May 2012 • Vol. 21, No. 5

Fang Lizhi Remembered A Publication of the American Physical Society see page 6 www.aps.org/publications/apsnews/index

April Meeting Prize and Award Recipients APS Unveils Five-year Strategic Plan After a year of work by its and rolled out to the leaders of outlines goals to make the phys- leadership, the APS strategic plan APS units at the unit convocation ics community thrive. First and for 2013 through 2017 has been in April. “The overall goals are foremost, the Society aims to completed and is being circulated to better serve the members, the keep its journals and meetings to the membership. The plan sets physics community and society,” as prime sources of cutting-edge forth a series of goals for the So- Kirby said. physics research. In addition, the ciety over the next half-decade. Finding ways to better serve Society will continue to advocate “The value of a strategic plan the members includes improv- for physics to policy makers, and is that it articulates a common vi- ing communication between the continue to promote physics edu- sion for the Society,” said APS Society and its members, involv- cation at all levels. Executive Officer Kate Kirby. ing more international members In order to serve society as a “The process itself involves step- in the Society’s leadership, and whole, APS aims to be the lead- ping back, looking at what we are making the membership itself ing source of information about doing, and identifying possible more diverse and inclusive. physics, and to build support for challenges and new opportunities “It’s important that the physics science amongst the public. This in the future.” community and the APS reflects includes disseminating informa- The planning process, involv- better the nationwide demograph- tion about physics, continuing its Photo by Ross DeLoach ing extensive Executive Board ics,” Kirby said, adding that being outreach efforts aimed at building At the April Meeting ceremonial session, attendees heard the retiring Presi- and APS staff discussions, was more inclusive means involving public appreciation, and improv- dent's address from Barry Barish, and then watched as current APS President started in 2011 by the Operat- more underrepresented minority ing the quality of STEM educa- Bob Byer presented 15 APS prizes and awards to a total of 19 individuals. In addition, an AIP award was presented by CEO Fred Dylla. Seated in the photo ing Officers and the Presidential physicists and more women, as tion generally. are, left to right: APS past President Barry Barish; William B. Atwood; Lillian Line, as a way to develop a road- well as reaching out to physicists While the plan outlines strate- Hoddeson; Arian Pregenzer; Silvia Torres-Peimbert; APS President Bob Byer; map for the Society over the next who are in careers that have been gic goals and objectives, imple- Jean Trân Thanh Vân (AIP); and Törbjorn Sjöstrand. Standing, left to right, five years. The final version of the underserved by APS, such as in- mentation ideas will be developed are: Andre Lessa; Emanuele Mereghetti; Ramon Lopez; David Ernst; Phillip plan was adopted by the APS Ex- dustrial physics. through discussions between the Barbeau; John Madey; Witold Nazarewicz; Siegfried Hecker; Manuel Peimbert; Guido Altarelli; Daniel Jafferis; Gordon Kane; Djordje Radicevic; and Bryan ecutive Board in February, pre- To better serve the physics Executive Board and APS staff Webber. sented to Council in late March, community as a whole, the plan PLAN continued on page 4

APS Action Helps Save Physics Program at Northern Iowa Physics Methods Aid Cancer Research

By Michael Lucibella structuring.” administration to provide a high By Calla Cofield cancer cells. The National Cancer Institute Helped by a concerted grass- Before the final vote by the quality physics program for Iowa Physicists are assisting in the has already invested in bringing roots effort, professors and stu- Board of Regents, APS Executive and the surrounding region.” fight against cancer in a variety of physicists together with cancer dents at the University of North- Officer Kate Kirby sent an open Provost Gloria Gibson said that ways, as illustrated by two exam- researchers. In 2009 the NCI es- ern Iowa (UNI) have succeeded letter to the school’s president and the administration was swayed by ples that were presented at the APS tablished 12 Physical Sciences in saving the Physics Bachelor of provost, asking them to reconsid- the outpouring of support behind March Meeting. Krastan Blagoev, Oncology Centers at major in- Science from elimination. Several er the decision to close down the the BS, and the amount of external director of the Physics of Living stitutions throughout the US (as other physics and physical sci- physics program. funding the program brought into Systems program for the National reported in the March 2010 APS ence degrees, however, are being “The American Physical Soci- the university, reportedly about $4 Science Foundation, is applying News). According to the PSOC phased out because of a tightening ety hopes that you will reconsider million in the last six years. theoretical physics knowledge website, “by merging the physical budget. this action in light of the signifi- The action at UNI came in the to the analysis of clinical cancer sciences with cancer biology and UNI announced in late Febru- cant role played by UNI in educat- wake of similar closings of several data, and is working on a program oncology, NCI aims to accelerate ary that it would be closing down ing high school physics teachers, physics programs at universities in to bring these two groups together. the pace toward a cure.” several of its physics programs as providing physics education to all Texas, as reported in the Decem- Lydia Sohn, at the University of At a press conference at the part of a broader restructuring ef- of the science and mathematics ber, 2011 APS News. California, Berkeley, is develop- APS March Meeting, Sohn fort. This sparked a backlash from majors at UNI, and in providing a The other physics programs at ing new techniques for cancer de- showed reporters images that the academic community, includ- robust undergraduate physics pro- UNI that are getting the axe in- tection and imaging, while study- ing APS, to protest the cuts. When gram,” the letter reads. “We rec- clude the applied physics Profes- ing the fundamental mechanics of METHODS continued on page 7 the school’s Board of Regents ap- ognize that budgetary challenges sional Science Masters, Bachelors proved the closure of 58 programs facing UNI and other universities of Arts in physics and the Bachelor on March 21st, the physics BS was force difficult choices. We wel- of Science in applied physics. In The Wild, Wild South spared, although subject to “re- come the opportunity to work with addition, both the geology BA and the UNI Physics Department and ACTION continued on page 3

New Device Tells Bombs from Harmless Trash Cleaning up a region after a dangers. Team members presented the ground. The apparatus looks a bloody conflict can often take their results at the March Meet- bit like a giant lawnmower about years or decades. One of the big- ing. The device uses what they the size of a ping-pong table. Elec- gest long-term challenges to call time domain electromagnetic tric pulses are sent through the make an area safe are unexploded (TDEM) induction methods to coils, which generate magnetic bombs, landmines and munitions. find dangerous buried munitions, fields. These magnetic fields in- These often get buried and stay and importantly, to differentiate duce a slight current in any bur- hidden for years until unearthed them from benign buried garbage. ied piece of metal the device rolls by a plow or other means. “Detection is not the biggest over. The buried object likewise “There are tens of millions of problem. The main problem is dis- emits its own signature magnetic acres that have been polluted with crimination,” Lavely said. “It be- field which can be picked up by Photo by Sarah Davis bombs that haven’t been explod- comes economically unfeasible to detector coils. It’s the same prin- On March 28, APS hosted a reception for Fellows in the Atlanta area. The more than 40 attendees enjoyed refreshments and heard brief remarks from ed,” said Eugene Lavely of BAE dig up every detection.” ciple that a beach comber’s metal APS President Bob Byer, Executive Officer Kate Kirby, Treasurer/Publisher systems. Lavely’s device is essentially detector uses. Joe Serene, Editor in Chief Gene Sprouse, and Director of Education and He is part of a team develop- made up of 25 coils on a square “Think of these as fancy Diversity Ted Hodapp. In the photo, Bob Byer shares a light moment with Georgia Tech professor Rick Trebino (center) and Linda Trebino. ing a device to find these hidden platform that can be pushed across DEVICE continued on page 5 2 • May 2012

