May 2002 NEWS Volume 11, No. 5 A Publication of The American Physical Society http://www.aps.org/apsnews

Latest Research in BECs, MgB2, March Meeting Prize and Among March Meeting Highlights Awards Recipients The biggest physics meeting of that the interactions that are the hancing the conductivity in that re- the year, the APS March Meeting, essence of superconductivity, the gion, inducing a metallic state and was held March 18-22, 2002 in In- pairing of electrons brought about producing superconductivity. diana at the Indianapolis by the interactions between elec- A field-effect setup helped to Convention Center. An estimated trons and concerted flexings boost the superconducting tran- 5000 talks were delivered. (phonons) in the material lattice, sition temperature in a crystal of The March Meeting is tradi- are potentially twice as strong in carbon-60 molecules up to 117 K tionally a showcase for important LiBC than in MgB, especially if holes last year. fundamental physics as well as the (the momentary vacancies left be- Terahertz Imaging: A New In- kind of practical research that hind by departed electrons) can be spection Technologyechnology. shows up — five, ten, or even 20 injected into the sample by a “field- Physicists are still discovering years later — in the productive la- effect” process. useful regions in the rainbow spec- bor-saving devices we take for This is a common procedure in trum of electromagnetic radiation. Photo credit: MediaWright, Inc. Photography and Video MediaWright, Photo credit: granted. transistors, where a gate electrode One such region is the realm Front row (l to r): Jim Eisenstein (research advisor for Kathryn Todd); Kathryn This year’s conference was no forces holes into a channel between of terahertz radiation, electro- Todd, Deborah S. Jin, Chris G. Van de Walle, Robert Wagner. Back row (l to r): exception, as speakers presented the other two electrodes, thus en- See HIGHLIGHTS on page 3 Nicholas Read, Robert J. Soulen, Jr., James Allen, Tom Witten, Thomas Timusk, the latest research results in Bose- Donald S. Bethune, Jainendra Jain, Robert Willett, Sumio Iijima, Timothy J. Einstein condensates (page 1), Women Physicists Explore Bunning, Carlos Bustamente, Anatoly L. Larkin, David Goldhaber-Gordon. . physics-based tools for medicine (page 6), and the future of infor- Survival Skills at March Meeting mation technology. In addition to International Conference the technical sessions—several Looking around at a highlights of which are described physics conference like Grapples with Issues of below—there were also a series of the March Meeting, it is workshops on Sunday, including not difficult to see that Women in Physics one on career planning and devel- there are not many opment (page 3) and successful women attendees. In- Concern over the low number of egies to increase women’s partici- strategies for women physicists deed, it has been no women in physics worldwide was pation in the physics community. By (page 1). secret that women are one of the underlying themes at a comparing differences between re- Hopes for a Hole-Doped severely under-repre- groundbreaking international con- gions around the world, many new Metal Superconductorconductor. sented in physics. To ference on women in physics, held insights were gained. A list of 8 reso- Last year a new record was set address this issue, the 7-9 March in Paris, France, and or- lutions was passed unanimously by for a superconductor transition Committee on the Sta- ganized by the International Union the delegates and can be read, along temperature, 40 K, for an all-metal tus of Women in Physics of Pure and Applied Physics with a further list of recommenda- compound. Much more is known (CSWP), for the first (IUPAP). More than 300 delegates tions, at http://www.if.ufrgs.br/ now about these MgB2 materials. time, hosted a special — about 15% male, and another ~barbosa/conference.html. There is now hope that a re- workshop on the Sur- 15% or more women in their early “It was an amazing experience lated compound, LiBC, might vival Skills for careers— in 65 national teams gath- to look out over a room filled with operate at temperatures at high as Successful Women ered to discuss such issues as women physicists from all parts of Photo credit to Jessica Clark 100 K, as much as twice as high as Physicists in conjunc- Mildred Dresselhaus addresses the workshop. attracting more girls into physics, the world,” said Judy Franz, APS

for MgB2. tion with the March balancing family and career, and Executive Officer and Associate At the APS meeting, Warren Meeting. The half-day workshop was chaired by APS Executive Of- getting more women into the phys- Secretary General of IUPAP, who, Pickett of UC Davis pointed out was held on Sunday, March 17 and ficer Judy Franz and Dongqi Li of ics leadership structure. Their job along with the IUPAP Working Argonne National Laboratory. A was not only to try to understand Group on Women in Physics took total of 42 people, evenly distrib- the severe under-representation but responsibility for organizing the Goldhabers Galore See SURVIVAL SKILLS on page 6 also to develop and implement strat- conference. “Women from almost every country in Europe and North America as well as many Af- Physicists Achieve Molecular rican, Asian, and South American countries shared a common sense BEC, Coexistent “Fermi Sea” of commitment to physics and to A molecular Bose-Einstein con- application of a magnetic field can women physicists.” densate (BEC) has been achieved alter the interaction force among the While the conference may be by Carl Wieman and his colleagues atoms in the trap, even as they re- over, the work certainly isn’t. The at the University of Colorado. side in the single quantum state teams returned home with re- Wieman reported at the APS which is the hallmark of Bose newed commitment. “I have never March Meeting in Indianapolis Einstein condensates. By adjusting been to any conference as inter- that his team had observed a quan- the magnetic field to be very close esting and inspiring from the The Goldhaber family is famous as a physics dynasty. Maurice Goldhaber, tum superposition of diatomic to the point where the interatomic beginning to the end,” wrote now 90, is still active after a long and distinguished career. He is a winner of the molecules and disassociated at- force goes from attractive to repul- Corinna Kausch, a delegate from Wolf Prize, the Enrico Fermi Award, and the Bonner Prize of the APS, and he oms in a trap. sive, a “Feshbach resonance” occurs See PARIS WORKSHOP on page 4 served as APS President in 1982. Among the other noted physicists in the Wolfgang Ketterle of MIT, like and some of the atoms form mol- family are his late wife, Gertrude Scharff Goldhaber, and their son, Alfred Wieman a recipient of the 2001 ecules. Scharff Goldhaber. Professor at the C. N. Yang Institute at SUNY Stony Brook. Nobel Prize in physics for BEC dis- The atoms and molecules are Alfred’s son, David Goldhaber-Gordon, is the recipient of this year’s Valley coveries, spoke at the same thought to be coherent, at least lo- HHighlight Prize for outstanding research done by a physicist under age 30. On the HH occasion of the presentation of the Valley Prize at the APS March meeting, session, and reported on some of cally, and maybe over longer members of the Goldhaber clan gathered in Indianapolis, and in addition to his latest findings. distances too. In this process the David’s prize talk, the meeting featured papers from Maurice and Alfred, as Having long used Rb-87 in his condensate appears first to implode well as from David’s wife Ilana (who is really a biologist). BEC experiments, Wieman has as and then rebound somewhat like a 5 Shown here (l to r) are: Robert Gordon (David’s father-in-law and professor of late been studying Rb-85 which, supernova, even to the extent of ViewPoint: of chemistry at the University of Illinois, Chicago), Ilana Goldhaber-Gordon, although it is harder to condense, sending out jets of particles and A Climate David Goldhaber-Gordon, Marc Kastner (head of the physics department at possesses just the right fine-grained leaving behind a remnant. The Change Policy for America MIT and David’s thesis advisor), Alfred Scharff Goldhaber, Alfred’s wife Suzan, set of quantum energy levels (hy- physics behind this “Bosenova” be- and proud paterfamilias Maurice Goldhaber. perfine levels) so that the See FERMI SEA on page 3 2 May 2002 NEWS

