May 2006 Volume 15, No. 5 www.aps.org/apsnews Highlights Scientists Can Bring Truth APS NEWS to the Public Arena A Publication of the American Physical Society By Leo Kadanoff Page 4 Serene to Succeed McIlrath March Meeting Prize and Award Recipients As APS Treasurer his fall Joseph Serene will of the physics department and as become the new APS dean of the Graduate School of TTreasurer, succeeding Arts and Sciences. He is current- Thomas McIlrath, who is retiring. ly the Interim Director of Music McIlrath has served as and Dance. APS Treasurer since September Serene earned his PhD in 30, 1996. Serene will take physics from Cornell University over the position on or about in 1974. He spent a year as a post- September 30, 2006. doctoral fellow at Stanford The APS Treasurer, one of the University, followed by a year as Society’s three operating officers, a NORDITA Guest Professor at is responsible for the Society’s fis- the Helsinki University of cal management and publications Technology. He has held faculty marketing activities. positions at Yale University and Serene is currently a professor the State University of New York of physics at Georgetown at Stony Brook. From 1984 to 1987 University. He has served as chair Serene to Succeed continued on page 7 Photo credit: Robert Stockfield APS Honors Its First President Front row (l to r): Robert Meyer (standing); Ludwik Leibler; James Chelikowski; Kenji Urayama; Mark Johnson; Alfred Redfield. Middle row (l to r): Noel Clark; Charles Su; Rainer Grobe; Frances Hellman; Hui Cao; Roberto Merlin. Back row (l to r): Charles Duke; Hongjie Dai; Alex Zettl; David Vanderbilt; Matthew Paoletti; Murray Batchelor (on behalf of Rodney Baxter). March Meeting Physicists Drop In on Congress Over two days in March, some organizing the event. “The advan- Congressional offices from 31 110 physicists and physics stu- tageous location of this year’s states. The emphasis was prima- dents took time off from the APS meeting provided an exciting rily on encouraging Congress to March Meeting in Baltimore, opportunity to have attendees fully fund the Bush administra- Maryland, to discuss the impor- from as many districts and states tion’s FY07 budget request as Photo credit: Robert Stockfield tance of science research fund- as possible travel to Washington, outlined in the American As part of the APS historic sites initiative, at the March Meeting a plaque ing with their individual DC, to educate Congress on the Competitiveness Initiative. This was presented to Johns Hopkins University to commemorate the work of Henry Congressional representatives. importance of science funding.” includes an 8% increase for A. Rowland, Professor of Physics at Johns Hopkins from 1875 to his death in “Carrying the message to indi- Following a briefing in NSF, a 14% increase for the DOE 1901, and inventor of the diffraction grating that bears his name. He was also vidual offices remains one of the Baltimore, participants were Office of Science and an 18% the founding president of the American Physical Society in 1899. Presenting the best means of influencing a bused to Capitol Hill. They met increase for NIST. Participants plaque on behalf of APS was past-President Marvin Cohen (left). The plaque Member of Congress,” says with staffers–and in some cases also urged Congressional was accepted by Adam Falk (center), the James B. Knapp Dean, Krieger School Kimberly Regan, science policy the members themselves–in 153 Congress continued on page 6 of Arts and Sciences at Johns Hopkins. Watching at right is John Rigden of fellow with the APS Washington Washington University, St. Louis, the Chair of the APS Historic Sites Committee. Office, of the incentive behind New APS Education Award Graphene’s Unique Properties Offer Much Potential Calls for Nominations The APS Excellence in excellence in physics educa- A two-dimensional sheet of electronic properties, which is key unusual quantum effects. Education Award, approved by tion. Such a commitment may carbon, called graphene, has many to achieving sufficient control for “Nanotubes are simply Council in November 2003, has be evidenced by, but not restrict- of the same interesting properties device applications. It is also dif- graphene than has been rolled into achieved its fundraising goal of ed to, such accomplishments as: as one-dimensional carbon nan- ficult to integrate CNT into elec- a cylindrical shape,” says Georgia $100,000 and will be awarded –outreach programs otubes (CNTs), according to sev- tronic devices using processes Tech's Walt de Heer. “Using nar- for the first time next year. The –a specific program or proj- eral papers presented at the APS suitable for high-volume produc- row ribbons of graphene, we can selection process is underway, ect that has had a major ongo- March Meeting in Baltimore. tion. And there is high electrical get all the properties of nanotubes and a call for nominations has ing influence on physics educa- Electrons