November 2011 Volume 20, No.10 TM www.aps.org/publications/apsnews

APS NEWS Focus on Northwest Section A Publication of the American Physical Society • www.aps.org/publications/apsnews/index.cfm see page 6

Physical Review X Out of the Gate APS Helps Deconstruct the iPad on Capitol Hill The premier issue of Physical and exploring a physical model that By Mary Catherine Adams Review X, the new APS open ac- incorporates natural human-mobil- Congressional staffers gath- cess journal, hit the virtual news- ity patterns, challenges established ered at the Rayburn House Office stands on September 30th. PRX’s models for the spread of epidemics, Building in Washington on Sept. first twelve papers, in what will be and has, since its publication, re- 21 to learn about how basic sci- a quarterly journal, span a broad ceived attention in several national ence research was integral to the spectrum of fields and are all of media. Another paper comes from development of the iPad–a tool high scientific quality. Unlike other the area of electronic-devices re- many on Capitol Hill use daily. APS journals, which are mainly search, reporting the fabrication of In an effort to persuade Con- supported by subscription revenue, new nanowire-based electronic di- gress to invest in scientific re- PRX is supported by an article-pro- odes and demonstrating their ultra- search, the APS, participating cessing charge of $1500 for papers fast operating speeds and control- with the Task Force on American of less than 20 standard Physical lability. A third paper, also covered Innovation (TFAI) and several Review pages, with small incre- with a Synopsis in Physics, brings other organizations, hosted an mental charges for longer papers. acoustic levitation and x-ray dif- event called Deconstructing the According to the editors of PRX, fraction techniques innovatively to iPad: How Federally Supported not only are articles being submit- bear in processing pharmaceutical Research Leads to Game-Chang- Photo by Brian Mosley/APS ted from fields in which APS usu- drugs into desired, highly soluble ing Innovation, which specifically Luis von Ahn, of Carnegie Mellon University and founder of ReCAPTCHA, mod- ally publishes; but the new journal amorphous forms–an increasingly targeted conservative freshman erated the briefing. To his right are Martin Izzard, of Texas Instruments; William Phillips, Nobel Laureate from NIST; and Benjamin Bederson, of the University of is also deliberately and actively important goal for the pharmaceu- members of the House. Maryland and Zumobi, Inc. giving attention to subject matter tical industry. “Our goal was to inform mem- press secretary Tawanda Johnson support for scientific research.” that goes beyond the traditional “We are also striving to set a bers of Congress on how technol- said before the event. “We’re ad- There wouldn’t be an iPad for coverage. For example, the first pa- high standard for PRX’s editorial ogies in the iPad are rooted in ear- vocating for investment and for per in the first issue, by proposing PRX continued on page 4 ly-stage scientific research,” APS iPAD continued on page 6

Nobels Honor Discoveries of Accelerating Universe, Quasicrystals Redesigned Website Merges Physics and Focus

Three astrophysicists, two of was awarded to Dan Shechtman “Not only do we not know what The APS online publication view papers to other physicists them US-based, were awarded the of the Technion–Israel Institute of dark energy might be, that would Physics recently underwent a re- working in other fields. 2011 Nobel Prize for physics for Technology for his discovery of be making the universe expand design and merged with another “It is really targeted at those “the discovery of the accelerating quasicrystals. faster and faster, we don’t even online APS publication, Physical who are interested in what’s going expansion of the Universe through In the mid 1990s, the two re- know whether really the answer Review Focus. With the newly on inside the journals but don’t observations of distant superno- search teams that were headed will turn out to be a new energy upgraded website, readers can have time to read the 20,000 pag- vae”, and, in an unusual twist, this by Perlmutter and by Riess and in the universe,” Perlmutter said more easily navigate through the es per year,” said Physics editor year’s chemistry prize was award- Schmidt respectively, examined in an interview with Nobel Media articles and find links to related Jessica Thomas. ed to research first published in the redshifts of distant superno- following the announcement. “It’s content. Focus has traditionally had Physical Review Letters. vae to measure the expansion of possible that we’ve just discov- Physics was started about three more of a journalistic feel to its The Nobel Prize Committee the universe. They both indepen- ered an extra wrinkle in Einstein’s years ago as a resource for physi- articles. Since it was created in awarded half of the physics prize dently published findings in 1998 Theory of Relativity, and that that cists to keep up with the latest 1998, it has highlighted new and to Saul Perlmutter at Lawrence announcing the unexpected con- would be the real final result. But research developments across all exciting research coming out of Berkeley National Laboratory, clusion that the universe appears at this point, the job is really back fields covered by APS journals. the journals, with an eye to appeal while the other half was split be- to be accelerating as it expands. in our court again as observers, The articles and commentary are to a broader audience, including tween Brian Schmidt at the Aus- The discovery came as a complete and we have to come up with more written by current researchers to students, scientists in other fields, tralian National University and surprise to the field, and its cause data that will help narrow in on highlight important Physical Re- WEBSITE continued on page 7 Adam Riess at Johns Hopkins remains one of the biggest myster- what the answer is.” University. The chemistry prize ies in cosmology. NOBEL continued on page 5 Philly Fellow-fest Fermilab Plans to Up the Intensity By Michael Lucibella lab is now looking to explore the addition, the lab will help analyze When Fermilab’s Tevatron shut intensity frontier, in hopes of de- data coming out of the LHC and down for good on September 30, it tecting very unusual interactions even has a remote operating room was in part acquiescence to the fact that hold clues to new physics. The to keep the LHC beams running that the United States had for the transition from one focus to the when it’s night in Geneva. foreseeable future ceded to Europe other is a gradual one, as there is Over the next couple of years, its place at the cutting edge in high still much to take care of after the neutrinos will take their place at energy particle colliders. When Tevatron shut down. the forefront of the lab’s research. brought to its full potential, the “The energy frontier is still go- They’ve been one focus already, Large Hadron Collider at CERN ing to have Fermilab participation. but as time progresses their share will be able to create particle col- Many of our staff are engaged in of the experimental activity will lisions seven times more energetic the CMS experiment at the LHC, increase. than the Tevatron could ever hope so we’re continuing in that sense “Neutrinos will be one of the to achieve. The Tevatron had been on the energy frontier as collabo- flagships,” said Sam Zeller, co- the centerpiece of Fermilab for 28 rators,” said Bob Tschirhart, a re- coordinator of the MiniBooNE ex- years, but with its shutdown the lab searcher at Fermilab. “For the next periment. has begun a process of reinventing few years we’re going to aggres- The neutrino projects that Zeller Photo by Darlene Logan itself to probe questions about the sively analyze our own data and and other researchers are working On September 15, APS hosted a reception in Philadelphia for APS Fellows from the area. In addition to conversation and refreshments, the Fellows who nature of neutrinos, matter-antimat- collaborate with CERN.” on are part of a long-term plan to There are mountains of informa- build bigger and more sensitive de- attended heard from APS past President Curtis Callan of Princeton, and from ter asymmetry and other new phys- Executive Officer Kate Kirby, Treasurer/Publisher Joe Serene, and Editor in ics at the intensity frontier. tion left over from the final run of tectors that can probe questions like Chief Gene Sprouse. They were also brought up to date on political issues by Long the leader at the energy the Tevatron. It could be as many the hierarchy of neutrino masses APS Director of Public Affairs Michael Lubell. In the photo are (l to r) APS Fel- lows Marsha Lester of the University of Pennsylvania, Elizabeth McCormack frontier with the Tevatron, Fermi- as two years before the last of its and neutrino mixing angles. collisions have been analyzed. In FERMILAB continued on page 6 of Bryn Mawr, and guest Jeff Bush. 2 • November 2011 APS NEWS

