June 2011 Volume 20, No. 6 TM www.aps.org/publications/apsnews

Still Time to Vote APS NEWS in APS Election A Publication of the American Physical Society • www.aps.org/publications/apsnews See Page 6

New Topical Group on Climate Actively Seeks Members New APS Online Journal Issues Call for Papers At its meeting on April 29, APS “The group is going to focus on that bring the physics out in a ma- APS is now accepting physics papers added as they work their Council voted to establish the new the science of climate and climate jor way.” papers for its new online, open way through the peer-review Topical Group on the Physics of change as opposed to the politics Understanding climate change access peer-reviewed journal, process. A table of contents list- Climate. The group’s organizers or policies, which its charter says is rooted in understanding the Physical Review X. Its editors ing the accepted articles will be hope to reach out to the phys- specifically not to do,” said orga- physics behind it. Many of the have issued a general announce- emailed out quarterly at first, then ics community to draw in a wide nizing committee member Brad biggest questions facing clima- ment to all physicists and institu- more frequently as more papers swath of expertise to address cli- Marston of Brown University. tologists have to do with under- tions, calling for are accepted to the mate issues. The group is now ac- “It’s a very rich and complex area standing the physical principles submissions. journal. tively recruiting members, and the of science.” of atmospheric thermodynamics, “PRX is a new In some ways organizers hope to set up a website Organizing committee mem- radiant solar energy, the fluid dy- journal from the PRX is modeled af- and newsletter soon and begin or- bers emphasized the need to keep namics of oceans and the like. APS. It’s looking ter APS’s flagship ganizing sessions at meetings. the focus on unbiased science rath- “There are a number of ways to publish excel- publication, Physi- According to the group’s er than politics and partisanship. that physicists can contribute to lent, high quality cal Review Letters. founding documents, its purview Council member Robert Austin of a better understanding of climate papers in all areas “It also covers all of encompasses all research related Princeton has pushed hard to get and climate change,” Marston of physics and re- physics,” said Jorge to the advancement and diffusion the group established, and to keep said. “Theorists can contribute lated topics,” said Pullin, who is the of the physics of climate. This in- ideology from dictating the direc- by bringing in ideas from sta- Dan Kulp, editori- Founding Editor of cludes the measuring and model- tion of the group’s work. tistical physics…computational al director at APS. PRX, and Hearne ing of climate processes as well “You’ll get an unbiased view- physicists can bring in expertise, The first issue of PRX is ex- Chair of Theoretical Physics and as what physical effects climate point,” Austin said, “where you for example, for developing new pected to be published online in Professor at Louisiana State Uni- change might have on the planet. can find clearly written articles GROUP continued on page 4 September of this year, with new JOURNAL continued on page 7 Assessment Casts Doubt on Utility Physics Contributes to New Medical Imaging Technique By Calla Cofield her work. to specific types of cancer cells. of Direct Air Capture of CO2 Stanford University physics One of the biggest goals of When the isotopes decay, they APS Panel on Public Affairs sorbs carbon dioxide and prepares graduate student Nicole Acker- modern cancer research is to de- produce gamma rays that signal (POPA) recently released an as- it for sequestration. Some experts man spent the first three years of velop better imaging techniques. the presence and location of those sessment that casts doubt on the claim that constructing large air her graduate career studying neu- Imaging is key to early diagnosis, cancer cells. feasibility of removing carbon di- capture facilities might be used to trinos. Now she’s working in the effective treatment, and finding In 2009, scientists in Cam- oxide from the atmosphere. combat climate change by remov- radiation oncology department, cancer cells that have metasta- bridge, Massachusetts published The study, titled “Direct Air ing excess carbon dioxide from investigating the use of Cheren- sized. Many medical imaging a proof of concept paper dem- Capture of CO with Chemicals: Earth’s atmosphere. techniques rely on nuclear and onstrating that radioactive iso- 2 kov radiation in medical imaging. A Technology Assessment” found “We believed it was a timely is- “I’m still simulating particles particle physics principles, and topes used in medical imaging that using current technology, ex- sue with a lot of technical aspects interacting with matter,” said yet, says Ackerman, many of the will cause water-dense tissue to tracting carbon dioxide from the to it and it deserved a closer look Ackerman. “They are just in mice biologists working with those emit optical Cherenkov radiation. atmosphere would be significantly from physicists,” said Francis now instead of in a detector.” techniques don’t understand the In materials the speed of light is more difficult and expensive than Slakey, APS associate director of At the 2011 APS April Meet- physics behind them. lower than in a vacuum, and high reducing carbon emissions. public affairs. ing in Anaheim, California, Ack- In positron emission tomog- energy particles may emit Cher- Direct air capture, or DAC, re- The assessment put forth by erman delivered a general session raphy, or PET, positron-emitting enkov radiation when they travel fers to technologies where air is POPA said that because of the talk and spoke to reporters about radioactive isotopes are attached faster than the photons. Radioiso- circulated over a chemical, or a tremendous engineering and tech- to molecules designed to bind IMAGING continued on page 6 collection of chemicals, that ab- ASSESSMENT continued on page 5 Five Funded Sites Join APS April Meeting Prize and Award Recipients Teacher Education Project By Gabriel Popkin proposing teams. The review panel The Physics Teacher Education included representatives of APS Coalition (PhysTEC) project re- and the American Association of cently announced it would provide Physics Teachers (AAPT), which funding for five universities to de- jointly lead the project, as well as velop their physics teacher educa- external reviewers. tion programs. The new awardees The new awardees will begin are Boston University; California major project activities in Fall State University, San Marcos; State 2011 and will receive funding for University of New York at Geneseo three years. They will join the eigh- (SUNY Geneseo); Virginia Poly- teen institutions that have already technic Institute and State Univer- received awards from the project sity (Virginia Tech); and Wright since it began in 2001. According State University in Dayton, Ohio. to data collected by the project, The winning institutions were most of these institutions have selected during a two-stage review made significant gains in the num- ber of high school physics teachers process that began with a pool of 70 Photo by Kevin Roznowski applicants. Proposals were evaluat- graduating from their programs. ed on a number of criteria, includ- PhysTEC sites are expected to in- At the ceremonial session at the APS April Meeting in Anaheim, the pictured individuals received prizes and awards ing sites’ ability to develop their crease teacher recruiting efforts; from APS President Barry Barish. They are, seated (l to r): Douglas Bryman, Laurence Littenberg, M. Granger Morgan, Huichao Song, Lawrence Badar, Jonathan Jarvis, Noemie Benczer Koller. Standing, middle row (l to r): Miguel Jose programs into national models, the hire master teachers to work within physics departments; develop early Yacaman, Chris Quigg (slightly to the rear), Kenneth Lane (slightly to the front), Estia Eichten, Ian Hinchliffe, Richard F. strength of departmental and insti- Casten, John F. Ahearne, Silvan S. Schweber, George Amann, James Nelson, Robert Beck Clark. Standing, back row tutional support for teacher prepa- teaching experiences; revamp con- (l to r): Michael Romalis, James M. Stone, A. J. Stewart Smith, Ezra Ted Newman, Christopher J. Pethick, Janet Seger, ration efforts, and the experience tent and pedagogy courses; im- Matthew Luzum, Jan Mader, Karen Jo Matsler. More information about these recipients is available on the web pages for the individual prizes and awards at www.aps.org/programs/honors . and commitment shown by the SITES continued on page 6 2 • June 2011 APS NEWS

