from using the results there are always crazy enough optics. priorities. of any DOE-sponsored research in people,” said Jyrki Saarinen, of The technique uses UV-curable Edible optics As you might imagine, Demo- developing policies and regulations. the University of Eastern Finland. materials, printed with liquid Ever wish you could eat your crats don’t share the same vision for There is little doubt the political Saarinen discussed a process, drops that harden when exposed optics? Two University of Arizona a future legislative agenda, unless pendulum has swung substantially developed by the company Lux- to ultraviolet light. The drops students did, and they created a tax reform means increasing taxes over the last decade. And there is excel, to 3D print custom optics merge together as they are printed, start-up company, Edible Optics, on the wealthy. For Democrats, little doubt it will continue to swing. components in a variety of shapes. smoothing out the rough edges. OPTICS continued on page 7 addressing the wealth, income But which way it will swing and and opportunity disparities gets how it will affect science remains top billing. anybody’s guess. 6 • December 2015

In Recognition of the 2015 APS Fellows

The APS Fellowship Program was created to recognize members who may have made advances in physics through original research and publication, or made significant innovative con- tributions in the application of physics to science and technology. They may also have made significant contributions to the teaching of physics or service and participation in the activities of the Society. Each year, no more than one half of one percent of the Society membership is recognized by their peers for election to the status of Fellow of the American Physical Society. For more information on the 2015 recipients, visit aps.org/programs/honors/fellowships/