Members This Month in Physics History in the Media Nov. 19, 1711: Birth of Mikhail Lomonosov, Russia’s first modern scientist Ed. Note: This month’s column has been con- ber of Russian academicians as well as interns and “Physics is a true canary in without the Tevatron.” tributed by guest author APS Fellow Vladimir D. students in the Academy’s Gymnasium. In 1755 he the mine, so to speak, of judging Christopher Quigg, Fermilab, Shiltsev, Director of the Accelerator Physics Center founded Russia’s first University in Moscow, now America’s capabilities in terms of reflecting on the technical wiz- at Fermilab. named after him. science… If you let physics go, ardry that went into building the Mikhail Lomonosov was born November 19, The polymathic nature of this titan of the Rus- it’s symptomatic of the fact that Tevatron, The Washington Post, 1711 into the family of a relatively free “state sian Enlightenment can be gleaned from the content something has eroded in the intel- September 29, 2011. peasant”-turned-fisherman in a Northern Russian of his Complete Works: vols. 1-4–works on physics, lectual capacity of academic insti- village near Archangel. In pursuit of opportunity he chemistry, astronomy; vol. 5–mineralogy, metallur- tutions.” “High energy physics in the escaped from home at the age of 19 with just two of gy and geology, vol. 6–Russian history, economics Carlos Handy, Texas Southern States has never fully recovered his favorite books of Grammatica and Arithmetica. and geography, vols. 7-8–philology, poetry, prose, University, on proposed program from the loss of the SSC.” After 800 miles and 5 weeks of snowy and frosty vols. 9-11–correspondence, letters and translations. cuts throughout the public uni- Roy Schwitters, University of roads as part of a sleigh convoy with frozen fish, The depth of his insights is even more remarkable. versities of Texas, The New York Texas, The Washington Post, Sep- he ended up in Moscow, where, after telling a lie Just in natural sciences alone, Lomonosov per- Times, September 15, 2011. tember 29, 2011. of necessity that he was a son of nobleman, he was formed by himself more than 4000 chemical tests in admitted to the Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy of the Russia’s first national laboratory and championed “Until now, most faculty mem- “The idea is to look for things Spassky Monastery. Half-starving on a stipend of 3 explanations of all physical and chemical phenom- bers thought their role was to do that happen very rarely, and the kopeks a day, in just 4 years he finished an 8 year ena on the basis of corpuscular mechanics in a con- research and teach courses they way to find them is to create lots course in Latin, Greek, Church Sla- tinuous ether; he coined the term were assigned…Now, researchers of examples and see if you find vonic, geography, history, philoso- “physical chemistry” in 1752 and at institutions in Texas are going something.” phy and the Catechism. From there thought of absolute cold as a con- to have to take responsibility for Steve Holmes, Fermilab, on he was sent to Sankt Petersburg dition where the corpuscles ceased students graduating successfully.” the future of the laboratory at the Academy of Sciences (“the Acad- their linear and rotational motions. Michael Marder, University of intensity frontier, CBSNews.com, emy”) to continue his education Seventeen years prior to analogous Texas at Austin, on proposed pro- September 29, 2011. among the 12 best students in 1736. results by Lavoisier, Lomonosov gram cuts throughout the public In the fall of 1736, the Acad- experimentally proved the law of universities of Texas, UPI, Sep- “It was a very interesting ma- emy sent Mikhail to Germany. conservation of matter by showing tember 26, 2011. chine to work on in the first place, At the University of Marburg for that lead plates in a sealed vessel because we knew we were build- three years he studied mathematics, without access to air do not change “This is ridiculous what they’re ing something that had never been chemistry, mining, natural history, their weight after heating (1756); putting out… Until this is verified Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov built before… It definitely has a physics, mechanics, hydraulics, and based on the results of the first quan- by another group, it’s flying car- personality, and that started right humanities with Christian Wolff (1679-1754)–a titative experimental studies of electricity in 1744- pets.” away.” renowned encyclopedic scientist and philosopher, 1756–which were quite dangerous as his colleague Drew Baden, University of Roger Dixon, Fermilab, remi- and a key follower of Leibniz–who came to highly Georg Richmann was killed by ball lightning and Maryland, on faster than light niscing about the Tevatron, NPR, regard Lomonosov’s abilities. After spending 1739 Lomonosov himself “miraculously survived”–he neutrinos, The Associated Press, September 30, 2011. in Freiburg studying practical mining with Johann proposed an original theory of atmospheric electric- September 23, 2011. Henckel, Lomonosov married Elizabeth Zilch and ity that went beyond Franklin’s, and explained with “Dark energy is incred- returned to Russia in 1741. There, on the merits of it lightning and the polar lights. Looking for a way “If it’s correct, it’s phenome- ibly strange, but actually it makes his numerous excellent study reports regularly sent to send meteorological instruments and electrom- nal… We’d be looking at a whole sense to me that it went unnoticed, from abroad and a glorious poetic ode to Empress eters aloft, he designed and built the first working new set of rules.” because dark energy has no effect Anna, he received an appointment as an Adjunct of helicopter model (1754). This used two propellers Robert Plunkett, Fermilab, Physics in the St. Petersburg Academy. He was the rotating in opposite directions for torque compensa- on OPERA’s claim of faster than on daily life, or even inside our solar system…We know there is first native-born Russian Academician elected in tion and, powered by a clock spring, managed to lift light neutrinos, The Washington 1745 and served as a member of Academy’s Chan- itself slightly. During the transit of Venus on May Post, September 23, 2011. gravity because apples fall from trees. We can observe gravity in cellery, in charge of all scientific and educational 26, 1761 Lomonosov discovered the atmosphere activities and departments, from 1757 till his death of Venus by observing a bright aureole around the “Probably not. But Maybe! Or daily life. If we could throw an apple to the edge of the universe, on April 15, 1765. Lomonosov was elected an hon- planet at the ingress and egress, and gave a detailed in other words: science as usual.” orary member of the Swedish Academy of Sciences optical explanation of the effect by refraction. Thir- Sean Carroll, Caltech, quoted we would observe it accelerat- ing. Until the 1990s, there were (1760), the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts (1763), ty years before Herschel, in 1762, he invented and from his blog post talking about and a member of the Bologna Academy of Sciences built a practical reflector telescope of a new type whether neutrinos really do travel few reliable observations about movement at the scale of the en- (1764). with the primary mirror tilted by 4 degrees so he faster than the speed of light, US- Sankt Petersburg Academy of Sciences was could view the formed image directly in a side eye- AToday.com, October 9, 2011. tire universe, which is the only scale dark energy affects. So dark founded in 1724 by a decree of Peter the Great piece; later that same year he invented a siderostat energy could not be seen until we (1672-1725) who was advised by Leibniz. Though mechanism which allowed tracking of the stars by “I don’t think you’re going to being totally dominated by foreign-born scientists, tilting a flat mirror in front rather than the entire 40- could measure things very, very ever kill Einstein’s theory. You the Academy started off very well, attracting such foot telescope. far away.” can’t. It works.” notable scientists as Daniel Bernoulli (1700-1782) Widely recognized as the foremost name in the Adam Riess, Johns Hopkins, Alan Kostelecký, Indiana Uni- and Leonhard Euler (1707-1783). At the time of Lo- history of Russian science, Lomonosov was, how- The Atlantic, October 4, 2011. versity, on OPERA’s faster than monsov’s return from Germany, the Academy had ever, not well known in the West because among light neutrino claims, The Associ- lost almost all of its talent, including Euler and Ber- his contemporaries, the enormous breadth of his “Which of course is the only ated Press, September 23, 2011. noulli, due to poor governance and budget incon- achievements, e.g., his works in grammar, mosaic reason to win a Nobel Prize, to be sistencies. Lomonosov fiercely fought the situation, art and especially poetry, outshone his work in able to park on campus.” “There were all these wizards trying to get it back on the track set by Peter the Natural Philosophy. The lack of awareness was also Saul Perlmutter, Lawrence walking around, which was excit- Great. He succeeded in this challenge by increas- due to the weak national scientific community till Berkeley Lab, on the perks of win- ing for someone who didn’t get ing the number of scientific publications in Russian the late 1800’s, to the lack of personal contacts with to get his hands on anything… ning a Nobel Prize, The Associ- (in addition to Latin and German), and by insisting the West (except Euler), and, partly, to his relative- There’s no way the LHC exists ated Press, October 4, 2011. the Academicians deliver regular lectures in Rus- ly short life. His tercentennial is being celebrated sian. The result was a significantly increased num- statewide in Russia in 2011.

Series II, Vol. 20, No. 10 and, if possible, include a mailing label from a recent is- General Councillors ADVISORS November 2011 sue. Requests from subscribers for missing issues will be Marcela Carena*, Haiyan Gao, Marta Dark McNeese, Representatives from Other Societies honored without charge only if received within 6 months Katherine Freese*, Nergis Mavalvala*, Warren Mori, APS NEWS © 2011 The American Physical Society Fred Dylla, AIP; David R. Sokoloff, AAPT of the issue’s actual date of publication. Periodical Post- Pierre Meystre, Jorge Pullin* age Paid at College Park, MD and at additional mailing International Councillor International Advisors Coden: ANWSEN ISSN: 1058-8132 offices. Postmaster: Send address changes to APS News, Belita Koiler Louis Felipe Rodriguez Jorge, Mexican Physical Society; Membership Department, American Physical Society, Editor•...... Alan Chodos J. Michael Roney, Canadian Association of Physicists One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740-3844. Chair, Nominating Committee Staff Science Writer ...... Michael Lucibella Steven Girvin Staff Representatives Art Director and Special Publications Manager...... Kerry G. Johnson APS COUNCIL 2011 Design and Production...... Nancy Bennett-Karasik Chair, Panel on Public Affairs Alan Chodos, Associate Executive Officer; Amy Flatten Proofreader...... Edward Lee President Jill Dahlburg Director of International Affairs; Ted Hodapp, Director Barry C. Barish*, Caltech Division, Forum and Section Councillors of Education and Diversity; Michael Lubell, Director, Public Affairs; Dan Kulp, Editorial Director; Christine APS News (ISSN: 1058-8132) is published 11X yearly, Subscriptions: APS News is an on-membership publi- Neil Cornish (Astrophysics), Thomas Gallagher (Atomic, Giaccone, Director, Journal Operations; Michael monthly, except the August/September issue, by the cation delivered by Periodical Mail. Members residing President-Elect Molecular & Optical Physics), Mark Reeves (Biologi- Stephens, Controller and Assistant Treasurer American Physical Society, One Physics Ellipse, Col- abroad may receive airfreight delivery for a fee of $15. Robert L. Byer*, Stanford University cal), Nancy Levinger* (Chemical), Arthur Epstein (Con- lege Park, MD 20740-3844, (301) 209-3200. It contains Nonmembers: Subscription rates are available at http:// densed Matter Physics), David Landau (Computational), Administrator for Governing Committees news of the Society and of its Divisions, Topical Groups, librarians.aps.org/institutional.html. Vice-President James Wallace (Fluid Dynamics), Gay Stewart* (Forum Ken Cole Sections, and Forums; advance information on meetings Michael S. Turner*, University of Chicago on Education), Amber Stuver*, (Forum on Graduate of the Society; and reports to the Society by its commit- Subscription orders, renewals and address changes Student Affairs), Michael Riordan (Forum on History of tees and task forces, as well as opinions. should be addressed as follows: For APS Members– Executive Officer Physics), Stefan Zolner* (Forum on Industrial and Ap- * Members of the APS Executive Board Membership Department, American Physical Society, Kate P. Kirby*, Harvard-Smithsonian (retired) plied Physics), Herman Winick (Forum on International Letters to the editor are welcomed from the member- One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740-3844, Physics), Philip “Bo” Hammer (Forum on Physics and ship. Letters must be signed and should include an ad- [email protected]. Treasurer/Publisher Society), Anthony Johnson (Laser Science), Ted Einstein dress and daytime telephone number. The APS reserves For Nonmembers–Circulation and Fulfillment Divi- Joseph W. Serene*, Georgetown University (Emeritus) (Materials), David McIntyre (Northwest Section), Wick the right to select and to edit for length or clarity. All cor- sion, American Institute of Physics, Suite 1NO1, 2 Editor-in-Chief Haxton (Nuclear), Marjorie Corcoran (Particles & respondence regarding APS News should be directed to: Huntington Quadrangle, Melville, NY 11747-4502. Gene D. Sprouse*, Stony Brook University (on leave) Fields), John Galayda (Physics of Beams), Vincent Chan Editor, APS News, One Physics Ellipse, College Park, Allow at least 6 weeks advance notice. For address (Plasma), Scott Milner (Polymer Physics), Bruce Barrett Past-President MD 20740-3844, E-mail: [email protected]. changes, please send both the old and new addresses, (4 Corners Section) Curtis G. Callan, Jr.*, Princeton University APS NEWS November 2011 • 3