This Month in Physics History June 1941: Hedy Lamarr and George Antheil “We will not discover dark a leaked memo by Sau Lan Wu’s submit patent for radio frequency hopping matter today…We will be doing team at CERN which hints at a ans of classic film know the name Hedy Lamarr columnist and author of a book about romance and this again and again.” possible detection of the Higgs for her memorable performances in Algiers, endocrinology. Elena Aprile, Columbia Uni- boson, FoxNews.com, April 25, F H.M. Pulham Esq., and Ziegfeld Girl, among oth- Legend has it that Lamarr approached him for en- versity, after an initial null result 2011. ers. But the actress also made a small contribution docrinological advice, but the two soon began chat- from the XENON Dark Matter to wartime technology with her co-invention of an ting about weapons, particularly radio-controlled Project in Gran Sasso, Italy, The ‘’Our society squanders vast early form of spread spectrum communication tech- torpedoes and how to protect them from jamming New York Times, April 13, 2011. sums on trivia and entertainment, nology, in which a noise-like signal is transmitted on or interference. She realized that “we’re talking and yet cannot find some small change a much-larger bandwidth than the frequency of the changing frequencies” all the time, and that a con- “We’re very, very close… We to address the burning issue of original information. It is a staple today in modern stantly changing frequency is much harder to jam. can’t say for sure how long it is whether we are alone in the uni- wireless communications. This became the basis for their design for a tor- going to take to get there. My best verse.’’ Born in November 1914 as Hedwig Eva Maria pedo guidance system. Lamarr contributed the idea guess is four years, maybe five.” Paul Davies, Arizona State Kiesler in Vienna, Austria, Lamarr studied ballet and of frequency hopping, while Antheil drew on his Edward Stone, Caltech, on the University, on the shuttering of piano as a child and attending a famed experience with “Ballet Mécanique” Voyager 1 spacecraft approaching SETI’s new telescope array be- acting school in Berlin headed by di- and the sixteen player pianos to devise the edge of the solar system, The cause of budget constraints, The rector Max Reinhardt. She dropped out a means of synchronizing the rapidly Ottawa Citizen, April 21, 2011 Sydney Morning Herald, April 28, of school to be Reinhardt’s production changing radio frequencies envisioned 2011. assistant and had bit parts in two films by Lamarr. Their joint invention used “It is actually quite illegitimate before starring in a Czech film called a mechanism similar to piano player and unscientific to talk publicly “I think the AMS will be a Ecstasy–shocking for the era because rolls to synchronize the changes be- about internal collaboration mate- great uplift for American particle Lamarr appeared nude on screen. tween the 88 frequencies–not coin- rial before it is approved… So this physics.” Lamarr leveraged her beauty and cidentally, this is also the standard ‘result’ is not a result until the col- Ulrich Becker, Massachu- notoriety into marriage just before number of piano keys–and called for a laboration officially releases it.” setts Institute of Technology, on she turned 20, to a man 30 years her high-altitude observation plane to steer Sheldon Stone, Syracuse Uni- the launch of the Alpha Magnetic senior: Friedrich Mandl, an arms mer- Hedy Lamarr a radio-controlled torpedo from above. versity, on the leaked memo hint- Spectrometer on board the Space chant based in Vienna who sold muni- They submitted their patent on June ing at the detection of the Higgs Shuttle Endeavour, Washington tions and manufactured military air- 10, 1941, and the patent was granted boson, MSNBC.com, April 22, Post, Apri1 28, 2011. craft. Mandl forbade her to continue on August 11, 1942. Lamarr was list- 2011. acting. Instead, Lamarr presided over ed under “Hedy Kiesler Markey,” her “In the last 30 years, [physi- her husband’s lavish parties, attended married name at the time. “Don’t worry, Higgs boson! cists] were trying to make our by Hitler and Mussolini among others, It was not an entirely new concept. I would never spread scurrilous theories more complicated by and was often present at his business Nikola Tesla alluded to frequency rumors about you. Unlike some introducing more particles, more meetings. As a result, despite her lack hopping in 1900 and 1903 patents. people.” dimensions… We decided to go of formal education, Lamarr acquired a A similar patent for a “secrecy com- Sean Carroll, Caltech, on the the other way and make theories great deal of knowledge about military munications system” was granted in leaked memo hinting at the detec- less complicated in the high en- technology, most notably guided tor- 1920, with additional patents granted tion of the Higgs boson, MSNBC. ergy realm. At high energy [in the pedoes and the vulnerability of radio- in 1939 and 1940 to two German en- com, April 22, 2011. early universe], we are changing controlled weapons to jamming and gineers. And evidence came to light in the background on which the stan- interference. the 1980s that during World War II, the “We’ve got 3,000 physicists dard model of particle physics is Disillusioned with married life– especially her US Army Signal Corps worked on a communica- spread across the world. Every- formulated. In 1-D, the problem husband’s controlling behavior and dealings with tion system that used the spread spectrum concept one’s working away, trying to find greatly simplifies.” Nazi industrialists–Lamarr disguised herself as one as well. something new. Every day, there’s Dejan Stojkovic, University of of her maids and escaped to Paris in 1937, where she Lamarr and Antheil had less success convincing bound to be someone around the Buffalo, MSNBC.com, April 28, obtained a divorce from Mandl. (She would marry others their idea was feasible. The US Navy felt the world who thinks they’ve got 2011. five more times before giving up on the institution.) clockwork mechanism was too bulky and unreli- something… There’s nothing After she met Louis B. Mayer in London, he signed able to use with a torpedo. It wasn’t until 1957 that anybody in the collaboration can “What we are learning by com- her to MGM as Hedy Lamarr. In a town filled with engineers at Sylvania Electronic Systems Division or should be saying about this par- paring the new materials with stunning women, Lamarr stood out. Actor George adopted the concept, using the recently invented ticular rumour.” the older ones is that these quasi- Sanders once said that she was “so beautiful that transistor for an electronic system. Robert Orr, University of To- localized spins and the interac- everybody would stop talking when she came into Antheil died in 1959. As for Lamarr, she went on ronto, on the leaked memo hint- tions among them are crucial for a room.” to make more than 20 more films, most famously ing at the detection of the Higgs superconductivity, and that’s a But Lamarr was more than just a pretty face: she Cecil B. de Mille’s 1949 Samson and Delilah. La- boson, The Globe and Mail, April lesson that can be potentially ap- had a natural mathematical ability and lifelong love marr has a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame in 24, 2011. plied to tell experimentalists what of tinkering with ideas for inventions. One of those honor of her film career, but she took particular sat- is good for raising the transition ideas bore fruit when she met her Hollywood neigh- isfaction in being awarded the Electronic Frontier “She didn’t just happen on this, temperature in new families of bor, avant garde composer George Antheil, in the Foundation Award in 1998, more than 50 years after she’s been pushing hard on the compounds.” summer of 1940. she and Antheil received their patent. data sets and pushing to under- Jian-Xin Zhu, Los Alamos Na- Born in New Jersey to Prussian emigrants, An- Lamarr died on January 19, 2000, in her Florida stand the simulations for quite a tional Laboratory, U.S. News and theil studied music in Philadelphia and toured Eu- home. She will likely always be remembered more while.” World Report, May 5, 2011. rope as a concert pianist, before turning his hand to for her spectacular beauty than for her technologi- Robert Roser, Fermilab, on MEMBERS continued on page 7 composing. His signature piece was called “Ballet cal contributions, which are usually treated as an CORRECTION Mécanique,” a complicated score originally writ- intriguing footnote. “My face has been my misfor- ten for Fernand Léger’s 1924 abstract film of the tune,” she once observed, describing it as “a mask I In the May Members in the Media column, APS News incorrectly identi- fied the author of a quote from the LA Times. The identification should same name. It called for mechanically synchroniz- cannot remove. I must live with it. I curse it.” have been: “Mark Kruse, Duke University, a member of the team at ing sixteen player pianos, as well as xylophones and Further Reading Fermilab that detected the unexpected anomaly in the Tevatron’s percussion. He returned to the US in 1933 to com- Shearer, Stephen. Beautiful: The Life of Hedy La- data.” APS News regrets the error. pose for film, and also became a syndicated advice marr. New York: St. Martins Press, 2010.

Series II, Vol. 20, No. 06 and, if possible, include a mailing label from a recent is- General Councillors ADVISORS June 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 Henry van Driel, 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 Venkatesh Narayamurti 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 June 2011 • 3