Members This Month in Physics History in the Media May 29, 1948: Results of first experiment on the Casimir effect

One wouldn’t immediately suspect a connec- trigued by the possibility of measuring the van der “I am innocent… I will not be Unless we’re missing some- tion between how gecko’s feet adhere to surfaces Waals force between two parallel metallic plates. convicted. It is just that the Argen- thing in the existing data, a fail- and the friction that so often plagues tiny nanoma- Two years later, he and a student, Dirk Polder, con- tinean justice system is very slow. ure to find the Higgs boson would chines. The first involves an unusual feature of mo- ceived of an experiment to do just that. The theory There is easily enough evidence mean building an accelerator that lecular attraction, while the second arises from the they developed to predict their result centered on that I didn’t know there were drugs can work at even higher energies.” “stickiness” of the quantum force of empty space. London’s reformulation couching the theory in in the bag, and that will come out, Lawrence Krauss, Arizona Yet both have their roots in the work of two Dutch- terms of zero-point quantum energy fluctuations in I hope sooner rather than later.” State University, on the LHC’s men: Johannes Diderik van der Waals and Hendrik an electromagnetic field. By then, physicists had as- Paul Frampton, University of hunt for the Higgs Boson, The Casimir. certained that the quantum vacuum was not empty, North Carolina, speaking about Washington Post, April 2, 2012. The oldest of ten children born to a carpenter in but featured virtual particles popping into existence his arrest in Argentina on drug Leiden, van der Waals’ working class roots meant and annihilating just as quickly–so fast that they smuggling charges, Raleigh News “The experience of two good he didn’t receive the classical education normally could not be detected. & Observer, March 11, 2012. years of running at 3.5 TeV per required to gain admittance to a university. But The experiment involved two uncharged metal beam gave us the confidence to he did receive a decent primary education and be- plates, ideal “perfect conductors,” set perfectly par- “We’ve been in continuous increase the energy for this year came a teacher’s apprentice, eventually heading an allel and just a few micrometers apart in a vacuum. contact by phone, particularly without any significant risk to the elementary school. He also There would be no external over the last month, and he has machine… Now it’s over to the took advantage of a special electromagnetic field in the been doing all these things that experiments to make the best of provision to enroll in classes vacuum. Yet Casimir and Pol- I’d be depending on him for if he the increased discovery potential at the University of Leiden in der reasoned that those vir- were actually here… I find that ad- we’re delivering them!” physics, mathematics and as- tual particles should induce mirable.” Steve Myers, CERN, The tronomy, although he wasn’t equally short-lived electrical David Eby, University of North Christian Science Monitor, April allowed to matriculate as a currents in the metal plates. Carolina-Chapel Hill, on his ad- 6, 2012. full-time student. When the Those currents, in turn, would visor, Paul Frampton’s jailing in Dutch government founded a generate magnetic fields, Argentina, FoxNews.com, March “There are some facts and new type of secondary school which would either pull the 20, 2012. figures that are very disturbing, aimed at educating middle plates together or push them which show the United States class children, van der Waals apart, depending on the direc- qualified to teach at such tion of the respective currents “I always say I grew up in the might be losing ground in sci- Hendrik Casimir (left) with Victor Weisskopf schools. and fields. But they predicted 19th century…We had two maids ence and discovery, whereas other in 1934. –one to serve us and one to clean. countries are gaining… We can’t By 1866, he was teaching that once all these factors were We had a woman who came to sit back and watch.” at The Hague. Thanks to a special dispensation that accounted for, there would be a slight attractive net wash, and a woman who came to Pushpa Bhat, Fermilab, MS- waived the requirement for classical languages, he force, although depending on how the metal plates iron. We had a cook–a real chef, NBC.com, April 6, 2012. was finally able to be a regular student at the nearby were arranged, there could also be a net repulsive with a toque. I didn’t know a war University of Leiden, and pass the doctoral qualifi- force. was going on.” “Think about how much the in- cation exams in physics and mathematics. He com- In May 1948, Casimir and Polder succeeded in Peter Freund, University of vention of the transistor is worth… pleted his PhD in 1873, with a thesis on the conti- building the experiment and reported on their re- Chicago, on growing up in Ro- The fundamental science that went nuity of gaseous and liquid states, in which he first sults, which were encouraging, but not definitive, in mania during World War II, The into that was understanding quan- introduced the notion that molecules will attract one part because their plates were not perfect conduc- Chicago Tribune, March 25, 2012. tum mechanics, understanding the another if they are sufficiently close together, even tors; indeed, no such material existed. It also proved micro world. Bohr didn’t get rich in the absence of an electric charge or magnetic di- difficult to achieve the precise proper alignment of “I look forward to visiting Am- from it, Heisenberg didn’t get rich pole moment. the two metallic plates. Subsequent experiments to herst soon and then to returning from it. But society got rich from Van der Waals went on to become a professor obtain more accurate measurements did not contra- to work shoulder to shoulder with it.” at the Municipal University of Amsterdam, and dict the theoretical prediction either, but there were our very talented students, faculty Frank Wilczek, MIT, FoxNews. won the 1910 Nobel Prize in Physics at the age of still large experimental errors. The best measure- and staff.” com, April 7, 2012. 72. Casimir was a nine-year-old boy living in The ments that resulted from early experiments–such as Kumble Subbaswamy, Univer- Hague at the time, who would grow up to study the one performed by Marcus Sparnaay, Casimir’s sity of Kentucky, on being named “We don’t claim that our idea with some of the greatest physicists of his era, and colleague at Philips, in 1958–were within 15% of to head UMass Amherst, The is conclusive… we found there to build on van der Waals’ ideas concerning molec- the theory’s predicted value, not quite sufficient to Cape Cod Times, March 27, 2012. had been remarkable tidal events ular attraction, as well as the work of Fritz London, fully verify the theory. around the globe–in England and who provided a quantum mechanical description of So it remained an intriguing experimental chal- “We’re looking in a small mass New Zealand.” the van der Waals force in 1930. lenge for decades, although progress continued to window…So, if the machine per- Donald Olson, Texas State, Casimir received his PhD at the University of be made on the theoretical side: Casimir’s theory forms the way it’s supposed to, on his theory that rare tides may Leiden in 1931, under Paul Ehrenfest, with a the- was unified with London’s earlier work in 1956 this year’s results should settle the have contributed to the sinking of sis on the quantum mechanics of a rigid spinning by Evgeny Lifshitz, whose analysis included more question of whether there is a par- the Titanic, The New York Times, body and molecular rotation. During that time, he realistic material properties, rather than that unat- ticle.” April 10, 2012. also spent 18 months in Copenhagen, working with tainable perfect conductor. Finally, in 1996, a young Rob Roser, Fermilab, on the Niels Bohr. Then he worked as an assistant in Zu- scientist at the University of Washington, Steve LHC’s hunt for the Higgs Boson, “I just really loved films… I rich to Wolfgang Pauli before accepting a profes- Lamoreaux, succeeded in building an experiment The Washington Post, April 2, was 25 and had really great op- sorship at Leiden University. His research centered sensitive enough to measure the Casimir effect to 2012. portunities in academia, but I on heat and electrical conduction. within five percent of its predicted value. kept thinking, ‘I’m in L.A. Hol- His time at Leiden was interrupted by the out- While the Casimir effect is insignificant at the break of World War II; the university was shut down macroscale, at the submicron level it becomes a in 1942. So Casimir moved to the Philips Research dominant force. In microelectromechanical systems MEMBERS continued on page 6 Laboratories in Eindhoven, becoming one of three (MEMS), for example, it can cause ultra-small com- directors in 1946. It was here that he became in- Casimir continued on page 5