Washington Dispatch Apker Finalists Get Together A bimonthly update from the APS Office of Public Affairs

ISSUE: Budget and Authorization Environment

Fiscal Year 2012 Appropriations Congress stepped back from the brink of a government shutdown for the third time this year and, following last minute histrionics, agreed to a temporary continuing resolution that would keep departments and agencies funded at Fiscal Year 2011 levels through November 18th. Senate and House appropriators passed separate bills that would fund science activities for Fiscal Year 2012 (FY12), but to date, no conferences have been held. It is widely anticipated that Congress will roll most appropriations for the new fiscal year into a series of “minibus” bills instead of passing twelve separate bills or rolling them all into one large omnibus. Congress will also use the ceiling of $1.043 trillion established in the Budget Control Act for discretionary spending instead of the $1.019 trillion cap provided in the House (Ryan) budget resolution. The higher ceiling should allow lawmakers to avoid making sharp reductions in support for science, as the latest versions of appropriations bills already suggest.

Energy and Water Appropriations: The FY12 bill passed by the Senate Appropriations Committee would fund the Department of Energy’s Office ofS cience (SC) at the FY11 level of $4.84B, significantly less than the $5.42B presidential request. The bill would also provide $1.80B for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Photo by Jay Pasachoff Energy (EERE), the same level as FY11 and $1.40B below the request, and $250M for ARPA-E, $70M Each year APS gives two Apker Awards for outstanding research by an under- above FY11 but $300M below the request. The House-passed bill would fund SC at $4.80B, EERE at graduate, one to a student in a PhD-granting institution, and one to a student in $1.30B and ARPA-E at $180M. an institution not granting the PhD in physics. This year there were seven final- ists, who met in Washington in early September to be interviewed by the Ap- The SC subprograms would receive the funding at the following levels: ker selection committee. The finalists each received $2000, with an additional • Advanced Scientific Computing Research (ASCR) [$422M in FY11]–$442M (Senate) and $427M $1000 going to their departments. After the interviews, the committee chose the (House); two recipients to be recommended for approval to the APS Executive Board. • Basic Energy Sciences (BES) [$1.68B in FY11]–$1.69B (Senate and House); • Biological and Environmental Research (BER) [$612M in FY11]–$622M (Senate), $527M (House); In the photo, left to right, are: Neal Pisenti (Harvey Mudd College); Alex R. Howe (Ohio Wesleyan University); Ruffin Evans (rear, University of Virginia); • Fusion Energy Sciences (FES) [$376M in FY11]–$335M (Senate), $405M (House); Bethany Jochim (front, Augustana College); Ken Van Tilburg (MIT); Yichen • High Energy Physics (HEP) [$796M in FY11]–$780M (Senate), $797M (House); Shen (Johns Hopkins); and Djordje Radicevic (Princeton). • Nuclear Physics (NP) [$540M in FY11]–$550M (Senate), $552M (House).

The Senate would provide no funding for FermiLab’s Long Baseline Neutrino Experiment (LBNE), while the House appropriations report cautions DOE not to provide any construction funds for the Deep Underground Science and & Engineering Laboratory (DUSEL). With FermiLab’s future at stake, Rep. Randy Hultgren Science Journalism Can Save Lives (R-IL 14th) and Judy Biggert (R-IL 13th) held a roundtable discussion on DUSEL at FermiLab on September By Helen Chappell horror stories of tick bites and bi- 28th, with participants Michael Turner, William Brinkman, Milind Diwan, Andy Lankford, Kevin Lesko, Jay Marx, and Pier Oddone. Both Hultgren and Biggert expressed strong concern about the appropriations Ed. Note: Each year, as part zarre illnesses, I was scratching a restrictions on DUSEL and LBNE and pledged their support for FermiLab. of a program run by the Ameri- tick bite I had received on a week- can Association for the Advance- end walk in the woods. The Senate bill also eliminates funds for the $300M Argonne’s Advanced Photon Source upgrade, pending ment of Science, APS sponsors One of their strangest tales DOE’s decision on proceeding with expansion of the Linac Coherent Light Source facility at the SLAC two media fellows, who spend the was the story of a forest ranger National Accelerator Laboratory. summer at a media outlet, learn- who’d eaten meat his whole life, ing the craft of science writing. until he got a tick bite and sud- Commerce Justice Science Appropriations: The House and Senate CJS Appropriations bills, which fund denly couldn’t eat beef. He wasn’t the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST) and Sometimes this leads to a career NASA, would provide the following levels of support for FY12: in journalism; sometimes it pro- duces a scientist with a more nu- • NSF (Total) [$6.8B in FY11]–$6.70B (Senate), $6.86B (House). anced understanding of how the o Research and Related Activities (RRA) [$5.56B]: $5.44B (Senate), $5.61B (House). media operate. In the following o Major Research Equipment and Facilities Construction (MREFC) [$117M in FY11]: article, one of the 2011 APS me- $117M (Senate), $100M (House). dia fellows, Helen Chappell, re- o Education and Human Resources (EHR) [$861M in FY11]: $829M (Senate), $835M (House). counts her experience. An article by media fellow Sophie Bushwick • NIST Core [$578M in FY11] – $560M (Senate), $571M (House). appeared in last month's issue o Scientific and Technical Research and Services (STRS) [$507M in FY11]: $500M (available online). (Senate), $516M (House). Most people who complete a o Construction of Research Facilities (CRF) [$70M in FY11]: $60M (Senate), $55M summer fellowship can tell you (House). that it taught them valuable skills, o NIST Technology Innovation Program (TIP) [$45M in FY11]: $0 (Senate and House). but not many can tell you that it Helen Chappell saved their life. • NASA Science [$4.94B in FY11]–$5.10B (Senate), $4.50B (House). The Senate bill would restore alone, they told me; an immunol- funding for the James Webb Space Telescope, zeroed out in the House bill, and would bump JWST For me, it’s not much of an ex- aggeration. My summer as a sci- ogist in Virginia had discovered support $150M above the presidential request in order to achieve a 2018 launch. It would also cap that certain tick bites triggered a the project cost at $8.00B. ence reporter at the Raleigh News & Observer certainly taught me severe allergy to a sugar found in The Senate reductions for both NSF and NIST were unexpected, given past support for these agencies by valuable lessons, but one story mammalian meat. Though it was CJS Appropriations Chair Barbara Mikulski (D-MD). I wrote helped me to figure out fascinating, the meat allergy never what triggered a dangerous aller- made it into my final story. Defense Appropriations: The House and Senate appropriations bills would both increase support for basic gic reaction. The story’s focus on budget (6.1) and applied (6.2) research. For the 6.1 programs, funded at $1.95B in FY11, the Senate would The story’s focus wasn’t very cuts propelled it onto the front provide $2.10B and the House, $2.08B. For the 6.2 programs, funded at $4.45B in FY11, the Senate would page and into our sister paper, provide $4.73B and the House, $4.66B. glamorous: ticks. A community organizer wanted us to help raise the Charlotte Observer. Though it wasn’t my best work, readers Labor, Health and Human Services Appropriations: The Senate appropriations bill would fund NIH at awareness about Lyme disease in responded in droves. Some were $30.50B for FY12, compared to $30.69B in FY11. The House appropriations subcommittee has yet to the state, and my editor agreed “mark up” its bill. that an article informing readers grateful that I had highlighted an about tick-borne diseases would important research program; oth- Be sure to check the APS Washington Office’sB log, Physics Frontline (http://physicsfrontline.aps.org/), for be both interesting and in line ers saw it as an attack on the leg- the latest news on the FY12 Budgets. with the paper’s public service islature. One woman even called mission. asking for medical advice about a ISSUE: POPA As I began researching the tick bite. story, I found that the state leg- The huge response made me Several POPA Subcommittees proposed ideas for studies and related activities at the October 2011 realize in a concrete way just how meeting. The Subcommittee on National Security is in the early stages of planning a joint workshop/ islature had just passed a set of much our society depends on the study in partnership with the Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS) on the downsizing of non- budget cuts dismantling a pro- strategic nuclear weapons. The Subcommittee on Energy & Environment presented a revised proposal for gram to study the population of media. Science journalism pro- an educational component associated with the Direct Air Capture Technology Assessment, which will now disease-carrying tick species. My vides an especially critical ser- be sent to the APS Executive Board for approval. They are also researching the future of nuclear energy story morphed into an obituary vice, connecting the public with as a possible study topic. The Subcommittee on National & International Research Policy is considering a for a research program. As a sci- information that would otherwise report on the issue of science-backed standards. entist, it frustrated me to be writ- be inaccessible. But with print journalism’s recent struggles, that Since early May 2011 there has been considerable legislative activity associated with the Energy Critical ing about valuable research only as it was ending. I interviewed information is vanishing from Elements report; there are bills, both in the House and in the Senate, that support recommendations made view. in the report. the state’s medical entomologists as they were literally packing up Many papers can’t afford to If you have suggestions for a POPA study, please send in your ideas electronically to http://www.aps.org/ their laboratory. cover science–I was the only sci- policy/reports/popa-reports/suggestions/index.cfm. DISPATCH continued on page 5 Fittingly, while they spun out JOURNALISM continued on page 4 4 • November 2011 APS NEWS