Washington Dispatch A Long and Distinguished Career

A bimonthly update from the APS Office of Public Affairs Maurice Goldhaber, shown here in a photo from 2003, turned 100 years old this year on April 18, and died on May ISSUE: Budget and Authorization Environment 11 as APS News was going to press. He served as APS President in 1982, one Fiscal Year 2011 and Fiscal Year 2012 of many accomplishments over a long In the last edition of the Dispatch, we reported that Congress was and distinguished career. He was Direc- working on a short-term Continuing Resolution (CR) to fund the tor of Brookhaven National Laboratory th government through April 8 . The CR (P.L. 112-6), which Congress from 1961 to 1973, and received the Na- passed in the middle of March, contained funding reductions acceptable tional Medal of Science in 1983, as well to both political parties. With neither side willing to compromise further, as the APS Tom Bonner Prize in 1971 the stage was set for a potential government shutdown over the final and many other awards. Goldhaber was Fiscal Year 2011 budget. A last minute agreement between the White also the senior member of an extensive House and the House Republican leadership, struck on the night of family in physics. His late brother, Ger- April 8th, averted the shutdown and restored most of the draconian son, was professor of physics at Berke- science cuts contained in the original House bill. The agreement (Public ley for many years, and his son, Alfred, Law 112-10) settled federal spending for the remainder of Fiscal Year is professor of physics at Stony Brook. Both Maurice's wife, Gertrude, and Ger- 2011. A summary of the science appropriations follows, with percentage son's first wife, Sulamith, were nuclear increases or decreases shown relative to FY 2010. physicists, and Maurice's grandson, Da- - DOD 6.1: $1.95 B, +3.7% vid Goldhaber-Gordon, is a professor at - DOE Office of Science: $4.89 B, +1.2%* Stanford in condensed-matter physics. - DOE EERE: $1.84 B, -5.6%* Photo courtesy of Alfred Scharff Goldhaber - DOE ARPA-E: $0.18 B† - NASA Science: $4.94 B, +10.0%. - NIH: $30.75 B, -0.8%. - NIST STRS: $0.578 B, +0.1%* Quasars Help Researchers See in 3-D - NIST CRF: $0.070 B, -30.0%* By Michael Lucibella - NIST TIP: $0.045 B, -35.7%. - NSF Total: $6.81 B, -0.9%. Researchers with the third - NSF R&RA: $5.52 B, -0.7%. Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic - NSF MREFC: $0.117 B, 0.0%. Survey (BOSS) have released the - NSF EHR: $0.863, -1.1%. first peek at the largest assembled * With FY 2010 earmarks removed three-dimensional map of the cos- † No dedicated program funding in FY 2010 mos. As announced at the APS April Meeting in Anaheim, sci- Although science escaped crippling reductions for the current fiscal entists combined the spectra of year, major increases planned for future years are off the table, at least over 14,000 quasars to map the for now. In striking the FY 2011 compromise, the White House stated, location of clouds of hydrogen in “Even though we will no longer double the funding of key research and the distant universe. The map pro- development agencies, you will still see strong investments in NIST, NSF and the Office of Science.” What the Administration means by vides the most complete picture “strong investments” is unclear. Although the President’s FY 2012 of galaxies forming in the distant The third Sloan Digital Sky Survey mapped the red shifts of both nearby galaxies budget request treats science generously, it reflects funding plans that past, and could shed light on the and distant quasars to create the most complete three dimensional map of the predate the FY 2011 accord. It is highly unlikely that final appropriations nature of dark energy. universe. will in any way resemble the White House proposals. With fiscal “The new thing is that we use in Antarctica and how many thin ies and quasars first clumped to- conservatives holding the upper hand in the House, FY 2012 is shaping it to map the universe in three di- cross sections can combine to gether in areas of higher densities up as even more difficult than FY 2011. mensions,” said Anže Slosar of form a three dimensional picture. left over from when the universe Brookhaven National Laboratory. Be sure to check the APS Washington Office’s Blog, Physics Frontline Up to now, galaxies have general- was a mass of hot matter. Vibra- “This is the first time we have (http://physicsfrontline.aps.org/), for the latest news on the FY12 ly been used to map spectral lines, tions in the hot primordial soup of Budgets. dense enough regions of qua- but quasars have proved ideal be- the cosmos created denser regions sars…to combine them.” cause of their luminosity. of matter that formed galaxies ISSUE: POPA Reports The team created the map us- The team took their data at the and quasars when they cooled. By ing two different methods. The Sloan Telescope at Apache Point looking at the patterns of where The Direct Air Capture Technology Assessment was approved at the first is an established technique Observatory in New Mexico. galaxies formed, BOSS’s map can April Executive Board Meeting and was publicly released in May. For a that looks at the redshifts to de- copy of the Assessment, please visit http://www.aps.org/policy/reports/ The telescope they used offers help researchers better understand termine the recession velocities of a unique opportunity to map the the oscillations of matter only a popa-reports/loader.cfm?csModule=security/getfile&PageID=244407. galaxies. night sky because of its wide field few thousand years after the Big To obtain information about Representative Randy Hultgren (R-14th IL) introduced legislation in of view. Bang. the very early universe, right when the U.S. House of Representatives in early May, written in response to To measure the spectral lines, There’s a large gap in the sur- galaxies were starting to form, the the recommendations put forth in the POPA Energy Critical Elements the team blocked out much of vey’s ability to map the distant, team used a second technique for Report. the night sky with flat aluminum ancient universe. Nearby galax- measuring the spectral lines of plates the size of a coffee table. At ies up to about seven billion light At its next meeting, POPA will consider creating an educational quasars. As light passes through precise points, corresponding to years away are easily observed component associated with the Direct Air Capture Technology interstellar hydrogen, specific where in the sky they were look- using established methods to Assessment. The POPA National Security Subcommittee will discuss wavelengths of light get absorbed ing, the team drilled small holes measure their red shifts. Starting a a possible workshop related to nuclear weapons issues. The POPA and leave a distinct spectral signa- Energy & Environment Subcommittee will ask members to consider in the plates to let in the light of little bit more than ten billion light ture. As light travels through the a follow-on activity stemming from the Electric Grid Study dealing known quasars. They plugged in years away, BOSS is able to start vast intergalactic distances that with integrating demand-side management on the electricity grid. optical fibers into these holes, and taking the red-shifted data from separate Earth from the distant Members will also consider a possible addition to the APS Guidelines ran the light through a diffraction distant quasars. for Professional Conduct. quasars, its missing spectral lines shift down to lower energies. grating to get the quasar’s spectra. “This technology does not If you have suggestions for a POPA study, please send in your ideas “It’s like looking at the moon Each exposure involved about one work [for] low red-shifts,” Slosar electronically at http://www.aps.org/policy/reports/popa-reports/ through clouds. You can see the thousand targets, and even with said. suggestions/index.cfm. shapes of the clouds by the moon- the telescope’s wide field of view, The researchers hope that the light that they block,” Slosar said. thousands of exposures were used next generation survey, BigBOSS, ISSUE: Media Update When the light from the qua- to assemble the map. can fill in some of the missing sar is broken into its constituent “We’re mapping out a mil- sections on the map. They hope to The New York Times, UPI and TechnewsDaily are among the many lion and a half galaxies between further study the expansion of the media organizations that recently published stories on the newly wavelengths, hydrogen absorp- tion lines appear throughout the us and out a couple billion light universe, especially around five to released POPA assessment, Direct Air Capture of CO2 with Chemicals. The assessment, released May 10th, concluded that Direct Air Capture low energy wavelengths. Each years,” said David Schlegel of six billion years ago when it’s be- Berkeley National Labs and prin- lieved the mysterious dark energy would play a very limited role in a coherent CO2 mitigation strategy for line corresponds to a cloud of many decades. hydrogen between Earth and the cipal investigator on BOSS. first started to manifest itself. original quasar. The researchers Slosar said that this prelimi- “The problem with BOSS is In other media news, The Republic in Lead, S.D., published a story on can determine how far away the nary result using data from the it doesn’t map enough. It’s only th May 9 about the importance of funding DUSEL–the proposed deep cloud is by looking at how red- first year of BOSS’s five-year run mapping out some fraction of the underground science and engineering lab. The piece pointed out that if shifted each spectral line is. demonstrated a proof of concept, way across the universe and that the US wants to remain competitive in a global economy, it must make and the team plans to continue to happens to be less than one per- scientific research a priority. Each quasar offers essentially a one-dimensional map of the hy- study as many as 160,000 quasars cent of the volume of the visible Log on to the APS Public Affairs web page (http:// drogen in the universe. When data to put together a more complete universe,” Schlegel said. “We can www.aps.org/public_affairs) for more information. from the 14,000 quasars in the map of the universe. learn more the more we map so survey are combined, the shape Already the information is the goal is really to map as much of the distant universe begins leading to insights about how mat- of that volume that we can, and to emerge. Slosar compared the ter first formed in the primordial that’s what we’re designing this quasar’s light to ice cores taken universe. Matter like stars, galax- BigBOSS project for.” 4 • June 2011 APS NEWS

