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THE BIOLOGICAL PHYSICIST The Newsletter of the Division of Biological Physics of the American Physical Society Vol 7 N o 5 Dec 2007 DIVISION OF BIOLOGICAL PHYSICS EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Chair In this Issue Dean Astumian [email protected] Immediate Past Chair NEWS FEATURE Marilyn Gunner [email protected] APS Statement on Climate Change.…………..…...…..….....2 Chair-Elect PRL HIGHLIGHTS………………………………………..…..….....4 James Glazier [email protected] PRE HIGHLIGHTS……………………..……………...…..…..……9 Vice-Chair SPECIAL DBP ANNOUNCEMENT: Stephen Quake [email protected] 2008 Delbrück Prize...………………………………..….........13 Secretary/Treasurer SPECIAL DBP ANNOUNCEMENT: Shirley Chan DBP Welcomes New APS Fellows…….……………...........14 [email protected] APS Councilor SPECIAL DBP ANNOUNCEMENT: Robert Eisenberg Student Travel Grants for 2008 APS March Meeting........15 [email protected] SPECIAL DBP ANNOUNCEMENT: Members-at-Large: Workshop on Opportunities in Biological Physics………16 Stephen J. Hagen [email protected] JOB ADS…………………………………………………………20 Chao Tang [email protected] HFSP CALL FOR LETTERS OF INTENT………...……………...........25 Réka Albert [email protected] Brian Salzberg [email protected] John Milton [email protected] This issue of THE BIOLOGICAL PHYSICIST Jin Wang brings you a special news feature on the recent APS [email protected] statement on climate change. We bring you the ------------------------------------------ announcement of the 2008 Max Delbrück Prize in Biological Physics, and welcome new APS fellows who have made significant contributions to biological Newsletter Editor physics, as well as job ads and a call for letters of Sonya Bahar [email protected] intent from the Human Frontier Science Program. Website Manager Enjoy! Andrea Markelz – SB [email protected] 1 NEWS FEATURE APS STATEMENT ON CLIMATE CHANGE S. Bahar As the scientific and political issues of climate membership to support policies and actions change grow ever more difficult to ignore, the that will reduce the emission of greenhouse American Physical Society has stepped into gases. the fray, issuing a statement on the issue which is at once clear, terse, decisive, and THE BIOLOGICAL PHYSICIST spoke scientifically objective. The statement, by telephone with Dr. Robert Eisenstein, chair formally adopted by the APS Council on of the APS’s Panel on Public Affairs (POPA, November 18, 2007 and available at http://www.aps.org/about/governance/committees/popa), http://www.aps.org/policy/statements/07_1.cfm, about the process of crafting the statement. reads: A year ago, Eisenstein said, POPA was asked Emissions of greenhouse gases from human to advise the APS Council on whether APS activities are changing the atmosphere in ways should sign on to the American Association for that affect the Earth's climate. Greenhouse the Advancement of Science (AAAS) gases include carbon dioxide as well as statement on climate change. They looked at methane, nitrous oxide and other gases. They the AAAS statement and “thought that it was are emitted from fossil fuel combustion and a too assumptive about what the future was range of industrial and agricultural processes. going to hold.” POPA concluded that the APS needed to write its own statement rather than The evidence is incontrovertible: Global simply signing on to that of the AAAS. warming is occurring. If no mitigating actions are taken, significant disruptions in the The resulting APS statement revolves around Earth’s physical and ecological systems, the following points: (1) most scientists social systems, security and human health are believe global warming is happening, and that likely to occur. We must reduce emissions of this conclusion is data-driven; (2) most, but greenhouse gases beginning now. perhaps not all, scientists would say that this warming is driven by human activity, Because the complexity of the climate makes especially since 90% of the rise has occurred accurate prediction difficult, the APS urges an since 1900; and (3) there is major controversy enhanced effort to understand the effects of about what the future holds. “Our human activity on the Earth’s climate, and to understanding of what the future may bring provide the technological options for meeting depends on models,” says Eisenstein, “and the climate challenge in the near and longer many people feel that present-day models are terms. The APS also urges governments, not up to the job of making stable, reliable universities, national laboratories and its long-term predictions. That is why POPA felt 2 it was important to endorse the statement that along with the International Panel on Climate global warming is occurring, to endorse the Change, of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize, have position that this is likely due to human done an “enormous service by getting people activity, and to encourage more study and to think about [the issue] more.” He says he is significantly improved modeling as guidance “totally convinced” that the US would