Consumers Have a Right to the Incandescent Bulb Letters Physicist-turned-Congressman the user’s purpose. Energy effi- are a “ubiquitous commodity” Readers interested in submitting a letter to APS News should Rush Holt supports legislation ciency is important, but so are an with a “negligible” profit margin, email [email protected]. banning conventional incandes- appealing color spectrum, quickly the New York Times Magazine re- cent light bulbs (Back Page, Au- reaching full brightness, low-cost cently noted. “No amount of sub- gust/September APS News). His dimming, and tolerance to vibra- sidy or ‛green’ branding has man- Political Left-Right Asymmetry Explained statements about the legislation tion and heat. aged to woo consumers away from are misleading. Worse yet, his sup- The Congressman also decries Edison’s bulb.” So the lighting Like F. Smith and H. D. Grey- faculty center-left, the engineers port of the ban embodies an elit- proposals to repeal the bulb ban, industry endorsed new efficiency ber (August-September Letters) I center-right and the Ag-school ism that supplants people's right to as it could undermine Congress’s standards that force consumers to was interested in Michael Lubell’s faculty at the right. choose with authoritarian dictates “tradition of supporting innova- buy more expensive products. July column, which reported on Those who dealt with the spiri- of a technocratic ruling class. tion.” But when companies spend “We are taking away a choice the Pew Foundation’s poll that tual were on the left, those who To the Wall Street Journal's money to satisfy government de- that continues to let people waste found that 55% of scientists con- worked with the material were on claim that “Washington will effec- mands, they invest less on innova- their own money,” quipped Ener- sidered themselves Democrats the right. tively ban the sale of conventional tion to satisfy perceived customer gy Secretary Steven Chu, a Nobel while only 6% were Republicans In the interests of full disclo- incandescent light bulbs,” Holt re- demand. laureate in physics. Even if this is –leaving 39% on the fence. plies, “This was, of course, untrue. Businesses in relatively free true, wasting one's own money is sure, this physicist is registered Long ago at the University of No type of light bulb was banned.” markets innovate just fine. Con- every person’s right. Moreover, if on the voter’s roll in Connecticut Wisconsin I noticed faculty politi- Sure, the legislation does not ban sumer electronics is an obvious a consumer has good reasons to cal differences during a period of as an Independent–thus one of the all incandescents, but it does ban example, but product packaging prefer conventional incandescent political turmoil. Using the famil- 39% on the fence. conventional ones, as the Journal has also become more efficient. bulbs, buying them is not wasteful. iar, if simplistic, left-right scale, I claims. The legislation will “make Soda cans use less metal, while What’s wasteful is being forced to found the humanity and social sci- Robert K. Adair current 100-watt bulbs obsolete bottled beverage manufacturers buy less desirable alternatives. ence faculty at the left, the science Hamden, Connecticut and such bulbs will “disappear advertise bottles using less plas- A physics PhD and a high-pro- from store shelves,” reports the tic or petroleum-free plant-based file government job is not a moral PRX continued from page 1 New York Times. plastics. sanction to violate consumers' To justify the ban, Holt narrow- Meanwhile, the bulb ban exem- right to choose. and review processes in several they told the editors, “...we would ly defines efficiency to mean only plifies “innovative” ways for bulb ways,” says Jorge Pullin, Edi- like to continue submitting our energy efficiency. But the most makers to increase profits through Brian T. Schwartz tor of PRX. One is to be selective best works to PRX. Your profes- “efficient” light bulb best achieves political pull. Conventional bulbs Boulder, CO and prompt throughout, starting sional assistance and the referees’ with the stage of initial editorial detailed and fair reviews certainly review. Manuscripts that report give us more confidence in PRX.” Physics of Climate is Inherently Political solid results, but are judged to be The advantages of open access The new Topical Group on the time of every physicist living to- ics of climate will be vital if we incremental in originality and/or and unrestricted length in com- Physics of Climate (APS News, day. It is always political. are to make good choices in light marginal in significance, are “re- bination with the high standards June 2011) has a most unusual Nothing is of greater human of the ongoing (as the APS state- turned” to the authors, and those attract authors, too: “....we truly charter. In the statement of its ob- importance and generality than ment noted) climate change, deal that pass the initial editorial re- appreciate the unique avenue to jective and areas of interest on the climate. States and individuals all with its consequences and causes, view are sent out to expert refer- publish high quality research with- APS website (http://www.aps.org/ over the world are interested in it, and, for example, protect people ees for anonymous review. “The out length restriction that PRX as- units/gpc/index.cfm) we are re- and always have been. So are cor- from the dangers of ill conceived editors work collectively, and are pires to provide....as much as we’d minded (4 times) that it is outside, porations. The campaign of two “climate engineering” schemes. able to make an initial assessment like to contribute to this endeavor not intended, or not concerned years ago to revise the very sen- Physicists are contributing greatly and act on it within a few days af- through our present work, we wish with societal issues and that it is sible APS statement on climate to solving these problems. On the ter the receipt of a submission,” you the best of success regard- entirely within the domain of natu- change (adopted by the Council other hand, the charter of the APS according to Ling Miao, PRX As- less of your final decision!” “We ral sciences. No other unit of APS of the APS on 18 November 2007) Topical Group on the Physics of sociate Editor. As of September certainly appreciate that you are has any such pretense. was quite properly refuted. That Climate is false and polluted. 15, close to 60% of the submis- trying to maintain very high stan- Physics in this country and campaign was a highly ideological sions have been returned without dards for the new journal; this is elsewhere is largely supported by political event in physics. Donald H. McNeill external review. “This effort on precisely why we chose the fo- the state and has been in the life- Solid knowledge of the phys- Pittsburgh, PA our part not only allows authors to rum,” wrote the authors of a paper pursue other publication options the significance of which the edi- quickly, but also permits the edi- Past Presidents Don’t Define Their Parties tors had initially questioned, and tors to pay more attention to each Howard Greyber (letter in to pay for the Civil War. to regulate many aspects of rail- who had then gone to considerable manuscript that receives external August/September APS News) Current Republican thinking roads including rates charged for lengths to address the editors’ spe- review. Throughout a review pro- explains scientists’ liberal prefer- emphasizes the great importance passengers. The Pure Food and cific concerns. “The authors made cess, we interact actively with ref- ences as a result of “naive preju- of capital in creating opportunities Drug Act put federal regulators a very persuasive case in response erees and authors and discuss with dices” and “willful ignorance for labor. Contrast this with Lin- in charge of many aspects of food to our questions, and as it has each other often so that our deci- about politics.” In his view, Amer- coln’s view of labor and capital, as and drug manufacture. turned out, they were right! Both sions can be as well informed and ican science and technology will expressed in his 1861 State of the As a trust-buster and regulator, they and PRX benefitted from such balanced as possible–another key be helped when science and math Union speech: “Labor is prior to Roosevelt would not fit with the a productive interaction based on to a high editorial and publication education are reformed by the Re- and independent of capital. Capi- Republican party of today. Even standard,” continues Miao, “and substance,” reflected Miao with publican Party, which he refers to tal is only the fruit of labor, and satisfaction. in his day, he may have been too we will do all we can to continue as “the party of Lincoln, Theodore could never have existed if labor progressive for the other party. In such efforts.” PRX’s second issue will close Roosevelt, Eisenhower and Rea- had not first existed. Labor is the at the end of the year and will in- 1912, he broke with the Republi- One of PRX’s unique features gan.” superior of capital, and deserves cans and ran for president in the clude about 25 papers. A number Greyber may have meant this much the higher consideration.”1 is the popular summary that ac- Progressive Party. of papers in this issue have already reference as no more than a rhe- In his speech at Osawatomie, companies each paper, along with I would be happy if the 2012 the traditional abstract. A collab- been published, and one of them, torical flourish. On the other hand, Kansas in 1910, Theodore Roos- presidential election would be orative effort between the authors reporting a combined experimen- he believes that physicists suffer evelt echoed Lincoln’s statements won by a party that deserved the and editors, the summaries help tal and theoretical study of the from “willful ignorance about pol- about labor and capital. He went title of “Party of Theodore Roo- make complex research accessible exotic quantum spin liquids, has itics,” so he may have expected us on to say that corporations should sevelt,” but that could not be the to non-specialist scientists as well been highlighted with a Viewpoint to believe that the policies of the not be allowed to contribute to present-day Republican Party. as the general public, including in Physics. “We are seeing from current Republican Party match political parties. He stated that the media. Also, the table of con- the more recent submissions an those of these past presidents. government should supervise the tents includes a brief descriptive increase in quality. We expect the However, political parties capitalization of corporations. He Brent Warner sentence that should draw readers breadth and the caliber of PRX to evolve over time. For example, also proposed an inheritance tax Greenbelt MD to view the whole article. “We be- grow as more and more research- the current Republican party re- on large fortunes.2 lieve both authors and readers ben- ers come to recognize PRX as a jects out of hand any tax increase, Roosevelt had implement- 1. Abraham Lincoln, State efit from these,” Pullin remarked. high-quality journal, both in its while Ronald Reagan increased ed similar progressive policies of the Union 1861, downloaded The editors have seen very publications and in its editorial taxes when he concluded that it when he served as president. He 2011/09/21 from http://www.pres- positive responses from authors to service to authors, and where pub- was necessary. was known as a trust-buster. The idency.ucsb.edu/ws/ the new journal. Even before the lished papers will acquire a good Abraham Lincoln did likewise. Hepburn Act, passed during his 2. Aida Donald, Lion in the authors of a paper knew its fate, degree of visibility across phys- During his administration, the US administration, allowed the In- White House, Basic Books, New after the first round of reviewing, ics,” Pullin remarked. had its first income tax, intended terstate Commerce Commission York, 2007, p 240-242.