Eakins Paints Rowland. Questions Abound. The “This Month in Physics In the painting, done after about who was supposedly committed Letters History” column in the April APS two weeks of sketching Rowland to a “scientific” form of painting, Readers interested in submitting a letter to APS News should News on Henry Rowland com- at his summer home on Mount know that this was an error? If email [email protected]. ments that “Rowland’s name be- Desert Island in Maine and a brief so, did he consciously assume the came so strongly associated with visit to Rowland’s Johns Hopkins prerogative of “artistic license”? Peer Review Weeds Out Good Ideas diffraction gratings that one is fea- laboratory, Rowland is shown Why? Did Rowland see the final Having read in the April 2011 Peer review does not serve us tured in his official 1897 portrait seated in front of his ruling engine painting (there is no evidence that APS News the perceptive letter by well today. Barish’s claim was by artist Thomas Eakins.” There and holding “a card [grating?] in- he did)? If so, and presumably Alexander Abashian and the reply partially true in the early fifties is a scientific curiosity in this im- scribed with the spectrum lines of recognizing the error, did he ask by APS president Barry Barish, when program managers had pressive (~7x5 foot) painting, con- solar light cast by his diffraction Eakins to change it? and did Ea- I strongly agree with Abashian wide discretion, as was then true sidered by many critics to be “the grating” (Kirkpatrick). The curios- kins refuse? I have not found that that the most pressing issue fac- at ONR, but when I was a visit- finest example of Eakins’ later ity (I have seen the original paint- art historians are interested in an- ing the physics/astrophysics com- ing NSF program director in the paintings” (Sidney D. Kirkpatrick, ing) is that the sequence of colors swers to such questions. munity is not “research funding” early eighties, the culture had de- The Revenge of Thomas Eakins, in the spectrum is yellow-orange- but “originality and excellence of generated so that managers were Yale University Press, 2006, p. red-green-blue-indigo-violet! Samuel Krimm ideas.” More contact with mem- required to get many opinions and 431) Questions abound. Did Eakins, Ann Arbor, MI bers of Congress probably will had to decide by counting which produce “pork,” “earmarks” and was greater, the yeses or noes. Willa Cather Mentions Rowland millions of dollars wasted. Bar- There’s a nice literary reference strongly urged him to accept the I have long recommended this ish argues “we certainly don’t Abashian is correct when he says approaching new members to Rowland in Willa Cather’s “The latter. One evening when the fam- book for its insights into academic lack for good ideas.” But the fact Professor's House.” ily were discussing Tom’s pros- is that our peer review system of Congress is counterproductive life, and for the memorable writ- to getting the best research sup- After Tom’s graduation, two pects, the Professor summed up all ing about the South-West. weeds many of them out, unless courses were open to him. He was the reasons why he ought to go to ported. I tried to find out if Cather knew the author is at a very top-level offered an instructorship, with a Baltimore and work in the labora- university. Europe suffers far less small salary, in the Physics de- tory made famous by Dr. Rowland. Rowland, but without success. from this disease. Hence the LHC Howard David Greyber partment under Dr. Crane, and He assured him, moreover, that he is rightly located at CERN. San Jose, CA a graduate scholarship at Johns would find the atmosphere of an Leonard Finegold Clinton Administration Also Responsible Hopkins University. St. Peter old Southern city delightful. Philadelphia, PA for SSC Termination Rowland Grating Played Key Role in Quantum History The Viewpoint in the May termination. The termination of I read the article about Henry tory price for the concave mirror. with Ernst Back, ortho- and para- APS News, entitled “Another SSC the SSC ended the future of ex- Rowland in the April APS News Subsequently, the diffraction grat- helium, the fine structure of He+, Moment?”, states that Congress perimental high energy physics in with great interest. To this I would ing in Tuebingen became world and the precision measurement terminated the Superconducting the United States. like to add the following: famous because of the research re- of the Rydberg constant. Starting Supercollider (SSC). This was In 1903, Friedrich Paschen sults of Paschen and his students. from the experimental data origi- under President Bill Clinton’s ad- John Maloney at the University of Tuebingen From 1912 until about 1930, nating from the Rowland grating ministration, which did not favor Olympia, WA gained access to one of the best Paschen’s spectroscopy laboratory in Paschen’s laboratory, Arnold the SSC and which helped in its Rowland concave diffraction grat- in Tuebingen obtained important Sommerfeld developed his quan- Old Bulls Don’t Deserve Respect ings for his research. Paschen had results for the development of tum theory of the structure of at- accepted the appointment as Or- atomic and quantum physics: the oms. Michael Lubell in his May “In- the “old bulls” (most of whom are dinarius of Physics at Tuebingen Paschen series in the hydrogen side the Beltway” column says old bulls because they represent in 1901. The diffraction grating spectrum, the Paschen-Back ef- Rudolf Huebener that “Republican freshmen ... non-competitive districts any- had been given to him at the fac- fect discovered in 1912 together Tuebingen, Germany have shaken the foundations of way). The last time the Republi- Congressional decorum.” He adds cans were in control of Congress GROUP continued from page 1 that “for as long as any of the old they ran up, totally unnecessarily, bulls can recall ... new members massive deficits, and it was the algorithms…experimental physi- climates and new techniques for surement science, computational ... are supposed to be seen, not old bulls who did it. Good on the cists can bring their expertise to gathering and analyzing climate physics, statistics and biophysics. heard, and they are supposed to new people; may they not find a perhaps develop new tools.” data. It also highlighted specific The group came about after two toe the line, not charge across it.” home inside the Beltway and be- The group’s charter identi- disciplines in physics especially separate petitions began circulat- That, indeed, is really great come like “old bulls” themselves. fies five main focus areas for the pertinent to understanding climate ing last year to establish a topical news! Given the wretched nature group. These include understand- science, including fluid dynam- group on climate. Ultimately the of our political class, I am not Ken Bolland ing climate as a complex dynamic ics, modeling nonlinear systems, two efforts merged, and a single keen on deference being shown to Columbus, OH system, the physics of climate physics of complex systems, gas plan for a group was agreed upon influences, the sensitivity of - cli phase physics and chemistry, heat at a meeting in December of last Don’t Show Physics in a Negative Light mate, methods used to infer past transfer, phase transitions, mea- year. With reference to the Profiles in gambling is legal. But is it really Versatility column in the April APS something we want to advertise in News, entitled “Designing Games half a page of APS News? I’d rath- in Sin City Pays Off”: Olaf Vancu- er have my member's dues used by ra got his physics training presum- APS to publish articles that show ably helped by taxpayer's money physicists using their skills to ben- By Michael Lucibella through NSF, DOE or NASA efit society–if it’s game design, not grants. Now he uses his acquired the kind of games that can lead skills and innate talents to help Joe players to become addicted and the Plumber depart from his hard- lose their livelihood in the process. earned money as fast as possible, I don’t believe this article sheds a while making himself and the casino owners rich as fast as pos- positive light on the physics pro- sible. As he explains, “The key...is fession, and I believe it certainly to design games that are fun for the won’t encourage taxpayers to sup- players and keeps them playing, port increased government spend- even when they are losing..” ing in training future scientists. Vancura is certainly entitled to have fun and make a living with Jorge E. Hirsch his activity, in a free society where La Jolla, CA Another Way to Produce Helium? Regarding the interesting en- One can also Google “Nickel ergy critical elements article (APS Hydrogen Cold Fusion” and read News, April 2011), another future up on Rossi’s work focused on the source of both energy and helium production of commercial reactors. may be their production by Low Although Rossi’s nickel-hydrogen Energy Nuclear Reactions (LENR) system differs from the palladium- in the Pd-D system. I reported the deuterium system, it is apparently observation of helium production at the China Lake Navy laboratory more reliable in producing large in 1991 (see J. Electroanal.Chem., amounts of energy. Vol. 346, pp.99-117, 1993), and several other laboratories have re- Melvin H. Miles produced this result. Ridgecrest, CA © 2011 Michael Lucibella APS NEWS June 2011 • 5