This Month in Physics History

“It’s important to stay on top of in all the time. I don’t use a cell May 24, 1844: Morse and the Telegraph the industry. . . because if you bet phone either. I think that having wrong, you can be out of business private space where a person can Sometimes technological in- successful than the tions tool — in a very short time.” hear his own thoughts and have novation can come from the British version for a one that not —George Whitesides, Harvard, on silences and time for contempla- most unlikely sources. Samuel number of reasons, only linked why nanotechnology will be important tion is extremely important. The Finley Breese Morse was born most notably its cities and to industry, The Futurist, March 1, 2002 modern world in which we’re in Charlestown, Massachusetts simple operation nations to- ✶✶✶ plugged in all the time makes it in 1791, the son of a local pas- and relatively low gether, but a “What the space station allows harder and harder to have those tor. He was not trained as a cost, and eventually medium us to do is open a whole new realm private spaces. Refusing to use e- scientist, but rather was a pro- was adopted as the that con- of tests that are either inaccessible mail is just one small way in which fessional artist. Although largely standard technique. nected or would be very difficult to con- I’ve attempted to create more pri- an indifferent student, his inter- Morse created his loved ones duct down on Earth.” vate space for myself.” est was piqued by the then first model telegraph separated —Robert Bluhm, Colby College, —Alan Lightman, MIT, on why he newly-developing subject of in 1835 and spent by distance. UPI Science News, March 3, 2002 doesn’t use e-mail, The Daily Cardinal electricity. After graduating the next several The tele- ✶✶✶ (U. of Wisconsin), March 12, 2002 from Yale in 1810, he lived in years perfecting his graph also “We’ve chosen what on the face ✶✶✶ England, studying art, exhibiting invention with two played a of it ought to be the world’s worst “Even if you don’t buy anything his work at the Royal Academy colleagues, Alfred pivotal role laser medium — a reflective pow- I said about the impact and poten- in 1813 and spending roughly Vail and Leonard Gale. His elec- in military operations, first used der that’s difficult to energize — tial for discovery, and the fact we 10 years as an itinerant artist tromagnetic machine worked by at Varna during the Crimean War and we’ve managed to get continu- may come up with something that specializing in portraiture, un- clicking dashes and dots to create in 1854. It was widely used in ous ultraviolet laser activity for the can transform the way we live, even aware that his passing interest or break current between the the American Civil War, where first time.” if you say that is a load of hokum, I in electromagnetism would machine’s battery and receiver. By rapid deployment techniques —Stephen Rand, University of Michi- think you should be extremely ex- eventually revolutionize global 1843 he received government for land-lines were developed, gan, UPI Science News, March 3, 2002 cited about this.” communication. funding for his invention and con- and Abraham Lincoln became ✶✶✶ —Howard Burton, Waterloo, The electric telegraph makes structed a mini-telegraph system the first president to direct “There’s no doubt in my mind that Ontario, on the founding of the Pe- use of the relationship between along a railroad line between armies in the field from the superpositions are real. This is one of rimeter Institute, Kitchener- Waterloo magnetism and electricity. Dur- Washington, DC, and Baltimore, White House. [Prior to this, the essential properties of matter.” Record, March 14, 2002 ing the early 1790s, the Italian MD. On May 24, 1844, the first presidents would wait days and —Anton Zeilinger, University of ✶✶✶ scientist Alessandro Volta in- telegraph message was transmit- sometimes weeks for news from Vienna, on quantum weirdness, New “The students are smart. They’re vented an electrochemical cell ted: “What hath God wrought!” the battlefields of distant wars.] Scientist, March 9, 2002 following the money.” that made a steady source of Morse is also credited with the Newspaper correspondents first ✶✶✶ —Vern Ehlers (R-MI), on why degrees electric current available. In development of the International used telegraphy during the Span- “I didn’t realize when I woke up in the life sciences have doubled while those 1820, the Danish physicist Hans Morse Code, a system of dots and ish American War in 1898. The this morning this was my day.” in engineering have declined, Washington Christian Oersted discovered dashes that can be used to send first military use for radio teleg- —Eric Cornell, NIST Boulder, Internet Daily, March 14, 2002 that an electric current will messages by a flash lamp, tele- raphy was during the when the state of Colorado named a ✶✶✶ cause a magnetized needle to graph key, or other rhythmic Russo-Japanese War in 1904-05. day after him and fellow Nobelist Carl “If the pitcher’s mound was level move. This principle is the basis device. The most famous Morse After a bitter legal battle with Wieman, Denver Post, March 7, 2002 with home plate, it would be of the telegraph, in which a cur- Code signal signifies distress: dot Vail that culminated in the U.S. ✶✶✶ harder for the pitcher to throw rent is varied systematically dot dot dash dash dash dot dot Supreme Court, Morse’s patent fi- “I would have never guessed consistent strikes. Players intu- according to a code. [As a tele- dot (SOS). While wire telegraphs nally became official in 1854. that 75 years after Scopes I would itively know how to take into graph key is moved up and were long ago replaced by new Today, that first telegraph is housed still have to be doing this. Instead account gravity.” down, it makes or breaks an elec- technologies, Morse Code is still in the Smithsonian Institute’s Na- of actually having to ask about im- —Alan Nathan, University of Illinois, tric circuit and transmits a signal used by professionals and ama- tional Museum of American proving science education, we Washington Times, March 14, 2002 as a series of electric pulses.] In teurs alike in radio telegraphy. History in Washington, DC. But have to head off things that would ✶✶✶ 1825 the British electrician Wil- By 1869, the first telegraph Morse’s contributions to society make it worse.” “The U.S. has conventional mili- liam Sturgeon invented the connected the East and West extend beyond the telegraph. He —Lawrence Krauss, Case Western tary forces that dwarf those of all electromagnet, and physicists Coasts, and by the decade’s end, formed the National Academy of Reserve University, on his testimony possible adversaries combined. If the William F. Cooke and Charles the Associated Press began opera- Design in New York City to pro- against the adoption of ‘intelligent de- U.S. plans to resort to nuclear weap- Wheatstone, working together tions, transmitting news mote American art appreciation, sign’ as part of the science curriculum in ons to fight far weaker opponents, in Great Britain, used this dis- throughout the world. Outside serving as its first president for al- Ohio, Newsday (NY), March 11, 2002 what does that tell those who do not covery to develop a rudimentary newspaper offices in major cities most 20 years. He also gave ✶✶✶ yet have nuclear weapons?” telegraph in 1837. around the country, crowds would generously to educational causes, “The time left for me on earth is —Kurt Gottfried, Cornell Univer- In 1832, while returning to gather to hear World Series scores helped found Vassar College, and limited. And the creation question sity, on plans by the Bush the U.S. on the ship Sully from and election results transmitted by twice ran for mayor of the city, is so formidable that I can hardly Administration to expand the role of another period of art study in telegraph. In the early 1900s, thou- unsuccessfully. He died in New hope to answer it in the time left to nuclear weapons, US Newswire, Europe, Morse overheard a sands of Western Union Telegraph York City on April 2, 1872, at the me. But each Tuesday and Thurs- March 13, 2002 conversation about the newly Company offices sprung up in age of 81. day I will put down the best ✶✶✶ discovered electromagnet and both small and large towns, con- response that I can, imagining that “If you tell me there’s a warhead conceived his own version of an necting an ever-expanding frontier Further ReadingReading: I am under torture.” in New York, it’s just hopeless. You electric telegraph, which ulti- of the U.S. The telegraph became Mabee: The American Leonardo, —John Archibald Wheeler, on trying just hope you never get to the point mately proved to be more the world’s primary communica- Samuel F.B. Morse (1943) to unravel the mysteries of nature at age where you have to track down one 90, New York Times, March 12, 2002 of these in a city.” ✶✶✶ —Steven Fetter, University of “It’s one of the ways I simplify Maryland, on the difficulty of detect- my life. I don’t want to be plugged See MEDIA on page 6

Series II, Vol. 11, No. 4 One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740-3844, Past-President Bunny C. Clark (Nuclear), Sally Dawson, Peter Meyers April 2002 [email protected]. George H. Trilling*, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Particles & Fields), Stephen Holmes (Physics of NEWS ©2002 The American Physical Society For Nonmembers—Circulation and Fulfillment Beams), Richard Hazeltine (Plasma), Kannan Division, American Institute of Physics, Suite 1NO1, 2 General Councillors Jagannathan, (New England), Joe Hamilton (Southeast Huntington Quadrangle, Melville, NY 11747-4502. Jonathan A. Bagger, Philip Bucksbaum*, L. Craig Davis, Stuart Section) Coden: ANWSEN ISSN: 1058-8132 Allow at least 6 weeks advance notice. For address Freedman*, Frances Houle, Leon Lederman*, Gerald Mahan, changes, please send both the old and new addresses, Margaret Murnane*, Cherry Ann Murray, Philip Phillips*, ADVISORS Editor ...... Alan Chodos and, if possible, include a mailing label from a recent Jin-Joo Song, James Trefil Representatives from Other Societies Associate Editor ...... Jennifer Ouellette issue. Requests from subscribers for missing issues will Special Publications Manager ...... Elizabeth Buchan-Higgins be honored without charge only if received within 6 International Councillor Christopher J. Chiaverina, AAPT; Marc Brodsky, AIP months of the issue’s actual date of publication. Periodical T. Maurice Rice Design and Production ...... Stephanie Jankowski International Advisors Proofreaders ...... Ken Cole, Edward Lee and Sue Otwell Postage Paid at College Park, MD and at additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Send address changes to APS News, Chair, Nominating Committee Michael Thewalt, Canadian Association of Physicists, Membership Department, American Physical Society, Susan Nan Coppersmith Gerardo C. Puente, Mexican Physical Society APS News (ISSN: 1058-8132) is published 11X News should be directed to: Editor, APS News, One One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740-3844. yearly, monthly, except the August/September issue, Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20749-3844, E-mail: Chair, Panel on Public Affairs Staff Representatives by the American Physical Society, One Physics [email protected]. APS COUNCIL 2002 James C. H. Tsang Alan Chodos, Associate Executive Officer; Irving Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740-3844, (301) 209- President Lerch, Director of International Affairs; Fredrick 3200. It contains news of the Society and of its Subscriptions: APS News is an on-membership William F. Brinkman*, Bell Labs-Lucent Technologies (retired) Division, Forum and Section Councillors Stein, Director of Education and Outreach; Robert Divisions, Topical Groups, Sections and Forums; publication delivered by Periodical Mail. Members President-Elect Harold Metcalf (Atomic, Molecular & Optical), Robert L. Park, Director, Public Information; Michael Lubell, advance information on meetings of the Society; residing abroad may receive airfreight delivery for a fee Myriam P. Sarachik*, City College of New York - CUNY Eisenberg (Biological), Sylvia Ceyer (Chemical), E. Dan Director, Public Affairs; Stanley Brown, Editorial and reports to the Society by its committees and of $15. Nonmembers: Subscription rates are: domestic Vice-President Dahlberg*, Allen Goldman* (Condensed Matter Physics), Director; Charles Muller, Director, Journal task forces, as well as opinions. $105; Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, and Helen Quinn*, Stanford University (SLAC) Steven White (Computational), Jerry Gollub* (Fluid Operations; Robert Kelly, Director of Journal Caribbean $105; Air Freight Europe, Asia, Africa and Executive Officer Dynamics), Peter Zimmerman (Forum on Education), Gloria Information Systems; Michael Stephens, Controller Letters to the editor are welcomed from the Oceania $120. Judy R. Franz*, University of Alabama, Huntsville (on leave) Lubkin (Forum on History of Physics), Stuart Wolf (Forum and Assistant Treasurer membership. Letters must be signed and should Treasurer on Industrial and Applied Physics), James Vary (Forum on Administrator for Governing Committees include an address and daytime telephone number. Subscription orders, renewals and address changes Thomas McIlrath*, University of Maryland (emeritus) International Physics), Ed Gerjuoy (Forum on Physics and Ken Cole The APS reserves the right to select and to edit for should be addressed as follows: For APS Members— Editor-in-Chief Society), Timothy P. Lodge, (Polymer Physics), W. Carl length or clarity. All correspondence regarding APS Membership Department, American Physical Society, Martin Blume*, Brookhaven National Laboratory (on leave) Lineberger (Laser Science), G. Slade Cargill, III (Materials), * Members of the APS Executive Board NEWS May 2002 3