JOURNALISM continued from page 3 ence reporter at the News & Ob- science in the public eye. as I’d hoped. I’d had a potentially avoided a second reaction, but my science fade from print media. server–but at the same time, the About a month after my story life-threatening allergic reaction, readers, who never heard the sto- Knowledge of science can change public can’t afford to lose access ran, while I was hooked up to an and from my tick research, I was ry that I did, wouldn’t have been lives–it may well have saved to it. Scientists and science jour- IV in the emergency room, I re- able to pinpoint a hamburger and able to connect the dots so easily. mine–but if that knowledge isn’t nalists both must work to keep alized I hadn’t done that as well my earlier tick bite as the cause. I This is why it scares me to see accessible, we are all at risk. APS NEWS November 2011 • 5

NOBEL continued from page 1 Further investigation showed that this mysterious force, dubbed “dark energy,” makes up about three-quarters of the known uni- verse. Dark matter makes up about 20 percent of the universe, leaving only 5 percent of the universe as normal matter. China, Sputnik, and American Science “I think that the idea of the accelerating universe, indicat- Zuoyue Wang ing that there was some other big As the US struggles to deal US authorities prevented him and The paths of returnees and thing in the universe, other than with a severe economic reces- several other Chinese students/ stayees would cross again when things that have normal gravity, sion and other challenges, China scientists from continuing their the US and China reopened rela- meant that a lot of the problems and its scientific and technologi- journey, citing a new presidential tions in the early 1970s, and they that existed in cosmology back in cal progress have often been at order banning certain aliens from played an especially active role in 1998 were suddenly solved if this the center of American national departing the US. promoting US-China scientific ex- stuff existed,” Schmidt said in an attention. In his state of the union Thus came down the American changes and collaboration. In the interview with Nobel Media. “So tance and it was quickly accepted address on January 25, 2011, “iron curtain” which, in an effort 1980s, for example, Xie worked there were a lot of people, espe- and published, and is now one of President Barack Obama, for ex- to deny technical talent to its Cold closely with Lee and Wolfgang cially theorists, who wanted the the ten most cited articles in the ample, pointed to the rise of China War rivals amidst rising McCar- “Pief” Panofsky of SLAC to de- universe to be geometrically flat, history of the journal.” [Ed. Note: and India as indication that “the thyism, resulted in the de facto sign the SLAC-inspired Beijing which means it had to have a lot of APS News published an interview world has changed,” especially in detention of many Chinese scien- Electron-Positron Collider, which stuff in it that we just didn’t know with Shechtman in the January the global competition for jobs. would draw physicists from the was there. And this stuff solved 2003 issue (available online) as As evidence, he cited China’s US and elsewhere to conduct re- that problem. It gave the extra part of its PRL “Top Ten” series.] achievement in producing “the search. On his part, Panofsky, matter in the universe that needed Soon after the publication in world’s largest private solar re- beloved in China for his work on to be flat.” PRL, crystallographers the world search facility” and “the world’s BEPC and his devotion to interna- Many have compared dark en- over started seeing the pattern in fastest computer.” Declaring that tional science, used his scientific ergy to Einstein’s “cosmological other materials and Shechtman’s “this is our generation’s Sputnik connections to push effectively constant,” which he introduced to discovery forced scientists to moment,” he called for the US to for Chinese participation in inter- explain the then-current belief that fundamentally reassess long held increase its investment in science, national nuclear arms control, in- the universe was static. In 1999, assumptions about the molecular technology, and education, vow- cluding non-proliferation. Michael Turner of the University structure of matter. ing to “out-innovate, out-educate, Perhaps most importantly, the of Chicago, who is currently APS APS was quick to congratu- and out-build the rest of the world. returnees and stayees have helped vice-President, coined the term late the winners of the prestigious As a historian of science and to bring a new generation of Chi- “dark energy” in a paper pub- awards. technology who has studied the nese students to the US who have lished in Physical Review D. “The discovery of cosmic ac- history of US-China scientific re- Wolfgang Panofsky and Xie Jialin in themselves become an important In 1982 Dan Shechtman dis- celeration and dark energy provid- lations as well as the US responses Beijing, 2002 (source: http://news.sci- part of the American scientific covered that certain alloys of alu- ed the last piece in the current cos- to the Sputnik crisis, I see both encenet.cn/htmlnews/2009/3/217175. community. The latter in turn have minum and manganese if cooled html, accessed in September 2011) mological model and at the same advantages and disadvantages in promoted scientific collaboration rapidly produced a diffraction pat- time gave us the most profound deploying the Sputnik-China anal- tists in the US purely for political across the Pacific on wide-ranging tern hitherto believed to be impos- mystery in all of science–what is ogy. It is true that the US faces a reasons. Even though Xie and sev- topics from global warming to sible. Up to that point it had been dark energy, the source of the re- serious challenge to its leader- eral dozens of Chinese students/ public health. thought that crystals could only pulsive gravity that is causing the ship in the world today as it did scientists were eventually allowed Today, many of the challenges form in regular repeating patterns; universe to speed up?” Turner said at the time of Sputnik, and Presi- to return home following US- facing the world, such as climate however, the diffraction pattern in an APS press statement. dent Obama has wisely followed China negotiations in Geneva in change and a restructuring of the that Shechtman saw was evidence “On behalf of the American President Dwight Eisenhower in 1954 and 1955, this episode em- global economy, require joint ac- that crystals were forming in a characterizing it as one in science, bittered many in China and else- tions by both the US and China. pattern that couldn’t be precisely Physical Society,” APS Execu- technology, and education, not as where who might have otherwise Indeed, President Obama has been repeated, reminiscent of the tiling tive Officer Kate Kirby said in a direct military threat. The anal- been disposed positively toward careful to call the rise of China patterns of mathematician Roger a statement, “I offer our warm- ogy is also appealing because few the US. As a group of Asia schol- and India a positive development Penrose. Shechtman’s finding was est congratulations to each of the events in American history have ars in US universities pointed out in the world and a constructive highly controversial, and at one 2011 Physics Nobel Prize win- had the galvanizing effect of the in a letter to the New York Times challenge to the US, and his ad- point he was asked to quit his re- ners. Their work has profoundly Sputnik shock, which resulted in in 1954, the detention of Chinese ministration has continued the search group. It took nearly two impacted our view of the universe dramatic increases in federal sup- scientists was “incompatible with post-Nixon bipartisan tradition of years of persistent effort to get his and has challenged us with new port in the above fields, as well as American principles of justice” pursuing US-China scientific col- research published. questions.” reinforcement of a bipartisan con- and created more harm to the US laborations. Others, however, take “The discovery of quasicrystals In a separate statement, she recognized the achievements of sensus on broad national policy. in terms of “the ill-will created, a more negative view of such en- was so revolutionary,” said APS Yet, the present US-China rela- here and abroad” than the techni- deavors. Declaring that China had Shechtman as well, “I extend Editor in Chief Gene Sprouse in tions, marked by close ties across cal knowledge they might bring stolen technology from the US, warmest congratulations to Pro- a press statement, “that Shecht- many areas, are vastly different back to China. that it behaved like Stalinist Rus- fessor Shechtman for his pioneer- man initially had trouble getting from the tense US-Soviet Cold The next dramatic moment that sia, and that “we have nothing to ing discovery of quasicrystals, a peer-reviewed science journal to War rivalry. Consequently, I want brought American-educated Chi- gain from dealing with them,” a which has given birth to a rich publish his research. However, by to share some historical perspec- nese scientists and US Cold War congressman, for example, suc- field of study at the intersection of the time he submitted it to Physi- tives on US-China scientific rela- calculations together occurred in ceeded in inserting a ban on all cal Review Letters, some experts physics, chemistry, and materials tions that I believe have shaped 1957, when the country was first scientific and technological in- had become aware of its impor- science.” our current relationship and will alarmed by the Soviet launching of teractions with China involving influence future opportunities for Sputnik, the world’s first satellite, NASA and the White House Of- DISPATCH continued from page 3 cooperating on meeting our mu- on October 4, and then, just weeks fice of Science and Technology tual challenges. later, delighted by the award- Policy in the 2011 US federal bud- ISSUE: Media Update About sixty years ago, on Sep- ing of the Nobel prize in physics get passed in April 2011. tember 20, 1951, Xie Jialin (Chia to Chinese American physicists While it’s important to guard The issue of how science funding would fare under the newly Lin Hsieh), a Chinese physicist Tsung Dao Lee of Columbia Uni- US national interests in interna- passed Budget Control Act was the topic of an Aug. 12th story in Science in which Michael S. Lubell, APS Director of Public Affairs, who had just received his PhD versity and Chen Ning Yang of tional relations, there is a danger was quoted about possible across-the-board cuts in 2013. He was from Stanford, boarded the ship the Institute for Advanced Study of defining them so narrowly that also quoted on the matter in Bloomberg and Nature on Aug. 5th and President Cleveland at San Fran- at Princeton. Under the headline we lose sight of values and ide- 9th, respectively. cisco for China. Even though the “These Chinese Choose,” News- als, such as the free movement of US had tightened restrictions on week celebrated Lee’s and Yang’s scientists and international scien- The fate of the James Webb Space Telescope was the subject of Chinese students returning home allegiance to the US in the shadow tific collaboration, that have been th an Aug. 9 blog post on MSNBC.com. The post referenced the after the establishment of the Peo- of the Sputnik shock. If Xie repre- long cherished by the American APS statement on the issue, which called for Congress to fund the ple’s Republic of China in 1949 sented the more than one thousand and international scientific com- telescope. APS Vice President, Michael S. Turner, discussed the and the outbreak of the Korea War Chinese students (about 60% of munity. American science and issue on NPR’s Science Friday program on July 15th. in the summer of 1950, the door them in science and technology) technology thrive on international The New York Times published an Aug. 20th front-page story on the did not close completely, especial- who returned to China from the exchange and collaboration and APS petition to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission regarding risk ly for those determined to go home US in the 1950s (the “returnees”) indeed have benefited enormously assessments for laser enrichment technology. The story was picked for family reunification. Xie, who and who helped “Americanize” from the large-scale scientific mi- up in numerous publications throughout the U.S. and abroad. had left his wife and child be- Chinese science, Lee and Yang gration from China and elsewhere hind when he came to the US in symbolized the presence and during the last century. Further- Log on to the APS Public Affairs Web site (http:// 1947, was excited at the prospect prominence of about four thou- more, as Professor Xu Liangy- www.aps.org/public_affairs) for more information. of returning home but his dream sand “stayees” in the American ing, dissident Chinese physicist was shattered at Honolulu where scientific community. CHINA continued on page 7 6 • November 2011 APS NEWS