Egg-streme Sport

Committee on International Freedom of Scientists Combats Rights Violations Worldwide By Kyler Kuehn The Committee on International to continue their education. CIFS CIFS is partnering with FGSA on Freedom of Scientists (CIFS) is one has also sought the removal of a number of other projects, includ- of the many Committees appointed sanctions brought by the European ing the publication of a document by the APS President to carry out Union against an Iranian scientist detailing graduate students’ “rights the mission of the APS. In the case whom the EU claims is involved and responsibilities” within the of CIFS, that involves addressing in illicit nuclear programs within university environment. CIFS has situations where the human rights Iran, but whom CIFS believes to also offered feedback to FGSA on of scientists have potentially been be “blacklisted” erroneously. CIFS a forthcoming survey regarding the violated, whether that violation is has also been monitoring the situ- climate of departments and univer- directly related to their scientific ation in Turkey that developed in sities with respect to gender and work or not. The most recent high- 2009, in which a scientific publi- sexual diversity. profile case that CIFS was involved cation removed articles and refer- Additionally, CIFS works with in was that of Igor Sutyagin (see ences to Darwin and evolution, and several other larger human rights the August/September 2010 issue disciplined the editor in charge of organizations, including Scholars Photo by Matthew Payne of APS News, available online), but that publication. The APS (along at Risk and the AAAS Science and On May 13, Six Flags America held its annual physics day, hosting hundreds CIFS was active for many years with many other scientific societ- Human Rights Coalition. The for- of middle- and high-school students from around the Washington, DC area. prior to that as well. In the past, ies and prominent individual sci- mer helps displaced scientists into APS was there too, together with its partners, the American Association of CIFS members had supported a entists) voiced their concern over new positions where their skills Physics Teachers (AAPT) and the American Institute of Physics' Society of Physics Students, to organize the event and provide fun physics experiences Chinese scientist sentenced to 11 this action; and though the publica- can be utilized, and the latter in- for the students, using the roller coasters and other rides at the park. New this years in prison for attempting to tion has planned a future edition to cludes a working group on the wel- year was an egg-drop contest, in which 35 teams vied to engineer the best found the China Democratic Party. focus on such topics, it is not clear fare of scientists with whom CIFS device that would prevent an egg from breaking when dropped from an upper- At that time, CIFS members were as of APS News press time whether has been cooperating. storey window. In the photo, Melissa Lapps of AAPT gingerly displays one of able to contact the scientist’s fami- that edition has yet been published. All of this work is carried out the failed attempts, as some of the participants look on. ly and attempt to visit him directly; While most of the cases CIFS by a small group who have volun- the publicity CIFS brought to his deals with are outside the US, it teered to serve on CIFS. APS mem- situation in this manner is believed may surprise many APS members bers can help CIFS by telling their to have contributed to his improved that CIFS is actively involved in colleagues about it so that those Neutrinos Can Monitor treatment in prison and, eventually, cases within the US as well. One who may experience violations of his early release. recent case involved the alleged their rights will know of this av- Changes in Reactor Fuel While these are two of the more improper transfer of sensitive in- enue for assistance. They can also Physicists working with the In- added. recent “success stories,” there are formation from a US scientist to report human rights violations to ternational Atomic Energy Agen- The detectors that the team has many additional cases that CIFS a foreign national–in this case, a CIFS by contacting Michele Ir- cy (IAEA) have been developing developed can register when a nu- is currently dealing with that are subordinate working on research win, International Affairs Program a way for nuclear weapons inspec- clear reactor has been shut down, not as prominent. For example, in with that scientist. While the APS Administrator, at [email protected] tors to use neutrinos to monitor re- and more importantly can detect if 2009, CIFS, along with many other International Affairs office has and can find information regarding actors remotely and in real time. plutonium has been removed and academic and professional societ- worked for many years to clarify joining the “Friends of CIFS” net- With more development, it should replaced with fresh uranium. If ies, wrote to the Spanish Ministry the nature of exports and the regu- work on the CIFS page of the APS be possible to detect if any of the the monitors detect an unexpected of Housing to protest the exclusion lations surrounding them, CIFS website. Finally, APS members can reactor’s spent fuel has been re- and sudden spike in the energy of of a number of Israeli students who is also teaming with the APS Fo- consider serving on the committee moved for possibly nefarious pur- the neutrinos, plutonium has been were prevented from participat- rum on Graduate Student Affairs themselves–new positions on CIFS poses. replaced with uranium. ing in an international competi- (FGSA) to ensure that any student are filled every year by volunteers Spent nuclear fuel has long “What we are providing for tion held in Spain. Since that time, (especially foreign students) in from within the APS. been a major source of concern the IAEA is a means to determine CIFS has also worked to encourage potentially sensitive situations are Kyler Kuehn is a member of for anti-proliferation experts, who analytically the amount of ura- the Israeli government to lift the aware of the restrictions that the the Committee on International fear that the plutonium produced nium and plutonium in a reactor travel restrictions on other students US Government has placed upon Freedom of Scientists. He is in the in reactions could be diverted for core in a real-time environment,” who have been prevented from their access to certain knowledge High Energy Physics Division at building weapons. This new sys- said Gregory Keefer of Lawrence traveling outside of Israel/Palestine and technology. Furthermore, Argonne National Laboratory. tem could augment the IAEA’s Livermore National Laboratory. inspection regime and help to bet- The two prototypes developed ASSESSMENT continued from page 1 ter keep track of dangerous fissile by the team have shown promis- nical obstacles “DAC is not cur- meter tall towers for 30 kilome- up.” material. ing results so far. The first, a one- rently an economically viable ters. The committee estimated that Air capture is difficult because “Current safeguard systems are ton water Cherenkov light detec- approach to mitigating climate with existing technology it would carbon dioxide in air is very di- effective, but they require some tor, has been in place at the San change,” and that “it is entirely cost at least $600 per ton of car- lute, around 390 parts per million. cooperation and they also don’t Onofre Nuclear Generating Sta- possible that no DAC concept bon dioxide removed from the air, The process needs a large surface provide real time monitoring. We tion in Southern California since under discussion today or yet to as compared to the roughly $80 area to absorb the carbon dioxide think we can improve this with an- July of last year. Located about 50 be invented will actually succeed per ton when removed from ma- at an appreciable rate. Concentra- tineutrino detectors,” said Fangfei meters from one of its pressurized in practice.” Carbon dioxide in jor carbon dioxide producers like tions of carbon dioxide in smoke- Shen of MIT, speaking at the APS water reactors, the detector has ambient air is so sparse that the power plants. stacks and exhaust flues are much April Meeting in Anaheim. been reading the neutrino signa- structures needed to make an ap- Committee chair Robert So- All fission reactions produce tures of what’s happening inside greater, making it much more eco- preciable difference would be so colow of Princeton said that the antineutrinos when the bonds the reactor in almost real time. nomical to deploy carbon capture massive that their cost would be prices were meant to be a way of holding the nuclei of uranium to- “In the first prototype, we’ve prohibitive. The assessment found comparing the costs rather than an technology there, rather than in gether are broken. When an iso- shown that we are capable of de- that it is far more cost-effective absolute dollar value. “The ratio ambient air. tope’s nucleus splits, it releases termining if the reactor has been to clean the exhaust of sources of is more important than the num- The assessment did find that antineutrinos with a distinct sig- turned off within five hours. We carbon dioxide like power plants, bers,” he said. direct air capture technology has nature, which the team’s detectors can determine over the time of one factories and foundries. Desmond echoed this state- much in common with carbon can monitor. Neutrinos make the week what the absolute thermal “The report basically comes to ment, and compared that to the capture inside of smoke-stacks perfect indicators because they power of the reactor is to three the conclusion that because of the cost per ton of completely decar- and exhaust flues. can’t be blocked or suppressed. percent. During these refueling challenge of pulling such a dilute bonizing transportation. He said “It’s got similar principles…. “Antineutrinos are very inde- outages this was a chance for us to concentration of CO out of the that if all vehicles switched to pendent particles, they go through really determine what the amount 2 [it’s] trying to pull CO2 selective- air, isolating it and sequestrating electric and all fossil fuel power ly out of a gas stream,” Desmond everything. You can’t stop them. of plutonium difference would it…. direct capture from air is plants were replaced with renew- said, “In most cases you should be You can’t fake them. What comes be,” Keefer said. “We’re capable much more expensive,” said co- able energy, the cost would be able to apply that learning to the out of the reactor is what’s there,” of saying with a 95% confidence chair Michael Desmond of BP. about $200 to $300 per ton. He more difficult problem of direct Shen said. level that during refueling there “You really should be going after added that the $600 was probably As uranium-235 is used, some was a 70 kilogram removal of plu- air capture.” all the big point sources first.” on the low end of estimates, as un- of it is converted to plutonium, the tonium.” The assessment concluded The air capture facilities would expected costs inevitably surface material of choice for most mod- The team also installed a sec- that further research into direct need to be immense. One estimate when a new technology is first ern nuclear weapons. In order to ond, more advanced prototype at is that in order to remove the six implemented. air capture would likely be of the retrieve this plutonium in most San Onofre in December. This million metric tons of carbon di- “You don’t know what you most benefit to carbon capture in nuclear reactors, typically the re- one is a prototype segmented liq- oxide emitted by an average 1000 don’t know,” Desmond said. smokestacks and exhaust flues, actor has to be shut down and the uid scintillator, which can identify megawatt power plant, the DAC “When you try to integrate things, and advances there could be trans- spent fuel rods removed for repro- several kinds of events including system would have to have ten costs almost without exception go ferred to direct air capture as well. cessing while fresh uranium is NEUTRINOS continued on page 7 6 • June 2011 APS NEWS

Still Time to Participate in APS Election The APS society-wide election is open this year from May 16 to June 30, so there is still time for members who have not yet done so to cast their ballots. Each member with an email address should have received a message containing the unique identifier that will enable him or her to proceed to the election website and vote. Others should have received their ballots in the mail. Below are the candidates running for the various society-wide offices. More information, including biographies and candidates' statements, can be found on the web at http://www.aps.org/about/governance/election/index.cfm .