Series II, Vol. 21, No. 5 a mailing label from a recent issue. Requests from sub- General Councillors ADVISORS May 2012 scribers for missing issues will be honored without charge Haiyan Gao, Marta Dark McNeese, Nergis Mavalvala*, Representatives from Other Societies only if received within 6 months of the issue’s actual date Warren Mori, Pierre Meystre, Jorge Pullin*, Keivan G. © 2012 The American Physical Society Fred Dylla, AIP; Jill Marshall, President, AAPT of publication. Periodical Postage Paid at College Park, Stassun MD and at additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Send International Councillor International Advisors Coden: ANWSEN ISSN: 1058-8132 address changes to APS News, Membership Department, Annick Suzor-Weiner Louis Felipe Rodriguez Jorge, Mexican Physical Society; American Physical Society, One Physics Ellipse, College Editor•...... Alan Chodos J. Michael Roney, Canadian Association of Physicists Park, MD 20740-3844. Chair, Nominating Committee Staff Science Writer ...... Michael Lucibella Lars Bildsten Staff Representatives Art Director and Special Publications Manager...... Kerry G. Johnson APS COUNCIL 2012 Design and Production...... Nancy Bennett-Karasik Chair, Panel on Public Affairs Alan Chodos, Associate Executive Officer; Amy Flatten Proofreader...... Edward Lee President Jill Dahlburg Director of International Affairs; Ted Hodapp, Director Robert L. Byer*, Stanford University Division, Forum and Section Councillors of Education and Diversity; Michael Lubell, Director, Public Affairs; Dan Kulp, Editorial Director; Christine APS News (ISSN: 1058-8132) is published 11X yearly, Subscriptions: APS News is an on-membership publi- Neil Cornish* (Astrophysics), Thomas Gallagher Giaccone, Director, Journal Operations; Michael monthly, except the August/September issue, by the cation delivered by Periodical Mail. Members residing President-Elect (Atomic, Molecular & Optical Physics), Mark Reeves Stephens, Controller and Assistant Treasurer American Physical Society, One Physics Ellipse, Col- abroad may receive airfreight delivery for a fee of $15. Michael S. Turner*, University of Chicago (Biological), Nancy Levinger* (Chemical), Francis lege Park, MD 20740-3844, (301) 209-3200. It contains Nonmembers: Subscription rates are available at http:// Hellman (Condensed Matter Physics), Steven Gottlieb Administrator for Governing Committees news of the Society and of its Divisions, Topical Groups, librarians.aps.org/institutional.html. Vice-President (Computational), James Wallace (Fluid Dynamics), Gay Ken Cole Sections, and Forums; advance information on meetings Malcolm R. Beasley*, Stanford University Stewart* (Forum on Education), Eric Sorte (Forum on of the Society; and reports to the Society by its commit- Subscription orders, renewals and address changes Graduate Student Affairs), Michael Riordan (Forum on tees and task forces, as well as opinions. should be addressed as follows: For APS Members– Executive Officer History of Physics),Gregory Meisner (Forum on Indus- * Members of the APS Executive Board Membership Department, American Physical Society, Kate P. Kirby*, Harvard-Smithsonian (retired) trial and Applied Physics), Herman Winick* (Forum Letters to the editor are welcomed from the member- One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740-3844, on International Physics), Lowell Brown (Forum on ship. Letters must be signed and should include an ad- [email protected]. Treasurer/Publisher Physics and Society), Anthony Johnson (Laser Science), dress and daytime telephone number. The APS reserves Joseph W. Serene*, Georgetown University (Emeritus) Ted Einstein (Materials), David McIntyre (Northwest For Nonmembers–Circulation and Fulfillment Division, the right to select and to edit for length or clarity. All cor- Editor-in-Chief Section), Wick Haxton* (Nuclear), Marjorie Corcoran* American Institute of Physics, Suite 1NO1, 2 Huntington respondence regarding APS News should be directed to: Gene D. Sprouse*, Stony Brook University (on leave) (Particles & Fields), John Galayda (Physics of Beams), Editor, APS News, One Physics Ellipse, College Park, Quadrangle, Melville, NY 11747-4502. Allow at least 6 Vincent Chan (Plasma), Scott Milner (Polymer Physics), Past-President MD 20740-3844, E-mail: [email protected]. weeks advance notice. For address changes, please send Bruce Barrett (4 Corners Section) both the old and new addresses, and, if possible, include Barry C. Barish*, Caltech May 2012 • 3

Washington Dispatch A bimonthly update from the APS Office of Public Affairs Community Recognizes Beverly Berger

ISSUE: Budget and Authorization Environment Fiscal Year 2013 Budget Resolution In the past month, the House of Representatives passed Rep. Paul Ryan’s (R-WI) budget plan along a party line vote, 228-191 with 228 Republicans in favor, 10 Republicans opposed, and 181 Democrats opposed. The Ryan budget plan sets a spending limit of $1.028T and lies in stark contrast with the Presi- dent’s Budget Request and Senate Plan that set a spending limit of $1.049T as is stipulated in the 2011 Budget Control Act. The disparity in top line spending suggest that the chances of the House and Senate appropriations committees agreeing on new funding bills this year are slim. The House will use the Ryan budget proposal as the framework in upcoming funding debates whereas the Senate leadership has stated it will use the Budget Control Act. Thus, the activity in Washington has essentially set up a stalemate over the budget in the year to come with the most likely outcome a continuing resolution that would maintain spending at FY2012 levels at least until after the November elections.

