World Year of Physics Opens with Paris Conference by Ernie Tretkoff the World Year of Physics Was Jose Luis Moran-Lopez, Director Developing Nations

NEWS February 2005 Volume 14, No. 2 A Publication of The American Physical Society http://www.aps.org/apsnews

World Year of Physics Opens with Paris Conference By Ernie Tretkoff The World Year of Physics was Jose Luis Moran-Lopez, director developing nations. In one session, officially launched at the conference of the ISTR San Luis Potosi in Mexico, Katepalli Sreenivasan of the Inter- “Physics for Tomorrow,” which took described a project called “Science national Center for Theoretical place in Paris at UNESCO headquar- for everyone,” a series of books writ- Physics in Trieste, Italy, talked about ters January 13-15. Speakers and ten by active Mexican scientists physics and development. He participants addressed issues such aimed at the high school and college pointed out some of the vast dif- as the public perception of physics level. There are also contests that in- ferences between the developed and how physics can help solve vite students to read one of the world and the developing nations, social and economic problems. books and do a project or report including the availability of About 1000 participants, includ- based on their reading, he said. internet access. Without access to ing approximately 500 students from Also during the round table the latest information, it is difficult over 70 countries, attended the con- discussion, Pierre Lena, vice presi- to practice science, he said. “We ference. Eight Nobel laureates spoke dent of the Association Bernard live in a connected world, but yet on a variety of topics ranging from Gregory, said that many students See WYP PARIS on page 10 biophysics to nanoscience to physics believe that science is out of reach education in lectures aimed at high- for them. Strangely, young students Photos Credit: Erine Tretkoff lighting the importance of in developing countries Eight Fellows Reach Back physics and inspiring the au- actually express more dience. The conference was interest in becoming to the ‘30s and ‘40s sponsored by UNESCO, the scientists than do students The December APS News the inaugural recipients of the European Physical Society in the developed world, featured a picture, taken at a APS Einstein Prize in 2003 and a number of other inter- he said. Fellows’ reception, of Maurice —Norman F. Ramsey, elected national physics societies. Ana Maria Cetto, Shapiro, who informed us that he Fellow 1940, served as APS Presi- One focus of the confer- Deputy Director General had been elected an APS Fellow dent in 1978, and won the Nobel ence was the declining of the International in 1946. We wondered if he Prize in 1989. student interest in the sub- Atomic Energy Agency, might be the oldest (in the sense In addition to these ex-presi- ject. It is hoped that the said physicists need to of having been elected the long- dents, we have heard from five World Year of Physics will bring physics to people est ago) surviving Fellow. other Fellows whose election dates help increase interest among “by demystifying it, but Well, we might have known. from before 1950. They are: students and among the gen- Several prominent scientists, including three Nobel laureates, without taking away the Not only are there some older —Scott Anderson, elected eral public as well, and discuss the role of physics in society at a press conference held fascination, by destroying Fellows around, three of them 1943; founded Anderson Phys- therefore the kickoff confer- during the WYP Launch Conference. From left to right: Denis the myth of inaccessibil- are ex-Presidents of APS, and two ics Laboratory in Urbana, Illinois ence was designed to have a Le Bihan, Carlo Rubbia, Maciej Nalecz, Martial Ducloy, Sylvie ity, by humanizing it, by of those have won Nobel Prizes. in 1944. He is a creative and Joussaume, Harold Kroto, and Claude Cohen-Tannoudji. public focus, said Martial applying it, showing its In chronological order, they are: prolific entrepreneur, who devel- Ducloy, Chair of the Interna- usefulness, but not by —Hans A. Bethe, elected oped metal halide lighting tional Organizing Committee of the pete with television and video trivializing it.” She said physicists have Fellow in 1935, served as APS systems. APL now has a 60- to International Year of Physics, in the games to capture students’ inter- distanced themselves from society. President in 1954, and won the 70-percent worldwide market opening session of the conference. est, he said. He emphasized the “We are too busy talking to each Nobel Prize in 1967; share of the metal iodides used “Physicists must come down from importance of hands-on learning other or we are too afraid of losing —John A. Wheeler, elected in metal halide lamps. their ivory tower,” he said. “Physics in engaging students. “It’s very our academic image.” Fellow 1937, and served as APS —Leo Beranek, elected 1946; is not a discipline turned to the past, important for people to do their Many speakers emphasized the President in 1966. He was one of See OLDEST FELLOWS on page 3 but continues to provide answers to own thinking,” he said. importance of physics and the value fundamental questions.” APS President Marvin Cohen of the international physics commu- Several speakers addressed the also discussed education and out- nity coming together. Chen Jiaer, issue of how to get young people reach as part of a round table Past-President of the National Natu- Sixteen “Physics on the Road” interested in science and insure discussion on the public percep- ral Science Foundation of China, that all students receive a good sci- tion of physics. He described some said, “Without physics and science Teams Selected for WYP ence education. Georges Charpak of the events APS has planned for the modern world would lose its very Sixteen teams from colleges and their scope to small numbers of of France said, “When children are this year, and also discussed his nature and modern society its future. universities all around the country visits in localized areas,” said young they have spontaneity, but own experiences presenting phys- There are new challenges and action will participate in the World Year of Vinaya Sathyashelappa, APS by age 11 or 12 this spontaneity ics in high school classes, where that must be taken. Physical Physics “Physics on the Road” project coordinator for the World has died. Scientific training is he was able to interest the students societies of all lands must unite.” project. Making use of funds pro- Year of Physics. “Even so, each year something they’re not all that in subjects like superconductivity Another issue discussed at the vided by the NSF and DOE’s Office these dedicated groups, composed interested in.” Science has to com- and nanotechnology. conference was science and of Science, the 16 teams will each largely of volunteers, manage to receive a $10,000 grant, to be used reach thousands of people, the for program supplies, vehicle main- majority of which are children.” And the ighlights tenance, room and board for For instance, 15 years ago, Dan winners are… HH participants, and other costs