June 2004 NEWS Volume 13, No. 6 A Publication of The American Physical Society http://www.aps.org/apsnews

International Community Joins Forces for Innovation Task Force Unveils New 2005 World Conference in South Africa Advocacy Campaign On April 20, at a press confer- As part of the celebration of the made to society in the past, and Several international confer- America, and the Middle East, as well ence in Washington, DC, leaders World Year of Physics 2005, formulate a plan for the contribu- ences have been scheduled for as from more developed countries, from industry and academia UNESCO, ICTP, IUPAP and the tions that it can and should make 2004 on these topics, and will serve and the organizers hope to be able unveiled an advocacy campaign South African Institute of Physics in the future. The conference is as preparatory meetings for the to provide travel grants for as many to illustrate the importance of (SAIP) will sponsor a World Confer- partially a follow-up to a broader 2005 World Conference—the first as half of the attendees. basic research to the future of ence on Physics and Sustainable United Nations World Summit on time the international physics com- “Physics has contributed greatly American innovation, economic Development, to be held October Sustainable Development held in munity will focus its collective to the health and economic well growth, and job creation. 31-November 2, 2005, in Durban, Johannesburg in the summer of attention on these themes, and the being of people around the world. Targeted at policy makers and South Africa. The APS will be a 2002. Four themes have been cho- interplay between them. However, the contributions have the general public, the initiative co-sponsor and help with the sen: physics and economic Attendance of about 500 people not led to equal progress in all parts will seek to reverse a decline in organization. development; physics and health; is anticipated. Conference organiz- of the world,” said APS Director of federal investment in basic The conference will review the energy and the environment; and ers are particularly eager to attract International Affairs Amy Flatten. research in the physical sciences contributions that physics has physics education. participants from Africa, Asia, Latin See SOUTH AFRICA on page 5 and engineering through paid ad- APS Council Honors George Pake vertising and traditional lobbying APS Council Approves Statements on and outreach to policy makers Subordinates and on Referencing At its April meeting, the APS Coun- on Capitol Hill. cil passed a memorial resolution on the The new initiative is spon- At its April meeting, Council continued its involvement with ethical March 4 death of esteemed sored by the Task Force on the issues. Two additional statements relating to ethics were passed, one George Pake: Future of American Innovation, on the treatment of subordinates, and one on proper referencing The Council of the American which includes the APS and 13 practices in journal articles. The statement on subordinates is posted Physical Society notes with great sad- other organizations associated on the APS web site at http://www.aps.org/statements/. The statement ness the death of George E. Pake with business and academia. Spe- on referencing appears there also as a supplement to Statement 02.2: (1924-2004). A pioneer in the field cifically, the task force is calling Guidelines for Professional Conduct. of nuclear magnetic resonance, his on the federal government to The texts of these two statements follow. early work helped establish it as a grow the budgets of key Statement on Treatment of Subordinates powerful tool to study condensed research agencies by 10-12% per Subordinates should be treated with respect and with concern for matter systems important in phys- year over the next five to seven their well-being. Supervisors have the responsibility to facilitate the ics, chemistry, and biology. years. These agencies include the research, educational, and professional development of subordinates, Shortly after he began his (serving on the President’s Science National Institute for Standards to provide a safe, supportive working environment and fair compen- scientific career, his common and Advisory Committee). and Technology, the National sation, and to promote the timely advance of graduate students and sense, wisdom, fairness, and per- As the founding director of the Science Foundation, the Depart- young researchers to the next stage of career development. In addi- ceptive insight into human Palo Alto Research Center, ment of Energy’s Department of tion, supervisors should ensure that subordinates know how to appeal relations, combined with his scien- he assembled and led a research Science, and the Department of decisions without fear of retribution. tific brilliance, led him to be called laboratory imbued with a vibrant Defense’s Research Accounts. Contributions of subordinates should be properly acknowl- upon to assume responsibilities of spirit that has had a profound Basic research in the US over See COUNCIL on page 7 leadership, a circumstance that effect on industrial research and the last few decades has led to persisted for the rest of his career. played a decisive role in the breakthrough technologies that He served with distinction as a creation of the modern computer. have spawned entirely new in- Integral Looks at the Cosmos leader in the academic world (at The American Physical Society dustries. Notable examples Washington University in St. Louis), has commemorated his manifold include lasers, the integrated Through Gamma Glasses the professional world (chairing contributions by establishment of circuit, fiber optics, the Internet, the Pake Report on the Status of the George E. Pake Prize. The APS and global imaging systems. Scientists have Physics for the National Academy Council expresses deep sympathy Such innovations in turn cre- opened a new win- of Sciences, and serving as APS to his wife, children, grand- ate jobs; the semiconductor dow in the study of president), and the public world children, and many friends. industry alone has created the formation of 226,000 jobs with worldwide elements in the uni- Crushing a Light Bulb sales of $166 billion. Basic verse with a new research at American universi- space-based gamma At the High School Physics ties has created 4,000 spin-off ray telescope called Teachers’ Day in Denver on May companies with an estimated INTEGRAL http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0403/17gammaray/ 3, Cindi Allmendinger and Andrew 1.1 million employees and an- (INTErnational Zwick examine the filaments of nual worldwide sales of $232 Photo Credit: ESA, F. Lebrun (CEA-Saclay) Gamma Ray Astro- three-way bulbs to understand billion. And according to Rob- physics Laboratory), The central regions of the Milky Way as seen by Integral how the bulbs are wired. This ert Shaw, a Nobel laureate in launched by the in gamma rays. The brightest 91 objects in this image activity was presented by Larry economics, at least 50% of the European Space were classified by Integral as individual sources, while Woolf, whose contributions to the nation’s economic growth over the others appear too faint to be properly characterized Agency in 2002. APS Teachers’ Days are supported the last 50 years has come from at this stage. At the APS April by the General Atomics Sciences technological innovation. meeting, researchers on the collabo- source of gamma rays in the Education Foundation. Photo Credit: Edward Lee Yet US federal investment in ration reported on the scientific universe. Gamma rays are often basic research continues to highlights to date of the project. created in the radioactive decays decline. While the GDP nearly Gamma ray photons are a mil- of short-lived elements inside the gamma ray sky ever seen and doubled from $6 trillion in 1980 lion times more energetic than such cosmic sources as superno- the other measures the energies HHighlights to $12 trillion today, federal those of visible light, and can pass vae and novae. Other sources of the gamma rays with unprec- investment in R&D in the physi- through matter with hardly any include pulsars and micro- edented accuracy. The telescopes cal and mathematical sciences interaction. Even more powerful quasars. work in tandem with an X-ray and engineering plummeted than X-rays, they are nonetheless Launched in October 2002, monitor and an optical camera. 8 37%. President Bush’s FY05 blocked by Earth’s atmosphere. Integral uses two specially According to Roland Diehl of the The BackPage: budget request continues the Hence, gamma ray astronomy is designed gamma ray telescopes Max Planck Society in Garching, Science, Govern- trend of previous administra- ment, and the largely space-based. to register these elusive rays. One Germany, this is the first time Public Interest By tions. The overall research Positron annihilation is one provides the sharpest images of See GAMMA on page 3 Harold Varmus. See TASK FORCE on page 4 2 June 2004 NEWS

This Month in Physics History Making Superatoms “I wore short skirts and had being able to touch a planet and long, blond hair. People would say: move it from one orbit to another.” June 5, 1995: First Bose Einstein Condensate ‘You don’t look like a physicist.’ —Joseph Stroscio, NIST, on nanotech, Sometimes it can take brought light to a complete Well, what did they want me to do, CNN.com, April 15, 2004 awhile for experiment to catch stop. grow a beard?” ✶✶✶ up with theory in physics. In March 1999, scientists —, SLAC, on being a “Anybody who does credit card Predicted in the 1920s, it at the NIST facility in woman in physics, Los Angeles Times, transactions across the Internet— would be 75 years before the Gaitherburg, MD, nudged April 11, 2004 sorry, you’ve been had, because actual creation of the first Bose super cold atoms into a beam ✶✶✶ somebody will be listening and they Einstein condensate (BEC) in to create a device that shoots “Who will be the next genera- just stole your credit card number,” the laboratory. That achieve- out streams of atoms in any tion of scientists and engineers? —Carl Williams, NIST, on security prob- ment established an entirely direction. How can we even discuss prepar- lems quantum computers may cause, new branch of atomic physics The breakthrough could ing for human exploration to the Dallas Morning News, April 26, 2004 that continues to provide a lead to a new technique for moon and Mars without discuss- ✶✶✶ treasure trove of new scien- The density of the atomic cloud is shown, with making very small computer ing who will do the science to get “If there were no neutrinos, the temperature decreasing from left to right. The tific discoveries, since it chips, or to construct nanode- us there?” sun and the stars wouldn’t shine. high peak, the Bose-Einstein condensate, enables scientists to study the vices one atom at a time. —Shirley Ann Jackson, Rensselaer There would be no Earth, no moon, emerges above the other atoms. The picture is strange and extremely small On June 18, 1999, JILA Polytechnic Institute, on women and no us. Without them, we wouldn’t from the JILA laboratory. world of quantum physics as researchers used the tech- minorities in physical science, Los be here.” if they were looking through a turned off and the atoms are held nique to achieve the first Fermi Angeles Times, April 11, 2004 —Boris Kayser, Fermilab, Detroit Free giant magnifying