Candidates for Vice President Candidates for Chair-Elect, Nominating Committee

Malcolm Beasley Pierre Hohenberg Sally Dawson, Robert Tribble, Stanford University New York University Brookhaven National Laboratory Texas A & M University

Candidates for General Councillor Candidates for International Councillor

Ernesto E. Marinero Hitachi San Jose Research Keivan Guadalupe Stassun Luisa Cifarelli Annick Suzor-Weiner Center/Purdue University Vanderbilt University University of Bologna French Embassy, Washington, DC

SITES continued from page 1 prove advising and mentoring; year’s sites will be able to keep leader at Virginia Tech, agrees that also noted that the new sites in- instructors, called Learning As- and develop collaborative rela- their programs running after Phys- her department is poised to ad- clude several types of institutions sistants, and students whom they tionships between physics depart- TEC funding ends.” dress regional needs for physics that are underrepresented within work with. This project will be led ments, education schools, and lo- Hodapp also noted that the teachers. “We know that physics the project. “SUNY Geneseo is a jointly by researchers and faculty cal school districts. universities joining the project is significantly less available to bachelor’s degree-granting phys- members from Seattle Pacific Uni- According to Theodore Ho- increase the geographic diversity students in smaller high schools, ics department, of which we have versity and Florida International dapp, Director of Education and of the project’s sites. “We have and most of the schools in our re- very few, despite the fact that they University, both universities that Diversity at APS and PhysTEC found that most PhysTEC teach- gion are relatively small, with 300 educate over 40% of physics ma- have received PhysTEC funding project director, this year’s crop ers tend to find jobs close to the seniors or fewer,” said Schmitt- jors in the country. And Cal State in the past. “This video project is of new sites shows exceptional universities they graduate from, mann. “We felt that we would be San Marcos is a Hispanic-Serving a new concept for PhysTEC, and institutional commitment to mak- so it is important that the project able to impact both the rural parts Institution, which is important as we feel it has potential to improve ing their programs sustainable. be represented in as many parts of of the Commonwealth of Virginia we work to increase the diversity courses for future teachers around “We fund sites for three years, the country as possible. We now as well as the more urban areas of the physics teacher corps.” the country,” said Plisch. enough to get their programs off have our first site in New England, where some of our alumni are In addition to funding new PhysTEC is funded by a five- the ground,” said Hodapp, “but we our first in the Appalachian region, teaching.” sites, the project has made a one- year, $6.5-million grant awarded expect them to show us up front and our first in Ohio.” Monica Plisch, Assistant Di- time award to a team proposing a by the National Science Founda- how they will sustain things in the Beate Schmittmann, phys- rector of Education at APS and video project illustrating interac- tion in Fall 2009, as well as APS future. We’re confident that this ics department chair and project PhysTEC project co-director, tions between undergraduate peer 21st Century Campaign.

IMAGING continued from page 1 topes have been used to treat can- ly following tumor removal sur- tumor treatment because it releas- cer for over fifty years, and while gery, to see if any cancerous cells es an alpha particle. She realized some biologists and doctors had are left behind. Another group has that this alpha particle shouldn’t noted the optical glow before, no proposed using a molecular com- be fast enough to generate Cher- one, it seems, had thought to use ponent called a fluorophore that enkov light in tissue, and yet, there it. would lengthen the wavelength of was clearly an optical signal when In a preclinical and research the Cherenkov light at its source, they injected actinium 235 into setting the technique offers some and allow it to travel further mice. She deduced that daughter significant benefits over PET through tissue to a detector. isotopes of the Actinium actually scans, including the fact that op- Ackerman’s work is focused on release a beta particle responsible tical scans only take 3 minutes, modeling the path of the Cheren- for the Cherenkov light, and that where PET scans take 30, and op- kov photons as they travel through this is the case for all the alpha- tical scanners are less expensive tissue. She uses a software pro- decay isotopes used by the group. and used more frequently by re- gram called Geant4, which was Researchers could still use the search staff. designed to model particle tracks Cherenkov light to monitor alpha In the future, Cherenkov light in high-energy physics experi- particles used for treatment, but may offer imaging where there is ments. She says she isn’t sure yet they would have to consider the currently none. There are present- how exactly the models will be time delay between the release of ly no direct ways to image alpha used, but she wants to understand the alpha particle and the release and electron emitters in the body. the mechanisms behind the obser- of the beta particle, and a differ- Cherenkov radiation, however, vations her group is making. ence in the location of the par- can be used with positron, gam- “I don’t mind thinking about ent isotope and the source of the Image courtesy of Nicole Ackerman ma, electron and alpha emitters, at cross sections and spectra and radiation. Ackerman is currently Inside an Eppendorf tube, Cherenkov photons are released from the decay of short time intervals. Rather than path length, but the biomedical investigating another isotope that fluorine 18 in water. The paths of the photons are reconstructed from data, and delivering one dose of radioactive researchers don’t want to,” said causes Cherenkov radiation, even while the light is too faint for human eyes to see, the color of the photons in the isotopes to image a tumor and a Ackerman. “My goal is to find though it doesn’t appear to emit image corresponds to their actual wavelength. second to treat it, doctors could the places where the physics de- high enough energy particles to watch the treatment dose directly. tails are important and then take do so. was fascinated by the range of sis project she will look at how ra- Because Cherenkov light is op- the equations and simulations and Ackerman says she never applied physics topics presented diation interacts with cells to kill tical, it scatters quickly when trav- turn them into something useful planned on switching to bio- there. Once she saw how her skills them, while exploring ways to eling through tissue and would for the other researchers in the logical physics mostly because would be valuable in an area dom- boost those interactions. likely be used to image shallow field.” she had no idea what it entailed. inated by biologists, the decision “I might not find a new particle tumors such as skin cancer or Early in her involvement with While attending the Lindau No- to transition came easily. or a new law of the universe, but some breast cancers, or cancer of the oncology group, Ackerman bel Laureate conference in Ger- Now Ackerman is putting her that’s okay,” said Ackerman. “In- the esophagus, viewed via an en- was studying the Cherenkov ra- many last summer, she saw, for physics knowledge to work on stead I might be contributing to doscopy. A recent paper proposed diation from actinium 235, one of the first time, professional biol- various topics within the radiation saving lives. I really feel like I can using Cherenkov light immediate- the isotopes used by the group in ogy and chemistry lectures, and oncology department. For her the- do some good here.” APS NEWS June 2011 • 7