associ- Dahlberg of the University of ated with performing physics Minnesota created “The Physics Speaking at the recent AAPT demonstrations. In addition, four al- Force” outreach program for K-12 meeting in Albuquerque, 4 ternate teams were selected, who will students, although the strongest fo- Astronaut Don Pettit reads Zero Gravity also receive support as more fund- cus is on sixth graders. The aim is “to the names of winning high Seussified Einstein ing becomes available. create an enthusiasm for math and school teachers in the World By James Riordon The 16 teams and 4 alternates science in the youngest students,” Year of Physics reduced-gravity competition. The six were chosen from among 39 through fast-paced demos that teach winning teams of three applicatants by a panel composed a series of physics concepts, each teachers each will fly aboard 12 of representatives of APS, AAPT and building on the ones that came be- NASA’s “weightless wonder” the Society of Physics Students (AIP). fore. Two years ago, the group parabolic aircraft later this “Many of these local touring performed for a full two weeks at year to perform experiments programs currently exist in phys- Disney’s Epcot Center. in microgravity. The Back Page ics departments across the Today, Dahlberg’s performances Remembering M. Hildred Blewett country, but the lack of funding reach more than 30,000 local students, By Rosalind Mendell PhotoCredit: Jessica Clark and external recognition limits See ON THE ROAD on page 11 2 February 2005 NEWS

This Month in Physics History “General relativity just relaxes me.” yune (New Orleans), January 2, 2005 Einstein and Brownian Motion —Harry Ringermacher, General Elec- ✶✶✶ tric, on his hobby, the Times Union “String theory is not like any- (Albany, NY), December 12, 2004 thing else ever discovered. It is an In March of 1905, a young those who chose to deny their ✶✶✶ incredible panoply of ideas about patent clerk in Switzerland existence. They argued that “A shuttle servicing mission is math and physics, so vast, so rich named Albert Einstein submit- the laws of thermodynamics the best option for extending the you could say almost anything ted a groundbreaking paper need not be based on mechan- life of the Hubble telescope. It is about it.” extending Planck’s 1900 no- ics, which dictated the highly unlikely that the science life —Edward Witten, Institute for tion of quanta to the wave/ existence of invisible atoms in of Hubble would be extended with Advanced Study, The New York Times, particle dual nature of light. It motion. Ostwald in particular a robotic mission.” December 7, 2004 was published in the Annalen advocated the view that ther- —Louis J. Lanzerotti, New Jersey ✶✶✶ der Physik. In May the journal modynamics dealt only with Institute of Technology, The New York “We bemoan the fact that received another paper from energy and how it is trans- Times, December 9, 2004 Einstein spent the last 30 years of Einstein. This time, his subject formed in the everyday world. ✶✶✶ his life on a fruitless quest, but we was the kinetic theory of [He and his followers were “This is a victory for freedom of speech.” think it’s fine if a thousand theo- gases, but the paper was known as “energeticists” as a —Marc Brodsky, American Insti- rists spend 30 years of their prime equally groundbreaking in its result.] conclusions. Photo Credit: American Institute of Physics However, by May 1908, tute of Physics, on the government’s on the same quest.” Einstein and his first wife with their first-born In the 19th century, physi- Einstein had published a sec- announcement that it would allow —Lawrence Krauss, Case Western son. publishers to engage in publishing Reserve University, on string theory, cists had refined the kinetic ond paper on Brownian activities with people in Cuba, Iran, The New York Times, December 7, 2004 theory of gases, which deriving the second law of ther- motion providing even more and Sudan, Associated Press, ✶✶✶ described heat as an effect of modynamics from 1902 to 1904 detail than his 1905 paper, and December 15, 2004 “If it were 30 light years away, the nonstop agitated motion of to develop his own form of suggesting a way to test his ✶✶✶ this would go beyond being an atoms. Along with the Ameri- statistical mechanics. He used theory experimentally. That same “The fact that we can design sat- exciting event and would be on the can physicist J.Willard Gibbs, mechanics, atoms and statistical year, a French physicist named ellites and space shuttles that don’t borderline of being in trouble.” Ludwig Boltzmann used the ki- arguments to formulate a “general Jean Baptiste Perrin conducted come crashing back to Earth is —Robert Kirshner, Harvard- netic theory to resolve the molecular theory of heat.” a series of experiments that con- because we take special relativity Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, so-called “reversibility paradox” Einstein developed this statisti- firmed Einstein’s predictions. into account.” on the possibility of a supernova in physics. This arose from the cal molecular theory of Perrin wrote that his results “can- — Nergis Mavalvala, Massachusetts going off in our galaxy, The Boston second law of thermodynamics, liquids for his doctoral disserta- not leave any doubt of the Institute of Technology, the Times-Pica- Globe, December 21, 2004 which dictates that most natu- tion at the University of Zurich. rigorous exactitude of the for- ral processes are irreversible, in In a separate paper, he applied the mula proposed by Einstein,” and seeming contradiction to the molecular theory of heat to liquids his work later earned him his Mixed Results for US Students in Newtonian mechanics of atoms. to explain the puzzle of so-called own Nobel Prize in Physics, in Bolztmann reinterpreted the “Brownian motion”. 1926. International Comparisons second law as statistical, rather Eventually the experi- The results of the 2003 Trends science, at both grade levels. than absolute. He reasoned that mental evidence supporting in International Mathematics and US eighth-graders scored there are so many atoms and Einstein’s theory of Brown- Science Study (TIMSS) were better in both science and math molecules that make up some- ian motion became so released on December 14, 2004. than in previous assessments. thing as small as an ice cube, for compelling that the US students continue to score sig- Gains in math occurred primarily example, that it is extremely naysayers were forced to ac- nificantly above the international between 1995 and 1999, with the unlikely—although not impos- cept the existence of averages in both math and science. greatest gains in science occurring sible—for the molecules in a material atoms. His funda- The results suggest that US eighth- between 1999 and 2003. melted ice cube to return from mental work on applying graders have made strides in both In science, US fourth-graders the disorder of a liquid to their Photo Credit: American Institute of Physics statistical methods to the subjects over the last eight years, were outperformed by their peers original orderly arrangement. The Patent office in Bern. random motions of but that US fourth-graders’ perfor- in five countries and regions. In The statistical improbability of Newtonian atoms also led to mance has stagnated. In another math, fourth-graders from the US those molecules doing so, how- In 1827, the English botanist his insights into the photo electric international comparison, US were outperformed by their peers ever, was the source of the Robert Brown noticed that pollen effect, through the discovery of a 15-year-olds did not measure up in 11 countries and regions. seeming irreversibility observed seeds suspended in water moved critical connection between his to the international average in The 2003 assessment also in nature. in an irregular “swarming” motion. statistical theory of heat and the mathematics literacy and problem- found that, in almost all countries, While a student at the Einstein then reasoned that if tiny behavior of electromagnetic solving skills. higher parental education levels Zurich Polytechnic Institute, but visible particles were sus- radiation. This was the first step in The TIMSS assessments are were associated with higher Einstein met a young Serbian pended in a liquid, the invisible his goal to unify the two fields. carried out by the International student achievement. woman, Mileva Maric, the only atoms in the liquid would bombard Thus far, the electromagnetic Association for the Evaluation of Another international compari- woman in his physics class. the suspended particles and cause theory developed by James Clerk Educational Achievement (IEA), son of students, the Program for Einstein’s family opposed any them to jiggle. Einstein explained Maxwell in the late 19th century and the first assessment was con- International Student Assessment talk of marriage, even after the motion in detail, accurately had resisted all attempts to ducted in 1995. Follow-up studies (PISA), showed US 15-year-olds Mileva gave birth to a daughter predicting the irregular, random reduce it to mechanical processes. are conducted every four years, pro- performing below the international (who was apparently given up motions of the particles, which Einstein set out to do just that. viding an ongoing source of average of participating countries for adoption). The pair finally could be directly observed under international comparison. in an assessment of mathematical married in 1903 after Einstein a microscope. Next month: Special Rela- The 2003 assessment tested literacy and problem-solving. got his job at the Patent Office. When Einstein’s paper first tivity fourth- and eighth-graders in math- Highlights of the TIMSS and Their first son was born in 1904. appeared in 1905, the notion of See the special exhibit on ematics and science. More than PISA studies are available at [A second followed in 1910.] atoms and molecules was still a Albert Einstein’s life and work by 360,000 students in 49 countries http://nces.ed.gov. Einstein was supposedly subject of heated scientific debate. the American Institute of Physics: participated in the 2003 study. unaware of Boltzmann’s work Ernst Mach and the physical chem- http://www.aip.org/history/ Students from Singapore outper- —Excerpted from FYI, The American when he began independently ist Wilhelm Ostwald were among einstein/ formed students from all other Institute of Physics Bulletin of Science countries in both math and Policy News (http://aip.org/fyi/)

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Thermal Management for Automotive Electronics Alaa A. Elmoursi

With the continuing trend in electron microscope (SEM) images, volume, measured without stan- automotive electronic systems the hard material also becomes dards), indicating a high content toward higher power and lodged in the aluminum matrix. With of diamond in the matrix. increased packing density, efficient the exception of the Al/AlN compos- The thermal conductivity thermal management has become ite, all other composites could be at room temperature of the a crucial issue. Typical electronic deposited to several millimeters of as-deposited Al/diamond MMC devices and their packages consist thickness. perpendicular to the spray direc- of a variety of different types of Results for adhesion of the tion is only 168 W•m-1•oC-1, but materials, including metals, semi- Al-based composites to several rises to 202 W•m-1•oC-1 after an- conductors, ceramics, composites, substrates are shown in Table 1. The nealing. As far as I know, this is the and plastics. The most important “Yes” and “No” in the table first time an Al/diamond compos- physical properties in the use of refer to whether the sprayed ite has been successfully formed by materials in thermal management composite powder formed a uni- any method. Johnson and are thermal conductivity (k) and form coating on the substrate or not. Sonuparlak reported the formation the coefficient of thermal expan- Table 1 also displays thermal conduc- of a diamond/Al composite by pres- sion (aa). It is also quite evident that tivity results on the as-deposited sureless infiltration, but in this case in general there is an enormous dis- coatings as well as that after anneal- it was necessary to coat the dia- parity between the aa’s of good ing at 550 oC. The pure aluminum mond particles with SiC prior to metals used for heat sinks (alumi- Figure 1. Thermal conductivity of electronic packaging materials as a function of and the aluminum/SiC composite infiltration to prevent the forma- num and copper) and insulators their thermal expansion coefficients coatings were thick enough to mea- tion of Al4C3. A distinct advantage used for electronic substrates sure the thermal conductivity both of the kinetic spray process is that (alumina, BeO, AlN, etc.). The mag- microns in diameter could be the premixing chamber at a pres- perpendicular and parallel to the it allows the formation of Al/dia- nitude of this problem can perhaps sprayed to form a coating, with sure of about 2.4 MPa (350 psi). spray direction. The other compos- mond at low temperatures, thus be best visualized with the aid of particles impinging on the sub- The nozzle inlet has a restricted ite coatings were not thick enough obviating the need for any additives Figure 1, which displays the ther- strate at about room temperature zone with a selected diameter such to perform measurements in the di- or reaction inhibitors. mal conductivity of various or even below. Delphi Research that the gas achieves supersonic ve- rection parallel to the spray. In conclusion, the work at materials as a function of their aa. Labs (DRL) researchers discovered locity upon exiting the nozzle. The Al/Diamond composite: Figure Delphi has shown that the kinetic While silicon and the best materi- how to breech the 50 micron powder particles accelerate due to 3 is a cross-sectional SEM image spray method can be successfully als for insulating substrates occupy drag effects showing the interface between the used to fabricate composites of an the left hand portion of this plot, with the gas. Al/diamond composite and the aluminum matrix and hard mate- aluminum and copper reside on These high ve- brass substrate, which was sand rials such as SiC, AlN, diamond and the far right hand side. One of the locities cause