Meeting Briefs Focus on The Division of Laser Science held its annual the New York section of AAPT at SUNY College at meeting in conjunction with the Optical Society of Oneonta on October 7 and 8th. Its overarching topical APS Sections America’s Frontiers in Optics annual meeting in theme was “Superconductivity and its Applications.” San Jose California from October 16 through the Gianfranco Vidali from Syracuse University and 20th. John Pendry of the Imperial College of London Matthew Sullivan from Ithaca College both gave Northwest Section Links US delivered one of the plenary lectures on Monday about talks on Friday morning going over the history of new theoretical methods to achieve microscopic superconductivity. Britton Plourde of Syracuse and Canadian Physicists resolutions smaller than the wavelength of visible University gave a talk on Saturday morning about By Mary Catherine Adams light. Ferenc Krausz from the Max-Planck-Institut the future possibility of superconducting circuits and Before free long-distance and in Walla Walla. The section has für Quantenoptik delivered the other plenary lecture, quantum computing. about new laser pulse techniques that can capture the Internet connected people, also been good for students from electron motion over tens of attoseconds. The Ohio Region Section held its annual meeting at physicists in the Pacific North- smaller schools that might not Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana, on October 14 west established a way to keep have graduate programs, said Ja- The Division of Nuclear Physics held its fall and 15th. The meeting’s theme was “Applied Physics.” in touch despite the geographical nis McKenna, a former executive meeting at Michigan State University from October Carl Brune from Ohio University described in his talk separation of mountains and the committee officer from the UBC. 26 through the 29th. Wednesday afternoon’s plenary how nuclear physics has found many applications political separation of an interna- Still, the region’s vast size talk featured four speakers highlighting the career at the National Ignition Facility. Ron Kaitchuck from tional border. In the 1960s, physi- sometimes makes it hard for stu- of Dennis Kovar, recently retired Associate Director Ball State University highlighted what he found to be cists from the University of Brit- dents to attend. Reaching a meet- of Science for High Energy Physics and former some of the most beautiful and breathtaking images ish Columbia in Vancouver and ing in Wyoming, for example, is Associate Director of Science for Nuclear Physics in produced by the Hubble Space Telescope. the University of Washington in a challenge for those in northern the Department of Energy, as well as remarks from Seattle organized an annual meet- British Columbia and Alaska. The Kovar himself. Thursday afternoon’s panel on trends The Southeastern Section held its meeting in in nuclear physics featured Kai Hebeler of Ohio State Roanoke, Virginia from October 19 through the ing which rotated between the executive committee encourages University discussing how renormalization group 22nd. On Friday, Patrick Huber looked past current universities as a way to keep up professors and students to pile methods have offered new insights into the structure experiments at Double Chooz, Daya Bay, T2K and with what their peers were doing. into vans and make a road trip out of neutron stars and nuclear many body forces. Helen NOvA towards the next steps needed to probe the “To some extent, the North- of attending a meeting. Caines of Yale University presented on Wednesday nature of the neutrino mass hierarchy. On Thursday, west [section] is a revival of that The section also provides morning the first results from the ALICE experiment Thomas Handler gave an overview of the role that spirit,” but with more modern $100-per-person travel grants and at the LHC showing data largely consistent with RHIC physicists have historically played in policy making communication, said former sec- inexpensive meeting accommoda- and SPS results that matter created in high energy and what that role may be in the future. tion Chair Erich Vogt. A founder tions for students. Undergraduate collisions behaves much like a strongly interacting of Canada’s TRIUMF national and graduate students have taken perfect liquid. The Northwest Section held its meeting at Oregon laboratory for particle and nuclear advantage of the opportunity, out- State University from October 20 through the 22nd. physics, Vogt was the section’s numbering non-student attendees The Texas Section held its meeting at Texas On Friday, Jose Reyes outlined the design of a new A&M University-Commerce in conjunction with the type of nuclear reactor by NuScale Power that has first chair-elect when it was cre- for at least one meeting. American Association of Physics Teachers from been gaining attention after the Fukushima disaster ated in 1998 and is back for an- “Students have been pretty October 6 through the 8th. Mustapha Ishak-Boushaki for its inherent resistance to meltdown. Andrei other round, now serving again as creative and keen to come,” McK- from the University of Texas at Dallas delivered the Kounine from MIT presented a report on Saturday of chair-elect. enna said. She remembers one unexpectedly timely plenary session outlining theories the performance of the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer The Northwest section is group of about six students who governing the expansion of the universe just three recently installed on the International Space Station to unique for being the only cross- applied for something like $80 in days after the Nobel Prize for physics was awarded measure high energy particles. border section. In fact, the first travel grants for the group. “They for the discovery of cosmic acceleration. Texas meeting was held at UBC, said were going to camp,” and asked A&M professor Robert E. Tribble’s talk on Saturday The Four Corners Section met at the University the University of Washington’s for enough money to cover the outlined efforts around the world at different locations of Arizona in Tucson on October 21 and 22nd. The Ernest Henley. A former execu- campsite fees, the former officer and facilities to better understand the origin, evolution Friday night banquet session featured a talk by Peter tive committee officer and former said. “We gave them some more.” and structure of the visible matter in the universe. H. Smith from the University of Arizona looking back at the controversy about the claims of fossilized life on APS president who, along with Other officers told similar stories The New York Section similarly met jointly with the infamous Martian meteorite in 1996. Vogt, was instrumental in creat- of driving over mountain ranges ing the section, Henley called the with a car full of physics students cross-border relationship “appro- bound for the meeting. FERMILAB continued from page 1 priate” because about a fifth of Last year, the section moved its MiniBooNE uses an 8 GeV neu- electron neutrinos. NOvA will use ous [beam] so we can do anything APS members are foreigners. annual meeting from the spring to trino beam that is directed through the existing NuMI beam, which al- we want downstream.” “They claim we should call the fall because spring meetings 800 tons of mineral oil. Inside, ready shoots neutrinos into the MI- In the very long term, the lab this the Southwest [section],” can conflict with the larger APS 1280 photomultiplier tubes lining NERvA detector in Fermilab and has its sights set on a Neutrino Brian Milbrath, the section’s vice annual meetings and with gradua- the spherical detector look for the the MINOS detector in the Soudan Factory, a muon accelerator fed by chair, said of its Canadian mem- tion schedules. Having a meeting signature flashes of light produced Mine in Minnesota. Project X that could produce neu- bers. Comprising the US states of in the fall, though, is also prob- when neutrinos strike atoms in the Right now researchers working trinos for detectors located thou- Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, lematic. This year, the organizers mineral oil. The experiment stud- on MINOS are looking into the re- sands of miles away. Development Washington and Wyoming, as had to wait until the PAC-12 Con- ies neutrino oscillations over short cent announcement by the OPERA and planning for the factory has well as the Canadian provinces of ference announced their schedule distances from their source. The experiment in Italy, claiming evi- only just begun, and construction Alberta and British Columbia, the before setting the date. booster neutrino source referred dence of neutrinos traveling faster likely won’t begin until at least late Northwest section has over 1200 “You cannot have a meeting the to in the “BooNE” is actually the than the speed of light. Tschirhart in the 2020s. members. same weekend as a football game,” main injector that used to feed into said that he expected an announce- Two muon experiments are in “It’s been a very strong collab- Past Chair Michael Miller said. the Tevatron, dubbed the NuMI. ment supporting or refuting the development as well. The first that oration between larger and smaller “Every hotel within 50 miles is “Just the main ring [of the Te- OPERA findings sometime in the is scheduled to come on line is the schools,” said Thomas Olsen, the full.” The section will host its thir- vatron] has been decommissioned, next one to three years. G-2 experiment which brings in section’s secretary and treasurer. teenth annual meeting Oct. 20 –22 but the whole front end is still run- The lab will keep its focus on Brookhaven’s old muon storage Meetings have been held at large at Oregon State University when ning,” Zeller said. neutrino research well into the next ring and combines it with the for- state schools and also at smaller the Beavers will be out of town MiniBooNE has been collecting decade. The facility is preparing a mer antiproton source for the Teva- colleges, like Lewis & Clark in challenging the Washington State data since 2002, and construction second, higher intensity beam of tron. It will look for violations of Portland, and Whitman College, University Cougars in Seattle. on the next generation of detector neutrinos dubbed the Long Base- lepton-flavor symmetries. Mu2e, has already begun. Dubbed Micro- line Neutrino Experiment aimed which is scheduled to come online iPAD continued from page 1 BooNE, it will be made up of 100 at the Homestake Mine in Lead, by the end of the decade, will look people to use, Johnson said, if it made using a standard computer tons of liquid argon to look for neu- South Dakota. Starting out, the ex- for muons converting to electrons. weren’t for federally-funded sci- keyboard too painful helped de- trino signals along the same beam periment will use the main injector In addition the laboratory is entific research. velop capacitive sensing–the thing line. Researchers have been eyeing accelerator, which used to feed into working on research at the cosmic Bill Phillips, a Nobel Laureate that makes touch-screens work–in liquid argon detectors as the next the Tevatron, to produce an intense frontier, looking for clues coming at the National Institute of Stan- the 1990s thanks to a National iteration of neutrino detectors, and beam of muons that will decay from deep space about the makeup dards and Technology (NIST), Science Foundation (NSF) fel- MicroBooNE will be the largest into muon neutrinos. At the same of the universe. Researchers from explained that federally-funded lowship and an NSF grant. Martin liquid argon detector ever built. time, Fermilab will be working to Fermilab will participate in the up- research was critical in develop- Izzard, a scientist and researcher Around the same time that Mi- upgrade its proton beam by build- coming Dark Energy Survey and ing the global positioning system at Texas Instruments, spoke about croBooNE starts up next year, ing a powerful next-generation the Joint Dark Energy Mission. The (GPS) that enables commonly- the history of the integrated cir- the two-part NOvA experiment linear proton accelerator. Color- lab will also continue to be a part- used navigation apps on the iPad. cuit, which is used in nearly all should fully come online as well. fully dubbed Project X, the linear ner in the Pierre Auger cosmic ray Federal funding in the 1950s electronic equipment today. Its smaller 222-ton “near detector,” accelerator will shoot a continuous observatory as well as the CDMS, enabled the creation of the world’s Luis von Ahn of Carnegie Mel- located at Fermilab, has been run- 3 GeV proton beam that can be COUPP and DarkSide dark matter most accurate timekeepers–atom- lon, who moderated the event, told ning since the end of December, modulated and split up for proton-, searches, while continuing to de- ic clocks–without which GPS sys- the staffers that because industry while the much larger 15-kiloton muon- and kaon-based experi- velop more sensitive detectors. tems would not work. primarily funds projects with ob- far detector, located in northern ments as well as the production of “It’s absolutely the best time to Benjamin Bederson, co-found- vious profit potential, scientists Minnesota, should start taking data intense neutrino beams. be a particle physicist,” Tschirhart er of Zumobi, Inc. which develops rely on the federal government to in 2013. Researchers will compare “It’s a real game-changer,” said said. “There’s lots of great opportu- apps, explained how a graduate fund things that don’t have clear the neutrino composition of the Brendan Casey, currently part of nities at CERN, and there’s lots of student at the University of Dela- outcomes but that do result in im- beam over the 513 mile distance to the Tevatron’s DZero collabora- great opportunities here in the US ware who had a disability that portant discoveries. detect muon neutrinos turning into tion. “With Project X it’s a continu- at the intensity frontier.” APS NEWS November 2011 • 7