If Budget Committee Chairman Ryan’s plan were adopted in place of the Budget Control Act it may pre- empt the need for sequestrations because of its lower spending limits through 2021. The spending limits proposed in the Ryan plan protect defense programs by assigning cuts to mandatory programs and non- Photo by Michael Lucibella defense discretionary spending. In the Ryan plan, the Function 250 accounts, a category that covers the The APS April Meeting featured a special session in recognition of the physical sciences, would see a decrease in real dollar amounts until 2016, at which point it would begin achievements of Beverly Berger (center), who recently retired after more to increase slightly each year until 2021. Over the next ten years, Function 250 accounts would grow by than ten years as a program officer at NSF in the area of general relativity 0.5%, but after adjusting for expected inflation they would suffer a ~22% reduction in constant dollars. and gravitation. In addition to remarks from Berger herself, attendees at the The Ryan budget proposes similar trajectories for most other accounts, except defense, which would see session heard Kip Thorne of Caltech (right) speaking on geometrodynam- ics, and John Friedman of the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee (left) talk- consistent growth. ing about relativistic astrophysics.

The Ryan budget plan does not accord science accounts priority status. Although the Ryan budget only includes top line amounts for funding categories, if the spending cuts in Function 250 are enacted as across-the- board reductions, federal science agencies would be forced to eliminate thousands of federal grants for ACTION continued from page 1 scientific research each year. It is not a positive sign that the starting point for the House appropriation BS are slated to be canceled along reads. “The UNI Faculty Senate process involves potential reductions to research programs at a time when the rest of the world is increas- with the geology and astronomy condemns the process used to ar- ingly investing in science and innovation. minors. The physics education de- rive at these recommendations as gree was not affected. Be sure to follow the APS Washington Office’s Blog, Physics Frontline (http://physicsfrontline.aps.org/), or contrary to the accepted practices Twitter feed (@APSPhysicsDC) for the latest news on the FY13 Budget. Students already enrolled in for an institution of higher learn- the programs will be able to fin- ing.” ISSUE: POPA ish their degrees, but no new stu- Members of the faculty, includ- Work continues on several study proposals: extension of nuclear reactor licenses from 60 to 80 years, the dents will be accepted. According ing Deisz, began appealing to lo- technical aspects of verifying tactical nuclear weapons reductions and science-backed federal standards. to statements from the president’s cal media and politicians to find a A study for the Department of Homeland Security’s Domestic Nuclear Detection Office (DNDO) regarding office, no tenured faculty posi- way to minimize the impact on the trends in nuclear and radiological detection is in development. tions should be affected. It is un- university’s academic programs. clear how many non-tenured posi- “Certainly the budget has been POPA voted to approve a proposal for an APS Statement regarding Healing Energy. The proposed state- tions might be cut. ment will now move on to APS Council for commentary and the APS Executive Board for a vote. cut a lot, but the decision to make Physics professor John Deisz these cuts is more of a strategic In February 2012, per normal APS process, the Panel on Public Affairs recommended four minor copy- said that the extent of the cuts and decision,” Deisz said. “They want edits to the 2007 APS Climate Change Statement Commentary so that the identification of sentences and the speed with which they were to spend more money on high en- paragraphs correspond to the Statement as posted at http://www.aps.org/policy/statements/07_1.cfm implemented came as a surprise. rollment programs.” “It’s like a meteorite hit Representatives from the POPA also approved a template for all future study proposals at their February 2012 meeting. The tem- here; nobody knew it was com- school’s administration were un- plate can be found online, along with a suggestion box for future POPA studies, by visiting ing. We’re kind of assessing the available to comment about the http://www.aps.org/policy/reports/popa-reports/suggestions/index.cfm wreckage,” Deisz said. closings. In a statement dated He added that although there ISSUE: Media Update March 8th, university president had been indications that cuts Ben Allen explained the reason Capitol Hill Quarterly recently published an op-ed by U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah, who touted the importance were coming, the full extent was of federally funded scientific research to America’s global economy. behind the cuts. “The academic unexpected. Earlier this year the program closures and restructur- Roll Call printed an op-ed titled, “Fix the Hollowing Out of the Supply Chain” on April 17th by Michael S. Board of Regents voted to close ing are needed so we can re-allocate Lubell, APS Director of Public Affairs. the university’s Malcolm Price resources to high-demand and Laboratory School, part of its Col- potential-growth programs. On Log on to the APS Public Affairs website (http://www.aps.org/public_affairs) lege of Education, on June 30. average, the programs listed for for more information. “Over the past several months, closure graduated fewer than two the administration has said they students per year over the last five were going to chart a new course years.” to meet budget constraints,” Deisz Plant Roots, Mechanical Diggers Both Need Flexibility In addition to APS, other na- said. tional organizations weighed in By Calla Cofield Models of clay-rich, healthy ferent physical properties. Granu- On Monday, February 27, the on the proposed cuts as well. The soil systems often treat the soil as lar materials often don’t compact. faculty senate was called into a Cramped inside booming urban American Association of Univer- a single object with a high plas- Instead they reorganize, causing meeting with the administration centers, and forced into farmland sity Professors said in a statement ticity. While roots cut their way changes to the system on a larger where the heads of departments that is depleted, compacted or that it would be opening an inves- through natural channels, the scale. For small roots, these chang- were given a preliminary list of sandy: life, for plants, is getting tigation into the planned cuts at harder. With the human popula- soil compacts at microscales and es are on the scale of millimeters; which degrees would be cut. In UNI. tion taking up more space, while leaves larger channels for plants but larger tree roots can displace general, undergraduate programs “That investigation should be- also demanding more food, both concrete sidewalks and paved that graduated fewer than 10 stu- gin soon. One possible outcome humans and plants have some- roads. So-called “pioneer” plants dents a year at the 11,000 student is the listing of UNI on AAUP’s thing at stake in the understand- might be able to navigate through school were to be cut. The list was national list of censured institu- ing of how plants flourish or die sandy soils and pave the way for not released to the general student tions,” the statement reads. in these new soils, many of which a wider variety of plants, but first body or faculty at first, but the list The university president re- are granular materials. scientists will need to know how of cut programs soon was leaked sponded to the AAUP’s concerns “Cultivated sandy soils have these soils impact the growth and broadly. in a three-page letter, saying the not been studied much,” said life of different plants. Hartmann, The following Friday, more Christian Hartmann, a researcher who studies how compact soils than 250 faculty assembled and university acted in accordance in soil science at the French Insti- can be rehabilitated, says he thinks passed a motion of no-confidence with its faculty’s employment tute of Research for Development moving the field forward will re- in the school’s administration. In contracts. (IRD). “[In the past] it was not quire more collaboration between addition, they released a statement “In summary, UNI fully in- worth it to invest [in]… research plant and soil scientists and granu- denouncing the proposed cuts, tends to honor its obligations to in poor soils as long as rich, clay- lar materials scientists. and the way the administration faculty, as specified in the collec- filled soils were available. But At the APS March Meeting, put together its list of terminated tive bargaining agreement negoti- Hartmann’s colleague Evelyne now we have reached the limit Photo courtesy of Dawn Wendell, Katherine programs. ated with the faculty union. The of soil resources and we need to Luginbuhl and A. E. Hosoi Kolb, a physicist at PMMH-ES- “Let it be known that the UNI University is also highly commit- PCI in Paris, presented measure- study marginal soils including … Photoelastic disks mimic granular soils, Faculty Senate does not endorse ted to principles of academic free- sandy soils. But the physics of where young plant roots may have trou- ments of the radial forces of plant or condone any recommendations dom and shared governance, and these granular materials is still not ble surviving. roots as they grow in granular en- being made for program closures it believes that the process leading well understood by physicists, and vironments. Most studies of root nor does it fully understand the up to these closure decisions hon- even less understood by soil sci- that follow. Sandy soils and other forces, says Kolb, measure the ax- criteria or justifications for spe- ored these principles,” President entists.” granular materials have vastly dif- ROOTS continued on page 6 cific recommendations,” the letter Allen wrote. 4 • May 2012