MEETING HIGHLIGHTS, from page 1 magnetic radiation correspond- exists in not one but three super- tified the vehicle that facilitates a magnetoresistive random access ing to far-infrared light. Terahertz fluid phases, which have different bacterial walkabout—slime. memory (MRAM), which is non- radiation is transparent to many magnetic and mechanical prop- Wolgemuth presented a slime The Whip volatile: its memory is retained packaging materials, making it at- erties. propulsion model and experi- even after the computer is shut tractive for product inspection, One approach is to insert liq- mental evidence for the unsavory down. Whereas traditional RAM quality control, and detection of uid helium into aerogel, that airy conveyance in a Tuesday session. uses electric charge to store 0s and explosives, including plastic material hardly denser than air. The 1s of data, MRAM exploits the ones. It’s very sensitive to water, microscopic filaments of aerogel Vive La Différence magnetic properties of electrons making it useful for environmen- are supposed to act like one-di- Sex, it seems, has both advan- in the device. MRAM stores data tal monitoring. It also can mensional impurities (rather than tages and disadvantages. Ayse by taking advantage of the fact produce images with details the usual point defects), and this Erzan of the Istanbul Technical that electrons act like tiny bar mag- smaller than a millimeter. acts to disrupt the process by which University has modeled some of nets in the presence of an magnetic Daniel Mittleman of Rice Uni- He-3 atoms pair up in the act of the issues facing single-celled or- field: 0 can represent the bar mag- versity kicked off a Wednesday becoming superfluid. On Thurs- ganisms that reproduce either net when it is aligned with a field focus session on terahertz technol- day, Osheroff reported the first through sexual pairing or Vigorously twirling the plastic tube is and 1 when it is opposite the di- ogy, followed by Irfan Siddiqi of observation of a transition be- through asexual division, and James Watson, of Ball State Univer- rection of the field. Yale, who discussed experimental tween the A and B phases of liquid found clues that indicate why sex sity, who with his wife Nancy led a MRAMs have many attractive results on a device for “terahertz helium-3 in aerogel. gives many organisms an evolu- workshop on the physics of toys at the features, yet a major drawback astronomy,” which would make as- tionary upper hand. High School Physics Teachers’ Day has been their relatively large tronomical observations in the Slime Propulsion Ezran’s talk was one of a dozen held in Indianapolis as part of the power consumption: in tradi- March meeting. Each participant in far-infrared region, where optical Many types of bacteria get in a Thursday session dedicated tional MRAM designs, less than this workshop received one of these and radio astronomy techniques around by gliding across surfaces. to the dynamics of evolution. tubes and about thirty other inexpen- 1% of the power is used to write often falter. THz astronomy is es- Hair-like structures called pili pro- Later in the session, Graeme sive toys that students can use for in- the 0s and 1s of data, while over pecially promising for watching the pel the microorganisms when they Ackland (University of Edinburgh) formal physics learning. 99% of the power is wasted in birth of stars in molecular clouds travel in groups during herd-like and Michael Clark (Institute of delivering the electric current for . migrations known in the field as Terrestrial Ecology, Scotland) writing the data. Helium in Aerogel social or s-type motility. The painted a picture of a world cov- clawed frogs detect their prey, op- Zhu’s novel memory device de- Douglas Osheroff of Stanford mechanism that bacteria use when ered in flowers as they discuss the timal wiring in the cortex, and the sign consumes significantly less garnered a Nobel Prize for ob- they venture out alone (adventur- thermodynamics of an evolving molecular evolution of a genetic power and is much more stable serving how helium-3 becomes ous, or A-type, motility), however, system as it applies to Lovelock’s switch were just a few of the other than previous designs. Such a de- superfluid at a temperature of has long been a mystery. “daisyworld”— a hypothetical subjects competing for attention in sign may bode well for .0027 K. Since then scientists Charles Wolgemuth (Univer- two-dimensional world consisting the session. miniaturizing this technology to have sought to understand the sity of California at Berkeley) and of an infinite plain of daisies. the nanometer dimensions neces- mysteries of liquid He-3, which coworkers think they have iden- The mechanisms that help The Computer Never Forgets sary for many commercial When you turn off an ordinary applications. computer, its RAM (random access Phillip F. Schewe, Benjamin P. Workshop Seeks New Ways to Prepare Students memory) is lost. On Thursday, Stein and James Riordan of AIP and Jimmy Zhu of Carnegie Mellon David Harris of APS contributed to for the Job Market University described a new the coverage of March Meeting ses- memory technology, called sions in this issue. The APS Committee on Profes- Tobias discussed innovations in safety physics, which are the pre- sional Development spearheaded science education, most notably vailing hot topics in this field. a special half-day workshop just the Sloan Foundation’s pilot pro- There are two pathways to enter- FERMI SEA, from page 1 prior to the APS March Meeting gram for the development of ing the field — getting an MS and havior is still a mystery. The MIT researchers have cre- in Indianapolis, entitled “Careers professional master’s degrees a Ph.D. in medical physics from a Ketterle reported findings in ated two BEC blobs (let us call in Industry: Preparing Your Stu- programs at U.S. universities [see suitably accredited program, or three areas. First, he has used a them 1 and 2) together with an- dents.” The workshop was APS NEWS, January 2002]. Such getting an MS or Ph.D. in physics sodium-23 BEC to help cool a gas other small “seed” condensate organized to help department an approach views degrees as followed by a medical physics of lithium-6, a fermionic atom. (blob 3). The elastic collision of chairs and APS Career and Pro- launch pads for a wide variety of residency — and the AAPM has The Pauli-exclusion principle for- these blobs produced a fourth fessional Development Liaisons careers, but most science and recently established a mentoring bids such atoms from falling into blob in a process called four-wave grapple with how to better pre- math majors don’t realize this. The program to foster student inter- the single state available to mixing. pare their students to compete in fledgling programs feature new est in such a career. bosonic atoms such as Na-23, but In effect, the atoms in blobs 1 today’s job market. applications of classical subjects, The final speaker was Ed the Li-6 atoms can, if cooled low and 2 help to amplify blob 3 (a gain The academic job market for such as financial mathematics or Esposito, formerly of Alcatel, now enough, occupy all the lowest of 20, in this case). For each atom Ph.D. physicists is the strongest biotechnology, connected to lo- a professor at the University of energy quantum states possible. added to blob 3, one atom is put it has been in a decade, with an cal industry, with interdisciplinary Texas at Dallas, who addressed This has now been done in the into blob 4. This creates two pair- estimated 500 tenure and tenure courses and a required internship how industrial physicists are man- MIT experiment, the first time such correlated atomic beams. track openings per year, accord- for hands-on training. According aging their jobs in these uncertain a “degenerate Fermi sea” has co- In some future experiment this ing to Roman Czujko of AIP’s to Tobias, such programs can be times. He believes that the despite existed with a large BEC. One pair correlation might be verified Education and Employment Sta- new sources of research funding the economic downturn, “The wants to see how such a fermi gas directly if one could detect single tistics Division, who presented for university professors, since high-tech revolution is here to behaves at nK temperatures and atoms in the two condensates, some of the latest findings, to be more funding may come from the stay,” with unabated increases in whether the atoms can be coaxed which are moving off in opposite featured in an upcoming report. private sector in the future. the overall growth and evolution (by manipulating the interaction directions. However, he cautioned that not One often overlooked area of the high-tech marketplace. between them) into forming Coo- Right now it is difficult to spot all such positions are filled, and for job opportunities is medical Likewise, R&D funding will be in- per pairs, becoming thereby a single neutral atoms in a BEC. that academia hires from all sec- physics, according to Charles W. creasingly market driven. While superfluid. Single-atom detection is likely in tors, including industry and Coffey, professor and chief clini- physics remains at the core of the Ketterle also reported the helium BECs since the atoms, de- government laboratories, not just cal physicist at Vanderbilt industry, physicists themselves are propagation of a condensate in a liberately put into an excited state recent PhDs. He also reported University Medical Center and perceived to be at the periphery magnetic waveguide. First, his in order to confine and cool them that while Ph.D. production went immediate past president of the of the talent pool, even as the group made a large (2 million at- in the first place, are easily ion- down 4% in 2000 and is expected American Association of Physi- boundaries between physics and oms) BEC, then loaded it into a ized, making it far easier to detect to decline through 2003, the cists in Medicine (AAPM). There traditional engineering disciplines magnetic trap, and finally loaded it them. number of graduate students ad- are currently 3000 practicing becomes fuzzier. Esposito sug- into a microtrap on a printed cir- Chris Westbrook, a member mitted is slowly starting to rise, medical physicists in the U.S., gested maximizing one’s exposure cuit board. of Alain Aspect’s team at Orsay, and the production of BS degrees usually specializing in radio- to industry prior to graduation The micro-journey around the summarized recent helium work in physics went up 4% in 2000. therapy physics, diagnostic through internships, etc., to learn chip was partly smooth and partly and described a scheme for pro- Educational consultant Sheila physics, or medical radiation See JOB MARKET on page 4 bumpy, especially when the cigar- ducing helium molecules within shaped BEC came toward a Y a BEC. Online Resources divide. At the divide the conden- This, he said, might allow an Sloan Science Master’s Outreach Program: www.ScienceMasters.com sate wiggled itself into a snake atom-wave equivalent to the cur- American Association of Physicists in Medicine: www.aapm.org shape. Close to the chip surface, rent process of down-conversion, The Industrial Physicist magazine: www.tipmagazine.org the condensate broke up into by which UV photons can be con- Science’s Next Wave: www.aps.org/memdir/nextwave.shtml several detached segments. Fu- verted, in a special crystal, into a AIP Statistical Research Center: www.aip.org/statistics ture atom chips will need better pair of lower-energy but entangled Career & Professional Development Liaison Website: www.aps.org/jobs/cpdl control of surface roughness. photons; if one photon has a hori- Industrial and Applied Speakers Lists: www.aps.org/FIAP/speakers.html Another goal is the generation zontal polarization, the other must Women and Minority Speakers Lists: of pair correlated atoms. Ironically, have a vertical polarization. A www.aps.org/educ/women-speaker.html www.aps.org/educ/minority-speaker.html the atoms in a condensate all share beam of related atoms could, APS Technical Network: www.aps.org/TN a single quantum state but are not analogously, be sundered into otherwise entangled. beams of pair-correlated atoms. 4 May 2002 NEWS LETTERS

