June 2013 • Vol. 22, No. 6

Vote in APS Society-wide Election A Publication of the American Physical Society see page 6 www.aps.org/publications/apsnews

APS Award Recipient Runs Boston Marathon; APS Members Are Asked to Comment Finishes Shortly Before Tragedy Strikes On Updated Education Statement By Michael Lucibella It’s one of the most difficult, and, next year she made sure to keep The initial draft of APS’s up- Cottle, a physicist at Florida State dated statement on K-12 educa- University and Chair of the APS Feryal Ozel of the University because of its legacy, the most her schedule clear. However a tion has been posted on the APS Committee on Education. He of Arizona was the recipient of popular. With so many people rumor started circulating that the website and members are invited added that physics and the physi- this year’s Maria Goeppert Mayer trying to register, Boston’s is the race requirements were about to to read the proposed statement cal sciences are often the target of Award, but she couldn’t attend the only marathon in the country that get much more restrictive, and run- and submit their thoughts and sug- cuts as schools face budget con- APS April Meeting in person to re- requires runners to qualify for it ners from across the country wor- gestions about it. straints. “The most powerful thing ceive her certificate. She was ful- with minimum times. Ozel first ried that their times wouldn’t be Every five years APS state- we can do is to get the physics filling a long-time dream of hers, made the grade three years ago fast enough for future races. Most ments are reviewed and amended community to say teaching phys- to run in the Boston Marathon. She and promptly registered for the years, registration stayed open for as necessary. The latest version ics is important.” described how the day turned from following year’s race. However eight weeks, but this time it filled of the K-12 Education Statement The statement calls on policy one of determination and triumph before she could run, she received up in only seven hours and Ozel features many changes and up- makers to provide every student to an unimaginable tragedy. an invitation to speak at a high pro- missed her chance. dates to the previous statement, with one year of high quality “It’s the Holy Grail for any dis- file international conference on the “I said, ‘OK, third time is the which was passed by Council in physics education. In addition, it tance runner,” Ozel said. “Some- day of the marathon. charm. I’m going to actually run it 2000. In particular, it highlights calls for a national effort for col- thing celebratory and historical… “It wasn’t a colloquium, it basi- this year.’” the need for qualified physical sci- leges and universities to partner For that to be destroyed like this, I cally had to be on the day of the As race day neared, Ozel real- ence teachers more explicitly than with colleges of education and lo- just couldn’t wrap my head around Boston Marathon,” Ozel said, “I ized she was facing another con- in previous versions. cal K-12 schools, teachers to have it.” said I better not turn this talk invi- flict. She was set to receive the “We are sort of in a key mo- access to educational resources Started 116 years ago, the tation down, so I didn’t go [to the Maria Goeppert Mayer Award ment for education and science and training and to increase the Boston Marathon is the oldest or- race].” in Colorado on Sunday evening. education in particular,” said Paul COMMENTS continued on page 6 ganized marathon in the nation. She was disappointed, so the BOSTON continued on page 3 Dark Matter Comes and Physicists Ready to Add Their BRAIN Power Goes at April Meeting By Michael Lucibella Scientists involved with shap- and Technology Policy (OSTP) ing the BRAIN Initiative, short for the idea for a project to map all By Michael Lucibella at around 8.6 GeV during its Physicists are poised to play a major role in President Obama’s Brain Research through Advanc- of the neural connections in the Dark matter was in the air at 14-month run. ing Innovative Neurotechnologies, human brain. Their original Brain “The data are insufficient to proposal to better understand the this year’s APS April Meeting, human brain, which he announced emphasized the interdisciplinary Activity Map proposal, which the with researchers in many areas claim discovery of WIMPs… nei- nature of the research. President highlighted in his State ther are we claiming evidence for on April 2. The president pro- of the hunt saying that there were posed allocating $100 million for “Many of the advances if not of the Union address in February, important developments. Some them, but further investigation is most of the advances, come from ultimately evolved into the White warranted,” said Blas Cabrera, a the initiative, to be divided among teams reported they were get- the National Institutes of Health, the physical sciences,” said Mi- House’s BRAIN Initiative. ting closer, while others saw once physicist at Stanford University. chael Roukes, of the Kavli Na- “It is a very auspicious time “Analysis favors a WIMP signal the National Science Foundation promising results fade away. and the Defense Advanced Re- noscience Institute at Caltech. He for using advances that have ac- “It looks like the pot is boil- with about a three sigma.” added that physicists are adept at crued in the last couple of decades The silicon detectors are locat- search Projects Agency (DARPA). ing,” said Leslie Rosenberg from Though the specific goals and “thinking about complex highly in nanoscience and nanotech, and the University of Washington. “A ed deep underground in the Sou- correlated systems of networks.” assembling a new generation of dan mine in Minnesota. They’re scope of the project are still being lot is happening in the dark matter determined, they will likely in- Roukes was part of the Kavli tools that will enable a great leap sector.” designed to detect the minute re- team that first suggested to the ad- forward in neuroscience,” Roukes coil that occurs whenever a WIMP clude developing new techniques At the meeting, researchers to map and study the brain. ministration’s Office of Science BRAIN continued on page 4 from the Cryogenic Dark Matter strikes a silicon nucleus. Search said they’ve seen three The results are surprising in potential candidates for dark mat- a few ways, and Cabrera said APS April Meeting Prize and Award Recipients ter particles known as WIMPS. that more analysis and data were The experiment’s eight silicon needed before any conclusions detectors recorded the readings MATTER continued on page 7 Meetings Impacted as Travel Cuts Take Effect By Michael Lucibella new travel restrictions for its em- Scientific conferences have ployees following the General started to feel the effects of ef- Services Administration scandal forts by the US federal govern- (see the report in the August/Sep- ment to curtail spending on travel. tember 2012 APS News, available Scientists have widely criticized online). Following that, “seques- the move to limit their ability to tration” took effect on March 1 of travel, and some conferences have this year, taking another slice out been especially severely affected. of scientists’ travel budgets. “I don’t believe the administra- Different federal agencies have tion understands what a science adopted different travel review meeting really is,” said Stephen policies. In the Department of Mackwell, an adjunct professor Energy, if DOE scientists collec- at Rice University and director of tively request spending of more the Lunar and Planetary Institute. than $100,000 on travel to one Photo by Ken Cole “It’s not a boondoggle, it’s the life meeting, the deputy secretary has blood of the scientific commu- to sign off on it. If they request On Sunday, April 14 at the April Meeting in Denver, APS President Michael Turner presented prizes and awards to 21 nity.” more than $500,000, the secretary distinguished individuals. In the photo, front row (l to r): Geoffrey West, Stephon Alexander, Roberto Peccei, Helen Quinn, Conferences have been hit with has to sign off. In the Department Sultana Nahar, Bernard Sadoulet, Michael Moe, and David Sanford. Middle row (l to r): George Fuller, APS President Mi- a double whammy over the last of Defense, travel needs to be au- chael Turner (standing slightly behind), John Galayda, Daniel Ratner, Irwin Shapiro, Randolf Pohl, Theodore Yoder, Gary 12 months. In May of last year, thorized by the relevant branch’s Gladding, and Timothy Stelzer. Back row (l to r): Teppei Katori, Jinhui Chen, Jin Huang, Roger Stuewer, and Blas Cabrera. the federal government adopted MEETINGS continued on page 7 2 • June 2013

Washington Dispatch This Month in Physics History Updates from the APS Office of Public Affairs June 10, 1854: Riemann’s classic lecture on curved space

lbert Einstein changed our view of the uni- his own career on the theory of surfaces in two di- ISSUE: BUDGET Averse in 1915 when he published the general mensions, making it possible to precisely evaluate Fiscal Year 2014 Presidential Budget Request theory of relativity, in which he set forth the notion curvature mathematically. And in an 1824 letter to Though it was delayed multiple times, the president’s budget of a four-dimensional spacetime that warps and Ferdinand Schweikart, Gauss had speculated on request arrived in April. Overall the budget request was curves in response to mass or energy. The geomet- the possible curvature of space, admitting, “I have very friendly to science, with almost all accounts receiving ric foundation for his work was laid some 60 years from time to time in jest expressed the desire that increases as compared to either the FY12 appropriations or earlier, with the work of a German mathematician Euclidean geometry would not be correct.” the FY13 sequestered appropriations (estimated). A chart named Georg Friedrich Bernhard Riemann. Gauss had demonstrated that a single number is detailing the FY14 presidential request has been posted Born in what is now the Federal Republic of required to describe the curvature near a point in online at www.aps.org/publications/apsnews Germany in 1826, Riemann was the second of six two-dimensional space (the Gaussian curvature). children of a Lutheran pastor, who taught his son Riemann extended that notion to spaces with any President’s Budget Request: STEM Ed until he turned ten. The young Riemann was shy number of dimensions, demonstrating that one The President’s request, if approved, would realign STEM- and nervous, but gifted in mathematics–so much so needs six numbers to describe the curvature of Ed programs. Overall there are 78 programs that would be that while attending high school in Hannover, his any point in three-dimensional space (the Rieman- cancelled or consolidated within another department. The knowledge sometimes surpassed that of his teach- nian metric), and 20 numbers for four-dimensional NASA E/PO programs are included in the list of 78, along ers. In 1846, his father scraped together sufficient space. The Riemann curvature tensor is simply a 30+ other NASA STEM-Ed programs. There are another 48 funds to send his son to the Uni- collection of numbers at every programs that would be internally consolidated. For instance, versity of Göttingen, where Rie- point in space that describes its the Transforming Undergraduate Education in STEM (TUES), mann initially intended to study curvature. Widening Implementation and Demonstration of Evidence- theology so that he could help Riemann went on to make Based Reforms (WIDER), and the STEM Talent Expansion support his family. But then he valuable contributions to analy- Program (STEP) programs at NSF would be consolidated into attended lectures by Carl Fried- sis, number theory, and complex a new program titled Catalyzing Advances in Undergraduate rich Gauss and Moritz Stern, manifold theory, among other STEM Education (CAUSE). who inspired him to switch his areas. An attempt by his men- studies. With his parents’ bless- tors to appoint Riemann a chair The Department of Education would have responsibility for ing, Riemann transferred to the at Göttingen failed, although the many of the new STEM-Ed initiatives. The Smithsonian would University of Berlin the follow- university did appoint him as a take over new programs focused on informal education and ing year, studying under some of professor in 1857, with a regular outreach. the most prominent mathemati- salary. That was the same year cians of his time. he published his work on abelian For more information, visit: http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/ Two years later, in 1849, he Georg Friedrich Bernhard Riemann functions, picking up where his default/files/microsites/ostp/2014_R&Dbudget_STEM.pdf returned to Göttingen to pursue doctoral dissertation had left off his PhD with Gauss, completing his thesis in 1851 and extending further his ideas on the topological ISSUE: POPA on the theory of complex variables, the basis for properties of Riemann surfaces. He finally earned The proposed APS Statement on K-12 physics education what we now call Riemann surfaces. Gauss de- his chair in mathematics at Göttingen in 1859, and was approved for member comment by POPA and the APS scribed Riemann as having “a gloriously fertile was elected to the Berlin Academy of Sciences in Executive Board. It is now posted on the APS website for originality” in his report on the thesis, and two the bargain. In 1862, he married a friend of his sis- review by membership, through June 30th, 2013. Visit http:// years later, when Riemann was required to give ter’s, and fathered a daughter. www.aps.org/policy/statements/k12statement.cfm to read a lecture to land a faculty position at Göttingen, But his personal and professional happiness the statement and submit your comments. The statement will Gauss assigned his star pupil the topic of the foun- was short-lived. Later that year, Riemann–who had be drafted in final form with consideration of member input. dations of geometry–a seemingly mundane topic never been very healthy–came down with a severe in the hands of a lesser mathematician. cold that developed into tuberculosis. He spent A template for study proposals can be found online, along Riemann did not disappoint his mentor, despite that winter in Sicily’s warmer climate, but never with a suggestion box for future POPA studies, by visiting: a phobia of public speaking. He used the opportu- fully recovered. He went back and forth between http://www.aps.org/policy/reports/popa-reports/suggestions/ nity to develop a highly original theory of higher Göttingen and Italy for the next several years as index.cfm. dimensions, described in a lecture –“On the Hy- his health deteriorated, and died on July 20, 1866, potheses Which Lie at the Foundations of Geom- at age 39, while recuperating on the shores of Lake etry”–delivered on June 10, 1854, that included a Maggiore. There is speculation that a housekeeper ISSUE: MEDIA UPDATE workable definition of how one might measure the tidying up the clutter in his office after his death Roll Call newspaper published an op-ed by Michael S. Lubell, curvature of space. It wasn’t published until two may have discarded several unpublished works. APS director of public affairs, on May 3, 2013, titled “Don’t let years after his death, in 1866, and is now consid- Riemann’s influence on math and physics re- American Science Suffer From Federal Spending Cuts.” You ered one of the most important works in geometry. mains undiminished. “Physicists were still far re- can read the full column at: http://bit.ly/10wXH3Q The lecture consisted of two parts. First, the moved from such a way of thinking,” Einstein later question of how we might define an n-dimensional observed of Riemann’s work. “Only the genius of The Hill newspaper’s Congress blog published a piece space resulted in the definition of Riemann space, Riemann, solitary and uncomprehended, had al- by Stamatis Vokos, professor of physics at Seattle Pacific including the Riemann tensor. This laid the foun- ready won its way by the middle of the last century University, on April 25, 2013, titled “Highly trained physical dation for the field of Riemannian geometry. For to a new conception of space, in which space was science teachers needed to educate students for high-tech the second part of the lecture, Riemann discussed deprived of its rigidity, and in which its power to economy.” You can read the full piece at: http://bit.ly/14SV9Ws the dimension of real space and what geometry take part in physical events was recognized as pos- one should use to describe it. sible.” Mathematicians are still grappling with the James Kakalios, a physics professor at the University of The lecture was a resounding success, despite repercussions of his ideas today. Minnesota and author of The Physics of Superheroes, also the fact that Riemann’s ideas were so advanced In addition to Einstein, Riemann’s seminal con- published an op-ed on the Congress blog titled “Scientific that only Gauss fully appreciated their profundity tributions to geometry likely inspired Lewis Car- Research? We built that!” You can read the op-ed at: http:// –Gauss had, after all, done important work early in bit.ly/10ukOAy Riemann continued on page 5

Series II, Vol. 22, No. 6 both the old and new addresses, and, if possible, include Past-President (Particles & Fields), John Galayda (Physics of Beams), June 2013 a mailing label from a recent issue. Requests from sub- Robert L. Byer*, Stanford University Vincent Chan* (Plasma), Mark Ediger (Polymer Phys- scribers for missing issues will be honored without charge ics), Nan Phiney (California Section) © 2013 The American Physical Society only if received within 6 months of the issue’s actual date General Councillors of publication. Periodical Postage Paid at College Park, Haiyan Gao*, Marcelo Gleiser, Marta Dark McNeese, ADVISORS (Non-Voting) Coden: ANWSEN ISSN: 1058-8132 MD and at additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Send Pierre Meystre*, Warren Mori, Keivan G. Stassun Representatives from other Societies Editor•...... Alan Chodos address changes to APS News, Membership Department, Fred Dylla, AIP; Gay Stewart, AAPT American Physical Society, One Physics Ellipse, College International Councillors Staff Science Writer ...... Michael Lucibella Park, MD 20740-3844. Marcia Barbosa, Annick Suzor-Weiner International Advisor Art Director and Special Publications Manager...... Kerry G. Johnson Gabor Kunstatter, Canadian Association of Physicists APS COUNCIL 2013 Chair, Nominating Committee Design and Production...... Nancy Bennett-Karasik Sally Dawson Staff Representatives President Tracy Alinger, Director, Information Services (College Proofreader...... Edward Lee Michael S. Turner*, University of Chicago Chair, Panel on Public Affairs Park); Alan Chodos, Associate Executive Officer; Mark APS News (ISSN: 1058-8132) is published 11X yearly, Subscriptions: APS News is an on-membership publi- Robert Rosner Doyle, Director, Journal Information Systems; Amy President-Elect monthly, except the August/September issue, by the cation delivered by Periodical Mail. Members residing Flatten, Director of International Affairs; Terri Gaier, Di- Malcolm R. Beasley*, Stanford University American Physical Society, One Physics Ellipse, Col- abroad may receive airfreight delivery for a fee of $15. Division, Forum and Section Councilors rector of Meetings; Barbara Hicks, Associate Publisher; lege Park, MD 20740-3844, (301) 209-3200. It contains Nonmembers: Subscription rates are available at http:// Neil Cornish* (Astrophysics), Thomas Gallagher Ted Hodapp, Director of Education and Diversity; Trish Vice President news of the Society and of its Divisions, Topical Groups, librarians.aps.org/institutional.html. (Atomic, Molecular & Optical Physics), Jose Onuchic Lettieri, Director of Membership; Darlene Logan, Direc- Samuel Aronson*, Brookhaven National Laboratory Sections, and Forums; advance information on meetings (Biological), Amy Mullin (Chemical), Frances Hellman tor of Development; Michael Lubell, Director, Public (retired) of the Society; and reports to the Society by its commit- Subscription orders, renewals and address changes (Condensed Matter Physics), Steven Gottlieb (Compu- Affairs; Dan Kulp, Editorial Director; Christine Gi- tees and task forces, as well as opinions. should be addressed as follows: For APS Members– tational), James Wallace (Fluid Dynamics), Gay Stewart accone, Director, Journal Operations; Michael Stephens, Executive Officer Membership Department, American Physical Society, (Forum on Education), Eric Sorte, (Forum on Graduate Controller and Assistant Treasurer Kate P. Kirby*, Harvard Smithsonian (retired) Letters to the editor are welcomed from the member- One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740-3844, Student Affairs), Michael Riordan (Forum on History Administrator for Governing Committees ship. Letters must be signed and should include an ad- [email protected]. of Physics), Gregory Meisner (Forum on Industrial and Treasurer/Publisher Ken Cole dress and daytime telephone number. The APS reserves Applied Physics), Herman Winick* (Forum on Inter- Joseph W. Serene*, Georgetown University (Emeritus) * Members of the APS Executive Board the right to select and to edit for length or clarity. All cor- For Nonmembers–Circulation and Fulfillment Division, national Physics), Lowell Brown (Forum on Physics respondence regarding APS News should be directed to: American Institute of Physics, Suite 1NO1, 2 Huntington and Society), Anthony Johnson* (Laser Science), James Editor-in-Chief Editor, APS News, One Physics Ellipse, College Park, Quadrangle, Melville, NY 11747-4502. Allow at least 6 Chelikowsky (Materials), David McIntyre (Northwest Gene D. Sprouse*, Stony Brook University (on leave) MD 20740-3844, Email: [email protected]. weeks advance notice. For address changes, please send Section), Wick Haxton* (Nuclear), Marjorie Corcoran* June 2013 • 3