blasted before applying the coat- tungsten. Kinetic spray lends many challenges of electronic pack- the powder ing. The interface shows no sign of itself to low-cost and high-volume aging is bridging this thermal particles to delamination and the aluminum is processing. In addition unique expansion gap in a manner that plastically clearly providing the bonding to composites can be fabricated. doesn’t compromise the thermal deform as they the brass substrate. The diamond Alaa Elmoursi is the Group efficiency of the package. impact the is uniformly dispersed in the Leader-Coating Materials in the It is well known that composite substrate and matrix. EDX results indicate 66% Manufacturing Dept. of Delphi materials, which in the present form a coating. C and 34% Al by weight (56% C by Research Labs in Shelby Twp., MI. context means two or more mate- Figure 2. Schematic diagram of the kinetic spray process However, the rials consolidated together, can mechanism for Composite Thickness Adhesion Adhesion to Adhesion to Adhesion Thermal Thermal (mm) to Brass Stainless Aluminum Alumina Conductivity Conductivity possess a wide range of physical diameter barrier in making coat- solid particles colliding with a sub- (MPa) Steel (MPa) (MPa) as-deposited annealed properties. Their use in electronic ings with “cold” particles via an strate to form a coating is not (MPa) packaging is not new: the printed innovative spray gun design, pro- completely understood and Al/Diamond 7.5 Yes Yes / slow 34.5 23.2 168 202 buildup circuit board familiar to all of us is ducing coatings with particles as requires further research. an example of a polymer matrix large as 200 microns. They named Aluminum composites have composite (PMC). Metal-matrix their new process kinetic spray been formed by kinetic spraying of Al/SiC 6.0 Yes Yes 85.6 Yes 135 perp 165 perp composites (MMC) are fabricated because, for their particles to stick powder mixtures. The Al/Diamond 155 par 190 par using a high thermal conductivity to the substrate, all of the incident and Al/SiC mixtures had a compo- metal matrix such as aluminum or sition of 70% Al by volume and Al/AIN 0.8 19.3 No Yes / slow Not 129 144 copper, with a low a material added the balance diamond and SiC, buildup sprayed to reduce the overall a of the com- respectively. The Al/AlN and Al/ Al/W 6.0 33.8 Yes / slow Yes Yes 108 125 posite. One such material that has W mixtures had a composition buildup undergone considerable commer- of 50% Al by volume and the cial development is the aluminum/ balance AlN or W. All compos- Al 14.0 Yes 6.9 Yes 4.8 114 perp 168 perp silicon carbide composite, repre- ites were sprayed on brass, sented by the dashed lines in Figure stainless steel, aluminum and 108 par 160 par 1. By proper adjustment of the rela- alumina substrates. Table 1. Qualitative adhesion of the Al-based composites and pure Figure 3: Cross-sectional SEM image of the tive composition of the composite, In order to facilitate a aluminum to brass stainless steel, aluminum and silver coated alumina. “Perp” indi- Al/diamond composite on a brass substrate the a can approach that of silicon better understanding of the cates thermal conductivity perpendicular to the spray direction; “par” (bottom). The diamond particles are the dark and insulating materials while main- properties of Al MMC’s we have indicates parallel to the spray direction. contrast in the upper layer. taining high thermal conductivity. studied the properties of The use of kinetic spray to fabri- kinetically sprayed pure Al. The cate MMC’s addresses two particle’s kinetic energy must be as-deposited coating has a room OLDEST FELLOWS from page 1 important areas: further improve- converted to heat or strain energy temperature thermal conductivity with cofounders Bolt and Newman, until 1982. He was also the director ment of the material properties of via plastic deformation upon of only about half of that of bulk Beranek started Bolt, Beranek, and of the Nuclear Physics Division of MMC’s for thermal management, impacting the substrate. More- aluminum (114 W•m-1•oC-1 vs Newman in 1948. BBN began as an the NRL from 1953 to 1965. In and advanced manufacturing tech- over, the DRL researchers found 240 W• m-1•o C-1), but after anneal- acoustical consulting firm, but later 1970, he helped to organize the APS niques that will allow cost-effective that they could kinetic spray mix- ing at 550 oC the conductivity rises entered the budding industry of Division of Astrophysics, and was MMC fabrication on a production tures of ceramic and metal to approximately 168 W•m-1•oC-1 computing and did contract work the Chair of DAP in 1971-72. scale. particles, thereby forming MMC (70% that of bulk). with NIH and ARPA. —Abraham Taylor, elected Kinetic spray processingprocessing: coatings without the requirement The powder mixtures of the —Wilbur Hummon Goss, elected 1948; born in England, he worked MMC’s are typically made by of melting the metal. Al-based composites were kinetic 1946; joined Johns Hopkins Applied at English Electric Company dur- squeeze casting molten metal into A schematic diagram of the sprayed on several substrates. A sum- Physics Laboratory in 1942, retiring ing World War II, then moved to a ceramic perform. Because of the kinetic spray nozzle we use at DRL mary of the coating thickness as assistant director in 1967. Goss Mond Nickel Company, where he high temperature involved, unde- is shown in Figure 2. The main gas deposited on an aluminum substrate had a leading role in the develop- conducted crystallographic inves- sirable compounds can be formed flow is delivered to the premixing is shown in Table 1. The thickness of ment of the “proximity fuze,” which tigations of complex Ni-Cr-Ti-Al between the molten metal and the chamber located downstream of the composites is about one half of played a key role in the Allied vic- and similar alloys. He moved to ceramic. In addition, this process the flow straightener at a pressure that of the pure aluminum, suggest- tory in WW II, and the ramjet engine. Westinghouse in Pittsburgh, con- cannot be employed to make MMC of about 2 MPa (300 psi) and a ing that the hard material in the —Maurice Shapiro, elected 1946; tinuing his work on ultrahigh coatings. In 1994, Alkhimov and temperature that is controllable matrix is eroding away the aluminum founded the Laboratory for Cosmic temperature alloys. He received an collaborators suggested a process between 100 and 500 °C. Simul- during spraying. However, as can be Ray Physics at the Naval Research honorary DSc from the University whereby particles less than 50 taneously, powder is delivered to seen in the cross-sectional scanning Laboratory in 1949, and headed it of Manchester in 1965. 4 February 2005 NEWS