Division of Astrophysics Division of Division of Laser Science Division of Physics of Beams Forum on International Physics Manuel Bibes Julie Grollier Computational Physics Andrea Alu Sergey Belomestnykh Xiao-Gang He Laura Baudis Roland Kawakami Roland Diehl Noam Bernstein Hiroshi Amano Zhirong Huang W Mochan Jorge Morfin Roderich Moessner Fiorenza Donato Martin Grant Hou-Tong Chen Dinh Nguyen Choo-Hiap Oh Douglas Finkbeiner Francesco Mauri Zhigang Chen Matthew Poelker James Proudfoot Stefan Funk Stephane Mazevet Stefan Hell Ferdinand Willeke Topical Group on Physics Mackillo Kira Javid Sheikh Bhuvnesh Jain Ivan Oleynik Education Research Xiaoqin (Elaine) Li Eric Suraud Eiichiro Komatsu Daniel Sanchez-Portal Division of Plasma Physics David Vitali Steven Pollock Abraham Loeb Frederick Streitz Division of Materials Physics Steven Batha Richard Steinberg Grzegorz Madejski Michael Wittmann Ivo Furno Forum on Outreach Feryal Ozel Division of Eric Bauer Frank Jenko Scott Ransom Scott Chambers & Engaging the Public Condensed Matter Physics Yakov Krasik Topical Group on Patrick Slane Craig Fennie Niels Madsen James Kakalios Artem Abanov Plasma Astrophysics Rodger Thompson Jaime Fernandez-Baca Pierre Michel Shane Larson Daniel Arovas Benjamin Wandelt Sergei Kalinin Thomas Pedersen Don Lincoln Michael A Shay Silke Buehler-Paschen Ron Lifshitz Yuan Ping Daniel Steinberg Dmitri Uzdensky Erica Carlson Junming Liu Division of Atomic, Molecular Sean Regan David Cobden Michael Manfra Daniel Sinars Topical Group on Precision & Optical Physics Per Delsing Carlos Meriles Forum on Physics & Society Vladimir Smalyuk Measurement & Daniel Dessau Ning Pan Douglas Arion James Babb Edward Thomas Fundamental Constants Tomasz Dietl John Pendry Ashton Carter Immanuel Bloch Glen Wurden Gretchen Campbell Gleb Finkelstein Antoni Planes Roger Hagengruber Ricardo Decca Ramamurthy Ramprasad Diego Alejandro Dalvit Mark Freeman Benn Tannenbaum Stephan Schlamminger Tanusri Saha-Dasgupta Brian DeMarco Daniel Haskel Division of Polymer Physics Hulikal Krishnamurthy Liling Sun Topical Group on Energy Stavros Demos Jeff Chen Topical Group on Mark Lumsden Yang Yang Research and Applications Michael Drewsen Alfred Crosby Vidya Madhavan Quantum Information Oliver Gessner Division of Nuclear Physics Liliane Leger Sue Carter Thomas Maier David Cory Thomas Gorczyca Kalman Migler Steven Frautschi Ivar Martin Mark Alford Berge Englert Vasili Kharchenko Elie Raphael Mengyan Shen Prabhakar Misra Lee Bernstein Kae Nemoto Roman Krems Charles Roland Vesna Mitrovic Peter Blunden Charles Tahan Marcos Rigol Rachel Segalman Cedomir Petrovic Roderick Clark Topical Group on Alexei Sokolov Philip Walther Filip Ronning John D’Auria Few-Body Systems Jelena Vuckovic Kirill Shtengel Matthias Grosse Perdekamp Vladislav Yakovlev Forum on Education Jose D’Incao Irfan Siddiqi Yu-Gang Ma Topical Group on Shock Shina Tan Frank Steglich James Nagle Daniel Claes Compression of Division of Janet Tate Filomena Nunes Peter Shaffer Condensed Matter Kostas Orginos Biological Physics Yaroslav Tserkovnyak Topical Group on Gravitation Eli Piasetzky Tariq Aslam Ilya Vekhter Emanuele Berti Gulshan Rai Forum on Damian Swift Krastan Blagoev Latha Venkataraman Laura Cadonati Alexander Saunders History of Physics Carson Chow Thomas Vojta Yanbei Chen Kai Vetter Anatoly Kolomeisky Michael Zudov Thomas Greenslade Dennis Coyne Topical Group on Soft Matter Andre Levchenko Bruce Hunt Daniel Sigg Division of Particles & Fields Haim Diamant V. Adrian Parsegian Dwight Neuenschwander Mark Trodden Division of Fluid Dynamics Lothar Bauerdick O. Lavrentovich Alan Perelson Richard Staley Alan Weinstein Thomas Blum Thomas Truskett Eugene Shakhnovich Stuart Dalziel Bernard Whiting James Cochran Pieter Ten Wolde Anne De Wit Hooman Davoudiasl Forum on Industrial Dave Thirumalai Jerzy Floryan Topical Group on Statistical Kaushik De & Applied Physics Topical Group on Jie Yan Guowei He & Nonlinear Physics Maurice Garcia-Sciveres Hadronic Physics Jeffrey Koseff Dean Evans David Gerdes Byungnam Kahng Division of Satish Kumar Marco Fanciulli Richard Lebed Tony Gherghetta Michel Pleimling Viswanathan Kumaran Hans Hallen Xiaochao Zheng Chemical Physics Michael Gronau Ira Schwartz George Lauder Christopher Hearty Giuseppe Iannaccone Stephen Bradforth Mary Silber Omar Matar Graham Kribs Gamani Karunasiri Topical Group on Instrument Majed Chergui Stefano Zapperi Igor Mezic Konstantin Matchev Ki Kim & Measurement Science Pablo Debenedetti Joseph Niemela Tariq Manzur Vivian O’Dell Hsiao-Mei Cho Tianquan Lian Leonid Pismen Thomas Meitzler Alexey Petrov Tolek Tyliszczak John Maier Troy Shinbrot Roger Rusack John Rumble Timothy Minton Todd Squires Stefan Soldner-Rembold Xinfeng Tang Topical Group on Magnetism David Osborn Federico Toschi Hirohisa Tanaka Michael Wright Kenneth Suslick Xiaohua Wu David Toback Zhuomin Zhang Johan Akerman