glass. in place by a magnetic field. The degenerate gas of atoms. A group ✶✶✶ Press, April 28, 2004 The BEC phenomenon was atoms are further cooled in the of German researchers demon- “There’s still probably only 30 ✶✶✶ first predicted by Satyendra magnetic trap by selecting the hot- strated in 2001 that BECs can black women with physics PhDs in “Mainline fusion people were Bose and Albert Einstein: when test atoms and kicking them out be created and manipulated the whole country. But it’s not just skeptical from the beginning. To be a given number of identical Bose of the trap. Then came the tricky using so-called atom chips, an minorities. Whether they’re black, honest, support for cold fusion was particles approach each other part: trapping a sufficiently high achievement that could form the brown, yellow, green, Americans mostly driven by the popular sufficiently closely, and move density of atoms at temperatures basis of integrated “atom cir- just aren’t going into physics.” press.” sufficiently slowly, they will that were cold enough to produce cuits” based on the motion of —Arlene Maclin, Norfolk State —Thomas O’Neil, UCSD, The San collectively convert to the low- a BEC. To do this, Wieman and his atoms rather than electrons. University, Los Angeles Times, April Diego Union-Tribune, April 28, 2004 est energy state: a BEC. This colleagues had to devise a time- And in December 2002, 11, 2004 ✶✶✶ occurs when atoms are chilled averaged orbiting potential trap in Innsbruck created ✶✶✶ “Nobody understands string to very low temperatures. The (an improvement to the standard the first BEC out of cesium “Since ordinary sonoluminescence theory well enough to derive wavelike nature of atoms allows magnetic trap). atoms, which are the basis of delivers so much energy at pressures observational consequences.” them to spread out and even The world’s first BEC was atomic clocks and also play a key of only one or two atmospheres, you —Steven Carlip, UC Davis, Christian overlap. If the density is high achieved at 10:54 AM on June 5, role in certain metrological could hope that at 1,000 atmospheres, Science Monitor, May 6, 2004 enough, and the temperature 1995 in a laboratory at JILA, a joint applications, including measure- you’d be in fusion territory— if the ✶✶✶ low enough (mere billionths of institute of University of ments of the electric dipole temperature also scaled up. But that’s “A radiological weapon is not a degrees above absolute zero), Colorado, Boulder, and NIST. The moment of the electron. a really big ‘if.’ ” weapon of mass destruction. It is the atoms will behave like the BEC was formed inside a carrot The Colorado group is now —Seth Putterman, UCLA, on primarily a weapon of economic and photons in a laser: they will be sized glass cell, and made visible experimenting with this new sonofusion, Business Week, March 29, psychological disruption. After the in a coherent state and consti- by a video camera; it measured only form of matter by manipulating 2004 panic from a dirty-bomb attack sub- tute a single “super atom.” about 20 microns in diameter, or it in new and different ways. In ✶✶✶ sides, public refusal to return to JILA’s Carl Wieman (Univer- about one fifth the thickness of a July 2001, he and his colleagues “You would never have thought contaminated urban areas could sity of Colorado, Boulder) and sheet of paper. The result was a were able to make a BEC shrink, it possible to pick up an atom and cause severe economic damage.” Eric Cornell (NIST) first started BEC of about 2,000 rubidium which was followed by a tiny actually move it a few atomic —Jaime Yassif, Federation of American searching for a BEC around 1990 atoms that lasted for 15–20 sec- explosion similar in some ways diameters away. It is equivalent to Scientists, Rocky Mountain News with a combination laser and onds. Shortly thereafter, Wolfgang to a microscopic supernova. So reaching out to the planets and (Denver, CO), May 3, 2004 magnetic cooling apparatus. Ketterle also achieved a BEC in his they dubbed it a “Bosenova.” Wieman pioneered the use of laboratory at MIT. About half of the original $200 diode lasers (the same type Today, scientists can produce atoms appear to vanish in the Denver Fellows Have a Party used in CD players) instead of the condensates of much greater process. They cooled the matter $150,000 lasers other groups numbers of atoms that can last as to 3 billionths of a degree above were using. His approach was long as three full minutes, and they absolute zero—the lowest tem- initially met with skepticism by continue to glean intriguing new perature ever achieved to date. his colleagues, but when he be- insights into this unusual form of Cornell, Ketterle and Wieman gan to report real progress, matter. By September 2001, over shared the 2001 Nobel Prize in several other groups joined the three dozen other laboratories had physics for their accomplish- race to achieve the first BEC. replicated the discovery. In 1997, ment. Their joint discovery of the Beginning with rubidium gas at- MIT researchers developed an BEC is “going to bring revolu- oms at room temperature, the atom laser based on BECs that was tionary applications in such JILA team first slowed the ru- able to drip single atoms down- fields as precision measurement bidium and captured it in a trap ward from a micro spout, and in and nanotechnology,” the cita- created by laser light. This cooled February 1999, a team at Harvard tion from the Royal Swedish the atoms to about 10 millionths University used a BEC to slow Academy of Sciences said. The of a degree above absolute down light to just 38 MPH by shin- apparatus used by the JILA team

Photo Credit: Alan Chodos zero—still far too hot to produce ing a laser beam through the is now part of the permanent Shown here are Denver area APS Fellows (l to r) William Fairbank, William a BEC. condensate. Two years later the collection of the Smithsonian Ford, Branka Ladanyi and Carl Patton, with Jeanne Patton (right), enjoying the Once trapped, the lasers are team announced that it had briefly Institute in Washington, DC. Fellows’ reception held in conjunction with the meeting of the APS Executive Board on April 28.

Series II, Vol. 13, No. 06 College Park, MD 20740-3844, [email protected]. Past-President Physics and Society), J. H. Eberly (Laser Science), G. June 2004 For Nonmembers—Circulation and Fulfillment Division, Myriam P. Sarachik*, City College of New York - CUNY Slade Cargill*, III (Materials), Bunny C. Clark* ©2004 The American Physical Society American Institute of Physics, Suite 1NO1, 2 Huntington (Nuclear), John Jaros (Particles & Fields), Stephen NEWS Quadrangle, Melville, NY 11747-4502. Allow at least 6 weeks General Councillors Holmes (Physics of Beams), James Drake (Plasma), advance notice. For address changes, please send both the old Jonathan A. Bagger*, Janet Conrad, Frances Houle*, Evelyn Timothy P. Lodge, (Polymer Physics), Gian Vidali, (New Coden: ANWSEN ISSN: 1058-8132 and new addresses, and, if possible, include a mailing label Hu, Gerald Mahan, Cherry Ann Murray*, Arthur Ramirez, York Section), Joe Hamilton (Southeast Section) from a recent issue. 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All correspondence regarding APS News should be APS COUNCIL 2004 Chair, Panel on Public Affairs monthly, except the August/September issue, by the directed to: Editor, APS News, One Physics Ellipse, College President Staff Representatives American Physical Society, One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740-3844, E-mail: [email protected]. Helen R. Quinn*, (SLAC) Alan Chodos, Associate Executive Officer; Amy Flatten, Park, MD 20740-3844, (301) 209-3200. It contains President-Elect Division, Forum and Section Councillors Director of International Affairs; Fredrick Stein, Director news of the Society and of its Divisions, Topical Groups, Subscriptions: APS News is an on-membership publication Marvin L. Cohen*, University of California, Berkeley Edward “Rocky” Kolb (Astrophysics), Kate Kirby (Atomic, of Education and Outreach; Robert L. Park, Director, Sections and Forums; advance information on meetings delivered by Periodical Mail. 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Letters must be signed and should include Subscription orders, renewals and address changes should Thomas McIlrath*, University of Maryland (emeritus) on History of Physics), Patricia Mooney (Forum on Council Administrator an address and daytime telephone number. The APS be addressed as follows: For APS Members—Membership Editor-in-Chief Industrial and Applied Physics), James Vary* (Forum on Ken Cole reserves the right to select and to edit for length or Department, American Physical Society, One Physics Ellipse, Martin Blume*, Brookhaven National Laboratory (emeritus) International Physics), Philip “Bo” Hammer (Forum on * Members of the APS Executive Board NEWS June 2004 3 QuarkNet Brings Research Experience to the High School Classroom By Ernie Tretkoff A Brief Encounter with a High school teachers around the country are participating in particle Facilities Manual physics research, changing their teaching styles, and integrating Editor’s NoteNote: Abstracts submit- screens, apparently intended to dis- high-energy physics into their les- ted for the APS April Meeting are play alphanumeric information, and sons, thanks to the QuarkNet organized into sessions according to one square presumably intended for program at Fermilab, which has topic each year by a volunteer sorting graphical information. Both are cur- been running since 1999. committee. But this year our sorters rently dark, showing no data. “We think it’s really one of the were flummoxed by a submission that Alas, none of the dials is labeled most valuable physics education just didn’t seem to fit in anywhere. We “backstepper.” In fact, none are programs that we have,” said Judy didn’t want to let it slip through the labeled, except a small left-hand Jackson, head of public affairs at cracks. So in the interests of furthering dial in the top row, which bears a Fermilab, “It brings so many differ- the scientific debate on the incompre- small gummed paper sticker ent players into the mix. It’s a great hensibility of astronomical instrument sternly declaring, “These are way of bringing in people from a user’s manuals, we reproduce it here. logarithmic units. The possible settings wide geographic area.” . are A, B, C, D, E and K1.” Here’s how the QuarkNet pro- ABSTRACT: Large astronomy The dial is set at D, which seems gram works: First, after a weeklong Photo Credit: LeRoy Castle labs that make some time available to be as good a logarithm as any. orientation at Fermilab, selected The young woman in the photo is Erin McCamish, and she is holding an optical to the general astronomical com- The switch near the rectangu- high school teachers spend a sum- decoder unit for the CMS hadron calorimeter that she assembled. The summer this munity normally provide lar screen is held firmly down by a mer doing research with a picture was taken, she was a student at Lake Shore High School in Stevensville, MI. instruction manuals for the main piece of adhesive tape with faint physicist-mentor from a local uni- Now she is at the University of Michigan studying physics. telescopes and related instrumen- blue lettering, admonishing the versity or laboratory. The teachers tation. As a rule, these are prepared would-be user with an incompre- might