not to what further action would be appropriate.” have been as willing to be even as mildly proactive as it has been if not for Gore and the Once POPA had completed its draft, the panel IPCC. Speaking of An Inconvenient Truth, submitted the statement to the APS Executive Eisenstein says that the movie “may be Board and Council. After careful provocative, but maybe that’s a good thing. consideration and some editing, the statement One of the things I find upsetting about was approved. arguments of the United States, China, and India, is that they are making arguments about Eisenstein says that he had not studied the the economic future, with no thought at all issue of global warming in depth before about how to sustain economic growth without working on the APS statement with POPA. He ecological damage. This is dangerous short says his opinions about the issue have not term thinking. But the fact that the US changed substantially as a result of working on participated in the Bali talks is a positive the issue. He feels that the clearest way to state thing.” the issue of global warming is in the words of Dan Schrag, a climatologist and geophysicist As for the science, there is a long road to at Harvard, who has described the situation as travel, and current climate models have what one in which we are doing an experiment on Eisenstein calls “major holes”. For a long time, the earth, and we don’t know the outcome. he explains, the models didn’t even couple the Eisenstein remarked that this way of looking at atmosphere to the ocean. “It’s a very hard the issue has great clarity. In his opinion, the problem and very intensive computationally. risks of inaction are far too great. But knowing Until recently, the largest computer in the open what actions to take is what is so difficult. (non-defense) world was the Earth Simulator in Japan. That’s an example of how hard a What has struck Eisenstein most deeply during problem it is.” his work on the statement, he says, is that, while there have been many variations and As scientists, we have a special responsibility changes in the geophysical history of the earth, to act based on reliable observation, testing, these changes have been slow; what is most and theoretical modeling. Modeling may not dangerous, and what leaves the result of this ultimately be as reliable as we might wish to “experiment” most unpredictable, is the believe, and predictions are not certainties. suddenness of the change we are presently However, the issue of prediction cuts both experiencing. ways: “Business people say you are going to do so much damage to the economy [by trying Eisenstein feels that Al Gore’s film An to decrease global warming]. They don’t know Inconvenient Truth, as well as Gore’s receipt, that either, by the way!” 3 PRL HIGHLIGHTS Soft Matter, Biological, & Observation of Immobilized Water Inter-disciplinary Physics Articles from Molecules around Hydrophobic Groups Y. L. A. Rezus and H. J. Bakker Physical Review Letters Published 1 October 2007 148301 5 October 2007 See Also: Phys. Rev. Focus Vol 99, Number 14, Articles (14xxxx) Articles published 29 Sept - 5 Oct 2007 Fluctuations and Rheology in Active http://scitation.aip.org/dbt/dbt.jsp?KEY=PRLTAO&Volume=99&Issue=14 Bacterial Suspensions D. T. N. Chen, A. W. C. Lau, L. A. Hough, M. Eliminating Segregation in Free-Surface F. Islam, M. Goulian, T. C. Lubensky, and A. Flows of Particles G. Yodh Deliang Shi, Adetola A. Abatan, Watson L. Published 3 October 2007 Vargas, and J. J. McCarthy 148302 Published 4 October 2007 148001 Dynamic Transition in the Structure of an Energetic Crystal during Chemical Effect of Forewing and Hindwing Reactions at Shock Front Prior to Interactions on Aerodynamic Forces Detonation and Power in Hovering Dragonfly Flight Ken-ichi Nomura, Rajiv K. Kalia, Aiichiro Z. Jane Wang and David Russell Nakano, Priya Vashishta, Adri C. T. van Published 1 October 2007 Duin, and William A. Goddard III 148101 Published 5 October 2007 148303 Influence of Polymer-Pore Interactions on Translocation Polydispersity-Induced Macrophase Kaifu Luo, Tapio Ala-Nissila, See-Chen Ying, Separation in Diblock Copolymer Melts and Aniket Bhattacharya M. W. Matsen Published 1 October 2007 Published 5 October 2007 148102 148304 Multistability and Clustering in a Invasion Threshold in Heterogeneous Population of Synthetic Genetic Metapopulation Networks Oscillators via Phase-Repulsive Cell-to- Vittoria Colizza and Alessandro Vespignani Cell Communication Published 5 October 2007 Ekkehard Ullner, Alexei Zaikin, Evgenii I. 148701 Volkov, and Jordi García-Ojalvo Published 2 October 2007 148103 12 October 2007 Vol 99, Number 15, Articles (15xxxx) Articles published 6 Oct - 12 Oct 2007 Extension of a DNA Molecule by Local http://scitation.aip.org/dbt/dbt.jsp?KEY=PRLTAO&Volume=99&Issue=15 Heating with a Laser Masatoshi Ichikawa, Hiroki Ichikawa, Kenichi Novel Defect Structures in Nematic Yoshikawa, and Yasuyuki Kimura Liquid Crystal Shells Published 5 October 2007 148104 4 A.
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