Chip-scale Accelerators Verge on Breakthrough By Calla Cofield and England confirmed Yoder’s To Activate, Press Here At a press conference at the 2013 anticipation that within the year On April 26, volunteers and staff from APS, they will have results showing suc- APS March Meeting in Baltimore, the American Association of Physics Teachers Rodney Yoder of Goucher Col- cessful acceleration. (AAPT) and the Society of Physics Students lege predicted that within a year, While these results are still he and his colleagues will accel- preliminary, they represent major (SPS) hosted over 2300 high-school students erate a beam of electrons through gains that as recently as 10 years from the Washington DC area at Six Flags ago, many people in the accel- a particle accelerator smaller than America in the nearby Maryland suburbs. This the eye of a needle. Yoder showed erator community doubted would is an annual event that combines the fun of the off samples of his team’s design ever materialize. Now these accel- structure, called a micro accelera- erator designs are in the running amusement park with the opportunity to see how tor platform, or MAP. to become the first operational physics plays a role in things like roller coasters. devices to change the paradigm of Yoder stated that these new In the photo, SPS volunteer Lori Laughrey from devices could “democratize” ac- accelerator size. Dickinson College (right) instructs a student on celerator science, and make their “The fact that we’ve gotten use widespread. Small particle ac- particles through them,” said Eng- how to operate the accelerometer that she will celerators could reduce the need land, “and are actually beginning be wearing on the fearsome Superman: Ride of to test them with lasers…definitely for scientists to use large-scale, Steel. SPS is administered by the American In- multi-million dollar accelerator fa- sets the stage for this type of tech- stitute of Physics (AIP). cilities. Less powerful versions of nology as something with a lot of promise.” the device could be used to inspect Photo by Matthew Payne packages at border checkpoints. These “chip-scale” accelera- Yoder and co-creator of the tors are officially called dielectric- MAP structure, Gil Travish of based laser accelerators, or DLA’s, UCLA, first confirmed sending in reference to the dielectric mate- electrons through the structure rials they are made from, and the in results published in 2011. This use of lasers as an energy source. International News The MAP structure uses a titani- isn’t a great challenge in an accel- ...from the APS Office of International Affairs erator if the electrons pass through um-sapphire laser which is tunable a 2-inch wide copper pipe, but it is in the red and near-infrared wave- a major milestone when the “pipe” lengths. They operate on the same Attitudes towards teaching evolution in Turkey is only few microns wide. Their basic idea as large accelerators: Bunches of particles gain energy next step, acceleration, is achieved by Zehra Sayers and Zuhal Özcan when laser light is injected into the by “surfing” on electromagnetic structure, and electrons “surf” on waves. The theory of evolution occu- lution became ambiguous and less books relates to the meaning of the light waves to gain energy. Yo- The particle bunches gain en- pies a central place in modern bi- assertive. After the 1980 military “scientific theory”; the recent der says the MAP structure design ergy over distance, which partly ology, but a very different place in coup, NEM’s stand against teach- version treats the concept as an has the potential to deliver energy accounts for the size of the world’s the public sphere. It is vilified by ing evolution culminated in the open-ended, indefinite opinion gains of 1 GeV per meter, although most powerful accelerators, like politically and religiously conser- inclusion in biology textbooks of rather than a fact, reducing it to an for many potential applications the the 2-mile-long linear accelerator vative organizations, and is wide- creationism as an alternative theo- unclear hypothesis. It is not only structures would most likely stay at SLAC or the 27-km Large Had- ly misinterpreted by the public. ry for origin of life on earth. Since high school education that is af- on the order of about ten centime- ron Collider. Accelerator size is Here we describe some subtle (or 2001, evolution’s textbook pres- fected. There are no universities ters. also determined by the wavelength not-so-subtle!) changes that have ence has further diminished.1,2 in Turkey offering undergraduate The MAP collaboration is of light used to boost the particles. been shaping evolution instruc- Currently, only those students or graduate degrees in evolution- based at UCLA, but the structure The particles pass through a cen- tion in Turkish secondary school who choose a science-oriented ary biology or in related fields, is undergoing testing at SLAC Na- tral “pipe,” and light waves are education. track have any exposure to evolu- and even courses in the area are tional Accelerator Laboratory by injected all along the length of In Turkey, where the structure tion, and this is in the second term hard to come by. the Dielectric Laser Acceleration the pipe, through cavities that run and content of primary and sec- of the 12th (final) year, when they A recent study of 75 students (DLA) Group, which is led by Joel perpendicular to it. These cavities ondary education is developed spend most of their time not at the training to be biology teachers il- England. need to be roughly the wavelength and regulated by the National school but preparing elsewhere lustrates evolution’s problems in England said in an interview of the light used. Most large accel- Education Ministry (NEM), cov- for the central university entrance Turkey: 44% considered the idea that SLAC scientists have also sent erators use microwaves, meaning erage of evolution in curricula is exam. It is interesting to note that to be speculative and 68% thought electrons through two other micro- each cavity needs to be a few cen- influenced strongly by national religion instruction, introduced that it was not based on scientific scale accelerator structures, and timeters wide. To use optical light political trends.1 In early years of in the 1980s and expanded in the evidence. When probed deeper it have discussed those results pub- requires cavities on the scale of a the Turkish Republic (up to about later years, is now compulsory for became clear that those who had licly. The group began tests inject- few hundred nanometers to a few 1945), evolution was introduced all students between 5th and 12th inadequate or inconsistent con- ing lasers into all three structures microns. in history textbooks as a well grades. ceptions about the nature of sci- in December of 2011, but spent a While designs for optical-light established scientific truth in the In the 1983 edition of a stan- ence were likely to reject evolu- year developing test beams that accelerators date back as far as context of history of humanity. dard high school textbook, evolu- tion.3 Another survey, of 1098 worked for the structure. This re- the 1960’s, two breakthroughs in Later, as populist religious rheto- tion merits its own chapter. In the freshman and senior undergradu- quired ways of monitoring the very the last 15 years have made them ric in the political scene became 2011 edition, by contrast, evolu- ate students enrolled in biology, small laser and electron beams and much more feasible. The cost of stronger, evolution was relegated tion is part of a chapter called biology education and elementary being able to tweak them in vari- optical lasers continues to drop, to science and biology curricula “The beginning of life and evo- science education programs in ous ways. In December of 2012 including the cost of fiber lasers, and at the same time instruction lution” in which creationism is 11 public universities in Turkey, they began specialized tests of the which Travers says will work as became unsystematic and superfi- also discussed. Another interest- yielded similar results. 20.7% structures with the ideal beams, CHIP SCALE continued on page 5 cial; textbooks’ treatment of evo- ing difference between the two ATTITUDES continued on page 7

BOSTON continued from page 1 Twelve hours later and 1900 miles the low 50s. from the finish line. Just as they word of mouth. point.” away, the starting gun would “It was a good race,” Ozel said. were entering the front doors, two After two tense hours of wait- Over the next few days, while sound at the Boston Marathon. “The weather was perfect. So pressure cookers rigged with ex- ing, the police came through and the city of Boston searched for the “I’m extremely grateful for the many spectators on the course.” plosives detonated within sight of announced that the whole center attackers and tried to make sense award, but I can’t do this for the Fellow runners had warned her the finish line. was being cleared out. People of what had happened, runners third time when I really want to that some of the “cheer tunnels” “I did hear the explosion but started leaving from the far side across the country began organiz- run this marathon,” Ozel said. “I could be almost deafening. The in that first split second… I don’t of the building, into a city that ing meets in support of Boston. came very close to saying ‘I can’t streets were filled with onlookers, think any of us quite put it in place was shut down. Trains and buses Almost immediately, Ozel started not get my award this April.’” sometimes five people deep. that this was a bomb going off,” had stopped running, and traffic receiving messages from her old Ozel was already spending the “It has a lot of energy, it has a she said. “Very quickly the panic was being diverted away from training groups in Tucson, San year in the Boston area as a Rad- lot of history,” Ozel said. “It’s a started. Then it occurred to us downtown. Even though she had Francisco and Chicago where peo- cliffe Institute fellow. She also had tough course because of the hills, what had happened.” already run 26.2 miles, Ozel, her ple were organizing runs to show family and friends living nearby. but I really felt great running it.” Everything stopped. Police or- friends and her family had to walk support. She said the running “It’s not the same if you fly out Ozel finished in three hours and dered everyone to shelter inside nearly three more miles across the community is one that refuses to by yourself and there’s nobody on 28 minutes, forty minutes before the center. The cell phone system Harvard Bridge into Cambridge be intimidated. the course to meet you,” Ozel said. the attacks. She walked around in the area crashed. Ozel and her to find a cab and finally make it “I wasn’t planning to run Bos- “My friends and family are here the finish area for a short while to family were supposed to meet an- home. ton next year,” Ozel said. “I really right now and they all wanted to meet up with friends and family other group of friends, but they “Once I realized we are ok and wanted to do it once, to be part come out and see it so I’m not go- and to collect her finisher’s medal were on the other side of the at- we’re going to have to basically of it, but I didn’t ever think that I ing to blow this opportunity.” and belongings. Together, she and tack and had been evacuated in the do that walk…to get home, I think was going to be one of these return The morning of the race started seven companions walked up the opposite direction. News about the that’s when tears started to come Boston marathoners. And now I’m out like any other. The sky was street to the Prudential Center, a grave injuries that people suffered down,” she said. “The shock of pretty sure that I’m going to come clear and the temperature was in large shopping complex a block near the blast started to spread by it really started sinking in at that back and run it next year.” 4 • June 2013 Letters Teach Physics for Physics’ Sake Readers interested in submitting a letter to APS News should Regarding Meg Urry’s Back life?” that in 1953 Francis Crick but it was the former rather