How to Increase Research Productivity Letters Dimitri Kusnezov and Wendell the desired result, others have only prove the productivity of research Readers interested in submitting a letter to APS News should Jones, authors of the Back Page a small chance of success; some would be to make the system more “Beyond the Endless Frontier: A seek results that (while necessary) sensitive to these differences. For email [email protected] 20th Century Model faces 21st will not change anyone’s world- example, let us not have a system Century Realities” [APS News, view, others may change the way in which an inexpensive, high- March 2012] see science and tech- a whole field is developed; some ly-speculative piece of research Lazarus’s Little-Known Contribution nology as a homogeneous activity, may take years or decades, some (which, in the unlikely event of and, while they are concerned with may take weeks or months; some success, would change the world) The late David Lazarus was in the road. Turns out that in the changing the governance structure require only the salaries of the competes for funding (as it largely editor in chief of the American very first year after the fee was of research, they seem uncon- investigators, others require addi- does today) with a piece of research Physical Society from 1980 to instituted, subgroup membership cerned with the nature of research tional, expensive resources; some that, at considerable expense, will 1991. His recent passing brings to dropped ~55% across the board! itself. fall within areas the importance of gather valuable data that are need- mind a bit of APS history that not One could postulate that Laza- Research projects operate in a which can be seen by all (including ed for a variety of projects but will many members know about. Prior rus was being prescient in his multidimensional space: Some re- those who operate the sources of increase nobody’s understanding to July 1, 1985 (or just possibly doubts about the seriousness of quire hundreds or even thousands funding), the importance of other of anything. 1986), there were no extra mem- the commitment APS members of investigators, while others can projects may not be clear to most bership fees for APS members had to the entities that had been be carried out by a single person; people until much later; and so on. Alwyn Eades who wished to join a subgroup, formed to acknowledge their in- some can be guaranteed to obtain The most effective way to im- Bethlehem, PA which, in those days, comprised terests in specific fields. Howev- Divisions and the two Topical er it’s come about, the net result Kusnezov and Jones Reply: Groups that had just been formed stemming from a fortuitous–in We agree with Eades that a are sub-optimized against today’s this challenge. Our hope is that in 1984. At an APS Council meet- light of the consequences–sugges- healthy research enterprise is a challenges. Accordingly, broader the creative work done thus far ing I attended in 1985, Lazarus tion made a quarter-century ago rich ecology of elements across issues of system health are in- by Ostrom and others on gover- pointed out that almost all profes- has been positive: the additional a range of risks and benefits, creasingly orphaned. As Eades nance of shared and complex sys- sional and technical organizations dues collected each year have from basic to applied. Our core rightly states, the goal would be tems can be built upon for this na- did have an additional charge for been almost completely returned concern is that the 20th century “to make the system more sensi- tional security S&T commons to subgroup membership. He pro- to the subunits providing much model of governance for enter- tive to those differences.” This help the nation build and sustain posed that APS do the same, add- needed help to maintain their op- prises at the national level in- complex nature of the research a robust and responsive research ing an extra $5 dues for each such erations. exorably produces decisions that “commons” is what drew us to enterprise. membership. The motion passed easily because the feeling was Larry Rubin that this would be a minor bump Mercer Island, WA Bohr Helped Rescue Danish Jews The March “This Month in that Sweden would provide sanctu- ish population from the Holocaust. Physics History” APS News col- ary for Jews fleeing Denmark. As a As a scion of a well-to-do Danish- Scholarship and Cyberspace umn on Bohr notes that when “Hit- direct result of Bohr’s intervention, Jewish family on his mother’s side, ler’s army invaded Denmark, Bohr the Danish resistance ultimately Bohr would certainly have well un- In a letter in the January APS those working in the formal aca- fled with his family to Sweden in succeeded in bringing 7,000 Jews derstood the threat to Danish Jews News, Gil Paz endorsed the idea demic setting where subscriptions a fishing boat.” In Sweden, Bohr to Sweden, rescuing all but 500 after the Nazi occupation of Den- that talks be posted online along and licenses are bought at great played a critical role in the rescue who fell into the hands of the Ge- mark in April of 1940. with the plethora of slides and expense. This is the same setting of Danish Jews by persuading the stapo. Unlike most other European Power Point presentations that that judges the worthiness of proj- Swedish government to issue a dec- countries, Denmark was one of the David Siminovitch already exist in cyberspace. The ects based on the availability of laration by radio in October of 1943 very few that saved most of its Jew- Lethbridge, Alberta subject of posting “talks” in ad- funding. This brings politics di- dition to meeting slides online rectly to bear on the competition, PLAN continued from page 1 concerns me. I am not opposed to giving the academic some lesser wide dissemination of new ideas– degrees of freedom and introduc- and the work of various task forc- Mac Beasley, is in the process of ship this month with a link for rather, it is the methods we use to ing more conflicts of interest. es and committees, and informed being formed. members to enter comments. All do so, and the consequences there- It is well known how political by suggestions from unit leader- One of the other task forces will of the input will be read and sent of, that I am responding to. forces affect the tenure process ship and APS members. look at ways APS can better serve to the leadership in charge of im- Standards for posters, talks, and the referee system–the “in- “One area of concern is to make early career physicists including plementing the plan. The plan can symposia, and the like are quite sure our Society is financially sound students, postdocs and physicists group” religion receives preferen- also be accessed online directly variable. Slides are provocative and that it has a good foundation,” starting their first job. Also be- tial treatment. The Ivory Tower is through the APS website at www. and catchy, but rarely refer to said Robert Byer, President of APS. ing considered are task forces on no utopia. aps.org. peer-reviewed literature, which Against the odds, including “[And to] look for new revenue “International Engagement” and “It’s remarkable how engaged provides the needed context. If the high cost of journal subscrip- streams outside just journals.” “Re-imagining Meetings.” the membership of this Society one is not a member of the “in- tions, leading some college and A Development Task Force, A complete version of the plan headed by APS vice-President, is being emailed to the member- is,” Byer said. group” in a particular topic, they university libraries to cut sub- are not very useful. People work- scriptions, the refereed journal ing in very competitive areas are article remains the staple of most not likely to post their formative of academia. Journals with lesser ideas online. “citation impact” already are The material of which Gil Paz threatened. A leisurely walk to the speaks pops up as more chaff even college or university library is still in carefully considered internet a worthwhile endeavor. The com- by Michael Lucibella searches. Years may have gone by, puter does not encourage critical and the individual who presented thinking. may or may not be identified well Many years and precious re- enough to be tracked down–or the ideas may have been long aban- sources are spent training good doned, for good reason. scholars. Travel, expense ac- Most scholars would agree that counts, and attendance at profes- the study of the history of ideas sional meetings decline and costs and breakthroughs on important soar. I am not yearning for some questions is supported by the “good old days” when a single written word. In the past twenty keyword search on Medline cost years or more, the increasing use $400 for a five year time block of email has left much of this at the Medical Library. However, communication in the dark. How we should beware that posts on many scholars consistently print the internet do not necessarily re- communication with colleagues flect “the free exchange of ideas.” and editors so that they may be We should be concerned with the examined? quality and accessibility of such We are in an era when free ac- exchanges. cess to cyberspace is in doubt. The Academy is beset by nu- Many organizations and societies merous new problems. Comput- charge additional fees for online er resources that appear “free” access to journals. If one is not should be carefully considered in close to a participating library, it the broader context of society. may cost $30 or more to download or read a single journal article. Victor S. Alpher This provides a great advantage to Austin, TX © Michael Lucibella, 2012 May 2012 • 5