Washington Dispatch A bi-monthly update from the APS Office of Public Affairs Young Albert E. and the Miracle Year ISSUE: RESEARCH FUNDING By James Riordon Congress finalized the fiscal year 2005 budget in De- Listen my friends, and shortly you’ll hear cember, with mixed results for science agencies. The NSF Why 1905 was a miracle year budget was cut 1.9% from FY 2004, while the DOE Office For that was the time that a young patent clerk of Science fared relatively well, with R&D programs increas- By the name Albert Einstein did incredible work. ing by 4.3% to $3.32 billion. NIST Labs received a 9.6% increase, while NASA research programs decreased by 5.5%. Now this is a story that comes in three parts And the beginning, of course, is the best place to start. President Bush is scheduled to send his FY 2006 budget to But how it begins, I confess I don’t know Congress on February 7. Research budgets are expected to be So I made up a lie, and here’s how it goes. tight. Please refer to the AAAS R&D website for updates (www.aaas.org/spp/rd). One day Al was walking and stopped to look down At a puddle that spread in his way on the ground ✶✶✶✶✶ As he studied the muck and the mud, Albert found That his mind wandered back to the motion of Brown. ISSUE: INNOVATION A small bit of dust or pollen or fluff The Task Force on the Future of American Innovation, Would dance in the water, if ’twas tiny enough. Light is sometimes a wave, that much is true, of which APS is a member, is planning a February 16 press Some thought that the motions were signs of life But at other times it’s a particle too. conference to unveil a series of benchmarks on the health But old Reverend Brown had proved that’s not right. And the same goes for atoms and marbles and pigs- of science and technology in the United States. It just hard to tell when things get too big. “The way the dust jiggles and wiggles and writhes,” ✶✶✶✶✶ Al said, “it’s no wonder some think it’s alive.” ’Twas a wondrous discovery, and now he was near. Yes, it’s almost enough for a miracle year. He sat and he pondered and grasped for some notion, ISSUE: NEW S&T-RELATED APPOINTMENTS What could possibly lead to this Brownian motion? ISSUE: NEW S&T-RELATED APPOINTMENTS One day he was dreaming and thought if he might Dr. Arden L. Bement was recently confirmed by the Sen- Well, he thought and he thought and he thought a bit Travel as fast as his photons of light. ate as the new Director of the National Science Foundation, What strange things would happen, what wonders more, there’d be after serving for two years as director of NIST. President He thought ’til the thoughts made his thinking parts sore. If he could approach the speed of light: c. Bush has nominated Dr. Samuel W. Bodman as his new And with a little statistics and persistence galore, Secretary of Energy. Bodman is currently Deputy Secretary of He thought of an answer not thought of before. He thought and he thought and he thought a bit more, the Treasury and served previously as Deputy Secretary of “It’s molecules,” cried Albert, “too small to see He thought ’til the thoughts made his thinking parts Commerce. He is also a former associate professor of chemical That are bumping the bits, that’s what it must be. sore. engineering at MIT. Carlos M. Gutierrez, CEO of the Kellogg And if water has molecules then so has that tree With a little deduction and persistence galore, cereal company, has been nominated as Secretary of Commerce. And this rock and that bird, and yes, you and me!” He thought of an answer, not thought of before. In Congress, the House and Senate Appropriations Well molecules and atoms at last were confirmed, Now light speed is constant, experiment showed, Committees have new chairmen. Jerry Lewis (R-CA) suc- And solid state texts were rewritten or burned. If you move quickly or move very slow. ceeds Bill Young (R-FL) in the House, while Thad Cochran ’Twas a wondrous discovery, though not without peer, But if light speed is constant, it’s time that must change. (R-MS) takes over for Ted Stevens (R-AK) in the Senate. And it’s hardly enough for a miracle year. The answer’s the answer no matter how strange. ✶✶✶✶✶ Now photons, like atoms, were once speculation, This one little notion, while modest enough, Since light comes in waves with well known undulations. Led to a whole bunch of powerful stuff. ISSUE: SCIENTIFIC ADVICE TO CONGRESS But when light fell on metals and started a current, From time dilation to lengths that contract At its January 9 meeting, the APS Panel on Public Affairs Though the theories were clear, the experiments weren’t. To the source of the sunshine and cloud chamber members drafted a statement that calls for enhancing the tracks. Turn up the brightness and more electrons emerge, capabilities of Congressional organizations that carry out While it’s the color of light makes their energy surge. technically based studies. The APS Council will vote on And perhaps Al’s most famous discovery of all technically based studies. How could this be? Albert knew it was wrong Is the simple equation that most folks recall. whether to approve the statement at its April 15 meeting. If light was a wave as we’d thought all along. E=mc2 made the fact plain POPA also chose to explore mechanisms for joining with He thought and he thought and he thought a bit more, That energy and matter are one and the same. other scientific societies to provide science advice to He thought ’til the thoughts made his thinking parts sore. Congress. With a little deduction and persistence galore, And now there you have it, the case is quite clear He thought of an answer not thought of before. Why 1905 was a miracle year. Log on to the APS Web Site: For in five famous papers and less than twelve months (http://www.aps.org/public_affairs) for more information. Einstein came up with some fabulous stuff.

Einstein: Standard of Greatness years. Today, Einstein’s light particle, water molecules could depart from named the photon in 1926, is built their average behavior, unite John S. Rigden into the foundation of physics. together, and bombard a pollen par- Einstein’s April and May papers ticle such that the zigzag When the editors of Time maga- he thought because it is in the details,” said Einstein in his were closely connected. The first was motion was the result. This paper zine selected Albert Einstein as the historical record. The “what” and autobiography. “God’s thoughts” are Einstein’s doctoral dissertation and turned the last atomic skeptics into person of the 20th century, they “how” cannot be over emphasized; not trivial and Einstein’s 1905 papers led directly to his May paper. Both atomic believers: with only a ruler explicitly acknowledged his great- however, they provide only part of were so basic that they shifted the papers focused on particles in a and a stopwatch, one could confirm ness. Today, 50 years after his death, the answer as to why Einstein occu- tectonic footings that underlay phys- liquid. In his dissertation, the par- Einstein’s theory and observe incon- Einstein commands a unique place in pies such a special place in ics and put a new face on Nature. ticles are sugar molecules and trovertible evidence for atoms. contemporary minds: “He’s no contemporary culture. Einstein is Einstein’s March paper con- Einstein opened the way to deter- Einstein’s June paper is one of the Norman Einstein, but” … said a televi- special for two additional reasons: fronted the affirmed physical fact mine their size. This was at a time great papers in the history of phys- sion announcer commenting on a because of who we are as homo that