than Page in the May issue of APS and James D. Watson would dis- the latter that his advisor John Ar- email [email protected] News, entitled “Raising the Bar in cover the structure of DNA? Was chibald Wheeler must have stimu- Physics Graduate Education”: Michael Faraday concerned about lated by the knowledge and vision In Which Physicists Lose Their Shirt We teach physics as subject the welfare of the world when that Wheeler taught him. On the Back Page of the March that the brilliant theorist Irving matter and not as a means to in- he set out to discover the law of The teaching of physics must APS News, James Owen Weather- Fischer fared no better than New- doctrinate students to believe “that electromagnetic induction? I chal- be directed purely at its subject all in a delightful article informs ton. Back in 1929 Fischer assured they can solve the problems of the lenge any science fiction writer to matter. It is physicists, as human us about the influence physicists the public that the great downturn world.” Did Erwin Schrödinger conceive of a world without Fara- beings, who determine what sort have had on economic theory. I on the New York stock market develop wave mechanics to solve day’s law of induction. of persons they become and how did not know that towering econ- that fall was only a “shaking out the problems of the world? Were Richard Feynman’s scientific they interact with the rest of the omists like Jan Tinbergen, Irving of the lunatic fringe”, and that his teachers educating Schröding- curiosity knew no bounds, which world. Fischer and Paul Samuelson were the prices of stocks would soon er to solve the problems of the led to great achievements in phys- trained as physicists. Lest our rebound. Among his reasons for world? Was Schrödinger envi- ics. Feynman was also interested Moorad Alexanian kind should burst from overcon- optimism was that the market had sioning, when he wrote, “What is in flowers, music, strip clubs, etc., Wilmington, NC fidence in our abilities to master not yet reflected the beneficent other fields, Weatherall notes that effect of prohibition on work- Letter Could Discourage Women Physics Students Isaac Newton lost his shirt in The ers’ productivity. As described by Regarding the letter by Jeffery them. I don't know if the letter was only to come across his letter– South Sea Bubble, after which John Kenneth Galbraith in The Winkler in the April APS News: In published for shock value or as a would she be interested in joining Newton delivered his famous re- Great Crash, 1929, Irving Fischer mathematics, computer science, reminder of how far we need to a community that gives merit to mark about his inability to calcu- put his money where his mouth and other hard sciences, the ratio come as a community, but either this way of thinking by publishing late “ the madness of men.” was, and lost considerably. of men to women is much closer way it's entirely inappropriate for it in their newsletter? Perhaps as another sobering-up to 50-50, showing that women the year 2013. One can imagine for physicists tempted to get rich Tor Laankan are not only interested in chal- a young undergraduate perusing Mark Limes quickly it could also be mentioned Sparbu, Norway lenging fields, but also excel in APS News in her physics library, Salt Lake City, UT Newton Beats Hooke–Again The column “This Month in on “Gregorian telescope” as ac- Physics History” in the April curate. Gregory had his plans APS News credited Robert for a reflecting telescope before Hooke with making the first re- Newton, but Newton built his APS Committee on flecting telescope, but I thought own before Hooke made a tele- it was Newton, and I queried scope from Gregory's 10-year- Mordechai (Moti) Feingold of old plans. International Freedom of Scientists Caltech, a Newton expert. He replied that it was indeed New- Jay M. Pasachoff ton, citing the Wikipedia article Williamstown, MA CIFS Briefs: Highlighting the Connection Between BRAIN continued from page 1 said. in increasing numbers have been Human Rights and Science for the Physics Community Other researchers said that working with neuroscientists to Since its creation in 1980, the 2005, but has always refused as he 1, the Science and Human Rights physicists were the key to devel- improve the way doctors and neu- APS Committee on International wishes to pursue a life path of his Coalition met at the headquar- oping the next generation of mea- rologists can probe how the brain Freedom of Scientists (CIFS) own choosing. His letter mentions ters of the American Association surement and diagnostic tools. works. has advocated for and defended that the day before his arrest in for the Advancement of Science “This is mostly physicists. “Physicists have for the last 10 the rights of scientists around the January 2011, he had been chased, (AAAS) in Washington, DC. This Physicists are a principal driver or 15 years realized there are lots globe. In this column, CIFS de- and forced to attend a meeting at meeting focused on the intersec- in the effort to understand brain of interesting measurement prob- scribes some of the issues that the Atomic Energy Organization tions among children’s rights, sci- activity,” said Tim Harris, the Di- lems in biology and come over,” the Committee is monitoring as of Iran. This pressure to work on ence and technology. Participants rector of the Applied Physics and Harris said. “It’s a much messier well as the Society’s other human security and military projects has learned about the rights of children Instrumentation Group at the Jane- problem, the brain is just way goo- rights activities. continued during his imprison- as set out in international declara- lia Farm Research Campus of the ier than a proton beam.” Sentences Upheld for Two ment. In fact, Kokabee wrote that tions and treaties as well as issues Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Administration officials are Russian Scientists he has been offered his freedom on which science and technology “This is a tool-making problem, currently meeting with researchers In February, the Russian Su- should he cooperate. could impact important children’s this is not a biology project. We do to decide on a more concrete set of preme Court upheld the sentences Students and scientists at the rights concerns. not have the tools to measure brain goals for the initiative. of scientists Yevgeny Afanasyev University of Texas at Austin who While at the meeting, APS rep- activity properly. So the question Because the money will be split and Svyatoslav Bobyshev, who are supporting CIFS member Herb resentatives Juan Gallardo and is how do we make the tools.” among three different research were convicted in June 2012 of Berk’s efforts to help Kokabee Michele Irwin attended a meeting Representatives from DARPA agencies, it is unclear how, or even passing secret information to the released a short documentary to of the Coalition’s Working Group declined to comment directly, but Chinese concerning Russia’s in- mark the two-year anniversary of on the Welfare of Scientists. The a statement posted on the DARPA whether, they will coordinate with tercontinental ballistic missile. Kokabee’s detention. APS mem- Working Group aims to help the website on April 2 said, “DARPA each other. In addition, researchers The professors from St. Peters- bers can view the video at: http:// scientific community better re- plans to explore two key areas to say that while the $100 million is appreciated, it’s a relatively small burg Baltic State Technological freedomforomid.com/ spond to cases of alleged human elicit further understanding of the University were detained in March In March, CIFS wrote to the 47 rights violations by increasing brain. New tools are needed to amount that is not likely to be fun- damentally game-changing. 2010 and accused of divulging members of the UN Human Rights the number of scientific societies measure and analyze electrical sig- state secrets during lectures given Council requesting that they bring advocating for the rights of sci- nals and the biomolecular dynam- “[It’s] a modest amount of funding being added to an ongo- at a Chinese university. The alle- up Kokabee’s plight with officials entists, coordinating their efforts, ics underpinning brain function. gations supposedly stem from an from Iran. CIFS asked that they and providing access to tools and ing research problem,” Researchers will also explore, ab- agreement between their univer- encourage Iran to comply with its resources necessary to effectively Harris said. “It’s not like stract and model the vast spectrum sity and Harbin Engineering Uni- international human rights obliga- respond to human rights abuses. they’re going to change the trajec- of brain functions by examining versity in China. Bobyshev and tions with respect to Kokabee’s The next Coalition meeting on tory of what’s been going on for its incredible complexity.” Afanasyev have argued that their treatment. July 11-12 will focus on Article 15 Well before the BRAIN initia- the last five to eight years. The lectures did not contain any state Kokabee was arrested in Iran of the United Nation’s Internation- tive was announced, physicists feds are late to this party.” secrets. During the period between in January 2011 while trying to al Covenant on Economic, Social their detention in 2010 and trial in travel to the United States to con- and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), 2012, they were held for many tinue his graduate studies in op- i.e., that all people have the right months without any formal charg- tics at the University of Texas at to “enjoy the benefits of scientific Members es, something that CIFS protested Austin. He was convicted and sen- progress and its applications.” The in the to Russian authorities. tenced in May 2012 to ten years meeting will include sessions on Omid Kokabee Writes Letter in prison for “cooperation with international scientific coopera- from Prison a hostile government,” i.e., the tion, open access, and the connec- Media APS member Omid Kokabee United States. His conviction was tion between government funding “It's a rather formidable game… Los Angeles Times, April 30, 2013. has written a letter from Evin upheld on appeal in August 2012, for science and the right to enjoy Sometimes, having a photographic “In the unlikely event that anti- prison in Iran indicating that he and Kokabee subsequently had the benefits of scientific progress. image snap into place with the matter falls upward, we'd have to is being persecuted for refusing 91 days added to his sentence for CIFS encourages APS mem- surrounding terrain is a matter of fundamentally revise our view of to work on Iranian security and earning illegal money for teaching bers to attend the Science and walking 10 feet in a certain direc- physics and rethink how the uni- military projects. In the letter to fellow inmates physics as well as Human Rights Coalition meeting tion.” verse works.” his friend and former roommate at Spanish, English and French. in July to learn about the connec- Dan Gillespie, on hunting for the Joel Fajans, Lawrence Berkeley Sharif University, Kokabee writes AAAS Science and Human tions between science and human original sites movies were filmed in National Laboratory in California, that he has repeatedly been asked Rights Coalition rights and see how they and their California’s Alabama Hills, The CBSNews.com, May 1, 2013. to work on such projects since On January 31 and February cifs continued on page 6 June 2013 • 5