First authorship does not determine real leader It is curious how long the con- sity College London, my supervi- Table-top fusion controversy heats up troversy over C.-S. Wu’s role in sor, Mike Seaton, told me that his that famous experiment on par- rule was to put the authors in al- ity violation has persisted (APS phabetical order, except when it In small Massachusetts town News, December 2001 and Feb- was the first paper of one of the By Martin Bridge ruary 2002). I recall hearing a authors (in order to encourage the long time ago that when the ex- beginner). I have been applying In a startling development in that she wanted to change periment was over and the paper this rule throughout my career the world of tabletop fusion, a the color of her nails from completed, the team was to de- and it works very well. controversial experiment at Oak deep red to bright pink. cide who would be first author. In every joint research project Ridge National Laboratory appears Samantha’s nails had been After an embarrassingly long si- there is a principal collaborator to have been confirmed at a beauty deep red for years, so Gladys, lence somebody suggested that it who conducts the work on the parlor in Swampscott, Massachu- figuring that it might be hard to should be the only lady on the subject. Under most circum- setts. (The Oak Ridge experiment, get the layers of polish off, team – Mme Wu. Nobody ob- stances this rule does not do reported in the March 8 issue of Sci- brought out a new brand of “Can- jected, and the paper appeared injustice to the real leader. As ence, claimed to achieve fusion in a do heavy-duty nail polish remover” with her name first. Cervantes’ count said to his peas- beaker of deuterated acetone. Bubbles imported from Canada. Did Louise This case, important for the his- ant guest of honor, he (the count) were created in the acetone by a pulsed “Little did Gladys realize,” have any idea? tory of physics as it might be, will chair the table wherever he neutron beam, and these bubbles were Colquist explained, his eyes danc- Hooo-EEEE!” revives the question of the order may be sitting. made to expand and then collapse cata- ing in appreciation of the irony of Gladys was just about to tell of authors on a joint paper. When Petar Grujic, strophically by applying an intense the situation, “that heavy-duty Samantha that Louise I was doing my Ph.D. at Univer- Belgrade, Yugoslavia sound wave to the liquid.) meant made with heavy water that McGillicuddy was actually glad to Book may redefine what’s rational Patrons of Gladys’s Hair and Nail had been left over from filling the be rid of the old weasel at last, when Salon on Main Street in Swampscott vessel of one of Canada’s nuclear she noticed a strange expression In his Viewpoint in the Febru- view of the steady stream of anti- were atwitter to discover that their reactors. The stuff was almost pure on Samantha’s face. ary APS News, Pakistani physicist Semitic propaganda from this everyday establishment had been deuterated acetone.” “Gladys,” Samantha said, her Pervez Hoodbhoy advises that part of the world? I invite Profes- catapulted into the forefront of cut- Gladys carefully removed voice a hoarse whisper. “Some- the interests of the United States sor Hoodbhoy to read the book ting-edge scientific research. Samantha’s watch from her wrist, thing weird is going on. When I lie in “rationally dealing with “From Time Immemorial” by Joan “You’d think we’d found the and dipped the fingers of her left screamed just now, this polish re- complaints against its interna- Peters, to get a different slant on Higgs Boson or something,” said hand into the bath of polish remover. mover heated up a good ten tional behavior.” Would I be the what he conceives to be rational. Emily McTavish, who has been Colquist explained that degrees. And when I screamed only one who reads this as an at- Elmer Eisner, having her hair done at Gladys’s Samantha’s watch was an heir- again, it got really hot!” tack on US support of Israel, in Houston, Texas every other Wednesday as long as loom, handed down from her Gladys dipped her own hand anyone can remember. “This table- mother, with an old-fashioned ra- into the liquid. It still felt warm. top fusion stuff just seems to send dioactive dial that glows in the “Go ahead,” she said, “do it again.” PARIS WORKSHOP, from page 1 the press completely off the deep dark. “The numbers had been get- “Yeee-HAW!” end.” And indeed, hordes of me- ting dim, so I took it down to the Samantha screamed with all her dia, their notebooks and cameras lab to repaint them just last week,” might. Heads turned clear down to ready, could be seen prowling he said. “I must have used some Roy’s Bait and Tackle Shop two through every inch of the small pretty powerful paint, because, blocks away. Both women hastily salon with its four vinyl-covered even though it was a few inches pulled their hands away as the pol- chairs, old fashioned hair dryers, away, that watch was irradiating the ish remover started to boil. and small waiting area strewn with acetone and creating lots of tiny Asked what he planned to do out-of-date Readers’ Digest and bubbles inside the liquid.” next, Colquist said he had originally Woman’s Day magazines. Then Gladys started telling thought of reporting the results in Rodney Colquist, a physics Samantha the latest gossip about a paper for Physical Review Letters. teacher at Swampscott Community how old man McGillicuddy had left “PRL is a journal that physicists College, was the one who discov- his wife of 51 years and run off really respect,” he said. “But then I ered what was going on when his with a young waitress from thought the better of it. Why risk wife, Samantha, came home after Marblehead that he’d met on a fish- getting the paper rejected by the her appointment at Gladys’s in a ing trip the month before. referee? I decided to submit it to frenzy of excitement and disbelief. Samantha could not contain her Science Magazine.” She had sat down in the number- surprise. © 2002 by Martin Bridge. one chair, and confided to Gladys “Hooo-EEE! Reprinted with permission.