PHOTON continued from page 1 in a dark room with faint flashes that question if you can’t actually Holmes’ apparatus randomly on to hit the eye actually make it to aberrations or eye motion, and an of light and asked them to record make precise numbers of photons,” sends each photon to one of two the retina. But inefficiency in the EEG might help monitor subjects’ what they observed. Holmes said. optical fibers, directed at the left and visual pathway or lapses in attention attention, allowing the research- When light enters your eye This is where the quantum optics right sides of the subject’s retina. could be just as important: “Maybe ers to send photons only when the through your pupil, it is focused expertise of her group, which is The subject then must say what side a bigger problem is that the observ- observer is most likely to see them. on the retina, in the back of the eye. led by Paul Kwiat of the Univer- it was on. The design is an improve- ers don’t always seem to notice the And, if researchers’ anecdotes are This area is chock-full of photore- sity of Illinois, comes into play. ment on previous studies — which stimulus, even though it was prob- to be believed, subjects watching ceptor cells: cones, which operate Previous experiments have used simply asked subjects if they saw ably technically bright enough for for single photons may get better best in bright light and provide our classical light sources that produce a flash of light — because subjects them to see it,” Holmes said. with practice. “I’ve done it a lot of color vision, and rods, which are a small but indeterminate number may hesitate to give a response In the final version of their times and I’m definitely better than important for night vision, and are of photons, making the result less that could be a false positive, the experiment, the researchers will anyone else,” Holmes said. highly sensitive to small amounts clear-cut. Kwiat’s team will utilize researchers say. allow only one photon through at If humans can serve as single- of light. a quantum source — a device that In preparation for their experi- a time, making it crucial to increase photon detectors, the researchers In a laboratory dish, a rod that produces individual photons and ment with single photons, the team the efficiency of the system so that have more ideas in store. “Since absorbs just a single photon springs is standard in quantum optics labs first measured the result with an as many photons make it to the ret- we’re quantum physicists, we’d to life, producing an electrical sig- — but turn it on human subjects. average of 3 or 4 photons on the ina as possible. “Every trial where love to try to test quantum effects nal in response. But the question They shine an ultraviolet laser on retina. The subjects picked the cor- that doesn’t happen [the subjects] on the visual system,” Holmes of whether a single-photon signal a nonlinear crystal, in which pho- rect side 54 ± 1% of the time — only really are just randomly guessing — said. For example, rather than can make it all the way through the tons produce pairs of lower-energy slightly better than chance, imply- that’s just noise,” Holmes said. The sending the photon to the left or the visual pathway to the brain is still photons. The researchers detect one ing that humans can just barely see researchers are now optimizing their right, they could send the subject unanswered — the visual system photon in a pair, using it to herald these dim flashes. setup to improve optical efficiency a superposition, and study what may filter out such tiny signals to the other, which is sent to the sub- To get those 3 or 4 photons to the before photons reach the eye. the subject observes. Quantum avoid unwanted noise. And testing ject. The laser is tuned so that the retina, the researchers send in 100 And the researchers have ideas mechanics predicts a superposi- whether humans can observe a lone output photons will be at a wave- photons — 70% of these are lost on how to improve the human part tion would look no different. “But photon isn’t straightforward: “It length of 500 nanometers, where in the optical apparatus, and only of the equation as well. Adap- that’s not something that’s been turns out it’s really hard to answer sensitivity of the rods is highest. about 10% of the photons that go tive optics could compensate for tried before,” Holmes says. December 2015 • 7