Oak Ridge Boys Education Corner On May 2, APS hosted a Fellows' reception in Knoxville, Tennessee, which, besides being the APS educational programs and publications home of the University of Tennessee, is also near the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Oak Ridge, and not far from the Dolly Parton theme park in Sign up for the Wavefront Newsletter Pigeon Forge. Two of these three institutions are Educators, stay informed! APS Wavefront is a free electronic well-supplied with APS Fellows, and more than newsletter for physics educators. Sign up to stay informed about 40 of them attended the reception, which, in addi- APS programs, upcoming meetings, recent APS actions, and tion to good food, good drink and good company, activities within the physics community. To find Wavefront go to: featured brief remarks by APS President Michael http://www.aps.org/programs/education/wavefront.cfm Turner, Executive Officer Kate Kirby, and Director of Public Affairs Michael Lubell. In the photo, Fel- Graduate Education Conference Notes and Presentations lows Tony Gabriel of Oak Ridge (left) and Soren Available As reported in the March APS News (www.aps.org/publications/ Sorensen of the University of Tennessee enjoy apsnews/201303/secondgradconf.cfm), at the end of January, the event. APS & AAPT held their second two-day conference on Graduate Photo by Darlene Logan Education, which featured sessions on preparing students for non- academic careers; educating successful graduates; promoting Supernova Data Hide in Ancient Bacterial Remains diversity; developing university, lab, and industrial partnerships for graduate education; and thoughts on the future of graduate By Michael Lucibella iron-60 in the environment, the January, and another fraction… education. The conference notes and presentations are now At this year’s April Meeting, bacteria absorb it along with other was done just ten days ago.” available online: http://www.aps.org/programs/education/graduate/ more common iron isotopes. The sample that Bishop’s team conf2013/presentations.cfm researchers reported seeing hints of an ancient supernova embedded After the bacteria die, their has focused on so far came from crystals can be preserved in the Nominate Women and Minorities for Fellowship, Prizes, and in the remains of 2.2-million-year- four kilometers below the surface mud at the bottom of the ocean. Awards old bacteria. Scientists in Germa- of the ocean, a few hundred miles Over time layers of the dead bac- Several Prizes and Awards deadlines are quickly approaching and ny extracted a radioactive element off the coast of Ecuador. They are teria pile on top of each other and the Committee on Minorities in Physics (COM) and the Committee that only forms in a supernova now looking at a much bigger core solidify, leaving behind a fossil re- on the Status of Women in Physics (CSWP) strongly encourage from magnetic crystals that now- sample, and hope to improve the nominators and award committees to consider a diverse pool of cord with their magnetite crystals. fossilized bacteria once used to confidence level of their results. nominees. For those needing help identifying qualified women and “If there’s iron-60 in these orient themselves. This is the first Their findings fit with other minorities for prizes and/or awards, please contact Deanna Ratnikova crystalized fossils from the time of time that researchers have been indications of a possible ancient ([email protected]) or Arlene Modeste Knowles (Knowles@aps. the supernova, the fossils are still org), the committee administrators for CSWP and COM respectively. able to pull the rare isotope from supernova at about the same there and the iron-60 should still the ancient magnetic crystals, an be in them,” Bishop said. time. According to astronomical APS Commends President Obama’s Plan for Regional Centers achievement that could turn into a To test for the exotic iron, the evidence, there was likely a super- to Train STEM Teachers useful tool for astro-archeologists. President Obama’s Fiscal Year 2014 budget included regional team dissolved the fossilized bac- nova in the Scorpius–Centaurus The team found radioactive centers within the STEM Innovation Network to develop highly teria in a chemical bath, and then star cluster about 2.2 to 2.4 billion trained STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) iron-60 in the fossilized bacteria bombarded the samples with a ce- years ago. This fits with a previous teachers who will prepare students to meet the demands of an under the deep ocean’s surface. sium ion beam from the tandem set of iron-60 tests from 2004, in increasingly technical workforce. Called the STEM Master Teacher Iron-60 is a rare and unstable ele- accelerator at the Maier-Leibnitz- which researchers found a simi- Corps, the president’s plan is consistent with recommendations in ment that naturally forms only in Laboratory in Munich. The ce- lar unusual concentration of the a four-year study recently completed by the Task Force on Teacher the fiery crucible of a supernova. Education in Physics (T-TEP). sium bonds with the iron, and is radioactive element in a naturally With a half-life of about 2.7 mil- carried along to a particle counter. iron-rich layer of sediment in the The T-TEP Report stresses the importance of providing specialized lion years, just about all traces of “We’re literally counting indi- Pacific Ocean. professional preparation to teachers in the physical sciences. Just the isotope on Earth should have vidual atoms of iron-60 that come Bishop said he was excited long decayed away. The fact that 47 percent of physics and 46 percent of chemistry classes are out of the sample material,” Bish- about the possibility of being able taught by teachers with a degree in the subject. By comparison, 73 there is any at all indicates that op said. to extract the iron from bacteria percent of biology teachers have a degree in biology. The Report the bacteria likely consumed the He said that it takes about 40 fossils because iron-rich sedi- was researched by APS, the American Association of Physics metal when Earth passed through grams of sediment to get a single ments are rare. Teachers, and the American Institute of Physics. Read the T-TEP a supernova’s debris cloud about report here: http://www.ptec.org/webdocs/TaskForce.cfm usable 3-milligram sample of iron. “The bacteria fossils are every- 2.2 million years ago. Within that iron sample, the con- where in the oceans,” Bishop said. New Jonathan Reichert and Barbara Wolff-Reichert Award for “That we’re here talking about centration of iron-60 is minuscule, “With this new avenue, especially Excellence in Advanced Laboratory Instruction: Deadline is July 1 it indicates that the supernova only about one in one quadrillion, A new APS Award has been endowed by Jonathan Reichert if the second sediment core con- wasn’t too close,” said Shawn hence the need to count individual and Barbara Wolff-Reichert to recognize and honor outstanding firms what we see here, there’s a Bishop of the Technische Univer- atoms. achievement in teaching, sustaining (for at least four years), and chance now to do some sampling enhancing an advanced undergraduate laboratory course or sität München, a member of the Though the data are promising, in the Pacific and the Atlantic courses. The course(s) should provide a selection of experiments in team that identified the iron. Bishop emphasized that the team a range of the various interest areas of physics, for example atomic The radioactive particles set- was presenting raw data, and was Oceans, looking to see if in fact physics, electronics and optics. The award consists of $5,000 plus tled on the surface of the planet, not yet definitively claiming a dis- the deposition of this material on travel expenses (up to $2,000) to attend an APS meeting at which and were subsequently absorbed covery. the planet was uniform, or if it was the award is presented, and a certificate citing the achievement of by species of “magnetotactic” “The data are preliminary, they concentrated in one area.” the honoree. The honoree will be invited to present a lecture at bacteria. They consume iron, con- He added that with some refine- that meeting. The award will be offered annually. Full details of the have not been published, and the ment of their technique, and using award are here: http://www.aps.org/programs/honors/awards/lab. centrate it and forge microscopic work has not gone through any cfm chains of tiny magnetite crystals, peer review. It is hot off the press, more samples, they may be able which they use to keep themselves so to speak,” Bishop said. “Some to glean some information about Register for the APS Bridge Program Summer Meeting, June directionally oriented. If there is fraction of the data was taken in where supernovas were located. 27-29, 2013 in College Park, MD The meeting will bring together experts to discuss efforts to increase CHIP-SCALE continued from page 3 the number of underrepresented minorities who receive PhDs in an energy source for the DLA’s. At speed. The bunches may contain ther of the research groups have physics. Faculty, administrators, researchers and students are the same time microscale fabrica- as few as 100 to 1000 electrons an electron beam small enough to welcome to attend. Registration fees are $100 for Bridge Member tion techniques, driven mostly by each, resulting in a low charge fit exclusively through the beam Institutions and $175 for non-member institutions. http://www. apsbridgeprogram.org/conferences/summer13/index.cfm the semiconductor industry, have per bunch and a weak signal to a “pipe” of any of these microscale Become a member: http://apps3.aps.org/phystec/apsbridge.cfm also improved. detector, so they may be grouped structures. For their tests they have DLA designs differ mostly together into picosecond-long used a beam that is larger than the The PER User’s Guide: A Web Resource for Physics Educators in their architectures. Yoder and “macrobunches,” that provide sig- structure’s beam tunnel, and had to The Physics Education Research (PER) User’s Guide is a growing Travish’s design is called a “slab” nificantly more charge and signal. confirm that portions of the beam web resource designed to translate, summarize, and organize the structure, because it consists of The beam may then produce over did pass through it. In addition, de- results of PER in an accessible and useful way for busy educators. two flat slabs of dielectric materi- a million of those macrobunches velopment of a full prototype will Peruse the PER User’s guide at: http://perusersguide.org/ al. Sandwiched between the slabs (over a billion individual bunches) require detectors for these devices is a section of vacuum where the per second. Yoder and England and diagnostic tools to study the particles pass through. The pair both estimated that in five years, beams they produce. began serious work on the design they would have a test accelerator. “I don’t know if one research in 2006, having both worked with This would mean the ability to line group is capable of doing that on Riemann continued from page 2 James Rosenzweig at UCLA, up multiple structures in series, its own,” said England. “So we roll, a.k.a. Oxford math professor nary world he created for Alice though at different times. and accelerate a beam through have collaborators that are experts Charles Dodgson, when he wrote mirrored the intellectual upheaval The particle bunch duration them, to observe a higher energy on [semiconductor] fabrication Alice in Wonderland and Through of late 19th century mathematics, from a DLA structure is only a gain. techniques…and experts on la- the Looking Glass. Dodgson was in which scholars grappled with few attoseconds, which opens up There is still a significant sers, experts on materials science. a traditional Euclidean at heart; he a topsy-turvy looking glass world the possibility of imaging very amount of work to be done before We’re trying to fold new people liked his spaces flat. In many re- filled with curved space and imag- fast processes, because the bunch a prototype accelerator could be into the field to help tackle some spects, the absurdity of the imagi- inary numbers. duration functions like a shutter used for experimentation. Nei- of these challenges.” 6 • June 2013 Still Time to Vote in APS Society-wide Election