Germany. “I returned home with IUPAP Working Group teamed a lot of new energy!” Delegates with AIP’s Statistical Research Cen- Princeton Meeting Honors Wheeler’s plan to distribute the conference ter to complete an international resolutions to physical societies study of women in physics, collect- Contributions to Physics and government agencies within ing demographic information from their own countries and form more than 900 women in 65 coun- “Science and Ultimate Reality,” a in an atom trap for the purpose of issues here include the fate of infor- strong networks to stay in touch tries, including education and meeting about forefront theoreti- forming logic gates for a future mation supposedly lost inside black with each other. As a result of the employment histories and indi- cal and experimental physics, was quantum computer. holes; comparisons of string theory conference the European Physi- vidual experiences and concerns. held at Princeton, 15-18 March, in At the heart of the meeting was with the rival quantum loop gravity cal Society has already voted to “We were looking for critical mo- honor of John Wheeler’s 90th birth- the keynote speech by the always theory, which holds that space is not start a working group on women ments that have either helped or day and his many contributions to interesting Anton Zeilinger a mere platform for interactions but in physics, as have both the Japa- hindered a woman’s career,” says quantum mechanics, cosmology, (Vienna), who paid tribute to John is itself a sort of dynamical thing; how nese Physical Society and the Roman Czujko, who heads the and information science. Wheeler’s many physics insights. gravity behaves in extra dimensions; Japanese Society of Applied Phys- Center. Results from this study will The Princeton meeting served One of those ideas was a proposal and the effort to detect gravity waves. ics. also be available at the conference up an impressive menu of hot top- for a “delayed choice” experiment One purpose of the meeting Prior to the conference, the website listed above. ics and notable speakers, including in which the dissipation of wave- was to promote freewheeling de- the subject of decoherence, the like interference effects brought bate on all of the above issues, process by which a quantum sys- about by the experimenter’s efforts including the role of human con- JOB MARKET, from page 3 tem converts to a classical system to determine which of several pos- sciousness in the measurement what skills companies seek, which Several pointed out that univer- by subtle but often swift interac- sible paths a particle took in going process. Young scientists were es- include a broad, interdisciplinary sities can mentor simply by tions with the surrounding toward a detector might be pecially encouraged to engage in knowledge base; good communi- bringing industry speakers in for environment; the many-worlds in- avoided by delaying the observa- this debate, for which scholarships cations and interpersonal skills; special colloquia, which would terpretation of quantum tion of the path until the particle were given for attending the meet- versatility and adaptability; and help expose students to alterna- mechanics, according to which a (or wave) had made its mark. ing. In fact, a Young Researchers often, personal mobility. tive career opportunities. quantum system does not suffer a Zeilinger has carried out just such Competition was held for papers The talks were followed by a Sunday’s program concluded “collapse of probability”, but the an experiment with entangled pho- on quantum reality. The joint win- panel discussion moderated by with a luncheon keynote address universe itself continues to bifur- tons in a setup he referred to as a ners, from among 64 entries, were the NSF’s Rajinder Khosla. The by Venky Narayanamurti, dean of cate into multiple versions “Heisenberg microscope.” Raphael Bousso from UC Santa panelists noted that there is cur- Harvard University’s Division of corresponding to the many possible Several speakers addressed the Barbara and Fotini Markopoulou- rently not enough mentoring Engineering and Applied Sciences, histories available to the quantum persistent problem of bringing quan- Kalamara from the University of taking place to prepare physics who has had a varied career in in- system as it moves through space- tum mechanics and general relativity Waterloo in Canada. students for careers in industry. dustry, government and academia. time; and the entanglement of ions into a single framework. Prominent —Phillip F. Schewe NEWS May 2002 5

A Climate Change Policy For America By J.C. Watts, Jr.

Farmers in Elk City, Oklahoma change, and the extent to which the policy appropriately. tween scientists at the cutting woke up this morning to the tough human activities contribute to I challenge our best scientists edge of climate research and city job of nurturing their wheat crop these changes, but federal pro- to turn some of their attention to planners who are on the front through another month of drought. grams must also begin researching shorter-term climate and weather lines of the battle with nature’s As a Member of Congress from strategies that can immediately variations and produce the kind of violent side. Oklahoma, I can tell you those help Elk City, Grundy and thou- assessments and resiliency re- Unfortunately, the citizens of farmers will not complain. They will sands of other vulnerable towns search that can help the farmers in Grundy couldn’t wait for the re- do their job. And so will I. I will scattered across the country deal Elk City and town planners in sults of this program. The rising work to ensure those farmers are with extreme weather. Grundy. waters have forced them to make best served by the federal research Call it a “no regrets” strategy. It I plan to introduce legislation a quicker decision. Lacking other programs on climate change. But is a strategy that best serves in the House of Representatives options, the town decided to blast the current program is failing the America. It is a climate policy that that would create an Office of Vul- the top of a mountain off on the farmers of Elk City. can be enacted right now, in ab- nerability and Resilience Research other side of the Levisa River. Oklahoma suffers our share of sence of a scientific agreement on that would coordinate vulnerabil- When that new space is cleared extreme weather events. Drought the magnitude and extent of the ity research across the U.S. Global they will pack up every home, isn’t the only plight; the last five impact on the climate of increas- Change Research Program. The shop and stop light and move years have seen a record number resiliency, some of our towns won’t ing carbon dioxide in the office will assess those regions of across the river. of tornadoes wreak havoc. But my last 100 more years. atmosphere. And, it is a policy that the U.S. that are the most vulner- The citizens of our nation’s state isn’t unique. The rest of the As important as it is to refine recognizes that many things can able to climate change and climate most vulnerable communities country also faces disastrous long-term computer predictions, it contribute to a community’s vul- variability. And it will fund scien- must have more options than weather events. In fact, while the will not stem the floods in Grundy nerability, including changing tific research that will lead to simply packing up and moving. nation’s center has been struggling or make the crops more drought demographics and shifts in the greater resiliency. When this program is established through drought, some of the East resistant in Elk City. These towns nation’s wealth distribution. The office will be charged with and some of the nation’s best sci- Coast has endured record floods. need better methods to be more I fully support our nation’s sci- examining: entists are working to provide Last summer, the citizens of resilient to extreme weather. entific effort that seeks to • severe weather events; solutions to local planners, our Grundy, Virginia saw the Levisa They need the federal govern- understand the effect of increas- • annual and interannual cli- country will be better served. River roar down their main street. ment to help them assess their ing carbon dioxide on the future mate events, such as the El Nino When people know what to ex- As the nation struggles to cope vulnerability to extreme weather climate. That work will continue. Southern Oscillation; pect, I know that they will make with these weather cataclysms, the events. Then, they need options In fact, President Bush has been • sea level rise and shifts in the the right choices for themselves federal Global Change Research Pro- that minimize the threat to life and using the results of that research hydrological cycle; and their children. While we gram has focused on calculating if property, improve their resilience to develop his recently announced • natural hazards, including must continue to anticipate and increasing carbon dioxide in the at- to, and reduce the economic im- policy of carbon reduction. His tsunami, drought, flood and fire; solve the challenges of tomor- mosphere will cause more extreme pacts of, extreme weather events policy has carefully considered the and row, let’s get to work on the weather events 100 years from now. — regardless of their cause. scientific findings as well as our • alteration of ecological com- problems of today. That work is important. But, my con- The federal Global Change Re- nation’s economic interests. As the munities. Rep. J.C. Watts, Jr. (R-Okla- gressional colleagues and I share a search Program seeks to scientific predictions become more As a result of this program, I homa) is chairman of the House common concern: without greater understand long-term climate precise, the president will advance foresee a stronger partnership be- Republican Conference. Public Relations for Physics Departments: Convincing the Community that Quarks are Cool The Fundamentals of Launching a PR Program By Alaina G. Levine