light leaves its source and spreads when the reality of atoms was still ics. In this paper, Einstein presented smart NFL player or “He’s no Einstein, sapiens and because physics itself through the surrounding space as a debated. The dissertation is differ- his Special Theory of Relativity. Start- but”… say proud parents as they connects in a cogent way with the continuous wave. Einstein chal- ent from Einstein’s other papers in ing from two simple axiomatic boast of their prodigy’s intelligence. human species. lenged this view as he built a that it has many practical applica- statements, Einstein transformed There are many smart people, but it Einstein’s accomplishment in powerful case to support his con- tions, from cement to cow’s milk, and our understanding of the two most is always Einstein that is held up as 1905 has no equal. In six months, tention that light was not continuous, is one of Einstein’s most cited papers. basic concepts of physics: space and the standard. Why? Why the physi- from March 17 to September 26, but consisted of individual, discrete, In the April paper, the particles time. The June paper is a master- cist, Einstein? Einstein wrote five papers. The fun- localized particles. The March are pollen suspended in water. For piece. In his autobiography, Einstein said, damental nature of these papers paper was the only 1905 paper that decades, pollen particles were The September paper was a logi- “The essential in...a man of my type implicitly reveals how Einstein Einstein himself called “revolution- observed to move throughout the cal extension of Einstein’s June lies precisely in what he thinks and approached his physics: “I want to ary.” Indeed, physicists were so liquid in a random, zigzag fashion. paper. In this paper, Einstein showed how he thinks....” We know what the know how God created this world… I repelled by Einstein’s particle notion There was no explanation for this that two attributes of Nature that physicist Einstein thought and how want to know His thoughts, the rest are that they totally rejected it for 18 motion until Einstein showed that See VIEWPOINT on page 10 NEWS February 2005 11

ANNOUNCEMENTS Proposed Bylaws Amendment EDITOR American Physical Society Regarding Endorsement of Non-APS Meetings REVIEWS OF MODERN PHYSICS http://rmp.aps.org/ Washington Office The American Physical Society is conducting an Senior Science Policy Fellow FIRST VOTE international search for a successor to the current Editor Approved by Council, November 21, 2004 of RMP, who is retiring at the end of 2005. The Editor is responsible for editorial standards, policies, and Responsibilities: Craft and advocate for key direction of the journal, and leadership of a board of re- science policy issues. Develop grass roots activi- At the October 2, 2004 meeting of the Executive Board, the fol- mote Associate Editors, composed of distinguished physicists who solicit review articles in all fields of phys- ties for one of the nation’s largest scientific lowing motion was unanimously approved: ics. The Editor reports to the Editor-in-Chief and is societies. Organize congressional visits, That the Executive Board delegates the endorsement of non-APS meet- supported by an in-house Assistant Editor. programs, “APS Alerts,” and letter-writing It is expected that the Editor will maintain his/her ings to the appropriate units in consultation with the Executive Officer and campaigns. Represent APS Washington approves moving ahead with amending the Society Bylaws to reflect this present appointment and location and devote approximately 20% of his/her time to the position. Office at selected APS national and change. divisional meetings, APS committee A candidate should possess the following meetings and science advocacy The amendment below seeks to fulfill the motion of the Executive qualifications: • recognized stature as a research physicist; coalition meetings. Board. • broad knowledge and interest in physics and its ARTICLE XI - Meetings and Endorsed Conferences frontiers; Requirements: Excellent verbal, 3. Endorsed Conferences.—The Society or a Division, Topical • experience with the editing/refereeing process in writing and interpersonal skills. Hill physics publication. Group, Forum, or Section may endorse a conference devoted to the experience desirable. Science degree strongly preferred. advancement and diffusion of knowledge in a sub-field of physics. In addition, the Editor needs good interpersonal skills Such a conference shall be known as an Endorsed Conference. to promote the journal’s aim of publishing critical Salary: Commensurate with experience. Endorsed Conferences shall conform to the goals of the Society. reviews that serve a wide physics readership. They are distinct from Meetings of the Society and its units. En- The initial appointment is for three years with To apply, please send cover letter, resume, and three renewal possible after review. Salary is negotiable. To endorsed Conferences may set limitations on attendance and on the sure a smooth transition, the new Editor is expected to references to: presentation of papers. Details of the organization of an Endorsed become involved in the fall of 2005, while the current American Physical Society Conference shall be submitted to the Executive Board, which shall Editor is still active. The APS is an equal opportunity 529 14th Street, NW, Suite 1050 approve or disapprove endorsement or co-endorsement by the employer. Inquiries, nominations, and applications (including CV, Washington, DC 20045 Society. Endorsement or co-endorsement must be disapproved if, in publications, and letter of intent) are requested by 1 May Attn: Michael Lubell, [email protected] the judgment of the Executive Board Officer - who will ensure the 2005 and may be directed to: Robert Siemann, Chair, RMP (202) 662-8700 [voice], (202) 662-8711 [fax] proposed Conference does not conflict importantly in substance Search Committee, c/o American Physical Society, 1 Re- and time with planned Meetings of the Society or its other units. search Road, Box 9000, Ridge, NY 11961-9000; or electronically to [email protected]. Endorsement or co-endorsement by the Society shall include suit- able announcement of the Endorsed Conference in a Society publication. APS March Meeting Publication by the Society of abstracts of technical papers from an Endorsed Conference may be requested by the organizers of the Job Fair Endorsed Conference; if approved by the Executive BoardExecutive Officer, the additional cost of such publication shall be borne by the Come to the Job Fair at the APS March Endorsed Conference. Meeting whether you are conducting a job search or recruiting. Companies, universities and government labs will be showcasing their Proposed Amendment to the APS Bylaws opportunities in condensed matter physics, materials science, engineering, high polymer, laser Regarding Enlarging the Audit Committee science, computational, biophysics, chemical, fluid dynamics, optical and semiconductor.

FIRST VOTE The APS March Job Fair offers employers and job Approved by Council on November 21, 2004 seekers a more effective and economical way to solve their employment needs.