Homer A. Neal Stewart Smith Beverly K. Berger Patricia McBride Dolores Bozovic Nadya Mason Kiyoshi Ueda Mu Wang Galileo Would Have Been Proud The APS Society-wide election interest is the BaBar experiment Committee, and the selection com- switched fields for her postdoc- Tohoku University. He was also a is now in full swing, running until at SLAC. As Spokesperson (2000- mittees for the Aneesur Rahman toral training, joining the Sensory visiting scientist at University of the end of June. Every APS member 02) and Technical Coordinator Prize for Computational Physics Neuroscience Laboratory at Rock- Maryland (1985-87), an invited should have received an email no- (1999) he had central roles in and the Dannie Heineman Prize efeller University on a HHMI fel- senior scientist at Daresbury Labo- tice with instructions on how to vote BaBar’s 2001 discovery of CP- for Mathematical Physics. lowship. From 2005 to the present, ratory in the UK (1992-1993), and online. Below are capsule biogra- violating asymmetries in B meson She is currently the secretary of she was Assistant and then Asso- an invited professor of Université phies of the candidates for the vari- processes. For these achievements the International Society on Gen- ciate Professor at the Department Paris Sud in France (1998). He has ous positions. The person elected he shared the APS Panofsky Prize eral Relativity and Gravitation, a of Physics and Astronomy and the also occasionally played the role as vice-President will join the APS in 2011. Previously, Smith carried member of the Editorial Board of California NanoSystems Institute, of an opponent for the PhD thesis Presidential Line, serving next year out experiments at the Deutsches Reports on Progress in Physics, a at University of California Los in some universities abroad, such as vice-President, then as President- Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), member of the International Sci- Angeles. as Uppsala University in Sweden elect, President, and past-President Fermilab, and at the Brookhaven entific Advisory Board (Fachbei- The Bozovic lab focuses on and Turku University in Finland. over a four-year cycle. AGS. rat) for the Max Planck Institute problems at the interface between His research centers on pho- More complete information Smith received BA and MSc for Gravitational Physics in Pots- physics and auditory neurosci- toionization and photofragmen- about the election, including ex- degrees from the University of dam, a member of the External ence. Her laboratory is interdis- tation of atoms, molecules, and panded candidate biographies and British Columbia and his PhD Advisory Board for the College ciplinary in nature, with experi- clusters by synchrotron radiation, statements, can be found online at degree from Princeton University of Sciences of Rochester Institute mental and theoretical tools from femtosecond lasers, and short- http://www.aps.org/about/gover- in 1966. After postdoctoral work of Technology, and a member and different fields integrated to ad- wavelength free-electron lasers nance/election/index.cfm at DESY, he joined the Princ- ombudsperson of the LIGO Scien- dress the open questions. As a (FELs). Vice-President eton faculty in 1967, chairing the tific Collaboration. teacher, she has focused on incor- In the last decade, he has orga- Homer A. Neal is the Interim Physics department from 1990 to Patricia McBride is a Senior porating instrument-building with nized a series of international con- President Emeritus and Vice Presi- 1998, and spending 2000 to 2002 Scientist and Director of the CMS biophysical measurements, and ferences and workshops and also dent for Research Emeritus at the as Visiting Professor at Stanford Center at Fermilab and a collabo- has received teaching awards. She served as an international advisory University of Michigan. From University. In 2006, Smith was rator on the CMS experiment at has been a mentor for a number of board member and/or a program 1987 to 1993 he was Chair of the appointed Princeton’s first Dean CERN. undergraduate research programs committee member for many in- University of Michigan Physics for Research, bringing under his She has been a member of the for underrepresented minorities, ternational conferences. He served Department. He served as Vice umbrella several previously sepa- scientific staff at Fermilab for as well as a research mentor for also on a program/proposal review President for Academic Affairs rate administrative departments. nearly 20 years. She was a mem- Marlborough School, a mid- and panel for FEL facilities and as an and Provost at Stony Brook (1981- Several major campus research ber of the scientific staff at the high-school for young women. advisory and/or review board for 86) and Dean for Research and centers report to him, as does the SSC Laboratory in Texas before Nadya Mason is an associate relevant facilities. He also serves Graduate Development at Indiana Princeton Plasma Physics Labora- joining Fermilab. In 1995, she was professor of physics at the Univer- on the editorial board for J. Phys. University (1976-81). tory (PPPL). This summer Smith awarded an NSF Visiting Profes- sity of Illinois at Urbana-Cham- B: At. Mol. Opt. Phys. Neal was the principal origi- will take on a new university po- sorship for Women to spend a year paign, and a principal investigator Mu Wang is the Cheung-Kong nator of both the D0 and ATLAS sition as Vice President for PPPL. teaching at Princeton University. at the Frederick Seitz Materials professor in condensed matter groups at the University of Michi- Smith chaired the APS Division Her main research interests are Research Laboratory. physics and the Director of the gan. Neal has served as Regent of of Particles and Fields in 1991 and in the areas of experimental par- Her research focuses on the National Laboratory of Solid State the Smithsonian Institution. His later served on the Physics Plan- ticle physics, scientific comput- electronic properties of low- Microstructures at Nanjing Uni- service on numerous advisory ning Committee. He has worked ing and instrumentation. She was dimensional materials and the versity (NJU), China. committees and directorships in- on numerous advisory committees the Deputy Head of the Fermilab unique behavior they exhibit due As an experimental physicist, clude: Oak Ridge National Labo- over the years for the DOE and for Computing Division and served as to confinement, strong electron in- Mu’s research interests focus on ratory, MIT Visiting Committee on National Laboratories in the US, the deputy computing coordinator teractions, and material structure. the fundamentals of interfacial Sponsored Research, Board of the Canada, and at CERN. for the CMS experiment at CERN Mason is an advocate for diver- growth and the optical properties Center for Strategic and Interna- Chair-Elect, Nominating during the commissioning and sity in physics; she has actively of microstructured materials. tional Studies, Argonne National Committee startup phase of the experiment. engaged and mentored women Mu has been the member of the Laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley Beverly K. Berger retired from She was elected Chair of the and underrepresented minor- Standing Committee, the Council Laboratory and Fermilab. He is the US National Science Founda- APS Division of Particles and ity graduate, undergraduate, and of Chinese Physical Society since currently the PI for the Michigan- tion where she was Program Di- Fields (DPF) and serves as a mem- high-school students. She chairs 2004, and a member of the Com- CERN REU Program allowing US rector for Gravitational Physics ber of the APS Physics Policy the Physics Diversity Committee mission on Structure and Dynam- students to spend a summer of re- from late 2001 through 2011. Pre- Committee. at Illinois (2011–) and is a current ics of Condensed Matter (C10) of search at CERN. viously, she had spent 24 years as She served as the Chair of the member of the APS Committee the International Union of Pure He is a member of the Board a faculty member at Oakland Uni- Commission on Particles and on Minorities (2013–2016). She and Applied Physics (IUPAP) of the Ford Motor Company and versity (Michigan). Her research Fields (C11) of the International also served as co-organizer of the since 2011. He is an APS Fellow, currently chairs its Committee on field is theoretical gravitational Union of Pure and Applied Physics condensed matter sessions of the and also a Fellow of the UK Insti- Sustainability. He is a Director of physics with recent emphasis on (IUPAP) and was a Vice-President National Conference of Black and tute of Physics. the Lounsbery Foundation and is singularities and other properties of the IUPAP Executive Council. Hispanic Physicists (2007–2011). As the Director of the Labora- currently a member of the Coun- of cosmological spacetimes. She is currently the Chair of the Mason participated in the Col- tory, he endeavors actively to pro- cil for the Smithsonian Museum of In 1995, she founded and was US Liaison Committee for IUPAP. lege of Engineering Ad-Hoc Lead- mote exchanges and cooperation African American History on the the first Chair of the APS Topical She has served as a member of ership Committee (2012), co-orga- between different countries with Mall, and has served as a member Group in Gravitation (GGR). She various committees and advisory nized an Aspen Winter Conference diverse cultural backgrounds, ex- of the NRC Board on Physics and was elected again to the Executive groups. (2012), and chaired the Facilities emplified by the exchange- pro Astronomy. He served as a mem- Committee as vice-Chair in 2012. General Councilor Committee at the Frederick Seitz gram he helped establish between ber of the APS Panel on Public Af- She was a member of the APS Dolores Bozovic received Materials Research Laboratory Johns Hopkins University and fairs. Council and chaired the Com- her PhD in Physics in 2001 from (2011–). NJU and the “dual-degree” pro- Stewart Smith is a particle mittee on the Status of Women in Harvard University, on electron International Councilor gram between NJU and Louisiana physicist whose major research Physics, the Publication Oversight transport in carbon nanotubes. She Kiyoshi Ueda is a professor at State University.