work on experiments at the next day, he had the students have participated in the program, by the person who developed the hensible warning: “Do not atempt CERN or Fermilab, or at their think about how they could either as lead teachers or associate apparatus and already knows a (sic) to rotate reticulator slit unless mentor’s lab. change the experiment to improve teachers. About 50 centers are now great deal about it. you have been checked out by JCM.” After their research summer, the the data. The class reran the operating across the country. The Unfortunately, this is not always With fading hopes and dangling teachers try to integrate some of experiment and got better results. program plans to expand to true of the first-time user. We participles, further enlightenment what they learned into their class- Dilks also found that the QuarkNet include about 60 centers, and will report a novice observer’s interac- is sought from the primary instruc- room. Rather than teaching a program has earned him, and his reach over 700 teachers. Some of tion with a short extract from a tion sheet, where an earlier separate unit on particle physics, subject, new respect at his school. “ the centers that have been operat- typical manual. observer has penciled the remark, many teachers find they can inte- There’s a new interest in what’s ing for several years are now “Reticulator must be on before grate particle physics into lessons going on in physics. Administrators expanding to include several high STEP 12: Backstep Reticulator backstepping.” on basic concepts such as conser- ask what I’m doing. Secretaries school students in a summer of Happily the reticulator—unlike Novice observer backsteps on vation of momentum and energy. provide me with newsclippings. research at the center. One of the many of the other instruments— tiptoe out of the control room all Also during the school year fol- Physics has a much higher profile reasons the program has been so carries its name upon its face and the way to the parking lot and heads lowing their research summer, the around my school,” he said. successful, said Bardeen, is that it thus is easy to identify. It is a black for home. QuarkNet teachers, along with their Another QuarkNet teacher, is run by a staff of teachers. “I near-cube about a foot and a half Once home, high priority is given mentors, develop a three-week re- Deborah Roudebush of northern always feel it’s important to put (0.5 m) high, attached by cables to to the task of revising search-based program for up to ten Virginia, designed her entire phys- teachers in leadership positions,” three of the possible four nearest curriculum vitae to describe primary more “associate” teachers. The fol- ics class around the theme of the she said, “They have not only the neighbor boxes, and to five of the research interest as theoretical lowing summer, the lead teachers search for the Higgs boson. She understanding of what teachers possible 16 nearest neighbors. astrophysics rather than observa- and their mentors present their taught the standard high school face in the classroom, but they also On its face are 12 dials in two tional astronomy. three-week program at their physics topics, but always intro- have credibility.” rows, three switches, and two —Virginia Trimble QuarkNet center, the university or duced the concepts in the context lab where the mentor researchers of how they would apply in the work. search for the Higgs. Laser Science, Quantum Optics Featured “Our goal in essence is to help The physics researchers also teachers learn how scientists work, benefit from the QuarkNet pro- at 2004 CLEO/IQEC Conference and look at the way they can bring gram. Randy Ruchti, a Project those work skills into their class- Principal Investigator and Breakthroughs in NASA tech- breath diagnosis would be very CATCHING DEFECTS IN room so that their students begin QuarkNet mentor, appreciated the nologies, medical imaging, and desirable, but detecting the typi- SPACE SHUTTLE FOAMFOAM. Inves- to model research in the class- chance to expand his research homeland security technology were cally parts-per-billion levels of the tigators believe the Space Shuttle room,” said Marge Bardeen, group to include the teachers, and among the highlights at the 2004 molecule in patients is very chal- Columbia disaster resulted from manager of the Fermilab education he said he learned a lot from them. Conference on Lasers and Electro- lenging. Gerard Wysocki and his loosened fuel-tank insulation office and spokesperson for “First of all, I’ve learned that among Optics/International Quantum colleagues at Rice University have foam hitting a shuttle wing at high QuarkNet. QuarkNet also aims to the difficulties teachers face, many Electronics Conference (CLEO/ built a new detection system that speeds. However, it has been diffi- get teachers a more “inquiry- are teaching to a test, so there is IQEC) - a leading conference show- can detect the COS molecule at cult to inspect shuttle foam based” approach that involves very little time to do any inquiry.” casing new results in laser science, very low levels. without damaging it or the fuel hands-on projects rather than the Ruchti participates in the program quantum optics, and related fields— The centerpiece of the system is tank that it protects. X.-C. Zhang traditional lecture format. Several because he believes that “practic- which took place May 16-21 in San a quantum cascade laser, a device of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute teachers have indeed changed the ing scientists have an obligation to Francisco, California. The meeting that generates laser light in a part of and his colleagues, in collabora- way they teach. reach down to attract young was jointly sponsored by the APS, the spectrum known as the mid-in- tion with scientists from NASA For example, Jeff Dilks, a people into science.” the Optical Society of America, and frared. COS molecules absorb light Langley Research Center and teacher in Iowa, conducted an Ruchti also said QuarkNet is the Institute of Electrical and Elec- in a unique part of the mid-infrared Lockheed Martin Space Systems, experiment with his high school working to include more tradition- tronics Engineers/Lasers and Electro- spectrum and thereby can reveal have used terahertz radiation - a class, and found that he had mean- ally underrepresented groups, Optics Society. their molecular “fingerprint.” In the form of light in the far infrared part ingless data. Before QuarkNet, he especially by attracting teachers The featured plenary session setup, a patient first exhales some of the spectrum—to detect small would have just moved on to the who work in inner city schools. explored the history of the maser breath into a small gas cell. Then, the defects in samples of space shuttle next topic, but instead he realized Since QuarkNet began in 1999, and future applications for tech- cascade laser shines precisely tuned foam. If shuttle launches are to that scientists wouldn’t do that. So nearly 500 high school teachers nology; presentations on optics and infrared light through the cell. COS continue, this technique could photonics in bioscience; and molecules absorb light in the exact help NASA examine the insulating GAMMA from page 1 optical metrology. There was also part of the spectrum where the laser foam prior to shuttle liftoffs. a joint symposium celebrating the is tuned. The detection system In their experiment, the research- scientists have routinely been able sources, and have been able to pro- 50th anniversary of the invention records the amount of absorption, ers tested four foam samples. They to take several different measure- duce the first map of parts of the of the maser. and this determines the concentra- looked for two types of foam de- ments concurrently. This capability galactic plane, based on the gamma tion of the molecules in the breath. fects: air bubbles (called “voids”) and is expected to allow a clearer iden- rays emitted by decaying atomic SEEING THE BREATH OF The researchers have performed de-lams, which are separations be- tification of the gamma ray sources. nuclei. DISEASEDISEASE. Equipped with the lat- some preliminary tests of the system tween layers of foam or between a Diehl reported that thus far the It is hoped that Integral will also est advances in optics, researchers in human breath samples. Having layer of foam and the aluminum fuel- collaboration has observed one shed light on such mysteries as how are setting their sights on carbonyl demonstrated a sensitivity of a part tank base. Scanning the foam with gamma ray burst per month black holes interact with their sur- sulfide (COS), a molecule that has per billion, they are hoping to build terahertz waves, the researchers during its first six months of roundings; supernova explosions importance in both the atmosphere a prototype medical device with their could catch both types of defects. operation. and their role in forming chemical and in medicine. Currently, diag- technology. Such a system would be Recently, NASA has announced that The researchers have discov- elements; and the specific nature nosing lung-transplant rejection reasonably priced for a hospital, at terahertz imaging has been ered ten new gamma ray transient of powerful gamma ray bursts. requires a biopsy. A non-invasive about $30,000. See CLEO/IQEC on page 6 4 June 2004 NEWS Senators Sign LETTERS Letter Calling Stronger Stand Needed on Evolution Sleep-Retardant Column OK with Her for More DOE I have just read the APS News billion years, and an even older uni- Since you printed two negative and a woman, all I can say is, lighten Funding for April, 2004 and was interested verse, 13.7 billion years. letters regarding the Zero Gravity up! This was a darling column in the article “APS Helps Local Moreover, anyone who has had column “The Sleep-Retardant Prop- which I passed on to the stats In an unprecedented move, 55 Organizers in State Battles on Evo- the misfortune of being drawn into erties of My Ex-Girlfriend” teacher at our high school. I seri- senators signed a bipartisan letter lution” beginning on page 5. a debate with creationists will rec- [February APS News], I assume ously doubt it will discourage any to Energy and Water Particularly, the sentence on ognize the lengths they will go to that’s predominantly what you of the girls from continuing in math Development Appropriations page 6 caught my eye: “Though distort information about the mag- received. Technically, I’m neither a or encourage any of the couples to Subcommittee Chairman Pete evolution is a topic in biology, not netic field of the earth (they assume subscriber nor a physicist. (I read sleep together. But it might help Domenici (R-NM) and Ranking physics, it’s an issue that all scientists a uniform decrease in B without my husband’s copy of APS News.) them learn some basic principles Member Harry Reid (D-NV), can get involved in.” the well-documented oscillations), Perhaps I’m missing some of statistics. (Nothing motivates urging them to increase the bud- The debate involves more than and entropy. nuances or subtleties they teach in quite like wanting to get the joke.) get for the Department of Energy’s just biologists and geologists. The sentence in the article, quantum mechanics or particle Marlys Stapelbroek Office of Science by 10% over Creationists, relying on a literal though true, is too weak. This is theory, however, as