ANNOUNCEMENTS

The APS Bridge Program APS Council of Representatives is an effort to increase the number of physics Approves Three New Statements Ph.D.s awarded to Three statements were drafted by the APS Panel on Public Affairs, underrepresented minority reviewed by the APS membership and the Board of Directors, and (URM) students, defined by the project as African received final Council approval on November 14: Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Native Americans. Women and Physics: http://go.aps.org/aps_15_2 APS-BP has done this by creating sustainable bridge Earth’s Changing Climate: http://go.aps.org/aps_15_3 programs at six sites around the country. Civic Engagement of Scientists: http://go.aps.org/aps_15_1 The student applications for the Bridge Program will be open from December 1, 2015 to March 18, 2016. PhysTEC More information at apsbridgeprogram.org 2016 Conference ALLIES continued from page 1 is confusing and intimidating. It different universities that showed and applied physics departments. March 11-13, 2016 took a long time for her to figure that 11.7 percent of students had Levy also participates in the APS Royal Sonesta Harbor Court out that what she experienced was experienced some sort of sexual Physics Department Climate Site Baltimore, Maryland covered under the AAS anti-harass- misconduct. A 2014 survey from Visits, a program that works to ment policy. Ultimately, Flewelling the Massachusetts Institute of Tech- improve the culture for women Register by Feb. 26, 2016 had to talk about her harassment nology (MIT), which surveyed 35 and minorities in national labs and to the AAS Council, a group of percent of its student body, found universities. “There are clear poli- well-established astronomers. “It’s that 16 percent of female grad stu- cies and clear expectations in most awkward to introduce yourself to dents and 5 percent of male grad places that [harassment] is abso- Join us for the nation’s largest meeting dedicated to someone senior with the story, ‘I students had experienced some lutely unacceptable,” Thom-Levy physics teacher education. This conference will be held was harassed,’” she says. type of sexual misconduct, which says. However, the networks in in conjunction with the 2016 APS March Meeting. The Astronomy Allies publicized included sexual harassment, sexual place to report harassment aren’t itself via “Women in Astronomy,” a assault, rape, and unwanted sexual so clear. She says that people need Topics include: blog run by the AAS Committee on behavior. A 2014 study published a safe place to report their experi- • Recruiting high school physics teachers the Status of Women, and Flewel- in PLOS One found that in the ences and that the information is • Physics teaching methods ling presented a poster on the group field of anthropology, two-thirds given to the right administrative • Advocacy and working effectively with administrators at the January 2015 AAS Meeting in of both men and women were sexu- levels. • Assessments for physics teacher education Seattle. Alatalo says the astronomy ally harassed. Trainees — people at “The most powerful thing is • Educating elementary and middle school teachers community has been “very support- the bottom of the career hierarchy when senior people talk about • Building effective pathways to degree and certification ive” of their efforts. — were more likely to be harassed. [harassment and assault],” says Travel support is available for faculty from minority-serving institutions. “It’s a very valuable service,” All three studies found that their a physics graduate student who says Chryssa Kouveliotou, the respondents were not likely to report attends a Tier 1 research univer- phystec.org/conferences/2016/ senior vice president of AAS, who their harassment. The AAU survey sity. This student, who spoke under is not in the group. “I hope that found that depending on the type of conditions of anonymity because TM they provide a means for young behavior, between 5 and 28 percent she did not want to damage her females to feel comfortable to reported the sexual misconduct. The career, was raped by her adviser attend meetings and interact with PLOS One study found that fewer as a second-year graduate student. senior scientists.” than 5 percent of their respondents She says she didn’t report the The group’s services seem par- knew how to report sexual harass- rape until four years after it hap- The 5+ Club recognizes ticularly relevant on the heels of ment, and fewer than 2 percent pened, partly because she feared institutions that graduate 5 or the Geoff Marcy scandal in Octo- actually reported it. MIT’s survey the consequences for her own career more physics teachers in a ber, when the online news site found that less than two-thirds told and blamed herself for what hap- given year. Can your institution BuzzFeed News reported that the someone else about the experience, pened. “I worked up the courage to join the club? famous Berkeley astronomer was and fewer than 5 percent officially report [the rape] partly because we the subject of a university investiga- reported harassment. started having lunches with senior tion that concluded he had serially The physics community does women faculty at my university. Apply by January 11, 2016 harassed women between 2001 and not have a group like Astronomy One of the senior women faculty TM 2010. But research suggests sexual Allies — but it could use one, says brought up that she was sexually phystec.org/the5plus/ harassment and assault in academia Julia Thom-Levy, an associate harassed as a graduate student. extends beyond a handful of high- professor of physics at Cornell Hearing a senior person whose profile cases. University and adviser to the career you admire speak about it This September, the Association school’s women in physics group, is the best resource.” of American Universities (AAU) whose membership includes fac- Sophia Chen is a freelance released survey results across 27 ulty, staff, and students in physics writer based in Tucson, Arizona.

OPTICS continued from page 5 to make those dreams come true. either with a telescope viewing a Ceci n’est pas un laser pointer Their wares are candy lollipops, dark cavity and watching for Green laser pointers are ubiq- made in the shape of various types flashes caused by insects reflecting uitous at scientific meetings, but of lenses. Instead of glass or plas- sunlight, or with a light-detecting- at FiO/LS, attendees got schooled tic, these lenses are made out of and-ranging (LIDAR) system using about how they work. While bran- sugar. Their products, which were a laser and viewing the backscatter dishing such a pointer during a on display at FiO/LS, are designed the insects produce. The sampling plenary talk, Elsa Garmire of Dart- for use in hands-on science educa- rate is more than two thousand mouth College said, “This is not tion. The founders of Edible Optics times a second, so the system can a green laser pointer.” Garmire’s talk gave an overview of nonlinear hope to provide schools with an observe the insects’ wings beat- ing, and by comparing shortwave optics (a field she helped pioneer), affordable and fun (and tasty) way infrared and near infrared scat- which deals with the behavior of teaching optics to kids. tered light, determine if the insect of light in nonlinear media (for Keeping an eye on insects is a dark or light color, providing example, the generation of har- Optics applications were every- a handle for identifying the spe- monic frequencies of light). The where at FiO/LS. One of the most cies. Examining how the signals green laser pointer, she explained, unusual was an insect-monitoring evolve in time can provide a sense is an example of nonlinear optics at system that can detect and study of what direction the insects are work. To produce the bright green wild insects in flight. The sys- traveling. Gebru hopes the system beam, infrared laser light is doubled tem, presented by Alem Gebru, a will help farmers monitor their in frequency by a nonlinear crystal. graduate student at Stellenbosch fields. “They want to know what “From now on, every time you use University in South Africa, can kind of pollinators or pests are in this, call it a nonlinear pointer,” work using two different methods: their environment,” he says. Garmire proclaimed. 8 • December 2015