COMMENTS continued from page 1 cifs continued from page 4 participation of underrepresented ucation of the APS Committee on the first of the statements to re- groups. Education, then approved by the quire membership comments as research can contribute to the Co- rights, to the detriment of his own “Physical science is a core full committee and the Panel on part of its usual five-year review. alition’s efforts. scientific career and despite the discipline that underlies almost Public Affairs. “It will be interesting to see APS Andrei Sakharov Prize loss of his own personal freedom. everything else that students The statement will remain what the comments look like,” APS is currently accepting The Prize is awarded to “recog- do,” said Susan Seestrom of Los open for comment until the end Cottle said. “We’ll do revision nominations for the APS An- nize outstanding leadership and/or Alamos National Laboratory and of June. The recent APS climate work based on the comments we drei Sakharov Prize. The Prize is achievements of scientists in up- member of APS’s Panel on Public change statement’s review pro- receive.” named in recognition of the cou- holding human rights.” The next Affairs. cess was the very first to ask the The statement can be read at rageous and effective work of An- prize will be issued in 2014 and The statement was first drafted membership to comment on its http://www.aps.org/policy/state- drei Sakharov on behalf of human nominations are due July 1, 2013. by the subcommittee on K-12 ed- language. The K-12 statement is ments/k12statement.cfm June 2013 • 7

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Reviews of Modern Physics APS Nicholson Medal for Human Outreach The spin structure of the nucleon The Dwight Nicholson Medal for Human Outreach is awarded to a physicist who either through teaching, research, or science related activities, Christine A. Aidala, Steven D. Bass, Delia Hasch, 1. has demonstrated a particularly giving and caring relationship as a mentor to students or col- and Gerhard K. Mallot leagues, or has succeeded in motivating interest in physics through inspiring educational works, or Throughout much of the twenti- 2. has created special opportunities that inspire the scientific development of students or junior eth century, the nucleon spin has colleagues, or has developed programs for students at any level that facilitated positive career been–just as the spin of the elec- choices in physics, or tron–viewed as an intrinsic property. 3. has successfully stimulated the interest and involvement of the general public on the progress in There are, however, very complex interactions that lead to the spin physics. Nominations are active for up three years. Nomination deadline - July 1, 2013 of 1/2 of the nucleon. Extensive Further Information: www.aps.org/programs/honors/awards/nicholson.cfm experiments have established that most of the proton's spin cannot be ATTITUDES continued from page 3 attributed to the sum of the spins of its three quarks and that contri- rejected and 27.8% accepted the books. Only after agreeing to take about Turkey’s scientific future: butions from the orbital motion of theory of evolution, with 51.4% out a figure alluding to human Turkey is raising a generation of quarks and/or gluons play an impor- being undecided, presumably be- evolution, were we able to retain biologists/scientists whose grasp tant role. This review is devoted to the proton spin puzzle. The current cause of their lack of exposure to the section in the teaching materi- of scientific thinking is flawed experimental and theoretical devel- these ideas.2 al. We conclude that official anti- and whose ability to participate opments are reviewed, and open There is plenty more to ensure evolutionary influences dominate in modern biology is correspond- questions and challenges for future investigations are discussed. that the picture is truly bleak: the the Turkish secondary education ingly compromised. http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/ circulation of glossy anti-evo- system. Acknowledgements RevModPhys.85.655 lution books in the country and The only positive aspect of The authors are at the Faculty http://rmp.aps.org abroad (e.g., Atlas of Creation4), this anti-evolutionary atmosphere of Engineering and Natural Sci- MATTER continued from page 1 the organization of anti-evolution- in Turkey is the development of ences of Sabancı University in ary symposia (under the auspices efforts to counter its influence. Istanbul. They would like to thank could be definitively drawn. If the magnetic field around a resonant of the Turkish Higher Educational Some academics, including, just M. Somel, Z. Durmuş and N. results hold up, the relatively light microwave cavity to convert the Council),5 and the banning of stu- to name a few, A. Kence and A. Somel for providing material for particle would be consistent with occasional passing axion into a dent-organized discussion panels Birand of Middle East Techni- this article and A. Berry for criti- the COGENT dark matter experi- faint radio signal. A sensitive re- on evolution in some universi- cal University, N. Dalfes and cal reading of the text. ment, also in the Soudan mine, but ceiver powered by quantum elec- ties.6 Finally, on a personal note, A. Erzan of Istanbul Technical References at odds with results from the Xe- tronics then picks up that radio during 2009-2010 we participated University and E. D. Ozsoy of 1. Öztürkler, R. N. (2005) “Türkiye’de non-10 and Xenon-100 dark mat- signal. Biyolojik Evrim Eğitiminin Sosyolojik Bir ter experiments located in Italy. It “With our radio receiver, you in “Power of Thinking: Teacher Hacettepe University, are vocif- Değerlendirmesi” Master Thesis, Ankara Training Support Program for a erous proponents of evolution at University, Institute of Education Sciences. is also unclear why such light par- could go to any planet in the solar Youth that Questions and Que- the undergraduate and graduate 2. Peker, D. Cömert, G. G. and Kence, A. ticles would not have been seen in system and get four bars on your (2010) Three Decades of Anti-evolution particle accelerators already. cellphone without any trouble ries”, a collaboration between levels. Among voluntary orga- Campaign and its Results: Turkish Under- the NGO “Education Reform nizations that promote evolution graduates’ Acceptance and Understanding “You can construct models whatsoever,” Rosenberg said. Initiative” and NEM.7 We pre- are the award-winning “Evrim- of the Biological Evolution Theory. Science where you would not have seen ADMX is currently in its com- and Education 19:739-755. 3. İrez, S. and such particles in accelerators,” missioning phase, and will begin pared material on evolution and caliskanlari” (Hard-workers for Özyeral-Bakanay, C. D. (2011) “An As- genetics. The NEM group asked evolution), who are translating sessment into Pre-service Biology Teach- Cabrera said, “But clearly the to collect data this summer. The us to remove this section because the University of California, ers’ Approaches to the Theory of Evolution mass is such that you can access it first results are expected sometime and Nature of Science. Eğitim ve Bilim. with accelerators, so you have to next summer. evolution was not proven and it Berkeley’s “Understanding Evo- 35(162):39-55. 4. Yahya, H.(2007) “Atlas of conflicted with genetics. When lution” website into Turkish8 and Creation” Global Publishing. 5. http://www. ask that question and analyze it in “In a short number of years, we refused this request, produced also organize conferences/work- turkiyeogrencikonseyi.org/Haber/78/1-ulus- detail.” we’ll actually have a very sharp lararasi-evrim-sorgulaniyor-kongresi.aspx#. 9 The team is also taking data answer, a definitive answer, to counter arguments, and met with shops. “Universite Konseyleri 6. http://www.universitekongresi.com/suley- the officials, it became clear that Dernegi” (Association of Univer- man-demirel-universitesi-yonetimi-evrimi- with another experiment in the the question of ‘Is the axion… none of the members of the NEM sity Councils) have been organiz- anlamak-etkinligini-yasakladi/. 7. http://erg. Soudan mine using nine kilograms the dark matter in our galaxy?’” sabanciuniv.edu/en/powerofthinkingproject. of germanium, and is developing Rosenberg said. “We’ll either find group accepted the theory of evo- ing evolution-themed symposia 8. www.universitekonseyleri.org/evrimcal- lution. These people, all science since 2006.10 However, even with iskanlari http://www.evrimianlamak.org/e/ a larger, 200-kilogram detector for it and be really happy, or we won’t graduates, are responsible for the these voluntary efforts, it is dif- Ana_Sayfa 9. http://evrimsempozyumu.org/. the SNOLAB facility in Canada. and we’ll be out of business but 10. http://matematikselevrim.org/english- WIMPS aren’t the only exotic we’ll still be really happy.” content of secondary school text ficult to refrain from pessimism info/ particle that physicists think might At the same time, hopes faded explain the missing mass of the for a different, formerly promising MEETINGS continued from page 1 universe. Axions have been the dark matter clue seen late last year. Chief of Staff. tists who submitted requests. before the onset of sequestration. focus of much theoretical work In late October there was a buzz in The travel restrictions have “Even if the DOE agrees with “We didn’t get approval for lab since the 1970s, and researchers the astrophysics community about had different effects on differ- the latest submittal…the impact scientists to travel to that meeting are preparing an experiment that an apparent spike in gamma rays ent meetings. Astronomy-related of cutting from 227 to 155 isn’t until two weeks before the meet- might be able to confirm the exis- seen by the Fermi Gamma Ray conferences have been particu- devastating for the conference, ing,” said Robert McKeown, a tence of axions. Space Telescope’s large area tele- larly hard hit. The Eighth Inter- but it does hurt,” Moore said. “At researcher at Jefferson Lab and According to the theory, the scope. However, the team running national Conference on Mars, the moment, my information is organizer of the conference. “I particles are ubiquitous through- the satellite said at the conference scheduled for July at Caltech, that none of the 30 DOD attend- think the system at DOE is work- out the universe, but are very light that, after reprocessing, the spike was postponed for a year. For this ees who wanted to come to the ing much better now.” and weakly interacting. There are has all but disappeared. year’s Lunar and Planetary Sci- meeting will get to go.” He added that he didn’t think as many as 10 quadrillion axions Researchers independent of the ence Conference, only a hundred Moore added that the Shock there would be a big change in per cubic centimeter on Earth, but Fermi collaboration pored over of the usual 170 civil servants meeting will still likely reach this year’s attendance rates for his they are very difficult to detect the original raw data release and were authorized to attend, result- the minimum number needed to meeting. Speaking more broadly, with a mass only in the micro- saw a four-sigma spike in gamma ing in the cancelation of several break even because it is being he said that who is going to the electron volt range. rays with energies of about 130 events featuring high-ranking of- held in conjunction with the an- meetings can be as important as “We really don’t have a lot of GeV emanating from the galactic ficials from NASA headquarters. nual meeting of the International how many. clues about what makes up the center. The thought at the time “They decided not to come so Association for the Advancement “The largest effect that I worry dark matter,” Rosenberg said. “An was they might be signals from their slots could be filled by the of High Pressure Science and about is on young people whose axion could be a perfectly good annihilating WIMPS of the same scientists who needed to come to Technology, which takes place in careers are dependent on show- solution to the dark matter prob- mass. the meeting,” said Mackwell, who the United States only once every ing their work at conferences and lem. The WIMP could make up “There is evidence for some organized the conference. “This is 20 years. However, as many as networking and meeting people,” the dark matter completely, and it type of spectral feature here, but a community that is powered by one third to one half of the session McKeown said. “Certainly the would be a wonderful solution to the effect is not large enough to conversations and discussions… chairs may have to be reassigned. people at the beginning of their the dark matter problem. Or you claim any kind of interpretation So much of what goes on at these Organizers of this year’s APS careers will be the most affected.” could have a mix.” beyond statistical fluctuations science meetings is not what goes March Meeting in Baltimore and McKeown said also that ap- Researchers at the Univer- at this point,” said Alex Drlica- on during the sessions.” April Meeting in Denver said they proval delays meant that sci- sity of Washington are building Wagner of Stanford University, This year’s meeting of the APS didn’t see any obvious drop in at- entists would miss out cheaper the Axion Dark Matter Experi- adding that with reprocessing the Topical Group on Shock Com- tendance resulting from these re- airfare and early registration, ul- ment (ADMX) to hunt for them. feature’s significance dropped off pression of Condensed Matter, strictions. The March Meeting was timately costing the departments The experiment employs a strong to less than two sigma. scheduled for early July in Se- down about 600 people from last more money. attle, looks like it will be affected year, but the most likely explanation “There has been some study of ment of Energy’s Office of Sci- dance,” Brinkman said. because of the large number of is that the 2012 meeting in Boston that and people have established ence, William Brinkman, said he According to the Office of national laboratory scientists who was unusually well attended. that there are extra costs with the didn’t think the restrictions were Management and Budget, the fed- usually attend. David Moore, a Last fall’s Division of Nucle- new procedures in place,” McKe- saving the department money. eral agencies have saved about $2 researcher at Los Alamos and or- ar Physics meeting in Newport own said. “I think we’re spending more billion in total over the last two ganizer of the meeting, said that Beach, California was one of the In an interview published in on the bureaucracy than the sav- fiscal years. the Department of Energy autho- first held after the imposition of the May issue of APS News, the ings we might accumulate from The Department of Energy de- rized only just over half of scien- the new travel restrictions, and outgoing Director of the Depart- restricting conference atten- clined to comment. 8 • June 2013 The Back Page