A strong public relations pro- about what tactics to take. Some wards. Identify whom you want needs to build its brand These gram can be of great importance of your goals might be to inform to receive the message you are in order to create pub- fundamen- to a physics department. Not only the publics (the plural is inten- delivering and this will give you lic support and interest. tals are can effective PR improve the tional and I will get to that the much-needed focus that you The most basic promise meant as a reputation of an individual de- shortly) about your department, strategy deserves. of a physics department guide for you partment, but it can also serve bolster the department’s reputa- Great PR is all about building to its publics is to pro- as you de- the greater physics community tion in the local community as strong relationships with your vide excellence in cide what PR by convincing the public that well as the wider physics and publics. Once you identify whom teaching, research, and tactics to quarks, quantum dots, and national community, encourage your department serves, you can outreach, but of course take to nanostructures are cool. Building an interest in and support of cultivate those relationships to there can and should be more to achieve not only your PR goals, a solid reputation with the many physics, and promote an under- achieve your PR goals. it. By building your brand with but also the larger goals and constituents that a physics de- standing of the role physics plays your constituents, you can greatly even the mission of your phys- partment serves can lead to in society. Your PR goals might 3) Build your brandbrand: One add to the successful and strate- ics department. Public relations greater media exposure, im- mirror or act as an extension of doesn’t often equate a brand gic growth of you department. should not be looked upon as a proved quality of student the larger goals of your depart- with a physics department, but burden for you and your staff applicants, community and indus- ment, but they will not be the it can be one of the most im- 4) Any public interaction and faculty to undertake, but trial partnerships, and even same as your wider mission. portant tools you have in your makes you a representative of rather as an essential and ex- financial support. public relations toolbox. A science: Physics Department PR tremely effective instrument in It isn’t difficult to create a 2) Identify, remember, and brand is a promise: people rely holds a lot of power. Every time your quest for departmental ad- strategic public relations pro- build relationships with your on a brand because they know your department is represented vancement and growth. gram for your department, but publicspublics: Whom does your de- that that the service or prod- in public, either via a newspaper In future columns, I will it does take planning and com- partment serve? Certainly you uct that the brand represents article about your research, or an describe how to create and mitment of resources. But have internal constituents such will consistently deliver some- outreach program for the general implement PR tactics such a before you begin to implement as faculty, students, staff. But thing to them. For example, public, you not only represent media relations program and PR tactics such as a newsletter, what about your alumni? And Starbucks Coffee is an example your own department, but you an external advisory board. an alumni relations program, prospective students? How of a successful brand. I know represent all of physics, all physi- Alaina G. Levine, the former public outreach, or an external about parents, teachers, K-12 and you know that if we go into cists, and even all of science and Communications Director for the board of advisors, there are kids, and government and in- any Starbucks Coffee any- scientists as well. You have the University of Arizona Physics some fundamentals of public re- dustrial representatives and where in the world, we will get ability to bolster support, both fi- Department, currently oversees lations that must be understood organizations? And of course, the same Starbucks coffee as at nancial and nonfinancial, for your public, media, and industrial and remembered. one cannot forget the general the one down the street from department in addition to the relations for the UA College of Science public, nor the greater physics us. Their brand is the promise wider scientific community be- and its 14 departments. A confessed 1) Establish the goals of and scientific community. In de- to deliver the same coffee ev- cause for much of the public your physics aficionado and former SPS your PR programogram: Don’t enter signing a public relations erywhere and their reputation interaction with them is their first officer, she can be contacted at into the PR game haphazardly. program, it is absolutely neces- (and success as a company) de- and only taste of science. Always [email protected] or 520-621- You must identify what your goals sary to remember whom you are pends on this promise. keep this in mind when you ex- 3374. are before you begin to think targeting your PR strategy to- A physics department also ecute any PR campaign. 6 May 2002 NEWS Researchers Present New Physics-Based Medical Imaging Techniques Medicine has long drawn on Generally large magnets are re- use of optical techniques, which negative charge). This technique can Steven Eppell and Brian Todd physics-based techniques for a va- quired to produce sharp NMR often require labeling the mol- potentially identify the stage of a cell’s of Case Western Reserve Univer- riety of imaging, measurement and images, and the development of a ecules of interest with fluorescent development and also distinguish sity presented a new technique for testing applications. Several re- low-field version would benefit markers. Cells are not the clean, cancerous cells from normal ones. obtaining submolecular informa- searchers described the latest medical and scientific studies. compartmentalized units depicted Omar Saleh, part of Sohn’s tion about proteins. Investigating developments in this area at the Mark Haacke of the MRI Insti- in high-school biology textbooks, group at Princeton, also presented aggrecan, a cartilage protein im- 2002 APS March Meeting in India- tute for Biomedical Imaging in St. but rather complex networks of in- an artificial pore, a microchip de- portant in osteoarthritis, the napolis. Louis discussed a new MRI tech- teracting molecules which require vice that can determine the size of researchers used a technique that Micro-tesla MRI was reported nique called susceptibility weighted new tools to be studied in living a tiny object (such as a cell) by de- combined AFM with genome infor- by Robert McDermott, a member imaging (SWI). The technique mea- detail. tecting changes in electric current mation and transmission electron of John Clarke’s group at UC Ber- sures differences among brain Proteins in particular are of as the object passes through a tiny microscopy data. keley. The principle behind MRI is tissue in its magnetic susceptibility, great interest because they are the opening, or pore in a fluid cham- All of the data were integrated nuclear magnetic resonance essentially its magnetic response to molecules that perform the most ber containing a pair of electrodes. by using a sophisticated image pro- (NMR), a process in which a mag- the applied magnetic field of the reactions in the cell, from metabo- The ultimate goal of Sohn’s lab cessing technique to provide a best netic field is used to orient atomic MRI machine. Yielding unique in- lism to DNA replication. But while is to be able to take inventory of a guess at the 3D structure. The re- nuclei in space while a burst of ra- formation from veins and blood whole-genome technologies such living cell’s protein contents, some- sulting refined structure yielded dio waves explores the nuclear products, SWI has already pro- as DNA microarrays can monitor thing that cannot be done with new information on the molecule, energy levels by charting the fre- vided more sharply detailed MRI quantitatively the relative abun- current protein assay techniques, showing distinct locations of kinks quencies at which energy is images of blood vessels in the brain dances of all the mRNA species which require the lysing (destruc- as well as regions of mechanical absorbed resonantly. than previously possible and the within a cell, they cannot take in- tion) of cells. Ideally, they would flexibility. In addition to establishing presence of small hemorrhages in ventory of a cell’s content’s in vivo. like to “watch” the proteins “inter- The researchers hope to com- chemical identity, NMR can also be heretofore unavailable detail. Towards these ends, Lydia Sohn play” with one another in the bine their results with turned into an imaging method by SWI can potentially detect an- of Princeton University described so-called protein network. AFM-measured force fields around carefully watching the timing and giogenesis, the growth of blood several electrical biosensors at the Despite its name, the AFM cartilage proteins to link the bio- the location of the re-emitted ra- vessels caused by cancer, and may APS meeting, including one that can (Atomic Force Microscope) does logical and mechanical properties dio waves. improve diagnosis of Parkinson’s measure the amount of DNA in single not produce atomic-resolution im- of cartilage with its molecular struc- A tumor, say, will have a slightly and Alzheimer’s diseases, through living cells. Passing through a small ages of proteins or other large ture. This approach has the different water density from sur- its ability to monitor iron deposits fluid chamber in between two metal molecules. To extract more detailed potential to provide information on rounding healthy tissue. Computer in the brain. electrodes, a cell changes the elec- information from AFM images of molecular-scale mechanisms for ar- processing and contrast enhance- Electrical measurements of in- trodes’ capacitance in a way that is macromolecules, one can directly thritis and lead to intelligent drug ment will disclose the tumor’s dividual living cells can provide directly proportional to the amount subtract the effects of the tip but design and other interventions to position to a trained observer. powerful information without the of the cell’s DNA (which carries a the results are often inaccurate. prevent or alleviate the disease.