ANNOUNCEMENTS Japanese Physics Undergoes a Slow Recovery By Michael Lucibella verely damaged. Roads also suf- largely unaffected by the earth- Reviews of Modern Physics Recently Posted Reviews and Colloquia The effects of March’s dev- fered much damage.” quake, and research has been astating earthquake and tsunami At the Photon Factory at able to continue with only mini- in Japan have touched all aspects KEK, located in Tsukuba, no one mal disruption. The administra- Continuous-time Monte Carlo methods was injured at the site, but the of society, including science. tors of RIKEN invited scientists for quantum impurity models facility and equipment sustained Research at labs near the earth- affected by the earthquake and Emanuel Gull, Andrew J. Millis, Alexander I. Lichtenstein, significant damage. KEK’s Linac Alexey N. Rubtsov, Matthias Troyer, and Philipp Werner quake epicenter has either been tsunami to come to Wako and was knocked out of alignment as slowed or been halted altogether continue their research. Quantum impurity models were introduced to describe atoms or mol- much as ten centimeters in some by damage to the labs themselves “We launched a program to ecules embedded in a host material and are now understood to be a places, its vacuum was breached and by ongoing power shortages. provide support to doctoral stu- central concept in condensed matter physics with applications rang- and one of its focusing magnets The J-PARC facility located dents and researchers in the af- ing from modeling the conductance and other properties of quantum fell. The buildings around the in Tokai, about 250 miles away fected area who have not been dots to auxiliary problems whose solutions help reveal the physics of site have likewise shown signs of from the epicenter of the earth- able to attend university labs due complex heavy fermion and oxide materials. This review describes buckling and stress. quake, is home to several re- to the disaster by inviting them to a new family of numerically exact methods solving quantum impu- “We are still in the process search particle accelerators and continue their research at RIKEN rity problems. The methods are based on continuous-time quantum of assessing the damages to the and offering experiment samples Monte Carlo algorithms which are free from the time discretization beam lines. Although it abuts the accelerators and apparatus,” shoreline, it suffered no dam- and materials,” said Yasuaki Yu- errors which occur in standard quantum Monte Carlo approaches. said Youhei Morita, head of the tani, director of RIKEN’s global They enable solutions of broader classes of models, over wider pa- age from the tsunami because public relations office at KEK. relations office. rameter regimes, than previously possible. A description of the new of seawalls designed to protect “There are many broken vacuum Other facilities around the methods is given, along with a review of the systems to which the the facility from ocean swells up beam pipes, some fallen mag- world have pitched in to help new methods have so far been applied, with a goal of enabling the to eight meters high. The earth- nets, misplaced alignments of Japanese scientists continue their readers to implement and use the algorithms described. quake did damage some of the the beam lines, broken klystrons research. The Spallation Neutron equipment; however it should all [and] fallen electronics racks.” http://rmp.aps.org Source at Oak Ridge National be reparable. Experiments at the Morita added also that though the Laboratory said that it is setting lab have been suspended for the experiments and buildings have time being. At the Materials and been damaged, so far it looks aside 10% of its beam time for American Association of Physics Teachers Life Science Experimental Facil- like nothing is irreparable as they Japanese researchers to continue Call for Award Nominations ity, five of the sixteen neutron their work. continue to assess the situation. The AAPT Awards Committee is seeking nominations for: beam lines have been knocked The medical accelerator at A full recovery for Japanese out of alignment and the lab’s HIMAC in Chiba has limited op- science will take some time. Ear- • the Oersted Medal linear accelerator will have to be erations because of power short- ly estimates at J-PARC are that • the Richtmyer Memorial Lecture realigned as a section in the mid- ages. Research labs that have the facility won’t be back up and Award dle sank about four centimeters. continued normal operations in- running at its original capacity • the Melba Newell Phillips Medal “All accelerator elements clude the KamLAND and Super- until December at least, provided • the J. D. Jackson Award for that inspections don’t reveal ad- and experimental elements have Kamiokande neutrino detectors Excellence in Graduate Physics undergone only minor damage, ditional critical damage to the in the Gifu Prefecture, the Ring Teaching, and due to the strong underpin re- Cyclotron in Osaka, SPring-8 equipment. Similar estimates at • the AAPT Distinguished Service inforcements used in the major Synchrotron Radiation Facility KEK put it on track to restart buildings,” said Shoji Nagamiya, and XFEL in Harima. sometime in autumn. Inspections Citation. director of J-PARC. “However, The main site of RIKEN is and repairs have been slowed be- All AAPT members are urged to review the descriptions surrounding facilities such as located just outside of Tokyo in cause of power and supply short- of these awards on the AAPT website (http://www.aapt. power stations, electric power Wako. A spokesperson for the in- ages as the region continues to org/Programs/awards/) and then, fol- lines [and] water lines were se- stitute said that the facility was recover from the disaster. lowing instructions available at a link on that website, to nominate individu- JOURNAL continued from page 1 als deemed worthy of consideration for versity. stitution. began offering authors the ability any of these awards. The editors hope that PRX The journal should offer physi- to purchase Creative Commons will include papers spanning the cists the chance to have their re- Attribution 3.0 Licenses for work whole spectrum of physics re- search widely read. The number published in the subscription- NEUTRINOS continued from page 5 search. In addition, because of its of papers published in the first based Physical Review journals. neutrons and gamma rays. This nium from pressurized water reac- broad focus, it should attract a lot issues is expected to be relatively “Open access is going to be a feature comes into play because tors like the ones at San Onofre, of interdisciplinary research that small, so each will have a great big part of the future of publica- these neutrino detectors are lo- they have to be shut down, which would have a more difficult time deal of visibility. tions,” Pullin said. cated above ground, so they need is easily detected by a drop off finding a home in the more spe- “This is an opportunity to The American Institute of to differentiate between normal in neutrino production. The fuel cialized journals. come into the APS community,” Physics recently started the open background signals from cosmic in bulk process reactors moves rays, and neutrinos generated in through it on a kind of conveyor The new publication differs Kulp said. “What we’re offering access journal AIP Advances, and the reactor. The team is still sifting belt. Fresh fuel goes in one end in several respects from other to [authors] is recognition. It is a offers authors the option to buy APS journals. The entire jour- Phys Rev journal, it’s highly re- through the data from this second and spent fuel can come out the open access rights in their other nal is open access, meaning that garded, the journals are generally detector, and should be finished other, without ever shutting down. journals as well. Many major in- there are no fee or subscription well read… PRX is going to be as with the analysis by the end of the The team has developed another stitutions, such as CERN, have costs to readers who want to ac- good as it can possibly be, but it’s year. prototype detector, this one to be requirements that research origi- cess it. In addition, the journal is all contingent on what comes in The IAEA also asked the team installed at the Point Lepreau Nu- nating from them be published published under the terms of the our front door.” to develop a way to monitor an- clear Generating Station in New Creative Commons Attribution The decision to make PRX all under some form of open access other kind of reactor more difficult Brunswick, Canada next year to 3.0 License, which allows anyone open access and freely reproduc- license. to keep tabs on: bulk process reac- start developing a profile of the to freely reproduce any amount ible is part of an effort by APS to Publishing online offers other tors. In order to remove the pluto- neutrino flux in these reactors. of the publication as long as the give authors more options about benefits as well. Pullin said that original work is properly cited. the redistribution rights of their down the line they hope to incor- Because the journal is online work. Already APS has two spe- porate more multimedia into the only, there are no limits to lengths cialized open access online jour- publications, such as video, ani- of the articles. The journal will be nals, Special Topics: Accelerators mated figures and word tagging. Visit us on the web at: supported by a $1,500 per article and Beams as well as Special Authors can find information http://www.aps.org/publications/apsnews processing charge, usually paid Topics: Physics Education Re- about submitting their work to the by the author or the author’s in- search. In addition, APS recently journal at prx.aps.org.

MEMBERS in the Media continued from page 2 on Nobelist Carl Wieman’s study on effective teach- “We have to deal with our centralized power ing strategies, The Associated Press, May 13, 2011. sources first… This is not an assignment for the next few decades.” “Physicists will never cease testing their basic Robert Socolow, Princeton, on the efficiency of theories, whether in order to confirm them better or removing carbon dioxide from air versus from cen- in order to reveal new physics beyond those standard tralized sources like power stations, The New York theories. In some realms the only place to do this, to Times, May 9, 2011. carry out such experiments, is in space. This was the case with [Gravity Probe-B].” “He’s got the scientific chops.” Clifford Will, Washington University in St. Louis, Robert Beichner, North Carolina State University, BBCNews.com, May 14, 2011. 8 • June 2011 APS NEWS The Back Page