Nobel Laureates Fill Plenary Session

The Starting Grants given by the European Research Council (ERC): a tremendous boost to the careers of young scientists by Michèle Leduc

I am a member of one of the lected for this second round, ask to control and in a way unavoid- European panels which every year questions for 15 to 20 minutes, able. Panel members agree to re- selects the best candidates for an and are therefore able to evaluate spect confidentiality and are not ERC Starting Grant. My panel the degree of maturity of the can- supposed to talk to anyone about is focused on fundamental phys- didate. About 20 % of the applica- the proposals that they report on. ics; there are nine such panels tions are ultimately selected. The Their names are not revealed until Photo by Michael Lucibella altogether for the “hard sciences” number of proposals keeps grow- the end of the selection procedure The speakers at one of the plenary sessions at the APS April Meeting were all and two other sets for life sci- ing each year; the global funding so as to keep them away from any Nobel laureates. 2011 laureate Saul Perlmutter of UC Berkeley (right) spoke ence and for humanities. Being a of this very popular program has kind of pressure. I am convinced about the work of his collaboration, the Supernova Cosmology Project, in panel member for the ERC Start- been increased several times. that at the ERC in Brussels ethical discovering the acceleration of the expansion of the universe. He was fol- lowed by Adam Riess of The Johns Hopkins University (left), also a 2011 ing Grants implies a great com- A unique feature of the ERC is issues are taken very seriously. mitment and very intensive work, that excellence is the only crite- laureate, who described the work of the High-z Supernova Search Team in Finally, one can lament the fact their independent discovery of the acceleration. The third speaker was 2004 but it is a highly rewarding job. rion used for the selection. There that there is a low rate of success laureate Frank Wilczek of MIT (center), who talked about the current status of The reason is that these grants ef- is no attempt to reach an equilib- for women in obtaining ERC Start- the Higgs particle and its relationship to supersymmetry. fectively boost the research of the rium between countries; as a con- ing Grants. In physics, engineer- best young scientists in Europe, sequence the countries of western providing them with appropriate Europe benefit much more from ing or mathematics, it is not much The Physics of Creepy Crawlies means for meeting international the program than do the eastern better than 15%; however this competition in their field. ones, at least in physics and in mainly reflects the low number and Ravenous Plants The ERC program has unique “hard sciences” in general. The of proposals submitted by women features among all those funded by same university and even the scientists. I can testify that there By Michael Lucibella hundreds of thousands of amus. the European Community for sup- same laboratory is entitled to ob- is absolutely no discrimination For those attending the APS “We’re trying to scale up to porting research and innovation. It tain more than one grant, if they against female applicants by the March Meeting in Boston, it might make longer molecules,” Cebe is fully in the hands of the scien- put forward the most deserving panel I am in, even if there is not have seemed like Halloween came said. “We’re working towards tists, with very modest administra- proposals. Another rule is that no gender equality on the jury panel. early this year. Scientists at the that, but the synthesis … becomes tive support. It is devoted solely to domain of science is privileged: The percentage of women taking meeting presented work on the more difficult.” fundamental research, and all pro- in the fundamental physics panel, physics as a research subject is physics of a menagerie of things The polymers that the team has posals are of the bottom-up sort. cold atoms or quantum informa- still low. In addition, at ERC the that go bump in the night, includ- developed so far can be used to There is a call once a year and the tion often receive a higher score problem raised here clearly results ing the silk of spiders, the slither make microscopic hollow nodules that could be used for drug deliv- proposals are reviewed by a panel than other fields. This fact only re- from difficulties that women have of snakes and the bite of a Venus ery. of experts who are high-level sci- veals that some fields today have to face in reaching the required ex- flytrap. Snakes on a Plane entists of different European na- a stronger power of attraction than cellence level: multiplicity of bur- The Amazing Spider-Materials Snakes are skilled climbers tionalities. The winners receive an others on the most brilliant minds. dens in their private life–children, Spider silk is an amazing sub- award of order 1.5 million euros, Of course one can object that stance, stronger than steel and and researchers at the meeting support of their husband’s career, unveiled a new aspect of their to be spent over the five years of “sexy” subjects are more likely forced mobility, etc. It could also more stretchy than rubber. Sci- the contract. Allowed costs cover to make it through… true enough, entists at the March Meeting re- abilities. Hamidreza Marvi and be related to a lack of support in his team from Georgia Institute personnel (usually PhD students but this is how science makes a the male-dominated environment ported on its electrical properties, and postdocs, and even partial or move and one has to trust the vi- which had never been previously of Technology found that snakes of their home laboratory, and per- total salary of the Principal Inves- sion of the young scientists. investigated. can toggle the scales on their belly haps, but more difficult to detect, tigator), as well as equipment and A constant subject of worry at Eden Steven from the National between being grippy or slippy de- a lack of self-confidence at equal other items needed for the project. ERC is to avoid conflicts of in- High Magnetic Field Labora- pending on whether they need to levels of competence compared to The evaluation is based both terest. The management of the tory in Tallahassee found that climb a tree or slide quickly across their male colleagues. on the high scientific level of the panels is very strict on this mat- spider silk can be used to make a surface. candidate and on the excellence of ter: for instance, as a CNRS em- In short, whatever the difficul- very small flexible wires. When “Snakes can actually change his or her project. These two cri- ployer I could not participate in ties, the ERC Starting Grant pro- nanoparticles of gold and carbon their frictional properties,” Marvi teria are weighted equally by the any discussion about French ap- gram gives a real boost to research adhere to spider silk, they main- said. “Snakes can modify their scale’s angles of attack to change panel. Four members of the jury plicants, since all the best French in Europe. Let’s hope that the tain their electrical conductivity, their frictional coefficients.” scan each proposal for the selec- laboratories are affiliated with European Community decides to while at the same time the silk There are several factors that tion at the first step. At the second CNRS: This is perhaps going to keep on with it in the future. keeps its mechanical properties. affect the snake’s ability to slide step a restricted number of appli- an extreme, but it is better than the Michèle Leduc is a physicist at “To our surprise, gold really around. Biologists had already cants make an oral presentation in other way round. Minimizing the CNRS, and director of the IFRAF likes spider silk,” Steven said. identified tiny microstructures on front of the members of the jury, spread of ideas is another subject Institute for research