SURVIVAL SKILLS, from page 1 Party Animals uted in all levels from senior facul- volved by drawing from their per- of them found it “extremely help- ties to graduate and undergraduate sonal experiences. ful” and about 20% found it “might students, attended the workshop. As the percentage of women be useful someday”. Nobody re- Four highly respected women Bachelors and PhDs in physics has sponded that they thought it was from the physics community gave slowly increases to 21% and 13% “of little or no value.” Some de- invited talks in the first part and respectively (American Institute of scribed the workshop as served as the panelists in the second Physics data for the year 2000), “exceptionally relevant and useful” women still dispropor- and praised the choice of “excel- tionately leave physics lent speakers.” Another commented at all levels, which is of- that “it was useful to all groups” ten referred to as the from students to senior faculty “leaky pipeline” issue. members. As a result, the percent- The participants said that they age of women physics took away information that will be faculty at Ph.D. granting of great value as they continue in Photo by Malcolm Tarlton institutions remains in their careers, and they are eager single digits, according to recommend the workshop to Party Animals to Dresselhaus. While the others. They also suggested in- the reasons for the leaky creasing the discussion time, APS President-elect Myriam Sarachik chats with Tineke Photo by Malcolm Tarlton Thio of the NEC Research Institute at the reception fol- pipeline are complicated which will be incorporated into the Passing through the parking lot at APS headquarters last March were lowing the survival skills workshop. and deserve further dis- future programs. To benefit the science writer James Riordon (left) and a polyurethane pachyderm (right). cussion, the isolation broader community, CSWP will put The latter was on its way to the studio of James’s mother, Elizabeth part. Mildred Dresselhaus of MIT, experienced by many women physi- the talks onto their web site. Cowan-Riordon, an artist and art teacher who was among those chosen Kristl Hathaway of ONR, Barbara cists can hinder their career Due to the success of this first by the District of Columbia Commission on the Arts and Humanities to Jones of IBM Almaden, and Beverly development. As their male coun- workshop and the strong demand paint a collection of 100 elephants and 100 donkeys. Comprising a public Hartline of ANL addressed a variety terparts learn the rules of the game for future ones, CSWP has decided arts project called “Party Animals”, these have been placed on display at of issues such as establishing scien- from informal mentoring and net- to continue them in coming years, various locations around Washington, and will later be auctioned off with the proceeds going to benefit the activities of the commission. tific identity and developing a working with other male colleagues, alternating between the March Incidentally, Elizabeth Cowan-Riordon is the daughter of Clyde Cowan, successful career in research, find- women often find it harder to find and April Meetings, as part of the who, together with Frederick Reines, made the first observation of the ing funding for research programs, the same information, or to find a CSWP regular program. The next Groupneutrino inSeeks 1956. to Spur Publications by balancing family and career, and ad- role model to follow. one is scheduled for the 2003 April vancing professionally to achieve After the workshop, most of the meeting. Anyone interested in Retired Physicists ambitions. The second part featured speakers and participants contin- making suggestions on topics and Do retired physicists possess Archive that contains all APS re- a professional trainer, Sandy ued their discussions at the CSWP/ speakers, or volunteer to speak, an untapped reserve of valuable search publications from 3 years Shullman of Executive Development COM joint reception. The re- please contact Cynthia Keppel of knowledge that ought to be pub- ago back to their inception. Group, who led a lively discussion sponses to the workshop were Hampton University at lished? James Goff and Richard MASPG will offer its members on leadership and gender issues in overwhelmingly favorable and en- [email protected] or Dongqi Li of Strombotne of the Mid-Atlantic guidance in using the APS elec- scientific settings. Both the panelists thusiastic. From the evaluation Argonne National Lab at Senior Physicists Group (MASPG) tronic publication resources. and the participants were actively in- forms filled by the participants, 80% [email protected]. think so, and they want to do MASPG has about 130 mem- something about it. bers in and around the Washington, MEDIA, from page 2 Under the headline “Unpub- DC area. It holds monthly meetings lished Knowledge is Like a Library at APS headquarters in College ing nuclear weapons, New York Times, clarinet playing a middle C. Even —Lee Riedinger, Oak Ridge Na- Burnt”, Goff and Strombotne re- Park, MD, and organizes lectures March 18, 2002 though they are playing the same tional Laboratory, on scientists cently sent a questionnaire to and excursions for its members. ✶✶✶ note, you can tell them apart by helping to proofread textbooks, MASPG members seeking to APS helped launch the group “For gravity there’s only attrac- their timber and resonance.” Memphis Commercial Appeal, gauge their interest in preparing in 1997, and would be willing to tion, so there’s no way of —Gary Hinshaw, NASA, on how the March 25, 2002 papers for electronic publication. give some assistance to similar ef- ✶✶✶ constructing a Faraday cage for MAP satellite will provide data about To help the effort along, begin- forts in other parts of the gravity.” the early universe, Discovery News, “I do doubt the existence of ning on July 1, the APS has country if there is sufficient in- —Raymond Chiao, Berkeley, on his March 22, 2002 black holes. However, astrono- established a reduced subscription terest, according to APS Director ✶✶✶ plans to make a table-top gravity-wave mers are sold on black holes, and rate of $100 for senior members, of Membership Trish Lettieri. detector, Dallas Morning News, March “Sometimes it is better for an- talking to them I feel like Don which allows them to select one For more information on 25, 2002 other set of eyes to be reading the Quixote fighting windmills.” current APS journal on-line and MASPG or starting a similar group ✶✶✶ textbooks — those who are not us- —Martinus Veltman, University of also gives them access to PROLA, in your area, contact Trish Lettieri “It’s like trying to hear the dif- ing the books every day — in order Utrecht, San Francisco Chronicle, the Physical Review On-line at [email protected] or 301-209-3272. ference between a violin and a to check for accuracy.” March 25, 2002 NEWS May 2002 7 ANNOUNCEMENTS APS UNDERGRADUATE PHYSICS Call for Nominations for 2002 STUDENT COMPETITION APS Prizes and Awards Members are invited to nominate candidates to the respective commit- 2002 APKER AWARDS tees charged with recommending the recipients. A brief description of each prize and award is given in the March 2002 APS News Prizes and Awards insert, along with the addresses of the selection committee chairs For Outstanding Undergraduate Student Research in Physics to whom nominations should be sent. Please visit the Prizes and Awards Endowed by Jean Dickey Apker, in memory of LeRoy Apker page on the APS web site at http://www.aps.org under the Prizes and Awards button for complete information regarding rules and eligibility requirements for individual prizes and awards. DESCRIPTION QUALIFICATIONS research publication or senior the- Two awards are normally made • Students who have been en- sis (unbound). PRIZES each year: One to a student attend- rolled as undergraduates at col- 4. A 1000-word summary, writ- Will Allis Prize for the Sudy of Ionized Gases ing an institution offering a Physics leges and universities in the ten by the student, describing his Hans A. Bethe Prize PhD and one to a student attend- United States at least one quarter/ or her research. Biological Physics Prize ing an institution not offering a semester during the year preced- 5. Two letters of recommenda- Tom W. Bonner Prize in Nuclear Physics Physics PhD ing the JUNE 15, 2002 deadline. tion from physicists who know the Oliver E. Buckley Condensed Matter Physics Prize • Recipients receive a $5,000 • Students who have an excellent candidate’s individual contribution Davisson-Germer Prize in Atomic or Surface Physics award; finalists $2,000. They also academic record and have dem- to the work submitted. Dannie Heineman Prize for Mathematical Physics receive an allowance for travel to onstrated exceptional potential for 6. The nominee’s address and tele- Einstein Prize in Gravitational Physics the Award presentation. scientific research through an origi- phone number during the summer. Polymer Physics Prize • Recipients’ and finalists’ home nal contribution to physics. Frank Isakson Prize for Optical Effects in Solids institutions receive $5,000 and • Only one candidate may be nomi- FURTHER INFORMATION James C. McGroddy Prize for New Materials $1,000, respectively, to support nated per department. See http://www.aps.org/praw/ Lars Onsager Prize undergraduate research. apker/descrip.html W.K.H. Panofsky Prize in Experimental Particle Physics • Recipients, finalists and their APPLICATION PROCEDURE Earle K. Plyler Prize for Molecular Spectroscopy home physics departments will The complete nomination package DEADLINE Aneesur Rahman Prize for Computational Physics be presented with plaques or is due on or before JUNE 15, 2002 Send name of proposed candidate J. J. Sakurai Prize for Theoretical Particle Physics certificates of achievement. The and should include: and supporting information by Arthur L. Schawlow Prize in Laser Science student’s home institution is 1. A letter of nomination from the JUNE 15, 2002 to: Dr. Alan Prize to a Faculty Member for Research in an Undergradate Institution prominently featured on all head of the student’s academic de- Chodos, Administrator, Apker George E. Valley JR. Prize awards and news stories of the partment. Award Selection Committee; The Robert R. Wilson Prize competition. 2. An official copy of the student’s American Physical Society; One • Each nominee will be granted a academic transcript. Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD AWARDS free APS Student Membership 3. A description of the original 20740-3844; Telephone: (301) LeRoy Apker Award (June 14, 2002 Deadline) for one year upon receipt of their contribution, written by the student 209-3268, Fax: (301) 209-3652, Joseph A. Burton Forum Award completed application. such as a manuscript or reprint of a email: [email protected]. Maria Goeppert-Mayer Award Joseph F. Keithley Award for Advances in Measurement Science Leo Szilard Lectureship Award Contributions Acknowledged Online MEDALS AND LECTURESHIPS David Adler Lectureship Award APS recently initiated a special web page to acknowledge the generous contributions from the Society’s Edward A. Bouchet Award individual donors. John H. Dillon Medal During 2001, an impressive number of APS members provided an annual gift in conjunction with their membership renewal, including more than 800 donors who gave $100 or more. Many individuals also supported APS prizes and awards fund-raising efforts. By making a contribution, DISSERTATION AWARDS APS members help further the Society’s education and outreach initiatives, international affairs programs, Outstanding Doctoral Thesis Research in Beam Physics Award public information efforts and recognition of scientific accomplishments through prizes and awards. We Dissertation Award in Nuclear Physics very much appreciate all of these gifts. NOMINATION DEADLINE IS JULY 2, 2002, UNLESS The listing can be viewed by APS members on the Development Department’s webpage at http://www.aps.org/development/donors.html OTHERWISE INDICATED.

MEETING BRIEFS

○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○ Einstein Prize •Texas SectionSection. The APS Texas expanding horizons in physics, with Meeting” session on Saturday Section held its annual spring meet- a program designed to introduce the morning focusing on physics edu- Purpose: To recognize outstanding accomplishments in ing March 7-9 at Stephen F. Austin audience to physics applications be- cation. Friday evening’s reception the field of gravitational physics. State University in Nacogdoches, yond the realm of traditional physics. banquet was held in the renowned Texas and featured a program of The two-day program featured sev- Butler Museum of American Art, Nature: The prize consists of $10,000 and a certificate general sessions on physics fron- eral invited lectures on such topics and featured a performance by a citing the contributions of the recipient. It also includes an tiers and innovations, as well as nine as whether cortical neurons act like string quartet and a presentation allowance for the recipient to travel to a meeting of the hands-on workshops for physics transistors; NMR action studies of by Tom Cvetkovic, artist/CEO of Society to receive the award and deliver a lecture. It will be teachers. There were four plenary enzymes and signaling proteins; and Chromagem, Inc., a multinational awarded biennially. presentations on the role of Texas Chandra and the X-ray universe. commercial high-volume hologram physics departments in preparing There were also education-oriented manufacturer. Establishment & Support: The prize was approved by K-12 teachers; physics education lectures on classroom assessment in the APS Council May, 1999, and was established by the research; atomic coherence effects; physics and astronomy, and the im- •New York State SectionSection. The Topical Group on Gravitation. It is supported by friends of and a summary of recent results pact on the classroom of one APS New York State Section held its the Topical Group. and prospects from the Fermilab teacher’s year at Fermilab. Friday annual spring meeting April 12-13 Tevatron. Friday evening’s banquet evening’s banquet featured an after- at the State University of New York Rules & Eligibility: The award, usually to a single indi- featured a lecture by Joseph dinner lecture by Eric Mazur of College at Oneonta, focusing on is- vidual, is for outstanding achievement in theory, experiment Nagyvary of Texas A&M University Harvard University on stopping time. sues related to energy and the or observation in the area of gravitational physics. It is open on the science and art of violin mak- environment. Friday afternoon fea- to any scientist, worldwide. Nominations will remain active ing, followed by a musical •Ohio SectionSection. The APS Ohio tured a session on alternative energy for three years. Members of the Topical Group on Gravita- performance using a violin manu- Section held its annual spring meet- sources, such as fuel cells, plasmas tion Executive Committee shall not be eligible for nomination factured by Nagyvary. Afterwards, ing April 12-13 at Youngstown for fusion energy, inertial confine- while sitting on the Committee. participants had the opportunity to State University in Ohio, organized ment fusion research and nuclear see a planetarium show or visit the on the theme of photon induced power, followed by a banquet and Nomination Deadline: The deadline for submitting nomi- SFA Observatory. processes. The program included lecture on renewable energy. nations for the 2003 Prize is July 2, 2002. Five (5)copies of invited lectures on such topics as Saturday’s sessions covered such each nomination with supporting documentation should •New England SectionSection. The manipulating matter with light, as topics as energy-efficient solid state be sent to the Chair of the 2003 Selection Committee. Clifford APS New England Section held its well as a talk by best-selling author lighting, photovoltaic devices from M Will (Chair), Dept. of Phys, Washington Univ, CB 1105, St annual spring meeting at Brandeis Lawrence Krauss on the future of organic semiconductors, clean coal Louis MO 63130-4899, Phone (314) 935-6244, Fax (314)