“When will we know when we can declare victory? benefits of being a scientist. For years I proceeded on the assumption that victo- Can we declare victory in the But what about women in particular? ry was equal participation of men and women in all Usually, the strategies that come to mind for en- branches of science and engineering. Today I’m not so participation of women in science? couraging female students include providing posi- sure. ... It’s possible that we will come to understand tive female science role models, creating opportuni- that some fraction of the asymmetries in the distribu- Not yet. ties for collaborative group work, and discussing the tion of women in the sciences, with women far more By Marie-Claire Shanahan and Zahra Hazari lives of female scientists. We were very surprised, well represented in the life sciences and less so in the though, that none of these usual solutions had an physical sciences, is the result of women seeking those effect on the physics identities of the students in fields in which they are able to make the greatest contribu- our study. Female students who experienced them were no tion in their own judgment. As scientists we have to be open more likely than others to have strong or weak identities in to that possibility.” physics. Shirley Tilghman President of Princeton University, Several of the positive classroom experiences described speaking at Queen’s University1 above, however, while having an equal impact on male and The question of gender representation in science is an female students were less frequently reported by female incredibly difficult one. Women are underrepresented in students. For example, females were less likely to report science as a whole, especially in senior positions, but the a focus on conceptual understanding, that labs addressed disparity can be even more dramatic, or in other cases dis- their beliefs about the world, discussing relevant science appear, when we narrow the focus to particular fields. topics, or discussing the benefits of being a scientist. Thus, Over the last half century, efforts to recruit and encourage sitting, on average, in the same types of physics classes, fe- women to pursue careers in science have been very success- male students perceived less of a conceptual focus and less ful, but they have not been evenly distributed. In 1966, for contextual relevance with their world than did their male example, women earned only a quarter of the undergradu- counterparts, even though these associations were equally ate biology degrees awarded in the United States. By 2007, Zahra Hazari Marie-Claire Shanahan beneficial to the smaller number of females who did report however, women out numbered men, earning 60 percent of them. This perhaps provides some support for previous these same degrees. In physics, though, the numbers have findings, such as those of Heidi Carlone, suggesting that what can be done to support and encourage students, and barely budged, with the percentage of undergraduate de- many female students are personally disengaged in intro- girls in particular, to pursue careers and graduate studies in grees earned by women rising from 14% to only 21% over ductory physics, often relying on rote learning strategies physics. the same time period. The question, of course, is “why?” (e.g., memorization) over more meaningful strategies (e.g., Looking for solutions in high school physics experi- Most recent studies, such as Hyde and Linn’s 2006 re- understanding concepts, linking to other knowledge/expe- ences view in Science, have shown very little difference in sci- riences, connecting ideas, reasoning) that provide deeper One such effort, the Persistence Research in Science ence-related abilities between genders, including in physics. connections to the conceptual material. and Engineering Project2 (PRiSE) led by researchers at the These small discrepancies are not nearly enough to explain There was only one classroom experience that had a Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, is trying to the large participation gaps. So what is keeping women out uniquely positive impact on female students: the explicit identify the impact of teaching environments and strategies of physics? Is it as Dr. Tilghman suggests, that women just discussion of underrepresentation of women in science. on students’ decisions to enrol and continue in physics in don’t choose to put their efforts into physics because they This isn’t just highlighting women scientists like Marie Cu- university. As part of the project, they have surveyed 3,800 feel they can make a greater contribution elsewhere? Or, rie but instead talking directly about the fact that there are American undergraduate students about their physics inter- maybe women are not interested because they don’t see how few women in physics. Female students who had experi- ests, confidence, and career plans along with their experi- physics fits with their desire to work with people? Looking enced these discussions in their high school physics classes ences in high school physics classes. into career aspirations of college students often shows that had significantly stronger physics identities. Furthermore, Together with colleagues Gerhard Sonnert and Philip more young women than men desire careers that afford in- these discussions had no impact on male students. In other Sadler, we used the survey data to create a measure of each terpersonal opportunities such as helping others. words, for students who experienced explicit discussion of student’s “physics identity,” the degree to which they per- These might seem like comforting explanations – no dis- female underrepresentation in physics the potential physics ceive themselves to be the right type of person for physics.3 crimination, just choice–but they are also too simple. career gap was decreased. Being the right type of person means, for example, having What influences students’ decisions to pursue physics? While addressing her audience at Queen’s, Dr. Tilghman confidence in their ability to complete the right tasks (e.g., As early as the eighth grade, the interest that students suggested we might reach a point where there are as many understand and solve difficult physics problems), having a show in science is one of the best ways to predict whether women in some areas of science as want to be there, with any strong interest in physics, having others recognize them as they will go on to receive a bachelor’s degree in science. remaining gender gaps the result of choices made by wom- the right type of person, being successful in physics, and Robert Tai, from the University of Virginia, has found that en themselves. Our analysis shows that we are not there yet; choosing to participate in physics-related activities. We this link is even more important than their mathematics social influences are still very important for determining if found that our measure of identity was a very good way to achievement. students will pursue a career in physics. Students’opinions predict students’ desire to remain in physics and pursue it Personal interest isn’t, however, the only factor. Stu- are far from fixed, and good science teachers can have an as a career. dents’ belief in their own abilities is extremely important. important effect on their students’ physics identities. Teach- Once we were confident that our measure of physics Students with high self-efficacy, confidence in their ability ers who, for example, do something as simple as meaning- identity was a valid way of bringing together many of the to succeed at particular tasks, tend to understand physics fully addressing the gender imbalance in physics, could be social and personal factors that tend to influence career better and achieve better grades. This makes a lot of sense an avenue to helping encourage female students towards a choice and persistence, we wanted to know what could be –if students don’t believe they have the ability to master physics career. done to improve it. As physics educators, we were particu- new ideas and problems, it is easy to see why they might not Marie-Claire Shanahan is an assistant professor of sci- larly interested in finding out which teaching strategies or persevere. This relationship is true for both male and female ence education at the University of Alberta, president of the classroom activities contribute to stronger and more posi- students, but female students tend to believe in their abili- Canadian Science Education Research Group, and a for- tive physics identities, especially for female students. ties less, contributing to the difficulties they can encounter mer high school physics teacher. Her research examines the To answer these questions, the PRiSE questionnaire in physics. impact of social factors such as identity, confidence, and asked students what they remembered about their high Parents, teachers and peers also have strong influences expertise recognition on adults’ and youths’ participation school physics experiences: what they did in class, how on students’ perceptions of their own abilities, affecting and persistence in science. they were taught, and the types of resources they had avail- students’ career and degree choices. In one study, Bleeker Zahra Hazari is an assistant professor in the Depart- able. In addition to strictly pedagogical questions about lab and Jacobs from Pennsylvania State University followed ment of Engineering & Science Education at Clemson Uni- time versus lecture time, topics that were emphasized, and students from age 12 to age 24. They asked the students versity. Her research, supported by an NSF Career Award instructional strategies that their teachers used, we were and their parents about the student’s math and science in- and GSE Award, focuses on reforming pedagogy in phys- also interested in whether students recalled their physics terests, abilities and career aspirations. They found that the ics education using a physics identity theoretical lens in an teachers taking time to address subjects that generally fall more mothers believed in their children’s science and math effort to improve critical educational outcomes for under- outside of the usual physics curriculum such as discussions abilities in grade 7, the more likely those students were to represented groups in physics. of the benefits of and steps needed to pursue a career in pursue careers in science at age 24. Peers can have a simi- Endnotes physics, ethical considerations in science, and the under- lar impact, supporting or eroding students’ belief in their 1. Her talk was broadcast as part of an episode of the CBC Radio representation of women. own abilities. In another study, Jacobs noted that even girls program Ideas: http://www.cbc.ca/ideas/episodes/2011/01/26/ Supporting women by recognizing underrepresenta- who were identified as talented in science were strongly of-mice-and-men/ tion influenced by the recognition and support they received 2. Funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), PRiSE Looking at all of the students, male and female, there from their peers. These social influences can be troubling (http://www.cfa.harvard.edu/sed/projects/prise1.html) sur- were several classroom factors that were related to stronger veyed a nationally representative sample of college/university because parents, teachers and even peers often have stereo- identities. From the perspective of generating student inter- students enrolled in introductory English courses in the fall of typical views of interest and ability in science, views that est, it wasn’t surprising that teachers who introduced cur- 2007 about their interests and experiences in science. The tend to favor male students. rent and cutting edge physics topics contributed to stronger survey can be viewed online at www.cfa.harvard.edu/sed/proj- Together, studies like these illustrate how challenging it identities. Frequent labs addressing students’ beliefs about ects/PRiSE_survey_proof.pdf is to pinpoint a single cause for the underrepresentation of the world, opportunities for peer teaching, and encouraging 3. This essay is based on findings published in our paper: Haz- women in physics. There are elements of interest and self- ari, Z., Sadler, P. M., Sonnert, G., & Shanahan, M.-C. (2010). student questions and comments were also related to stron- confidence, but also difficult social pressures. With these Connecting high school physics experiences, outcome expec- ger physics identities. Students with stronger identities also challenges in mind, what is needed is not acquiescence but tations, physics identity, and physics career choice: A gender remembered receiving encouragement from their teachers the continued search for solutions. We still need to know study. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 47, 978–1003 to pursue physics and having discussions in class about the (http://www.clemson.edu/ese/per/?page_id=19) APS News welcomes and encourages letters and submissions from its members responding to these and other issues. Responses may be sent to: [email protected]