with cold at- Tiny wires of gold on their the surface of each belly scale. who listen to all the candidates se- of concern, much more difficult oms. own are rigid, which is not ideal for making wires. However gold- The structures are directional, designed to grip the ground and DEVICE continued from page 1 coated spider silk wires are flex- ible, stretchy and could be used to prevent a snake from sliding back- metal detectors on the beach,” for identification. The operator of detect it. wards. Physicists found that there Lavely said. the device can compare the signa- Lavely’s team has already done make flexible electronics. Unlike silk from silkworms, has to be another aspect that a The TDEM takes the detec- ture of the field picked up by the tests on dummy mortar rounds snake can consciously control as tion one step farther. Using the device to the signatures of known with much success. They have spider silk is difficult to harvest. Spiders cannot be kept in close well. multiple coils, the device mea- munitions, and make a determina- also tried the device out on a hol- They put live snakes on slip- sures not just the presence of an- tion as to what might lie under the low sphere, but he says that they proximity as they are prone to at- tack each other. The only way to pery inclined planes and measured other magnetic field, but also the surface. still need more refinement to bet- industrialize this application is to the angle at which the snake loses shape of one as it decays. This Lavely said that even impro- ter identify if a metal object is hol- start synthesizing artificial spi- traction and slides down. The team is key to identifying whether a vised explosive devices, or IEDs, low, another key characteristic of der silk, a long sought after Holy first tried the experiment with a buried object might be a danger- the scourge of forces in Iraq and unexploded bombs. Grail of materials physics. Peggy fully conscious snake, then again ous unexploded bomb, or a harm- Afghanistan, can be picked up by The device also needs further Cebe of Tufts University has made with one that had been knocked less piece of trash. By analyzing the device. work to reduce its size. The 25 a significant first step towards that out with isoflurane. Sleeping the way the field decays, the de- “IEDs have very well established coils are spread over a wide base, goal by synthesizing polymers snakes slid down at much lower vice can characterize the buried forms,” Lavely said, adding that making it impractical for forests based on the silk of the golden orb angles than fully alert ones, show- object’s conductivity, shape and the downside is that one needs to and other constricted environ- weaver spider. ing there must be some way the size, all important characteristics be close to an object in order to ments. The polymers she and her team snake is controlling its friction. synthesized are very short; she de- “When the snake is conscious, CASIMIR continued from page 2 scribed the length of the molecules it can get a sense, feedback…and ponents to stick together. Separate technological progress at the na- force instead, simply by placing they produced as “barely a poly- adjust accordingly,” Marvi said. the metallic plates at just 10 nano- noscale. a specially designed lens between mer.” At its basic level, however, There is a ventral muscle meters, for example, and the force Researchers at the University two objects. This would mean the molecules are the same. The that runs down the length of the of the sticking effect will be on a of St. Andrews have suggested that, instead of sticking together, longest molecules they have been snake’s belly that can make its par with roughly 1 atmosphere of that it may be possible to manipu- micromachined parts could levi- able to produce are about 13,000 scales stand on end. The research- pressure. So dealing with the Ca- late the Casimir effect so that the tate instead, solving the friction atomic mass units, while the poly- ers found that a change of just 5 simir effect is essential to further “stickiness” becomes a repulsive problem. mers that make up spider silk are CRAWLIES continued on page 7 6 • May 2012 Ode to an Astrophysicist: APS Committee on Fang Lizhi, 1936-2012 International Freedom of Scientists By Alaina G. Levine On April 6, 2012, Fang Lizhi, a prominent astrophysicist and CIFS Briefs: Highlighting the Connection Between Chinese dissident, passed away in Tucson, AZ. He was 76. Human Rights and Science for the Physics Community Fang had been a professor of physics and astronomy at the Uni- Since its creation in 1980, the has been in jail in Iran since early would be tried. Read more about versity of Arizona (UA) for 20 APS Committee on International 2011. A graduate student pursuing Kokabee in the August/September years. He was well known for his Freedom of Scientists (CIFS) a degree in optics at the Univer- and October 2011 issues of APS work in cosmology, but perhaps has advocated for and defended sity of Texas at Austin, Kokabee News. even more recognized for his ad- the rights of scientists around the was arrested during a trip home AAAS Science and Human vocacy of government changes globe. As an APS standing com- to Iran to visit with family. He has Rights Coalition in China. His outspoken activism mittee, CIFS is charged with ad- APS has been a member of the contributed to the student revolt vising the APS leadership about AAAS Science and Human Rights and protests in Tiananmen Square “problems encountered by scien- Coalition since the coalition was that resulted in a massacre which tists in the pursuit of their scien- established in January 2009. The left the whole world riveted. tific interests or in effecting satis- Coalition is a network of scien- After Tiananmen on June 4, factory communication with other Photo by Jacqueline Gerjuoy tific associations and societies as 1989, he and his family found scientists.” In this column, CIFS Fang Lizhi (left) in Beijing in 1988, with well as individual scientists that sanctuary at the US Embassy in describes some of the issues that Edward Gerjuoy of the University of recognizes the important role that Beijing. By 1990, he was able to the Committee is monitoring as Pittsburgh. science has to play in the realiza- leave the country, stopping for well as the Society’s other human was so friendly and personable tion of human rights. It aims to en- a short time at the University of rights activities. Omid Kokabee and insisted I come by his office hance communication on human Cambridge and Princeton Uni- Loss of Physicist and Human as soon as possible. And when rights not only within the scien- versity, before settling at the UA. Rights Dissident Fang Lizhi I told him that I pined to be an tific community, but also between Fang was my first research ad- On April 6, the physics com- astrophysicist, and had come to the human rights and scientific visor and mentor, and influenced munity lost a great scientist and the UA because he was there, and communities. One component of my career like no other person. human rights advocate (see ar- really wanted to work with him, the Coalition in which CIFS is ac- In fact, it was Fang’s decision ticle on this page). In 1994, Fang he smiled and graciously offered tive is the Working Group on the to leave Princeton to head west, chaired the APS Committee on In- me a chance of a lifetime: he in- Welfare of Scientists, which is which ultimately solidified my ternational Freedom of Scientists. vited me to work with him AND dedicated to increasing the effec- choice to attend the UA for un- He also was awarded the Society’s he happily arranged for me to get tiveness of scientific organizations dergraduate studies. Dwight Nicholson Medal for Hu- a NASA Space Grant to pay for Mulugeta Bekele in protecting and defending the In 1992, I was living in West man Outreach in 1996 in recog- my research. I wasn’t old enough rights of scientists