University in Waltham, MA, orga- life in an ever-expanding universe. technology, solar energy, and solar- CALL NOMINATIONS FOR 935-6219, Email [email protected] nized around the theme of There was also a special “Town powered cars. 8 May 2002 NEWS THE BACK PAGE The Status of the African-American Physicist in the Department of Energy National Laboratories By Keith H. Jackson

The National Society of Black That is, academic appointments at that 44% of African American stu- US citizens with the special skills Physicists (NSBP) has been con- these institutions are more available dents who earn a baccalaureate necessary to compete in the scien- cerned about the small number of to African-American physicists since degree in the sciences do so at His- tific workforce, for example a major African–Americans with career sci- appointments in “top-50” depart- torically Black Colleges and investment in summer schools and entific staff appointments at ments and at the DOE labs are not Universities, and most African- workshops to train US undergradu- Department of Energy funded na- available. American physics professors are at ate and graduate students in the tional laboratories. NSBP has also •The bottom line is that the labs HBCU’s. Research partnerships be- science and technology embodied been frustrated with the overall have not been inventive and aggres- tween research-intensive institutions in major user facilities such as the lack of participation of Historically sive in recruiting domestic and HBCU’s have historically paid national ignition facility, Black Colleges and Universities African-American and Hispanic- great dividends in increasing the supercomputing, synchrotron light (HBCU’s) in DOE-funded scientific American scientific talent. What number of minority Ph.D. physicists. sources, neutron sources, and high user facilities such as high energy more important mission could there Each DOE lab should have active col- energy physics and nuclear facili- physics and nuclear facilities, Syn- be for an organization that would laborations with HBCU’s, HSI’s and ties. Why do we invest public money chrotron Light Sources, and the claim to be a national laboratory? Tribal Colleges that include staff ex- in these facilities if we are not going Keith H. Jackson Spallation Neutron Source. As a Many of our colleagues would changes, i.e., sending lab personnel to invest an equal amount in train- result of these concerns, the Tech- assert the “pool” or “external avail- to the schools as visiting professors, laboratories from lawsuits but do ing the next generation of US nical Executive Officer of NSBP ability” of American-Americans with and having professors at the labs as not help to diversify the lab sci- scientists and engineers in their use? began to collect data, which were Ph.D.’s in physics is small, and that guest scientists, along with their stu- entific workforce. An example of best practices is placed before the American Physi- they know of no African-American dents as fellows. More importantly, There is also a problem with the DOE office of Nuclear Engineer- cal Society Committee on with a Ph.D. in physics who is un- national laboratories should pursue senior lab personnel somehow ing. Faced with the declining Minorities (COM). The American employed. But there is, for example, joint appointments with HBCU re- equating K-12 science outreach enrollment of US citizens in nuclear Physical Society Committee on Mi- a top-10 university that has gradu- searchers. efforts with diversity efforts. The engineering programs , the DOE Of- norities formally took up the issue ated over 34 African-Americans The national laboratories should labs will bring in high school chil- fice of Nuclear Engineering, Science but first wanted to verify the data with Ph.D.’s in physics since 1974. ensure that minorities participate on dren for a day of show and tell, and Technology moved some of its provided by NSBP, and to expand This university also manages a DOE- advisory committees and on annual but will not invite serious scien- budget resources to support visit- the study to include Hispanic funded laboratory. There is not a divisional review committees at all tists to serve on review panels and ing professorships at HBCU’s. This physicists. COM enlisted and re- single African-American physicist levels. This is particularly true of labo- policy boards. The idea is that ex- was a quiet effort, and this office ceived the full support of both the on its physics or applied physics fac- ratory divisions that operate publicly posure to science will somehow should not be confused with the National Society of Black Physicists ulty. This may not be surprising, but financed national user facilities. Di- stimulate these students to major Office of Science, but it provides an and the National Society of His- in addition there is not a single Afri- versity of the division staff and in science when they enter col- example of best practices and edu- panic Physicists (NSHP). can-American Ph.D.-level physicist facility users also should be a topic lege. However a student of color cation programs appropriate to the Our data show that in general Af- on the staff of the national labora- to be reviewed. It is difficult to imag- might quickly come to the con- DOE mission. rican American Ph.D. physicists are tory or on the research staff of the ine how a review panel with no clusion, seeing no people of color Finally, the Congress must exer- less than 0.5% of the Ph.D. physicists university period! There is a com- African-American scientists will ever in scientific leadership roles, that cise some oversight muscle here. employed at the DOE labs. African mon misconception that African raise the issue of collaboration with there are in fact no opportunities The fact is that the contractors, e.g., Americans make up nearly 2% of the Americans somehow have an “af- minority scientists. The guidelines of to take advantage of and that sci- University of California, University physics faculties across the United firmative action advantage” when the review should state explicitly that ence is not a viable career path. A of Chicago, University of Tennessee, States, including the faculties of applying for jobs at the national the inclusion of underrepresented student will see it is not a pipeline know that they are not about to lose HBCU’s. Looking at data compiled by laboratories. If that were true, the minorities in the scientific program issue but more of a spigot issue. the contract over diversity, and in Professor Donna Nelson at Univer- statistics would be much better is on an equal footing with the pro- The lab won’t open the spigot to fact these are sole source contracts sity of Oklahoma, we find that the across the labs. posed science. hire a person of color. which are not competitively bid in percentage of African-Americans on NSBP has some proposals for Diversity efforts at the national The national laboratories need the first place. Given the non-com- the faculties of the top 50 physics immediate action to address the di- laboratories have to include the ac- to be committed to programs to petitiveness of these contracts it is departments in the U.S. is much versity problem at the national labs. tual stakeholders, the senior improve the distribution of scien- very hypothetical of these institu- smaller (N=60 or 0.6% of total). The labs should become intimately scientists with actual hiring and tific knowledge and high-level tions to talk about so called What do these numbers mean involved with the NSBP and the NSHP program leadership responsibili- scientific and technical skills not preferences in hiring of African - and what is the connection between and other minority professional so- ties. Too often too much is left to only of professors and students Americans. The diversity of the core the universities and the DOE- cieties. These organizations have the lab diversity officer. In our sur- from HBCU’s, HSI’s or Tribal Col- scientific staff and scientific activ- funded national laboratories? The annual meetings that consist of tech- vey and follow-up research we leges, but of all US students of ity is not a major component of the DOE labs are government-owned nical and business sessions. At these have found that this is a fundamen- science. In many instances the management contracts. Congress but contractor-operated (GOCO) meetings the labs will find serious sci- tal disconnect at the national hire of a foreign national in a sci- must make sure that diversity per- and the contractor/operators are entists with whom their scientific laboratories. Diversity officers of- entific position at a laboratory is formance is strongly and explicitly universities that do not have a single staff can form authentic collabora- ten are not scientists and have few justified on the basis of that for- put into the management contracts, African-American on their physics tions, partnerships and student informal contacts among working eign national possessing some and oversee that performance as faculties. The hiring practices and exchanges. They will also find many scientists. We found that most of “special” skill. The national user only Congress can. recruiting of the universities are students looking for research oppor- their job is to satisfy contractual facilities managed by DOE should We are dealing with very small mirrored at the laboratories which tunities and mentorship. obligations which may protect the play a leading role in providing numbers that perhaps defy rigorous they manage. The NSBP has several The national laboratories statistical analysis and control hypotheses about the reasons: could also benefit from a site grouping. The DOE laboratories DOE Number of Number of •Many university faculty have visit by a team composed of and the academic departments Funded Ph.D. Physicists African-American joint appointments with the na- members of NSBP, to review managed by the universities stud- Laboratory on the Scientific Staff Physicists on tional laboratories and serve on the and give serious advice on the ied by NSBP know what they are Scientific Staff scientific staff committees respon- recruitment, hiring practices, doing, or not doing. NSBP calls sible for hiring. workplace environment, and for congressional action because •Graduate students from the quality of scientific outreach Argonne Natl Lab 223 0 we are frustrated by commis- managing university, and post-docs activities of DOE labs. The Brookhaven Natl Lab 335 1 sions, reports, diversity plans and from established collaborators, members that make up these Fermilab 472 1 high-level statements. It is time have first shot at post-docs and staff professional organizations Idaho Natl Engineering Lab 27 0 to move directly to things we scientist positions. If you are not possess considerable scientific Jefferson Lab 79 0 know will yield results. The Con- part of that informal network there expertise, and are well in- Lawrence Berkeley Natl Lab 187 2 gress ultimately has the oversight is precious little chance at getting formed about science Lawrence Livermore Natl Lab 642 5 responsibility for the national any position at the laboratory. resources within minority Los Alamos Natl Lab 686 2 laboratories and we request •Many African-American physi- communities. Oak Ridge Natl Lab 182 0 Congress to turn its attention to cists have a natural affinity to the idea The national laboratories Pacific Northwest Lab 66 0 this national problem. of teaching at an HBCU. While this is should aggressively seek out and Princeton Plasma Physics Lab 94 0 Keith H. Jackson, a physicist undoubtedly true, this really leads form research partnerships with Sandia Natl Lab 264 0 at Lawrence Berkeley National to a self-fulfilling prophesy, that is in faculty at HBCU’s, Hispanic Serv- Stanford Linear Accelerator Lab 115 0 Laboratory, is President of the fact motivated by hiring practices at ing Institutions (HSI’s) and Tribal Total 3372 11 National Society of Black Physi- other universities and the DOE labs. Colleges. AIP statistics reveal cists.

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