The 2004 Audit Committee Report made the following recommendation: For More Information, We recommend that the Audit Committee be expanded to four members contact Alix Brice at who will serve four year terms. The member in his/her third year will serve 301-209-3187 or at [email protected]. as Chair. At present, the Chair is only in his/her second year and should have more experience to be a more effective chair. We believe the auditors, Tom McIlrath and Michael Stephens concur in this recommendation. ON THE ROAD from page 1 The Audit Committee points out that increasingly complex regu- emphasizes direct interaction crowd-pleasing feats as moving a lations and responsibilities put upon the committee in recent years teachers and members of the general among students and scientists, but cart across the stage with a fire have made service on the committee a significant learning experi- public every year, and he estimates that to date it has not been available to extinguisher and using a frozen ence. By adding a fourth member and giving the members two years in the last three years alone, more than students outside of Brownsville. banana to hammer a nail. (This also to become familiar with committee requirements before becoming 2% of the total population of With the APS grant money, the makes use of local resources, since chair, it is hoped that the chair will provide more effective leadership Minnesota attended a performance. “Physics Circus” will be expanded banana trees are common in most for the committee. However, most of those people hail into an auditorium show and travel backyards in the area.) from the Twin Cities region. The APS throughout the Rio Grande Valley. Faculty at Northern Illinois The 2004 Committee on Committees has considered this recom- grant will enable Dahlberg’s group to Brownsville is the largest city in University provide a “Frontier Phys- mendation and voted to recommend Council approve a bylaws give performances in more rural the Rio Grande Valley. The region ics Road Show,” as well as an annual amendment to expand the Audit Committee to four members and areas of the state. is 95% Hispanic and bilingual, pov- “Haunted Physics Laboratory,” and that the Chair serve in his or her third year rather than their second Another one of the selected erty-stricken, and most of the the APS grant will allow the group to year on the committee. The following is wording addressing the teams is the “Physics Circus,” a joint parents have less than a high school bring these events to more remote appropriate section of the APS Bylaws to enact such a change. demonstration show between the education, but hope for better locations, particularly community University of Texas at Brownsville opportunities for their children. college campuses in areas where and Texas Southmost College. It is The new and improved demon- there are few other scientific activi- ARTICLE III—Standing Committees a classroom-sized program that stration will feature such ties. The “Little Shop of Physics” team A. Operating Committees from Colorado State University will Audit Committee—The membership of the Audit Committee shall be bringing its award-winning per- consist of three four members of the Council, who are not members Physics on the Road Teams formances to schools and other of the Executive Board or are not otherwise directly involved in the Chicago State University University of Oregon venues on the reservations of four business management of the Society, elected by Council to staggered Colorado State University University of Rochester Idaho State University University of Texas at Brownsville/ Native American groups: the Navajo, three four-year terms which may extend one two years beyond their Illinois State University Texas Southmost College the Southern Ute, Ute Mountain Ute, term on Council. Northern Illinois University University of Wisconsin, Madison and the Jicarilla Apache. And Idaho The member in his or her second third year of service shall ordi- Northern Kentucky University State University’s Physics Demon- narily chair the committee. Following each fiscal year, the Committee Syracuse University Alternates stration Road show will extend its shall review the audit with the Society’s auditors and submit a written Towson University Angelo State University (Texas) performances to the surrounding report to the Executive Board and to the Council, which shall include University of Iowa Purdue University states of Utah, Wyoming, northern recommendations on fiscal management issues. University of Maine St. Mary’s University (Texas) Nevada and eastern Oregon, as well In addition, the Committee will also review the Society’s Business University of Minnesota University of Nevada, Reno as all of Idaho. No other similar phys- Continuity Plan and assure that it is up-to-date. University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill ics outreach program currently serves those areas. 12 February 2005 NEWS The Back Page Remembering M. Hildred Blewett By Rosalind Mendell

Editor’s Note: As reported in the his wife, Rose. We rowed in tandem of “W metal” that were sent to me young physicists at November 2004 APS News, M. Hildred on Lake Cayuga. Alone with Hildred, from Oak Ridge National Laborato- Brookhaven. Blewett, who died last year, bequeathed I left those long hours of solitude, ries. From my measurements, I knew By 1957, Hildred a considerable sum to APS to establish hours spent in the library by day and that I was determining the enrich- and John were well scholarships for women physicists. One in my laboratory at night. ment of U-235 relative to U-238 in known in the field of of the explicit purposes is to enable women I remember Hildred as that cheer- uranium samples. There had been accelerators. Years who have discontinued their careers to ful, confident and breezy Canadian some literature on neutron-induced earlier, they had get back into research. The memoir that blonde, at ease with people and fission in 1939 and 1940 before the helped with the initial follows shows that encouraging women delightfully crisp in conversation. long silence. stages of setting up in this way was something Hildred Only twice did Hildred’s good I shared my laboratory with Rosalind Mendell ca. 1940 Hildred Blewett in the 1940’s the accelerators at Blewett cared about throughout her life. humor turn to annoyance and that Burrell Brown, who was working on CERN in Switzerland. was in response to the usual prob- Geiger counters. Burrell and I often beloved physics. Hildred immedi- They wrote papers, notices and re- Looking into my computer, I lems of women in physics. There was discussed our secret work over ately took up the lance. She said, ports and received citations from found a long letter written to the time that she worked all summer lunchtime. We guessed that we were yes, I must go back to physics; I could other accelerator physicists on their Hildred Blewett on December 18, on a problem. She found a solution associated with a project that was be a physicist and still be a mother. work, both individually and together. 1999. It began: that looked great for a doctoral attempting to use a chain reaction in She was now happy and fulfilled, Then one day around 1957, Hildred Dear Hildred—How great it was thesis, only to have it brushed aside uranium to develop a device that working with John in Brookhaven told me that she was leaving John. to hear your voice. If you recall, we as inadequate and then taken over would fuel submarines in wartime; on the new Cosmotron. John was She was going to work at Argonne, used to keep in touch once a year. and presented at an APS meeting. nuclear-fueled submarines would the experimentalist in charge and where she would be a physicist on When I didn’t hear from you last year, And although she was well prepared not have to expose themselves to the Hildred was both the accelerator her own worth. Hildred moved to I was a bit concerned. And as the year to take her preliminary examinations danger of surfacing. One day I dis- theorist and the emotional support Fermilab. She stayed for several went on, I thought of you more and for the doctorate when she entered covered a new alpha particle in my of the men on their project. Between years before moving permanently to more. I shall never forget that you Cornell, she was informed that she ionization chamber. Leon Curtiss, the urgings of Hildred and Lesley, I CERN in Switzerland. were a mother to me at Cornell, help- would have to take the preliminary our boss, was in his office for one of agreed to move to larger quarters Our intermittent communication ing me through that early difficult graduate courses first—another his occasional visits from Oak Ridge. and hire a nanny/housekeeper and stopped completely after the trip period, when I was emotionally and year of wasted time. There was also Since Curtiss rarely spoke to me—a look for a job and go back to school. across the Atlantic. But I did know educationally unprepared for gradu- that day when Chandrasekhar, about woman—Burrell dashed into his of- Established in my new house in that Hildred was very active with the ate school. And now that you can use to give an invited colloquium in the fice to announce my discovery. 