ANNOUNCEMENTS Congressional Science Reviews of Modern Physics Fellowship 2012-2013 Bayesian inference in physics Udo von Toussaint THE AMERICAN PHYSICAL SOCIETY is currently accepting applications for the Congressional Science Fel- Experiments in physics are generally affected by a never perfect lowship Program. Fellows serve one year on the staff of a senator, representative or congressional committee. They measuring apparatus and by a limited time in which a measurement are afforded an opportunity to learn the legislative process and explore science policy issues from the lawmakers’ is performed. On the other hand, the existence of additional informa- perspective. In turn, Fellows have the opportunity to lend scientific and technical expertise to public policy issues. tion about the experiment and underlying physics remains frequently neglected. This review discusses Bayesian inference, a probability QUALIFICATIONS include a PhD or equivalent in physics or a closely related field, a strong interest in science theoretical approach for data analysis, to extract the best from both and technology policy and, ideally, some experience in applying scientific knowledge toward the solution of soci- data and meta information. Starting from an introduction into the etal problems. Fellows are required to be members of the APS Bayesian concept of probability the article summarizes case studies for Bayesian analysis and illustrates them with physical examples TERM OF APPOINTMENT is one year, beginning in September of 2012 with participation in a two-week orien- from cosmology, mass spectroscopy, plasma physics, and surface tation sponsored by AAAS. Fellows have considerable choice in congressional assignments. science A STIPEND is offered in addition to allowances for relocation, in-service travel, and health insurance premiums. http://rmp.aps.org APPLICATION should consist of a letter of intent of no more than two pages, a two-page resume: with one additional page for publications, and three letters of reference. All application materials must be submitted online by January 13, 2012. http://www.aps.org/policy/fellowships/congressional.cfm for Women Physicists

Ig Nobels May be not so Crazy After All By Michael Lucibella radish spray that is needed to wake Nobel for proving that red-footed When: In keeping with its 21-year tra- up a sleeping person. tortoises aren’t subject to conta- February 26, 2012 -Boston, MA dition, this year’s Ig Nobel prizes “We examined 50 subjects in- gious yawning. Many biologists March 30, 2012 -Atlanta, GA honored research into some of the cluding deaf people,” Imai said, thought that contagious yawning is most pressing questions in science. “We sprayed an odorless com- a sign of intelligence, because it is pound at first, and we confirmed a subtle way of learning. The team Deadlines to apply: Research ranging from yawning November 18, 2011 (for Boston) that they maintain sleep. Second showed that while tortoises are turtles to the ideal concentration of December 16, 2011 (for Atlanta) wasabi spray was honored at this we sprayed out the real stimulant very intelligent creatures that can year’s award ceremony on Sep- and observed their arousal level solve mazes and puzzles, yawning and movement. They wake up was not a good measure of their Who may apply: Women postdoctoral associates and women tember 29. faculty and scientists (early-career should apply for the April The winners of the Physics prize within three to four minutes.” intelligence because they are com- The reason; they wanted to de- pletely asocial creatures and can- Meeting workshop; senior-level should apply for the March got to the bottom of an issue that’s Meeting workshop). been plaguing the sports world for velop a new smoke alarm that can not teach things to each other. millennia. In the Olympics, discus wake up people with hearing dis- The Peace Prize was awarded First consideration will be given to applications received by the throwers are often beset by dizzi- abilities. Current techniques use to Arturas Zuokas, mayor of Vil- deadlines. Workshops will be limited in size for optimal benefits. ness after launching their projec- bright flashing lights or vibrating nius, Lithuania for “demonstrating Women of color are strongly encouraged to apply. tiles while hammer throwers are beds, which work sometimes, but that the problem of illegally parked exempt from this affliction, and not always. luxury cars can be solved by run- Participants may be eligible to receive a stipend to help cover now for the first time scientists Safety also had been on the ning them over with an armored the cost of travel and up to two nights lodging. mind of John Senders of the Uni- tank.” Two Australian researchers, know why. Winners Philippe Per- See http://www.aps.org/programs/women/workshops/skills/ rin, Cyril Perrot, Dominique De- versity of Toronto on whom was Darryl Gwynne and David Rentz viterne and Bruno Ragaru from bestowed the Public Safety award. won the Biology Prize for their In the 1960s he developed a tech- research into why a particular spe- France and Herman Kingma of the Funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation Netherlands interviewed athletes nique to determine how long one cies of beetle mistakenly tries to and analyzed slow-motion video can safely drive without actually copulate with empty beer bottles. of the athlete’s different throws. seeing the road. He did this by The Psychology Prize was award- CHINA continued from page 5 They found that while the two painting over the clear visor of a ed to Karl Halvor Teigen of the and influential translator of Al- physics and the history of physics throws appear similar, hammer motorcycle helmet so the driver University of Oslo for his investi- bert Einstein’s work into Chinese, (under Xu Liangying) in China, is can’t see through it. The visor is gations into why people sigh. John throwers keep their eyes focused stated (through his son) when he a professor of history at the Cali- connected to a servo that flicks it Perry of Stanford received the lit- on their seemingly stationary ham- received the APS Sakharov Prize fornia State Polytechnic Univer- up and down over the driver’s eyes, erature prize for his book “How to mer while discus throwers don’t in 2008, it’s important for the in- sity, Pomona. Author of In Sput- have the same visual anchor point and that times how long someone Procrastinate and Still Get Things ternational community, especially keeps the visor down. Done,” but he was unable to attend nik’s Shadow: The President’s to focus on. the scientists, to keep engaged Science Advisory Committee and “We are very happy to accept For decades Senders’s research the ceremony because he had too with China in order to improve was largely forgotten. However, much work piled up. Cold War America (2008), he is the Ig Nobel prize. As we under- human rights there. The Medicine prize was currently conducting research on stand it is something that Whether we live in another split between two teams “Chinese/American Scientists: deals with research that at Sputnik moment or not, the Cold for research that showed in Transnational Science during the first glance seems funny. War world is gone and interna- certain circumstances, hav- We accepted it to show that tionally-minded scientists like Cold War and Beyond,” with par- ing to go to the bathroom our research is not funny at the Xies and Panofskys of today tial support from the National Sci- makes people make bet- all. We are very serious re- should be encouraged, and not ence Foundation under Grant No. ter decisions, but in other searchers who are trying to blocked, to collaborate across na- SES-1026879. Any opinions ex- circumstances it makes figure out how the balance tional boundaries to advance sci- pressed in this material are those them make worse deci- system works,” Perrin said ence and work on global problems of the author and do not necessar- sions. The Mathematics in a video statement at the facing all of us. ily reflect the views of either NSF Prize was likewise shared ceremony (they were un- Zuoyue Wang, who studied or APS. amongst Dorothy Martin, able to attend in person). Image courtesy of Improbable.com Perrin’s somewhat Pat Robertson, Elizabeth Master of ceremonies and co-founder of the Ig Nobels Clare Prophet, Lee Jang WEBSITE continued from page 1 tongue in cheek speech al- Marc Abrahams shows off this years prize, a miniature ludes to the motto of the periodic table. Rim, Credonia Mwerinde and engineers. That being the is easier to navigate between the Ig Nobel Prizes, which “honor[s] and Harold Camping, all of case, the two publications have Features, Trends and Synopsis achievements that first make peo- after the invention of cell phones, whom predicted the world was go- a significant amount of reader sections of the website, and has ple laugh, and then make them GPSs and other electronic devic- ing to end, for “teaching the world crossover. a space to highlight important think.” The idea is to highlight es that often distract drivers, his to be careful when making math- “We think current readers of articles. The developers have up- scientific research that on the sur- method to time how long someone ematical assumptions and calcula- Focus and current readers of Phys- dated the homepage and links to face might sound wacky or trivial, can drive while distracted took on tions.” No one came to collect that ics would be interested in reading old Focus articles to redirect us- but on further investigation gets at new importance. The International prize. the other publication,” said Fo- ers to the article’s new home on something more serious. Standards Organization now uses a The theme for this year’s award cus editor David Ehrenstein. “It Physics. Such is the case with the wasabi variation of his technique, termed ceremony was “Chemistry” and will allow Focus to be visible to a “I think this will expand the spray that won the chemistry prize, the occlusion method, to set a stan- featured a mini-opera about chem- whole new readership.” readership of Physics,” Thomas which was shared by seven re- dard for how long an in-car device ists in a coffee shop and several In October of last year, the said. “Overall the idea is that for searchers from Japan. After much can distract a driver. renditions of Tom Lehrer’s “Ele- editors of Physics took a survey those who like to read the whole experimentation, they perfected Anna Wilkinson, Natalie Se- ments Song.” The award given to of its readers looking for ways spectrum of content that the APS the ideal concentration of five to 20 banz, Isabella Mandl and Ludwig the Ig Nobel winners was a minia- to improve the new website. The is offering, they can find it now parts per million of pungent horse- Huber shared the Physiology Ig ture Periodic Table table. editors say that the new layout on one website.” 8 • November 2011 APS NEWS The Back Page