an economist North Tustin, CA that requested by the Bush Admin- interpretation of scripture, esti- an issue that is crucial to physicists istration. mate the age of the earth at little and astronomers. I applaud the Orodruinium: the Story Continues With this letter, more than half more than 6,000 years. This does APS for taking a leadership role in The April “Zero Gravity” was obscurity Orodruinium produces. of the Senate is now on record for violence to the considerable evi- this discussion. incomplete in its consideration of This was demonstrated when F. substantially higher funding for the dence from physics and astronomy Mary Lu Larsen the optical properties of Baggins put on the ring and tried to Office of Science. of a much older earth, namely 4.5 Towson, MD Orodruinium. There is another walk away. T. Bombadil’s reaction The letter highlighted the exemption from invisibility in addi- importance of the Office of Suppression of Thought is Alarming was “Where be you a-going? Old tion to cited case of D. L. Sauron. Tom Bombadil’s not as blind as that Science-funded research to Evolution is clearly evident life has evolved spontaneously. The additional exemption is T. yet.” Perhaps T. Bombadil’s vision energy, technology, and the everywhere in our environment, One might expect that the course Bombadil who surprised F. Baggins covers wavelengths not accessible country’s economic future, while but I believe that true understand- of evolution would be toward by not vanishing when he put on to others. lamenting its essentially flat bud- ing demands that one start at the entropy—increased disorder— the ring. T. Bombadil also detected Larry Crooks get since 1990. beginning and try to comprehend and chaos, rather than toward and ‘saw through’ whatever optical Richmond, CA “The nation must have a bal- the cause of the universe, as well increased order, regularity and life. anced investment to maintain the as the cause of its evolutionary Stephen Weinberg’s testimony for Who Sponsors Bob Park? overall health of science and tech- changes over the 13.7 x 109 years suppressing any view other than nology research,” the letter said. of its existence. Students should be evolution is perplexing. I believe that As an acute reader of Bob Park’s find myself very pleased that APS “Recent funding increases for the encouraged to think for them- we should suppress nothing “What’s New” email column I continues to sponsor his provoca- National Institutes of Health and selves, to remain open minded, and relevant, but instead encourage notice that the rejoinder about not tive and useful column, and am the National Science Foundation to examine any explanation that is thoughtful students to decide com- being the opinions of the APS, “but equally happy that he longer needs cannot compensate for the need not shown to be fallacious. plex matters for themselves on the they should be”, no longer that awkward rejoinder. to invest in the physical sciences, It is incomprehensible to me basis of credible evidence. appears—only the University of Benjamin Bederson upon which all other science is that something has suddenly Before “creationism” is dis- Maryland. New York, NY based.” appeared without cause from missed with derision, a more In the past I have found Park’s This demonstration of support nothing in a “big bang,” and has plausible cause of the existence of material to be a bit contentious, if Editor’s Note: Indeed, the awk- for the Office of Science, which spontaneously evolved in complex- the universe should be proposed generally correct. Recently I have ward rejoinder no longer appears, but many lament is often lost within the ity over millions of years without and justified. Let us not abandon found that I am in even stronger neither does the APS name as a spon- larger DOE structure, is a signifi- intelligent direction from a “point” causality to defend atheism. I, for agreement with everything he writes. sor. The University of Maryland has cant turnaround for that office. into the immense universe now one, am not “fearful of intelligent We are living in times when the become the primary sponsor of A year ago, a similar letter had observed. design.” I am more alarmed about iconoclastic opinions of one who “What’s New”. This should give Bob 39 signatories. Active constituent In light of the second law of ther- suppression of thought. might be considered a maverick Park broad leeway to continue to interest and diligent senatorial staff modynamics, it is equally William G. Pettus sound more and more like simple express opinions in a column that has work was important in increasing incomprehensible that intelligent Monroe, Virginia truth (of course, in my opinion). I entertained many of us over the years. the number of senators signing this letter. The APS played a very active TASK FORCE from page 1 role in this effort. A pdf copy of the full text of the budget would be down 1.8%, apart our approach to innovation,” said on research and education. on the Future of American Inno- letter, with the signatures of the 55 from a 0.6% increase for the Wince-Smith. “We need to “America’s universities and their vation include the American senators, can be viewed at http:// Department of Health and Human reevaluate the policies, programs researchers are the world’s most Chemical Society, the Alliance for www.aps.org/public_affairs/ Services. Two days after the and institutes that were designed prolific engines of innovation,” said Science & Technology Research in index.cfm announcement, the American As- for a world in which innovation Nils Hasselmo, president of the America (ASTRA), the Computer — Richard M. Jones sociation for the Advancement of was linear and US leadership was Association of American Universi- Systems Policy Project, the Coun- American Institute of Physics Science issued an analysis show- unrivaled. In today’s global market- ties. “Investments in university cil on Competitiveness, ing that the proposed Bush place, innovation is essential for research make America work and Intel Corporation, Hewlett Administration’s budget for the economic security and American are vital to our security. They also Packard, IBM, the National next five years would cut funding prosperity.” provide indispensable hands-on Association of Manufactur- for basic research at 21 of 24 Hence the launch of the advo- research opportunities for the ers, the Science Coalition, federal agencies. cacy campaign, whose primary scientists of tomorrow. We under- the Semiconductor Indus- At the press conference, message is, “Don’t flatline our stand current federal budget try Association, and Texas Deborah Wince-Smith, president innovation future by underfunding restraints. But research is the foun- Instruments. of the Council on Competitiveness, basic and applied research,” accord- dation of future economic growth Photo Credit: James Riordon said that America’s technological ing to Craig Barrett, CEO of Intel and security.” leadership faces greater competi- Corporation and chairman of the Richard Smalley, a professor at tion from abroad as developing Computer Systems Policy Project. Rice University and winner of the economies increase the number of “We can choose to continue to 1996 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for PhDs in engineering and physical invest in the industries of the 19th the discovery of buckyballs, reiter- sciences and create new incentives century and allow innovation to ated Hasselmo’s comments about the for scientists and engineers to atrophy, or we can build on our past importance of universities to inno- work outside the US. Other nations strengths and go forward to main- vation, noting that his own field of are rapidly replicating the struc- tain our competitiveness.” buckyballs and carbon nanotubes tural advantages that historically Barrett pointed out that while has propelled the development of have made the US the center of in- the government has focused in- nanotechnology. Smalley himself novation: investing in education creasingly on the growing problem cofounded Carbon Nanotechnolo- and job skills; building modern of outsourcing in industry, there gies Inc. in 2000. “Our work-force network infrastructures; financing has been almost no correspond- is not flatlining, it’s in decay. The US new ventures; and opening their ing discussion regarding funding of has been on a downward slide in markets to global trade. basic research. Asked whether per- supporting physical sciences and As a result, the US is fast ap- haps industry could pick up the engineering for more than a proaching a “tipping point” at slack, Barrett said that Intel alone decade,” he said. “We’ve been which 30 years of declining or flat spends $5 billion on product living off the successes of the past. If Photo Credit: Steve Pierson federal research could have dire development R&D—more than we don’t change course, we will leave (Top photo): Richard Smalley speaks at the press conference announcing the consequences for scientific discov- the entire US government spends our children a very poor legacy.” advocacy campaign, while Craig Barrett of Intel and Deborah Wince-Smith of the ery and innovation. “These on basic research—and also In addition to the APS, the cur- Council on Competitiveness look on. (Bottom photo): APS President Helen Quinn changes demand that we rethink spends an additional $100 million rent members of the Task Force with Richard Smalley at the press conference. NEWS June 2004 5

Readers Bash Beltway Column

Editor’s Note: As a registered ington Post. Mike Lubell’s column, lobbying organization, the APS “Cracks Begin to Show in the GOP advocates for increased support for Fortress,” is an unabashed politi- Editor’s Note: Please send ethical questions for Jordan Moiers or science, and for other public posi- cal screed, and I hope it is not an comments to: [email protected], or by mail to Jordan Moiers, c/o APS News, tions expressed in statements of the indication that in this political year, One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740. Contributors should identify APS Council. These activities are APS News has become an organ of themselves, but their names and addresses will be held strictly confidential strictly non-partisan: we never a specific political party. The unless they request otherwise. lobby for particular candidates or Beltway column is little more but a The opinions expressed in this column are not necessarily those of either parties. Likewise, “Inside the not so subtle attack on the Repub- the APS or APS News. Beltway”, appearing bi-monthly in lican Party. If Lubell can’t refrain ✶✶✶ APS News, provides non-partisan from this, or if he can’t find mate- analysis and commentary on the rial that is pertinent to the mission At my previous postdoc position I worked on a research project Washington scene by the APS of the APS, I suggest the APS News inspired by a discussion with a senior collaborator, and then was Director of Public Affairs, Michael editor find someone who can. carried out exclusively by myself. I presented the work at a conference, S. Lubell. Sometimes, however, read- Lawrence Johnston with myself, the senior collaborator, and another collaborator as au- ers take issue with not only Lubell’s Moscow, Idaho thors. After the conference I wrote a proceeding paper, which my analysis but also his impartiality. ✶✶✶ collaborators reviewed. We also published an article in a journal. The April