1956, I found that the to-be-called SPS and IRS accelerators at CERN. I a bit of mothering, we are at opposite Physics Department, looked about Excitedly, Curtiss phoned Oak Ridge. affirmative action that was at large was now quite occupied with my ends of the continent. the room, smiled and said, “Lady Then he looked back, crestfallen, and during the war was really over and Cosmic Ray Project at NYU. I did I graduated from Hunter and Gentlemen.” I was amused but I said “Never mind.” I learned why a that women physicists were no not try to communicate, but occa- College in June 1940, the day that still preferred to be one of the boys. few weeks later. First an atom bomb longer wanted. I phoned the Radia- sionally a visitor arrived at NYU from Paris fell. My physics professor, Ruth Cornell was a very exciting place using uranium enriched in U-235 fell tion Lab at Columbia University, CERN. I learned from the physicists Messenger, had been active at the in 1940-1942. My major profes- over Hiroshima. Then a bomb using where I had a great experience in that used the accelerators that APS meeting, searching for a univer- sor-to-be, Robert Bacher, left the Pu-239 fell on Nagasaki. My 1944 before running off to be with Hildred was a prominent member of sity that would give me a fellowship university just before I arrived and “discovery” was Pu-239. my husband, who was in basic train- the CERN accelerator community. or assistantship to graduate school. was replaced by Marshall On his next visit from Oak Ridge, ing in Neosho, Missouri. I had loved As for the external evidence, it is in The University of Ohio told her, Holloway, who stood by the cyclo- Curtiss greeted me directly and jo- my work in microwave radiation, and the numerous documents, the “Why should we support her? She’ll tron as he told me that we were vially. At first I wondered why, but I enjoyed the stimulating conversa- in-house reports, the long confer- get married and have babies and the doing “real “ physics while Bacher then he said, “I guess now you’re tions that I had with my fellow ence reports on particle accelerators, money will be wasted.” was off somewhere in, hmpfh, going to go home and have babies.” neophytes and with the three and the work as editor of the pro- Miraculously, Cornell University “government.” Little did I dream I was appalled, but I did do just as he Nobelists-to-be. The current profes- ceedings of conferences on offered me the President White that my research paper on the had predicted. Their names are sor-in-charge responded with, “Why high-energy accelerators. Fellowship in Physics, for the first range-energy relationship of alpha Laura and Henry. As for Burrell should we hire you when we don’t I finally heard from Hildred time for a woman since World War I. particles in argon would end up as Brown, the Rocky Mountain News have to pay our graduate students herself after 1977, when she The approach of World War II to our part of the unpublished secret reported early this year that his regular salaries, and they are so much retired from CERN. She wrote that country’s portals was opening up the research of World War II. daughter has filed for compensation better?” Only Professor Dunning, she was living in England, where she doors of physics to the opposite sex. Against Hildred’s advice, I for her mother. Her father had died who was still running his offshoot of had access to the opera and con- As a chemistry major and physics married the boy back home the day of a leukemia-like disease, caused, the Manhattan Project, finally certs and the theater. Her address minor in a woman’s college, I was after Pearl Harbor. I left Cornell in she believed, by exposure to radia- returned my call months later. By was in that cultural center, Oxford. woefully unprepared as I walked into August 1942 with just an MS degree, tion during Word War II. And I then, I was pregnant again and Eventually Hildred moved on to the long grim brick building of because my new husband wanted suffered from five miscarriages dur- unavailable. Canada. She said that she wanted to Rockefeller Hall. There I met about me back home for a bit of time ing my childbearing days. Fortunately my return to phys- be closer to her nieces, who live 50 young men, all happy to meet an before he had to leave for the Signal When my second child was ics was “saved” by Sputnik, which in Halifax. Our communications unattached girl, and one married Corps and war. When I said good- born, my husband, Lesley and I created a new demand for students became that once-a-year long phone woman. Her name was Hildred bye to Hildred, neither she nor I moved into a UN development in of physics. I ended up as a gradu- call and the Christmas card packed Blewett. She told me that her hus- suspected that her thesis advisor, Queens. There, the garden apart- ate research assistant at NYU, with with personal information and pho- band, John Blewett, was working on Hans Bethe was about to follow the ments were “staffed” by women an experiment on large BF3 neu- tos. Even as Hildred became feebler magnetrons at General Electric, and path of Bacher. Within the year, who had been separated from their tron counters and responsibilities and more dependent on others for that she had gone back for her doc- Holloway also left to join Bacher and beloved professions by marriage for teaching a class to undergradu- help, her voice remained resilient torate because she loved physics and Bethe in Los Alamos, along with and motherhood. One of these ates—and also with graduate and crisp over the telephone. could no longer endure life as a “use- George Placzek and Bruno Rossi, and mothers was the future feminist, physics classes to take at night. The I found the notice of Hildred’s less” company wife. fellow students like Ken Greisen, Betty Friedan. I would be the first effort was hard on my resources final gift in the APS News, just weeks Hildred was 29 years old; I was Boyce McDaniel and recent gradu- mother in Parkway Village to break and trying for my children, al- before the day of my annual tele- not quite 20. It took a while for me ate Robert Marshak. the mold. It all began when Lesley though the young girls that we and phone call to her apartment in to understand why this brilliant stu- Hildred, the theorist, returned to suggested that I get back into phys- others imported from Europe as Halifax. It all makes good sense. dent of Hans Bethe was willing to General Electric, where she worked ics before I was too old. After all, nanny-housekeepers were a bless- Hildred had never spent time or take over the problems of a dis- with her husband John, an experi- my friend Rosalyn Sussman, now ing for our family. Hildred was money on the activities that deplete placed neophyte in the autumnal mentalist, from 1942 to 1947. They Rosalyn Yalow, had already pio- there to support me, if only by the bank accounts of so many of the chill of Rockefeller Hall. Our rela- were working on a betatron and, neered the way, with no more than phone, cheering me on with her fair sex. And now here is concrete tionship was that of a mother and later, on a synchrotron. Hildred had a two-week break after each baby. positive breezy comments. I could evidence that even in her last days, daughter. When I visited her in her entered her career as a theorist for (Yalow later won the Nobel Prize sense that all was not joy with Hildred chose to be mother to those room in the town of Ithaca, we played particle accelerators. for her work in nuclear medicine). Hildred. Hildred told me that John, women in physics who are still riding with her cats and we discussed our I ended the war in a laboratory at One day, Les and I decided to hire the experimental physicist in against the current of male-domi- lives and mutual interests. She even the National Bureau of Standards. a baby-sitter and go folk dancing charge of the alternating gradient nated physics. Over a million dollars! gave me advice about whose atten- There I worked to build an ioniza- in Manhattan. It was there I met synchrotron in Brookhaven, often Thank you, Hildred. tions I should accept and whom I tion chamber, similar to the one at John Blewett and renewed my told Hildred, who had the should avoid. We tramped together Cornell, but with more sophisticated friendship with Hildred. theoretician’s grasp of the synchro- Rosalind Mendell was Senior through the Ithaca gorges on the electronics. I then used my appara- I told Hildred about my life as a tron, that she was there because Research Scientist and Research Associate Physics Department hikes, which tus to measure the energy of alpha housewife and of Lesley’s wish to of his position at Brookhaven. And Professor of Physics before retiring, after were usually led by Hans Bethe and particles coming from the samples have me reconnect with my yes, she was still mothering the 35 years, from New York University.

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