Former APS President Helen Quinn of Stan- ways across the disciplines. Making this com- ford chaired the committee of the National Re- A Framework for K-12 Science Education. monality explicit, and describing these concepts search Council that produced the document “A By Helen Quinn with common language across the disciplines, framework for K-12 Science Education.” She along with a common view of and language for has written this article to explain the document’s purpose science practices, helps students understand how the wide and roles to APS members. variety of topics that they learn as “science” are intercon- Context nected. In schools across the US state standards define what stu- Disciplinary core ideas dents are expected to learn, and thus affect not only instruc- Descriptions of the core ideas are a major part of the tion, but also what is “covered” in textbooks and tests. Over framework report which can be downloaded from www.nap. fifteen years ago the National Academies published the edu. We used a set of criteria to define what was important to “National Science Education Standards” (NSES). Together include as a core idea. To merit inclusion an idea should at with the Benchmarks for Science Literacy from AAAS the least meet two or more of these. The criteria were: NSES catalyzed development of state science standards • Has broad importance across multiple science or engi- across the country. This process resulted in fifty separate neering disciplines or is a key organizing concept of a and varied documents. The standards in other subject areas single discipline. likewise varied state to state. More recently a movement to- • Provides a key tool for understanding or investigating ward common standards, that is, standards shared by mul- more complex ideas or solving problems tiple states, has taken shape. Today 48 states and the District • Relates to the interests and life experiences of students of Columbia have adopted the “Common Core” standards or can be connected to societal and personal concerns in math and language arts, and are working toward imple- that require scientific or technical knowledge menting a system of common assessments. Watching this • Is teachable and learnable over multiple grades at in- process, the Carnegie Corporation of New York recognized Photo by Dan Quinn creasing levels of depth and sophistication. the need for a similar common effort in science (see their of the framework is that students should develop their un- These criteria are not only about what is important to the report “The Opportunity Equation”). To fill this need, Carn- derstanding of core ideas in a coherent and connected way discipline but also about what is important for all students to egie funded the development of a next generation of science across multiple years. This requires integration of the three understand to inform their own personal and political deci- standards as a two-step process. The first step was a study dimensions in a carefully designed plan of study. The frame- sions in the future, as well as to stimulate and underpin their conducted by the National Research Council to produce the work provides an initial “sketch” of how the core ideas further learning. Thus some of the core ideas are included document “A Framework for K-12 Science Education”, re- could be developed across K-12, but it is not a curriculum because of their importance for motivating students to learn leased in July 2011. The framework defines the core content or course guide. This progression is laid out in “grade band science and engineering. The last criterion specifies the scale that all students should learn in science in the K-12 years. It end points”, that is, the targets for what students should of an idea that we define as a core idea; it is a major idea that also emphasizes that students with a strong interest in sci- understand by grades 2, 5, 8 and 12. The development of subsumes and connects many individual lesson topics, and ence should have opportunities to go beyond this “all stu- the endpoints was guided by research about what experi- hence merits attention across the K-12 grade span. dents” base level. The second step, the development of a ences and activities can help students toward an understand- Next steps set of standards based on this framework, is being led by ing of accepted scientific explanations of phenomena. To To implement the framework’s vision requires further Achieve Inc, working in partnership with 20 or more states the extent possible, decisions about grade band endpoints steps. Development and adoption of the “Next Generation who have elected to join the project. This intensive work, were based on research, but in many cases we did not have Science Standards” has begun and will involve several which will include multiple review stages and opportunities specific research to guide us. In such cases we made “best further opportunities for input and public comment. Any- for public input, is expected to produce “Next Generation guess” decisions based on the patterns we abstracted from one wishing to be informed about draft releases can sign Science Standards” by the end of 2012. States, including the existing research studies. on for email updates at www.achieve.org. In addition, as those not yet in the partnership, can then decide whether or Practices the framework report discusses, other factors, such as cur- not to formally adopt these standards. The eight practices described in the framework are in- riculum materials, teacher preparation and in-service pro- The NRC’s framework articulates a vision for effective tended to better define what scientific inquiry and engineer- fessional development, science assessments, and science science education, based on research on learning and teach- ing design look like, and to ensure that students are asked to teaching resources (space, time, materials and equipment) ing and the input of scientists from across the disciplines. engage in all parts of the process. These are all need to be aligned to the vision in the framework in or- The NRC committee that developed it included recognized 1. Asking questions (science) and defining a problem (engi- der for it to be realized. All these areas need further work. scientists from the target disciplinary areas (members of neering); 2. Developing and using models; 3. Planning and In my opinion, these efforts need input from scientists, so NAS or NAE) and a roughly equal number of members with carrying out investigations; 4. Analyzing and interpreting there will be many ways that interested APS members can a range of expertise and experience in science education at data; 5. Using mathematics and computational thinking; 6. get involved. the K-12 level. A draft of the central section of the document Constructing explanations (science) and designing solutions How to Get Involved was presented for public comment in July 2010, and many (engineering); 7. Engaging in argument from evidence; and Many physicists have asked me what roles they can play revisions were made based on the input received. Like all 8. Obtaining, evaluating and communicating information. in advancing K-12 science education. First and foremost, NRC studies, it also benefitted from a rigorous internal re- The view of scientific and engineering practice here goes educate yourself about research on learning and about the view process that led to further revisions before its release. beyond doing a lab or a hands-on activity. It also moves context in which teachers work. Become better informed Three Dimensions away from a single definition of “scientific method”. It in- about the issues in your state and local school district and The Framework describes three dimensions of science cludes multiple interpretive and discourse practices that tie then volunteer. For example, state bodies decide issues such learning, with the idea that lessons must form a solid struc- the investigation of phenomena to the process of develop- as criteria for teacher certification, or for adoption of text- ture in this three dimensional space. The three dimensions ing new understanding about them. Notably, six of the eight books, and you can get engaged in these decisions. The Fo- are defined as 1. Scientific and Engineering Practices, 2. practices are common for engineering and science. The two rum on Education sessions at APS meetings and its newslet- Crosscutting Concepts and 3. Disciplinary Core ideas. The practices where science and engineering differ relate to the ter provide information and ideas. The APS, together with practices are both a definition of what scientists and engi- primary goals of each discipline (Constructing explana- AAPT, supports a network of universities known as “Phys- neers do and a statement of what students need to do in order tions and designing solutions) and the beginning stage of TEC” devoted to exploring how physics departments can be to develop their understanding of the core ideas and of how approaching such a goal (asking questions and defining a effectively engaged in teacher education; have your depart- scientific theories are developed. Crosscutting concepts are problem). Scientists can play an important role in helping ment join the network and attend its meetings. NRC stud- common to all fields of science and engineering and provide teachers and teacher educators understand these practices ies provide another useful source of information. Key to the students with ways to connect knowledge from the various and find ways to implement them at the appropriate level in development of the framework were two prior studies “Tak- disciplines into a coherent and scientific view of the world. science classrooms. ing Science To School” (2007) and “Learning Science in In- The disciplinary core ideas include ideas in the physical sci- Asking students to develop explanations does not mean formal Environments” (2009). Each of these reports comes ences; life sciences; earth and space sciences; and engineer- to develop for themselves the modern theories of science. with a more practice-oriented volume, “Ready Set, Science” ing, technology and the applications of science. Engineer- Rather we expect them to incorporate what they are learning (2008) and “Surrounded by Science” (2010) respectively. ing, technology and applications of science is included as a about these theories into their models for and explanations These are also available at www.nap.edu. If you work with disciplinary area to reflect the importance of understanding of phenomena or systems. teachers, adopt the terminology of the framework around the human-built world and to recognize the value of better Crosscutting concepts practices and cross-cutting ideas as it fits into what you are integrating the teaching and learning of science, engineering The concepts selected for emphasis in this dimension are doing, to help teachers develop their understanding of them. and technology. In addition, we include engineering prac- those that can help students connect science learning across If you teach introductory science courses, think about these tices in parallel to science practices to highlight the large topics and disciplines, and provide them with tools for ask- ideas in that context. The science courses, as well as the sci- areas of commonality, and to ensure that students have the ing appropriate questions regardless of discipline. The list ence education courses, that prospective teachers take in chance to apply their emerging scientific understanding in includes college need to be designed to enable them to understand, design projects. 1. Patterns; 2. Cause and effect: Mechanism and explana- and eventually to be able to teach, science and engineering Learning Progressions tion; 3. Scale, proportion and quantity; 4. Systems and sys- practices and crosscutting concepts as well as the disciplin- The framework is designed to help realize a vision for tem models; 5. Energy and matter: Flows, cycles and con- ary core ideas. Carrying the arguments of the framework education in the sciences and engineering in which all stu- servation; 6. Structure and function; 7. Stability and change. beyond the K-12 realm, it is my conviction that introductory dents, over multiple years of school, actively engage in the For this audience I think the list needs little explanation, science courses that are so designed would also better serve practices and apply the crosscutting concepts to deepen their since each of these is a topic that plays out in important students who do not plan to become teachers than courses understanding of the core ideas. A fundamental principle that focus only on conveying scientific knowledge.

APS News welcomes and encourages letters and submissions from its members responding to these and other issues. Responses may be sent to: [email protected]