ast year, 2012, saw a global celebra- Communications is critical to the APS be- Ltion in July with the discovery of the cause of its global reach. We have continued Higgs. In October we celebrated the Nobel to hold a series of Fellows meetings around Prize for research in quantum physics. We APS: Moving Forward the country during the past year and later this are now seeing a continued increase in the year we are headed to London to meet with number of students enrolling in physics in in a Rapidly Changing World and discuss APS issues with APS Fellows high school and in colleges. It is a great by Robert L. Byer, Past President, APS in the UK. In 2012 the Fellows meetings time to be a physicist! were held in Atlanta, Chapel Hill, Chicago The American Physical Society was and Northern California. The latter meeting founded in 1899 when 36 physicists gathered at Columbia involved fellows from UC Berkeley, Stanford, SLAC and University for that purpose. They proclaimed the mission LLNL. The meeting was hosted by LLNL and included a of the new society to be “to advance and diffuse the knowl- tour of the NIF Laser facility. edge of physics.” In one way or another, APS has been do- The APS has a longstanding program to recognize His- ing that task ever since. torical Sites in Physics. Recent sites recognized were at As the premier membership society for 50,000 physicists, Brookhaven, Dartmouth, University of Minnesota, Aspen the APS is in very good stead in its core areas of publish- Center for Physics, JILA, SLAC and the Carnegie Institu- ing, meetings, membership growth and finances. We have tion in Washington. It is a particularly pleasant responsibil- exceptional programs in outreach, education, international ity of the President to attend these events and to recognize affairs, and government relations and advocacy. However, the impact each site has had on the history of physics. in moving forward we should continue to strengthen our The APS membership is representative of the interna- organization and to respond to new opportunities. tional community. An element of the Strategic Plan is to In 2011 we initiated a strategic planning process to help increase the international engagement of the APS and to define goals and objectives for the APS over the next five better serve international members. Last year witnessed years. The elements of the plan were developed jointly with trips by the APS President to Korea to celebrate the 60th APS staff and members of the APS Executive Board, and anniversary of the Korean Physical Society, and in the late communicated to the APS membership in May 2012. The summer to Beijing to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the ment by better serving our international members, and Strategic Plan is available on the APS website. Chinese Physical Society (CPS), an event held at Tsinghua looking at new ways to serve our community of industrial The Strategic Plan for 2013 to 2017 provides a road- University. In September, the APS leadership visited China, physicists. map for ensuring that APS will continue to be: Hong Kong and Taiwan to explore joint activities to engage APS is in good financial health with revenue and ex- • A highly valued membership organization for physi- with the international community. The CPS and the APS penses nearly balanced at $46.9M. Most of our revenue cists in the US and around the world held their first joint scientific session at the CPS Annual stems from publications. Our publications are growing, and • A global resource for physics information Meeting held in Guangzhou, China. This trip was very suc- submissions keep increasing, necessitating a larger editorial • A strong and visible advocate for the discipline of cessful with extended discussions with APS members held operation. We are adding 18,000 sq. ft. of new space and re- physics and key communicator about physics to the at six universities. furbishing old space at the Editorial Offices on Long Island. community and general public APS has a tradition of supporting public policy discus- Further, we initiated a high impact factor, open access, on- • A recognized leader in designing educational programs sions where physics and science matter. APS works through line journal Physical Review X. We have a very strong re- to serve the next generation of physicists as well as a its Office of Public Affairs in Washington to accomplish viewer base and strong support for our journals from our more science-literate citizenry two tasks: to inform the public debate through the Panel on members. In particular, more than two thirds of our authors I call the Strategic Plan the three-plus-one plan, with Public Affairs (POPA) and to advocate on issues that affect are from outside of North America. More than half of our three outward-facing goals and the fourth goal looking in- the physics community through the Physics Policy Com- reviewers are overseas. We are completing the transition to ward to increase organizational excellence. mittee (PPC). APS develops reports through POPA that of- an all-electronic set of journals with less than 15% of our • Goal One is to better serve APS members with im- ten lead to legislation. Recent examples, available on the journals delivered as printed copy. APS members have been proved communications, a more diverse and inclusive APS website, include Technical Steps to Support Nuclear extremely well served by APS journals for one hundred APS membership and enhanced international engage- Downsizing (2010), Integrating Renewable Electricity on years. I urge you to support your journals through volunteer ment. the Grid (2010), and Energy Critical Elements: Securing service and through papers submitted for publication. • Goal Two is to better serve the physics community by Materials for Critical Technologies (2011). APS members APS Scientific meetings are critical to the communica- disseminating physics more effectively, serving as the also participate in Congressional Visits Day to inform rep- tion of physics. The March 2012 meeting held in Boston principal voice for physics to policy makers, and lead- resentatives about issues critical to science and the health had nearly 10,000 attendees. The scientific program includ- ing the development of outstanding programs in educa- of the nation. ed more than 100 invited sessions and 550 contributed ses- tion and diversity. APS is active in its broader roles in physics education sions of which approximately 7000 papers were presented. • Goal Three is to better serve society through becom- and in public outreach. The need for high school science The April 2012 Meeting held in Atlanta celebrated 100 ing an authoritative source for physics information, teachers, especially those in physics and chemistry, is now years of Cosmic Ray Physics and had three special plenary increasing the public’s appreciation of the value of well documented. The APS-led program PhysTEC has the sessions that complimented 75 invited and 100 contrib- physics, and providing innovative programs to enhance goal to increase the number of highly qualified high school uted sessions. In addition, our Divisions held their annual STEM education. physics teachers. The PhysTEC program, supported by the meetings in Plasma Physics, Fluid Dynamics, Particles and • Goal Four, the plus-one goal, is to increase organiza- NSF, has been particularly successful in establishing sites Fields, Nuclear Physics, AMO Physics and Laser Science. tional excellence and become “One-APS”–a unified for training more physics teachers. This effort is particular- Starting with the 2011 April Meeting in Anaheim, APS organization that shares a common vision and purpose. ly important in view of the growing number of high school began posting invited talks online. The idea originated in Implementation of the Strategic Plan will be guided by students taking physics courses, a trend that is now also ap- the Committee on International Affairs and was supported recommendations of various Task Forces of APS mem- parent at universities where Physics Department Chairs are by then-APS-president Barry Barish. The experiment has bers. A Development Task Force, led by President-Elect scrambling to find additional space and resources to accom- been a resounding success. A survey following the 2011 Mac Beasley, was created early in the process because modate increasing enrollment in physics courses. April Meeting found that 97% of the respondents would fund-raising is essential to fulfilling many of the Strategic Our broader outreach to the public takes many forms. find online talks useful and 95% believed that online APS Plan goals. We also established an Early Career Task Force Two are gaining significant attention. We now have a phys- presentations would enhance research or professional de- to advise APS on how best to support and engage this im- ics heroine “Spectra” in a Comic Book. Spectra is a “laser velopment of students and postdoctoral scholars. portant and rapidly growing segment of our membership. A superhero” who uses her powers to educate middle-school Through the efforts of our Executive Officer, Kate Kir- significant challenge for APS publishing is to maintain our girls and boys about the wonders of physics. The second, by, the Kavli Foundation has agreed to support special Ka- excellence while meeting the goal of public access to re- “Science off the Sphere”, is a series of videos in which as- vli Symposia at our meetings. At the past two March meet- search supported by federal funds. A Task Force on Open tronaut Dr. Don Pettit does physics demos in micrograv- ings we have held Special Kavli Symposia on “Emergent Access is working to communicate with policy makers on ity on the International Space Station. Access to these pro- Physics at the Mesoscale” (2012) and “Forefront Physics these issues. grams is available at the PhysicsCentral website that saw for Real World Problems” (2013). At the April meetings we In the process of being formed is a Task Force on the almost three million page views in 2012, nearly double have held Kavli Symposia on “100 years of Cosmic Ray April Meeting with the goal of ensuring that our meetings those of the year before. Physics” (2012) and “Frontiers of Physics, from the Lab to are must-attend events. Of course we can make progress in It has been my privilege to serve the APS as a member of the Cosmos” (2013). some areas without a formal task force. For example, we re- the Presidential Line and as President in 2012. Face-to-face The APS Prizes and Awards, about fifty in number, rec- organized the unit convocation, now called the APS Lead- meetings with APS unit leaders, committee chairs, fellows ognize outstanding achievements in research, education ership Convocation, and used the event to enhance com- and members have confirmed that the core strength of the and public service. In addition, APS Fellows achieve the munication between unit leadership and APS governance. APS lies in its members and volunteer leaders. With your honor of being recognized by peers as having achieved dis- This article is based on the President’s Report presented at support, the APS is moving forward. tinction in physics. APS has now increased the visibility of the Leadership Convocation held at APS Headquarters in Robert L. Byer is the William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of the prizes and awards with a number of new features at the February 2013 in conjunction with a day on Capitol Hill. Applied Physics at Stanford, and Co-Director of the Stan- special sessions at the March and April meetings, and is Other important areas, which we will be examining in ford Photonics Research Center. He served as APS Presi- taking additional steps to enhance the public recognition of the future, include increasing our international engage- dent in 2012. these prizes and awards.

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