Once More, Into the Breach By Daniel Kleppner and Richard A. Meserve

n 1986 and 1988 Henry (Heinz) Barschall, a respected nuclear physicist at the University of Wisconsin, editor of Physical Review C and what was then the APS Publications Oversight ICommittee, wrote articles in Physics Today that presented the results of a study of the cost of library subscriptions to physics journals. The consequences of Barschall’s studies provide a cautionary tale on what can go wrong when scientific and commercial interests collide. Barschall found the cost of physics journals published by the American Institute of Physics (AIP) and APS was low, while the highest cost was for the publisher Gordon & Breach (G&B). The difference in cost among various publishers spanned a factor of about 40. Barschall’s articles evidently infuriated Martin Gordon, head of the firm, because in 1989 he launched a series of lawsuits against APS, Barschall, and AIP (the publisher of Physics Today). The litigation went on for ten years. In 1991 one of the authors (DK), wrote an article for Physics Today calling attention to the bizarre situation. AIP, however, declined publication arguing, quite reasonably, that the essay would certainly precipitate yet another lawsuit by G&B. The defense was led by Richard A. Meserve, a partner at Covington & Burling LLP and a Fellow of the APS. The defense involved litigation in four jurisdictions and in three differ- ent languages. Meserve was ably assisted by the multilingual capacities of Barschall, Harry Lustig (then treasurer of APS), and Marc Brodsky (then executive director of AIP). Barschall died in 1997, Gordon & Breach went out of business in 2001 and was acquired by another publisher, and Gordon died in 2015. At last it is safe to make the history public without fear of retaliation. What follows is the 1991 essay by Kleppner and a postscript by Meserve.

Into The Breach, by Daniel Kleppner (1991)

payment on costs — life is grim. And for the folks at AIP The heroes I admire most are those heroes whose modesty AIP matches their courage — Clark Kent and the Scarlet Pimper- and APS who have to rush to Europe at the drop of a hat, nel, for instance. They ask for no reward but the satisfaction and whose files are now meters long, the wasted time is that comes only from brave deeds done anonymously. But mounting up. when I jeopardize my safety for the public good, I want the Barschall is not the only victim of G&B’s litigation mania. world to know. So here it is. Steely eyed and level headed, my When Octave Levenspiel of Oregon State University com- veins throbbing with sangfroid, I do now express the opinion plained of G&B’s prices in Chemical Engineering Education, that SOME GORDON & BREACH PUBLICATIONS MIGHT he got an ominous letter from the G&B attorneys. And when BE CONSIDERED A LITTLE BIT PRICEY. Joel Rutstein of Colorado State University complained of a If this act of recklessness fails to leave you breathless, let rise in G&B’s subscription prices in a letter to Early Child me assure you that to criticize G&B is to risk the wrath of a Development and Care, he also received an ominous letter deeply litigious corporation. In this nation of ours, where litiga- (more precisely, he described it as a “nasty’’ letter). G&B also tion has become a blood sport, taunting such an adversary is read its riot act to the American Mathematical Association. not for the faint of heart. Henry Barschall learned this the hard And at this point I can no longer hide the observation that way, and so have others who suddenly found themselves flat James Thompson of the University of Riverside reputedly on their backs, staring up at G&B’s blockhammer of litigation. was threatened by a suit from G&B if he failed to retract his In 1986 Physics Today published the results of a survey observation that G&B was threatening to sue people. by Henry Barschall on the cost of library journals. Barschall There is also the Mystery of the Foundation for Interna- ranked journals according to the average cost per word and tional Scientific Cooperation and whether it did or did not also calculated the ratio of cost to frequency of the journal sponsor the survey carried out by G&B under the Foundation’s citations. Some journals came out cheap, some journals Henry (Heinz) Barschall letterhead, which asked for all sorts of information, including came out expensive, and some journals, mostly G&B journals, (1915-1997) whether by any chance any librarian has been induced to came out very very expensive. This was too much for G&B. drop any subscriptions because of Barschall’s survey. The It did the only thing that a red-blooded corporation could do: Foundation appeared to be on the up and up except that the G&B sued. That, you might think, would be the end of it. Hah! Don’t return address for the questionnaire was a Washington law G&B sued Barschall, underestimate the will of a corporation whose honor is at stake. firm, and the postal meter belonged to G&B. G&B sued the American Institute of Physics, G&B is appealing to the Supreme Court in Germany, So why do I thrust myself into the breach of danger to tell G&B sued the American Physical Society, G&B is hoping for the best in Paris. you these things? Perhaps because the thought of a greedy G&B sued in Zurich, Where will this end? Possibly it will go on until Barschall, corporation in a frenzy of litigious madness monkeying with G&B sued in Frankfurt, AIP, APS and G&B are all bankrupt. Meanwhile, life is no our freedom of speech makes my blood boil, or the thought G&B sued in Paris. bowl of cherries for Heinz Barschall, who cannot munch a of some journal costs make my blood run cold, or perhaps So what, you may be wondering, happened? To make weisswurst in Marienplatz without looking for a rechtsanwalt it’s just, as John Wayne would put it, “A guy’s gotta do what a long story short: over his shoulder, nor sip a cafe filtre by the Seine without a guy’s gotta do.” G&B lost in Zurich, worrying about the flics descending on him to serve a procès, The author would thank his friends and the magazines G&B lost in Frankfurt, nor return home without worrying whether his car, his house and journals who provided the facts for this case, but that and the case is still pending in Paris. and perhaps even his family have been attached as a down would be to put them in needless danger.