column generated a par- Regarding Mike Lubell’s article, Months later, while by browsing the Internet, I discovered that my ticularly voluminous and vociferous difference between sober analysis “Cracks begin to show in the GOP senior collaborator was giving a talk at another conference about the batch of letters. We reprint excerpts and partisan Bush bashing, then fortress,” I was surprised and dis- research we had done. When I asked if he would submit a paper on the from four of them here, along with a maybe it shouldn’t publish politi- mayed to see such a combative work he presented to a journal, the answer was “yes.” I asked to review reply from Lubell. cal articles at all. attitude in the pages of APS News. I the manuscript before it was sent out, but I did not receive a copy until Thomas Karr am informed that Karl Rove first after it was submitted. The first surprise was that the When did APS News become a Linthicum, Maryland “addressed a captive audience,” author list had changed. Instead of being listed first on the paper with my megaphone for the Democratic ✶✶✶ and then that he had “no compel- collaborators’ names following, I was listed second and my senior col- Party and other assorted Bush I am sick and tired of Mike Lubell ling response” to questions from laborator was first. In addition, two more coauthors were bashers? Michael Lubell turned practicing partisan politics of any fla- Congressman Vern Ehlers about included. The new coauthors knew nothing about the project and had the April issue into a shallow pro- vor on my nickel. The APS should job losses. It appears I have no not been informed that they were listed on the manuscript. paganda sheet with his “Inside the not be using membership revenue need to know what that response To make matters worse, the new manuscript was nearly identical to Beltway” column. A thoughtful to pay for this. Perhaps the Society actually was. the one published earlier, only five sentences were different out of seven analysis of Washington trends should spin off its political arm so I am cynically accustomed to pages. I contacted my collaborator and asked him to either withdraw the would indeed serve the interests that only those who choose to sup- this patronizing attitude in the paper or remove my name. The paper has not been withdrawn. I am not of APS members, but Lubell’s port it may do so. The Office of mainstream press, but in an APS sure if my name has been removed. “analysis” is a thinly veiled parti- Public Affairs should be independent publication, I expect to be given Should the publication of the manuscript be stopped completely? san attack, filled with jabs at the of an organization that’s supposedly the facts so that I may determine After all it is a copy of a different paper. Should I contact the editors of Bush administration but with little devoted to physics. for myself whether they are “com- the journal? Clearly my senior collaborator did not like me pointing out else in the way of facts or opin- Art Blair pelling” or not. None of us would the unethical behavior, which may have repercussions along my career. ions of anyone other than himself. Madison, Wisconsin publish a paper with only analysis How should I handle this situation? If I contact the journal, I might have You can find much of the same at ✶✶✶ and no data. I am very disap- more problems with my collaborator. www.democrats.org. I usually value highly the infor- pointed in this article. (Name and address withheld) This banal “analysis” isn’t mation I get from APS News, but when Sabrina Chase worth the paper and ink spent I looked at the April 2004 issue, I Kirkland, Washington Jordan Moiers replies: on it. If APS News can’t tell the thought I was looking at the Wash- Yes, you should contact the journal. Scholarly journals are venues for ✶✶✶ new and original research. According to APS Editor-in-Chief Martin Blume, submitted papers that are duplicates of published work are Michael Lubell Replies: rejected out of hand. A published journal paper that is found to be a Having been excoriated last month for dissing the Democrats, I am much bemused by the reaction this duplication is retracted. month to my latest column. Much of what the letter writers conclude is in their own eyes. For the record, I It’s understandable that you are Help on Ethics Needed am not a highly partisan Democrat. My political views are without a doubt considerably to the right of the concerned about the impact on your majority of APS members, but I do my best not to reveal them. Apparently I succeeded all too well this time. The recent APS Task Force on Profes- career that might result from offend- sional Ethics recommended that APS My point in the column was that the GOP—which had remarkable achievements last year and had the ing your senior coauthor by raising Democrats off balance—was suffering a change in fortunes. With control of both houses in Congress and work with physics departments to the issue with the journal, but if improve education on ethical the White House, all of which they were managing with political aplomb, Republicans were believed to be a there is existing evidence of double issues that affect the physics commu- veritable fortress as 2004 opened. That has not proved to be the case. And it has enormous potential publication, in the form of a previ- nity. If you have experience or interest consequences for R&D funding, which now accounts for 15% of the total discretionary budget, including ously published work, no one needs in developing materials to help stu- defense and homeland security. know that you blew the whistle on dents understand and confront such With the Republicans put on the deficit ropes by Democratic critics, the outlook for science is not good. your colleagues. In fact, all you have issues and would be willing to help Anyone who doubts me should personally ask members of the Republican leadership, or any of the budget to do is contact the journal editors, with this task, please contact Ken Cole, appropriators. I have spoken to quite a few of them, and that’s what they are saying. I haven’t yet spoken to Special Assistant to the perhaps via an anonymous phone Executive Officer, at [email protected]. the Democrats, but perhaps I should, and report that information in my next column. That way, I can call, and point out the smoking gun maintain a certain degree of political neutrality. of the existing paper in the litera- ture. If you feel the need to identify yourself,He there is no reason that the editors would have to alert your coauthors to the source of their infor- Closing In on the Mysterious Dark Matter? mation. At least as far as the Physical Review is concerned, Blume informs us that the editors would be happy to maintain your anonymity. Initial data from the Cryogenic within the crystals. matter. WIMPs are a strong con- With regard to author priority and coauthor qualifications—in this Dark Matter Search (CDMS II) was The detectors are now able to tender for dark matter. case, those are higher order issues compared to double publication. reported at the APS April meeting in look for signals just one-fourth as The nature of dark matter is Only the initial paper has any legitimacy at all, if the subsequent ones are Denver. This underground observa- intense as any seen before, and the fundamental to our understanding merely duplicates of the first. As my Grandma used to say, “There’s no tory in Northern Minnesota has team expects to improve sensitivity of the formation of the universe. point in worrying about the state of the drapes, if the roof is caving in.” provided unprecedented sensitivity by a factor of 20 over the next few With the CDMS II collaboration, into the search for so-called Weakly years. WIMPs will signal their pres- either the dominant mass of the Interacting Massive Particles ence by releasing less charge than universe will be discovered, or a SOUTH AFRICA from page 1 (WIMPs). Should evidence of WIMPs most background particles produce large number of supersymmetric For example, most East African nomic development,” said Flatten. be observed, it could answer the dual for the same amount of vibration. models will be excluded as possi- countries have research programs Among the hoped-for results of mystery of both the dark matter A WIMP, which carries no charge, bilities. in renewable energy. Certain the 2005 World Conference is the problem and supersymmetry. is expected to have roughly one hun- WIMPs might be the as-yet- donors have helped initiate such establishment of new international The CDMS II team practices dred times the mass of a proton. Yet unobserved subatomic particles programs in response to the partnerships. More than 200 such “underground astronomy” with par- WIMPs are able to slip through called neutralinos. That would pro- region’s needs (and its many sunny partnerships were launched at the ticle detectors located nearly half a ordinary matter while barely leaving vide strong evidence for days). But the research efforts have 2004 World Summit. mile below Earth’s surface in a former a trace. The presence of dark mat- supersymmetry, which predicts been uncoordinated, so despite the “Developing scientific capacity iron mine. Earth’s crust blocks ter in the universe is detected that every known particle has a 20-year effort, 80% of African requires more than just educating cosmic rays and the background par- through its gravitational effects, from supersymmetric partner with households are still without graduate students and postdocs in ticles they produce. Made of the growth of structure in the early complementary properties, electricity. the developed world and returning germanium and silicon crystals, the universe to the stability of galaxies although no such partners have “Unless a coordinated program them to their home nations,” she said. detectors are chilled to within today. Dark matter cannot be made been observed to date. Many is created to apply the region’s “It requires partnerships of policy one-tenth of a degree of absolute of the ordinary matter forming supersymmetry models predict physics expertise, renewable makers, scientists and industrialists zero. They are capable of measuring objects in the visible universe, and that the lightest such particle, called energy may continue to be an from both developing and developed both the charge and vibration constitutes as much as seven times the neutralino, has a mass of about interesting research topic with little nations, for jointly executed, action- produced by particle interactions more total mass than ordinary 100 times that of the proton. prospect of contributing to eco- oriented projects.” 6 June 2004 NEWS