can move at high speeds resistance that produces heating because those properties are due been issued. The deadline for tion at the national level through the material–so fast that and energy loss at junctions to the graphene and the confine- nominations for the first award –outstanding teacher their behavior is governed by rel- between CNTs and the metal wires ment of the electrons, not the nan- is July 1, 2006. enhancement or teacher prepa- ativity rather than classical connecting them. otube structure.” The width of the The award, which consists of ration programs over a number physics. They also suffer little Their use in next-wave ribbon controls the material’s $5000 and a certificate citing of years energy loss, making graphene an microchips is among the most band-gap. Other structures, such the achievements of the recipi- –long-lasting professional ideal candidate for future elec- promising short-term applications as sensing molecules, could be ents, is distinctive in that it is service related to physics edu- tronics applications, especially at for graphene. When rolled into attached to the edges of the rib- intended to recognize groups, cation that has had a demon- the nanoscale. CNTs or formed into ribbons or bons, which are normally passivat- rather than individuals. Its defin- strated positive impact. To date, much attention has patterned planes, graphene is a ter- ed by hydrogen atoms. The ribbon ing characteristics are set forth Nominations should be sub- focused on CNTs as holding the rific platform for electronics. width confines the electrons in a in the language that was adopt- mitted to the chair of the selec- most promise for nanoelectronics Electrons move quickly and suffer quantum effect similar to that seen ed by Council: tion committee, Wolfgang because they conduct electricity very little energy dissipation even in CNTs. The Excellence in Physics Christian, at the following with virtually no resistance. But at room temperature. In fact, they According to de Heer, graphene Education Award will recognize address: there are some serious obstacles act almost like massless particles. will provide a more controllable and honor a team or group of PO Box 6926, Davidson to scaling up CNT-based devices Making smooth interconnections platform for integrated electron- individuals (such as a collabo- College, Davidson NC 28035- to high-throughput manufactur- between separated devices on a ics than is possible with CNTs ration), or exceptionally a sin- 6926 [email: wochristian@ ing. For example, scientists have chip might be easier with graphene, since graphene structures can be gle individual, who have exhib- davidson.edu]. yet to find a way to produce nan- and scientists hope to be able fabricated as large wafers using ited a sustained commitment to Nominations continued on page 7 otubes of consistent sizes and to further exploit the material’s Graphene continued on page 3 2 May 2006 APS NEWS This Month in Physics History Members in the Media May, 1911: Rutherford and the discovery of the atomic nucleus "At first, we were disbelieving. water, The Wall Street Journal, n 1909, Ernest Rutherford’s of the particles scattered. We repeated the experiment many March 10, 2006 student reported some unex- Rutherford, who didn’t want times to make sure we had a true Ipected results from an exper- to neglect any angle of an result and not an 'Ooops'!" “There are no bacteria known to iment Rutherford had assigned experiment, no matter how – Chris Deeney, Sandia be resistant to silver or silver oxide." him. Rutherford called this news unpromising, suggested National Lab, on achieving a –Dan Storey, Nexxion, on new the most incredible event of his Marsden look to see if any temperature of 2 billion kelvins in silver oxide coating for medical life. alpha particles actually scat- Sandia’s Z machine, Associated devices to prevent infections, In the now well-known exper- tered backwards. Press, March 9, 2006 Baltimore Sun, March 17, 2006 iment, alpha particles were Marsden was not expected observed to scatter backwards to find anything, but nonethe- "Several things about it are not "It shows that planet formation from a gold foil. Rutherford’s less he dutifully and carefully really understood – the durability, is really ubiquitous in the universe. explanation, which he published carried out the experiment. He for one thing, is really not known It's a very robust process and can in May 1911, was that the scat- later wrote that he felt it was a how to predict." happen in all sorts of unexpected tering was caused by a hard, sort of test of his experimental –Edward Garboczi, NIST, on environments." dense core at the center of the skills. The experiment involved concrete, Baltimore Sun, March –Deepto Chakrabarty, MIT, on atom–the nucleus. firing alpha particles from a 24, 2006 finding a dusty disk around a Ernest Rutherford was born in radioactive source at a thin gold New Zealand, in 1871, one of 12 foil.