Postscript, by Richard A. Meserve (2015)

Some stories have a happy ending and fortunately this one Barschall’s study to the exclusion of all other considerations journals.’” One might appropriately wonder why the judge does. G&B ultimately filed suit in Germany, Switzerland, in making purchasing decisions. This consideration in no way commented on the unclean hands of G&B, particularly given France and the United States claiming that Barschall’s work makes Barschall’s study or defendants’ descriptions thereof his decision that the Barschall work was beyond reproach. I constituted unfair and illegal comparative advertising. G&B false, and accordingly judgment is granted to defendants.” conclude that the judge wanted to put G&B’s tactics on the ultimately lost everywhere, although not without pursuing record so as to undercut any further efforts to intimidate others. appeals. So Barschall, the APS, and AIP achieved a complete "Some stories have a happy ending and References to the Barschall articles victory. H. Barschall, Physics Today, Dec. 1986, p. 34 and Physics Today, The litigation in the United States involved a seven-day fortunately this one does." July 1988, p.56. The underlying data were published in the Bulletin trial in a federal court in New York City. Judge Sand wrote of the American Physical Society, July 1988, Vol. 33, p. 1437. Links to the articles and other materials relating to the dispute are found an extensive opinion outlining the facts of the case and his at http://www.library.yale.edu/barschall/index.html legal analysis. He ultimately concluded: The opinion also includes an extensive discussion of References to the litigation “Barschall’s methodology has been demonstrated to estab- G&B’s efforts to intimidate its critics. The judge commented OPA Amsterdam BV v. American Institute of Physics, 973 F.Supp. lish reliably precisely the proposition for which defendants that “defendants introduced extensive evidence that G&B has 414, 429 (S.D.N.Y., 1997), aff’d, 166 F.3d 438 (2d Cir. 1999); also id. cited it — that defendants’ physics journals, as measured by engaged in an aggressive corporate practice of challenging at 420, quoting Defendants’ Post-Trial Mem. cost per character and cost per character divided by impact fac- any adverse commentary upon its journals, primarily through Daniel Kleppner is Lester Wolfe Professor Emeritus, tor, are substantially more cost-effective than those published threatened (and actual) litigation. This evidence persuasively Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Richard A. Meserve by plaintiffs. Plaintiffs have proved only the unremarkable demonstrated that the present suit is but one battle in a ‘global is President Emeritus, Carnegie Institution for Science, and proposition that a librarian would be ill-advised to rely on campaign by G&B to suppress all adverse comment upon its Senior Counsel, Covington & Burling LLP.

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