APS, AAPT Appoint Joint Task CLEO/IQEC from page 3 selected as one of two technologies REAL-TIME IMAGING OF HU- ferent colors (wavelengths). How- Force on Graduate Education for inspecting the insulation foam MAN SKIN WITH TINY 2-D ever, to achieve these effects, for any future shuttle launches. SCANNERSCANNER. A team of researchers researchers have to construct spe- Together with the American Franz about the rationale for from the University of California, cially tailored crystal structures of Association of Physics Teachers forming the task force. “We hope INVESTIGATING MERCURY’S Los Angeles, and the Massachusetts GaAs. By combining two layer-by- (AAPT), the APS has appointed a that the task force will be able to SURFACE AND INTERIORINTERIOR. How Institute of Technology, has built a layer crystal growth techniques new Joint Task Force on Gradu- suggest positive steps to help will scientists measure the topog- tiny endoscopic scanner, only 5.5 mil- known as molecular beam epitaxy ate Education in Physics. graduate students learn physics raphy of Mercury? Developers of limeters across.The scanner and hydride vapor phase epitaxy, Chaired by Boston University’s that will enhance their under- the Mercury Laser Altimeter an- combines a 2-D scanning mirror, the researchers have built the first David Campbell, the task force standing of the interconnections swer this question as the spacecraft measuring only 1 millimeter in di- GaAs structure that operates as an will examine current trends in between different fields; prepare is readied for launch in August ameter, with optical coherence optical parametric oscillator (OPO). physics research and education them to apply physics in a vari- 2004. Once the spacecraft begins tomography. With a resolution of OPOs convert single-color laser that may be contributing to the ety of fields or disciplines; and orbiting this hot and dense planet, 5 micrometers, this endoscope light into any of a very wide range fragmentation of the physics foster their appreciation of the the laser altimeter will transmit can scan living tissues and pro- of new wavelengths. The new community. breadth of physics.” laser pulses towards the planet’s vide real time 3-D images. device can produce wavelengths in The task force is charged with The other task force members surface and four large cones will Tests at MIT were able to scan live the entire “fingerprint” region of examining and summarizing di- are: Renee Diehl, Penn State collect the photons reflected off human skin in real-time, capturing common molecules (2-17 microns). rections in graduate education University; Mercury’s surface. The topography up to 20 frames per second, with 5- This is crucial for detecting a wide in physics, with special empha- J.D. Garcia, University of Ari- of the planet is determined from micrometer axial image resolution. variety of drugs and explosives. sis on doctoral programs. zona; the laser pulse time-of-flight and The scanner has a very high reso- A GaAs OPO can generate pow- It will identify special chal- James Gates, University of the spacecraft orbit position data. nant frequency and can scan areas erful infrared light that aircraft can lenges and problems facing Maryland, College Park; The innovative 4-cone receiver quickly. potentially employ to divert heat- graduate education in physics, Michael Paesler, North Caro- optics design helps maintain focus seeking missiles. Moreover, the and recommend appropriate lina State University; under large and rapid temperature NEW LIGHT FROM GALLIUM GaAs OPO can potentially generate actions for APS, AAPT, and/or Peter Jung, Ohio University; change as the spacecraft travels ARSENIDEARSENIDE. Nonlinear optics contin- the far-infrared light suitable for PhD-granting universities to take Joel Fajans, University of from the dark and cold side of ues to provide many scientifically terahertz imaging at airport secu- in response to these issues. California, Berkeley; Mercury to the sunny and hot side. interesting and technologically rity as well as trace gas detection. “The physics community has Allen Goldman, University of Understanding Mercury, one of useful effects. Another benefit is that GaAs devices not reviewed its graduate edu- Minnesota; and the most extreme rocky planets, Konstantin Vodopyanov of are likely to be reasonably priced, cation programs for ten years,” Tom Appelquist, Yale will help us understand Earth’s to- Stanford and his colleagues have as the material has been widely stud- said APS Executive Officer Judy University. pography, development, magnetic built a new nonlinear-optics device, ied. However, fabrication field and interaction with the sun. based on gallium arsenide (GaAs), techniques, such as hydride vapor capable of producing high-power phase epitaxy, need to be developed light for numerous applications futher to help bring many of these including many items on the home- applications to real world use. INSIDE THE BELTWAY: land security wish list. Light that — Compiled by Philip Schewe enters the material can be efficiently and Ben Stein, American Institute Washington Analysis and Opinion converted into a wide range of dif- of Physics

Physics in the Headlines But Not in the Usual Way Two-Day Los Alamos Event to By Michael S. Lubell, APS Director of Public Affairs Honor Oppenheimer Suddenly physics, more precisely the physical sciences, math and engineering—but that’s too much of a mouthful, so I’ll stick with physics—is back on the agenda of politi- In honor of the cen- that we’re restoring,” cians, policy makers, industrial leaders and the media. tennial of the birth of J. she added. It’s not the discoveries and the Nobel prizes of the last few years that are creating the Robert Oppenheimer, On Friday after- buzz, though they haven’t hurt. Rather, it’s the growing recognition in the circles that and to recognize the noon, New Mexico count that the nation really does depend on physics discoveries to stimulate the economy, preservation of the Senators Pete enhance security and improve the health of the populace. And further that the physics Manhattan Project his- Domenici and Jeff enterprise is under significant stress from two decades of federal neglect, growing com- tory at Los Alamos, a Bingaman will dedi- petition from abroad, and a tangle of education and workforce problems, which, left two-day public event cate the house where untreated, will seriously compromise the future of America. will be held June 25 and J. Robert Oppenheimer Oppenheimer and Michael S. Lubell (photo courtesy of the Why the issue is suddenly gaining traction is a story in itself, one that would take too 26 in Los Alamos. his family lived. The National Archives) many words to tell in this column. Suffice to say that the threat is real and that physics advocates—many of Born on April 22, house was recently them readers of “Inside the Beltway,” I trust—have been able to break through the political cacophony and 1904, Oppenheimer was the first acquired by the Los Alamos His- journalistic prejudice that usually relegate science and science policy to the back benches and the back pages. director of the Los Alamos labo- torical Society. After the A few examples deserve mention. ratory, and the technical director dedication, a reception and din- of the Manhattan Project that de- ner will be held at Fuller Lodge, •Dateline, March 17, 2004, Wall •29th Annual AAAS Forum on National Science Panel Warns of veloped the atomic bomb during once the center of social life for Street Journal: Competitive Edge of Science and Technology Policy, Too Few New ScientistsScientists. World War II. the Manhattan Project commu- U.S. Is at Stake in the R&D Washington, DC, April 22, 2004, The event, organized by the nity at Los Alamos. ArenaArena. Senate Minority Leader Thomas A. •Dateline, May 7, 2004, The New Atomic Heritage Foundation, the Saturday’s program features Daschle: “Today, we stand at a piv- York Times, “Editorial”: Losing Our Los Alamos Historical Society an all-day symposium on •Dateline, Washington, March otal moment. For all our past Technical DominanceDominance. and Los Alamos National Labo- “Oppenheimer and the Manhat- 29, 2004, C SPAN, “Washington successes, there are disturbing ratory, includes tours, speeches, tan Project” at the Smith Civic Journal,” Former Lockheed/Mar- signs that America’s dominant •Factoid, Washington, DC, May a dedication of the Oppenheimer Auditorium in Los Alamos. tin CEO Norman Augustine: Can position in the scientific world is 11, 2004: 56 Senators Sign Letters house, and a reception and One of the speakers will be Science Save U.S. Jobs? being shaken.” to Energy and Water Appropria- dinner. Ed Gerjuoy of the University of tors Calling for 10% Increase in “We need to be rooted in this Pittsburgh, a former APS Coun- •Dateline, Washington, April 8, •Dateline, April 27, 2004, USA DOE Office of Science Budget. history and be proud of it. We cil member and currently Chair 2004, Roll Call, “Pennsylvania Today, “Editorial/Opinion,” Intel think this will be a really good of the APS Committee on the Avenue,” by Morton M. CEO: Let’s End Political Games The federal government may be event, and we want to get every- International Freedom of Scien- Kondracke: Kerry, Congress and CompeteCompete. swimming in red ink, but appar- body there,” said Cindy Kelly, tists (CIFS). He was one of Should Fight Bush Science CutsCuts. ently some opinion makers don’t president of the Atomic Heritage Oppenheimer’s last PhD students •Dateline, Washington, April think it’s worth sacrificing our Foundation, a nonprofit organi- at Berkeley before Oppenheimer •On stage at the National Press 28, 2004, Roll Call, Task Force on future by shortchanging the physi- zation dedicated to preserving left for Los Alamos. Club, April 20, 2004, Intel CEO the Future of Innovation Ad: cal sciences, mathematics and the history of the Manhattan Other speakers include Craig Barrett, Association of Economics 101 Innovation is engineering. I agree. If you do too, Project and the Atomic Age. historian Richard Rhodes, author American Universities President America’s Economic Heartbeat, “Speak out!” Kelly said the organization is of The Making of the Atomic Bomb, Nils Hasselmo, High Voltage Engi- Don’t Flat Line Our Future! planning to offer tours to some several other historians and neering CEO Russ Shade, Nobel Visit of the Manhattan Project sites, authors of forthcoming books on Laureate Richard Smalley and •Dateline, May 3, 2004, The New including some sites not normally Oppenheimer, and Manhattan Council of Competitiveness Presi- York Times, William J. Broad: U.S. APS accessible to the public. (For Project veterans who knew dent Deborah Wince-Smith: Task Is Losing Its Dominance in the security reasons, these tours Oppenheimer. Force on the Future of Innova- SciencesSciences. News require advance reservations). For more information on the tion Launches Advocacy Online “The majority of people who’ve program, or to purchase tickets Campaign to Illustrate the Impor- •Dateline, May 5, 2004, The New lived in Los Alamos all their lives for any of the events, visit http:// tance of Basic ResearchResearch. York Times, William J. Broad: http:// www.aps.org/apsnews/ have never seen these properties www.atomicheritage.org. NEWS June 2004 7

ANNOUNCEMENTS

DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION Now Appearing in New Job Web Site for APS AND OUTREACH PROGRAMS RMP: Recently Posted If you’re looking to fill or find a job, the new APS Online Job Center at Reviews and Colloquia http://careers.aps.org is your one-stop shop. Jobseekers and employers The American Physical Society (APS) is seeking applications and alike will find the APS Job Center, which now receives over a million hits from 20,000 unique visitors monthly, to be an invaluable resource. nominations for the position of Director of Education and Outreach You will find the following in the The APS Job Center contains hundreds of new jobs posted monthly and Programs to replace Fred Stein, who plans to retire in September. The online edition of Reviews of Modern person selected will play the leadership role in all APS education pro- Physics at http://rmp.aps.org. offers a database of thousands of resumes. It covers all physics fields plus grams, including a major program to improve the physics education related fields such as materials science, computing, biology, chemistry, and of K-12 teachers (PhysTEC), and will work closely with the Committee Spintronics: fundamentals and engineering. applications on Education and the Forum on Education. In addition, he or she will —Igor Zutic, Jaroslav Fabian, and S. work with the Committee on the Status of Women in Physics and the Das Sarma EMPLOYERS JOBSEEKERS Committee on Minorities in Physics in efforts to increase the number Spintronics is an emerging field devoted of women and minorities with careers in physics. An excellent staff is to the generation and detection of Whether you’re an HR manager Jobseekers have access to a or a member of technical staff look- variety of services that take the available to help with these programs. quantum spin polarization, its control and transport. Rather than operating ing to hire, you can take advantage hassle out of finding a job that’s Qualifications for the position include a PhD in physics or a on the charge currents of conventional of valuable services for a low cost. tailored to their skills. related field, familiarity with the physics research and education electronics, spintronic devices utilize For example, you can: As a job seeker you can: communities, experience in managing large projects, some experi- spin currents. Recent advances in • Post multiple job descriptions • Create your online profile ence in working with teacher education programs, and excellent materials, experimental techniques, and • Receive job applications online once and allow prospective interpersonal and communication skills. theory are leading to a rapid • Track how often your job is employers to find you, or development of both the basic science For consideration, send a cover letter, resume, and professional viewed • Maintain confidentiality until of spintronics and its commercial • Fill out an employer profile you are ready to apply for a position references to Judy Franz, APS Executive Officer, [email protected], by applications. This comprehensive section, which allows company • Search jobs by multiple criteria June 15. review describes that progress, information to appear at the bottom • Apply for jobs directly online including the fundamental theory and of each ad you post. to save time and paper the promising technologies for • Create automatic resume • Store multiple copies of spintronic devices. alerts—when the perfect person for resumes for different kinds of jobs the job posts her resume • Create automatic job alerts— Also Recently Posted: • Search the resume database by you’ll be contacted as soon as your http://focus.aps.org The current-phase relation in keyword and geographic location to dream job is posted. Josephson junctions Down-to-earth accounts of hot research from the —A. A. Golubov, M. Yu Kupriyanov, find someone ideal for the position Physical Review journals—ideal for college physics majors and and E. Ilíchev researchers interested in work outside their specialty. Write to If you have any questions about any of these services, [email protected] to get weekly e-mail updates. please contact us at [email protected].

Some recent Focus stories: BACK PAGE from page 8 Ghost of SuperConductivity on a Fall Day disciplines to intersect in unex- and governmental oversight. And our traditional relationship. Magnetic measurements hint at vestiges of su- pected ways, and public interest in we may not be moving fast enough perconductivity near room temperature—far science continues to grow. to promote science and its uses in Harold Varmus is president and chief too warm for the full superconducting phenom- Still, we have a great deal to worry the developing world, and to pro- executive officer of the Memorial Sloan- enon to exist. about. Enlarging budget deficits vide open access to scientific findings Kettering Cancer Center, and former Alan Hewat/Institut Laue- Langevin threaten to constrict future budgets through the Internet. Effective director of the National Institutes of Cactus Patterns Buckle Up for science, immigration policies and collaboration between science and Health. This article is adapted from his Computer simulations demonstrate that the practices may deflect new talent to government seems to me one of the Carey Lecture, delivered at the Ameri- forces in a growing plant can lead to spiral other countries, and inappropriate few rational ways to find our path in can Association for the Advancement patterns with special mathematical relation- attacks on peer review and a failure a largely irrational and increasingly of Science Policy Meeting on April 22, ships. to separate religion from science can dangerous world. I hope that an 2004. The full text of his speech can be P. Shipman/Univ. of undermine the delicate balance accounting of these concerns can found at http://www.mskcc.org/ Landmarks: The First Million-Volt between scientific independence ultimately help to strengthen mskcc/html/19743.cfm Accelerator In 1932, the invention of the cyclotron marked the start of modern particle physics. Butterflies, Tornadoes, and Time Travel

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Very few people are afraid can be a useful tool for manipu- of butterflies… but maybe lating chaotic systems. In fact, more should be. The movie The Shinbrot’s dissertation was part Butterfly Effect (which opened of an effort to learn how to make COUNCIL from page 1 in theaters nationwide on Janu- small adjustments to a chaotic ary 23) may not include any system to choose the system’s edged in publications, presentations, and performance appraisals. In nefarious insects, but it is outcome. particular, subordinates who have made significant contributions to based in part on a concept “NASA currently directs the concept, design, execution, or interpretation of a research study from chaos theory that suggests trajectories of spacecraft using should be afforded the opportunity of authorship of resulting publi- that something as subtle as the the butterfly effect,” says cations, consistent with APS Guidelines for Professional Conduct. flap of a butterfly’s wings in Shinbrot. “The first example that Supervisors and/or other senior scientists should not be listed on Brazil could trigger a tornado I know of was the International papers of subordinates unless they have also contributed significantly to in Texas. Cometary Explorer. They used the concept, design, execution or interpretation of the research study. The term “butterfly effect” the fact that the butterfly effect Mentoring of students, postdoctoral researchers, and employees was coined by meteorologist Shinbrot, the idea that small applies to trajectories in the so- with respect to intellectual development, professional and ethical Edward Lorenz, who discovered changes can lead to dramatically lar system. With tiny amounts of standards, and career guidance, is a core responsibility for supervi- in the 1960’s that tiny, butterfly- different outcomes is firmly rooted hydrazine fuel, they created little sors. Periodic communication of constructive performance appraisals scale changes to the starting in the physics of chaos theory, at puffs that steered the spacecraft is essential. point of his computer weather least for some systems. halfway across the solar system These guidelines apply equally for subordinates in permanent posi- models resulted in anything from “If you’re willing to suspend to meet up with comet Giacobini- tions and for those in temporary or visiting positions. sunny skies to violent storms— your disbelief long enough to Zinner That’s how they achieved with no way to predict in advance accept the possibility of time the first ever scientific cometary ✶✶✶ what the outcome might be. travel,” says Shinbrot, “then, yes, encounter.” In the movie The Butterfly the movie sounds like it has a In order to make use of the Statement on Referencing Guidelines Effect, actor Ashton Kutchner reasonably plausible premise, from butterfly effect, NASA scientists Authors have an obligation to their colleagues and the physics plays a man who has found a way a physics point of view.” must study highly accurate mod- community to include a set of references that communicates the to travel back in time to his youth. Shinbrot should know—his els of satellites in the solar system. precedents, sources, and context of the reported work. Proper refer- Each time he returns to his child- PhD dissertation at the University As for the adventures encing gives credit to those whose research has informed or led to hood, he makes minuscule of Maryland was based on Kutchner faces in The Butterfly the work in question, helps to avoid duplication of effort, and changes that radically alter his groundbreaking butterfly effect Effect, says Shinbrot, “If he had a increases the value of a paper by guiding the reader to related life in the present, inevitably lead- experiments. better model for the system that materials. It is the responsibility of authors to have surveyed prior ing to (you guessed it) terrifying Scriptwriters, it seems, have is his life, perhaps he could have work in the area and to include relevant references. results. found that the butterfly effect is a chosen better outcomes. But Proper and complete referencing is an essential part of any phys- Human time travel is a purely useful tool for establishing then the movie wouldn’t be very ics research publication. Deliberate omission of a pertinent author fictional concept, but according dramatic tension. interesting.” or reference is unethical and unacceptable. to Rutgers biophysicist Troy For scientists like Shinbrot, it —Adapted from Physicscentral.com 8 June 2004 NEWS The Back Page Science, Government, and the Public Interest By Harold Varmus

The relationship between science ability of government funds. It is cent report from the Council of use. In crucial situations, this can and government has not always essential that the national treasury Graduate Schools: a decline this produce important mistakes with been as richly textured as it is now. be equipped to sustain the vitality year of about one-third in disastrous consequences—even Historically, science, like philosophy of American science. The darkest applications for graduate training, well beyond the usual confines of and the arts, was generally either cloud on the horizon of the mar- especially from China, Korea, India science, as in trying to find “weap- pursued as an avocation by the riage of government and science is and several other countries. ons of mass destruction” that we wealthy or financed by wealthy the rapidly growing budget defi- Certainly, the scientific community know must exist in “evil” countries, patrons, who might or might not also cit—a product of expanding costs has a responsibility to recognize rather than looking for evidence have political power. More recently, of mandatory programs, an expen- legitimate concerns about terrorism; that they do. the patron was often one of the new sive war in Iraq, and dramatic they will and should have an effect Arguments based on the con- Harold Varmus philanthropic foundations. Follow- reductions in revenues by ill-timed on procedures and policies that gov- tention that spending tax dollars based on several things—the ing the industrial revolution, as tax cuts. In an amazingly rich coun- ern travel and immigration. But the to do certain research might belief that science can improve commerce learned to use the fruits try like ours, with an annual gross government must formulate a rea- offend the sensibilities or beliefs of lives in those countries; the fact of science in the 19th and 20th cen- product of about $10 trillion, it sonable defense; fears of terrorism taxpayers, threaten to replace that the opportunities to become turies, increasing levels of support would seem a simple matter to have must not be allowed to erode our another kind of moral argument a scientist are severely limited also came from the industrial sector, enough set aside to insure that all ability to attract talent to our shores. based on the idea that spending tax there; the desire to counter the often with the intention of produc- the major sciences are growing at dollars to do certain research might damage we are doing to our inter- ing something of value to the the kinds of rates we consider 3. Independence of Peer Review produce benefits, especially health national reputation for beneficent investor, not necessarily knowledge healthy for other components of our The contract between govern- benefits, for many diverse people leadership by our actions in Iraq for the general public. economy. This is especially so when ment and science has worked well in in our complex society. and elsewhere; and the experience The extraordinary characteristic leading economists agree that pub- the US in large part because the sci- Consider two examples: The of seeing American dollars for sci- of governmental involvement in sci- lic investments in science have a rate entific community has made an strong tilt in this Administration ence at work in one of the poorest ence is its most prominent purpose: of return unmatched in any other enormous commitment to police the towards abstinence programs and places in the world, Bamako, Mali. to create knowledge that advances area. But the Federal deficit that quality of grants that are awarded and away from more realistic programs There, efforts by USAID and NIAID public welfare. To achieve this goal, now yawns before us threatens es- papers that are published in leading that use contraceptive devises, like have created a strong Center for science and government need to be sentially all sciences with not just journals through expert peer review. condoms, to prevent the spread of Malaria Research and Training that mutually supportive. In its simplest an absence of growth, but possibly We in the scientific community HIV and other sexually transmit- is a source of local health improve- form, the government pays scientists a reduction in support over the next assume that the near-sanctity of peer ted agents, here and even abroad. ments, recruitments of Malians to to make discoveries that lead among several years. It is time to reassert review is widely accepted. But peer And, second, the policies that now medical science, national pride, other things to practical inventions, the depth of our relationship and to review is fragile. Two things threaten govern stem cell and human and internationally respected sci- economic prosperity, and better redefine its fiscal requirements, con- it. One is a decline in funding that embryo research, that give heavy ence. We need more Bamako’s. health—all of which are in the pub- tinuing to reward accomplishment can lower success rates to the point weight to the moral rights of a tiny lic interest. The relationship depends and preserve competition, while at which the review mechanism can- cluster of undifferentiated cells at 6. Disseminating Scientific on trust between the two parties and providing stability. not make credible decisions between the expense of full fledged adult Knowledge allegiance to rules that are often what should and should not be sup- citizens who could benefit from Our government is spending unspoken and not legislated, but 2. Immigration Practices ported. In this situation, review such research. These policies are billions of the public’s tax dollars worth trying to state here. The availability of long term criteria are corrupted—innovation now driving most of this work to to generate knowledge meant to To get what it needs and wants resources for the scientific enter- gives way to mere feasibility—and the private sector, to a few wealthy be public goods. Yet the scientific from scientists, the government prise is among the factors older established scientists are given non-profit institutions, and, most community has not done as much needs to ensure reasonable levels required to insure a steady supply opportunities that belong to younger troubling for our nation’s future in as is now possible to optimize the of financial support for scientific of new talent for science in the untested ones. science, to new players like South dissemination, storage, retrieval, work; organize agencies that can public domain. A second factor The other threat is more immedi- Korea or to our traditional com- and use of that knowledge. The deploy the funds in a fair, equitable, is the training environment—the ate and more distressing: an effort to petitors like Great Britain. government has an obvious vested and productive fashion; pay atten- schools and universities and lab- undermine peer review through This is not an argument to deny interest, on behalf of its citizens, tion to the supply of scientific based programs that we use to poorly informed political action. On ethical considerations their role in to see this happen. But too it has workers; observe sympathetically interest students in science and to July 11, 2003, Rep. Toomey of Penn- deciding how to conduct govern- not yet moved vigorously to en- the physical and functional com- teach them to become good sci- sylvania rose on the floor of the ment-supported science. But this courage the use of its own ponents of the scientific entists. We continue to do a good House of Representatives to propose role needs to be exercised in the technology—the Internet—to infrastructure; listen to the advice job in biology and computer sci- an unusual amendment to the NIH context of a balanced, non-doctri- make the work it pays for immedi- scientists offer to the government ence, but we don’t do so well in spending bill: four NIH grants would naire approach in which the ethical ately and freely available to on many issues; and exercise wise engineering, physics, and math- be stripped of their funds because consequences of research are also everyone, everywhere, stored in oversight—neither careless nor ematics. And test scores show that he had determined from the abstracts fully considered for application in and retrieved from digital libraries. draconian—of the agencies and we are mediocre in teaching the that they were inappropriate for an increasingly pluralistic society. This dream of freely accessible pub- institutions that spend public scientifically ungifted or the disin- funding. Fortunately, the allies of sci- lic knowledge has been around for money, keeping an eye on clined, those who eventually ence came to our aid, and the 5. Globalizing Science a long time, long before the digital priorities, on the distribution and become the general public. Toomey Amendment was defeated— The US government generally age. In 1836, the head of the Brit- use of scientific findings, and on The third factor is our capacity but by a mere two votes. understands its role as the major ish Library said: “I want a poor scientific integrity and fiscal to attract talented and ambitious This worrisome episode tells us supporter of the scientific work that student to have the same means of accountability. young scientists from abroad. that there is a festering wound in benefits our citizens and our indulging his learned curiosity, of In turn, the scientific community Enlightened immigration is a long- the relationship of science and gov- economy. But it has been slower to following his rational pursuits, of needs to honor the government’s standing source of both pride and ernment. We as scientists and the understand the global impact of the consulting the same authorities, of fiscal commitment. This is achieved outstanding scientists. (Bruce science agencies need to describe public goods that science generates fathoming the most intricate in- by individuals and their institutions Alberts reported in his annual our review processes with greater and the beneficial effects of US sup- quiry as the richest man in the through the hard work of doing sci- Presidential Address to the NAS clarity and in wider venues to port for science in other countries, kingdom.” We now have the tech- ence; communication of research this year that fully a quarter of cur- insure an appreciation of them. including the poorest countries. We nical tools to make this findings; the education and training rent members of the NAS were now achieve our best effects inter- vision a reality. [Ed. note: Informa- of new scientists; the pursuit of use- born abroad.) But there are signs 4. Separating Religion and Science nationally by training foreigners who tion about open access publication in ful applications of new knowledge; that practices affecting visas for The quality of science in the US return home and also by permitting biology and medicine can be found at an enthusiasm for providing non- students and scientific visitors depends substantially on our his- widespread use of knowledge that www.plos.org]. partisan advice about scientific have recently veered out of bal- tory as a basically secular country. we produce here and place in the Since the end of World War II, knowledge that informs policy mak- ance. The GAO reported last year Yet, ironically, as recent immigration public domain. But I envision a much the US government has forged a ing; and a willingness to be subjected that the average time for issuing trends have made our country more extensive program with more remarkable partnership with the to competitive review by peers and visas is longer than two months, much more diverse culturally, eth- expansive goals. I believe that we can US scientific community. This is to administrative and legislative over- although the State Department nically, and spiritually, we have not “globalize science” in a way that both the best and worst of times sight by government. has claimed that visa delays have become more securely secular. builds sounder societies, links scien- for this partnership. We continue been reduced recently in response Instead, an increasingly dogmatic tific communities, and produces to lead the world in scientific dis- 1. Financing Research to such complaints. Still, students faith-based element has invaded knowledge with regional or covery, our research universities At this time in our history, the and postdoctoral fellows report government and politics, undermin- national, as well as world-wide, are still unmatched in other coun- vast majority of scientific work per- treatment that is annoying, insult- ing the evidence-based approaches importance. tries, new findings and new formed in academia and government ing, and humiliating. One possible to problems that most scientists My enthusiasm for building sci- technologies are bringing different is absolutely dependent on the avail- consequence is described in a re- would like their governments to ence in the developing world is See BACK PAGE on page 7

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