under threat. Windsor, NJ, a stone’s throw from nition of his efforts to promote to vote, but suddenly I was col- Andrei Sakharov Prize Princeton, getting ready to gradu- human rights and democracy in laborating with an international Mulugeta Bekele and Rich- ate from high school. I was cer- China. In 2010 he was elected a superstar, analyzing Lyman-alpha ard Wilson–the 2012 recipients tain I wanted to be an astrophysi- Fellow of the APS. cloud and quasar data, in a quest of the APS’s Andrei Sakharov cist but was unsure about where I Trial of Physicist Adlène to unlock the mysteries of the Prize–were honored during a ses- wanted to go to school. I had nar- Hicheur universe’s birth. sion organized by the Forum on rowed it down to three selections, In October 2009, Adlène Hicheur I continued working with Fang including the UA. But one day was arrested by French authorities International Physics (FIP) and that winter, my mother brought throughout my first year and into after having exchanges with an al- the Division of Physics of Beams home the local paper. When we my second, even after I switched leged member of al-Qaida in the (DPB) at the APS March Meeting Richard Wilson casually glanced through it we my major from physics to math- Islamic Maghreb. He was detained in Boston. The Prize “recognize[s] noticed a tiny speck of an arti- ematics. He supported me, and in prison for over two years with- outstanding leadership and/or cle announcing that Fang Lizhi, after I graduated, and began my out being formally charged with a been accused of “communicating achievements of scientists in up- a world-famous astrophysicist, career as director of communica- crime. A two-day trial was held in with a hostile government” and holding human rights.” was leaving Princeton to become tions in the UA Physics Depart- March, accusing him of plotting ter- “illegal earnings,” presumably in View the presentations from a professor at the UA. Living in ment, he served as a source of rorist attacks. A verdict will be an- connection with his studies in the the session on the March Meeting inspiration. Even though I didn’t nounced on May 4. United States. As of April, his trial website at: http://meetings.aps. Tiger Country, we couldn’t get over the fact that someone so become an astrophysicist, Fang’s Imprisonment of APS Member had been postponed on three occa- org/Meeting/MAR12/sessioninde mentorship made a world of dif- APS member Omid Kokabee sions and it was unclear when he x2/?SessionEventID=162559. distinguished would trade in the Ivy for cactus. But that sealed the ference to me. He taught me to be deal. The next day, I signed the fearless in my career, to always ask questions, and to look beyond ROOTS continued from page 3 papers to confirm I would attend the UA. the obvious for answers. Fang ial force (straight along the length force, and create a visual fringe mechanical diggers: flexible dig- When I got to campus that fall, was an architect of a revolt that of the root) by placing some type pattern. Analysis of those fringes gers succeed at making their way I felt somewhat intimidated by changed the course of China, but of scale directly beneath it. Mea- using a computer program yields through sandy soil, and poten- the idea of knocking on this inter- to me he was the architect of a re- suring the force exerted by plant a determination of the force. tially through other granular en- nationally known scientist’s door. volt that changed my career in in- roots moving between grains pos- Eventually, the studies will shed vironments like layers of rubble. But a few days later, I visited the numerable positive ways. I miss es more of a challenge. Kolb and light on how mechanical forces in In her graduate research Wendell UA Honors Program’s offices and him already. her colleagues are preparing a pa- granular soils impact the growth also found that flexible diggers was flipping through a book of Alaina G. Levine is a science per for publication that, she says, of roots, as well as how the roots also save up to twice as much en- faculty who had volunteered to writer and President of Quantum mostly demonstrates the effective- couple with the soil and deform it. ergy finding their way. That will be mentors to honors students. Success Solutions, a science ca- ness of the technique for continu- Soil and plant science has be important for robots attempt- Fang’s name leaped off the page. reers and professional develop- ously measuring the forces devel- much to gain from physics, but ing to use these types of diggers Now I had an excuse to email ment consulting enterprise. She oped by growing roots, in situ. the reverse is true as well. At the in extreme environments, like di- him–I could ask him to be my can be contacted through www. The technique utilizes a meth- March Meeting Dawn Wendell, a saster areas covered in rubble, ar- mentor. When I contacted him, he alainalevine.com. od called photoelasticity, which is mechanical engineering postdoc eas prone to avalanche, or sandy familiar to many granular materi- now working at the CNRS/Saint- frontiers like the bottom of the als physicists. Photoelastic disks, Gobain Aubervilliers in France, ocean. But diggers with too much 9 millimeters in diameter, act as discussed her graduate research at flexibility will buckle in tight situ- 2-dimensional grains that a plant MIT on how to make mechanical MEMBERS continued from page 2 root might encounter in sandy diggers, inspired by plant roots, ations. The challenge now, said soil. If one tries squeezing one of that can penetrate granular soils. Wendell at a press conference, is lywood’s not far away!’ I had an approaching the stop sign. As a the disks while viewing it through Using a photoelastic disk sys- finding the right degree of flexibil- encouraging experience with a result he involuntary pushed the crossed polarizers, the disk is sud- tem, complementary to Kolb’s, ity for a particular environment. screenplay so I decided to take a brakes very hard. Therefore we denly covered in fringes of light, Wendell studied how well young Wendell is a mechanical engi- chance.” can assume that the deceleration which move and change as a re- plant roots moved through granu- neer, Hartmann is a soil scientist Leonard Mlodinow, Caltech, was close to maximum possible sult of the force they experience. lar spaces.. When the plant roots and Kolb is a physicist. No single on being a science consultant for a car.” Similarly, young chickpea roots couldn’t force their way in be- field has all the answers to these for Hollywood in the late ‘80s Dmitri Krioukov, University sprout and find their way to a nar- tween the disks, they would de- questions. Instead it is the com- and early ‘90s, The Los Angeles of California, San Diego, quoted row gap between two photoelastic viate to a different path. A stiff, bined expertise that leads to the Times, April 14, 2012. from his paper which used physics disks, and as the roots try to pass inflexible root won’t make it very greatest progress; and, as Wendell to argue out of getting a speeding through the opening, they exert a far. The same seems to be true of says, flexibility is key. “In fact, he was sneezing while ticket, NPR.org, April 16, 2012. May 2012 • 7

ANNOUNCEMENTS Reviews of Modern Physics Senior Editor TM Physical Review E Cold and trapped metastable noble gases Wim Vassen, Claude Cohen-Tannoudji, Michele Leduc, Denis Boiron, Christoph I. Westbrook, The American Physical Society is conducting an international Andrew Truscott, Ken Baldwin, Gerhard Birkl, Pablo Cancio and Marek Trippenbach search for a successor to the current Editor of Physical Review E Cold atomic gases have numerous applications, ranging from matter-wave interferometry to many-body (PRE). The position is that of the senior Editor of the journal, re- physics. Atoms from the noble gas family play a special role in this research. Indeed each atom must be sponsible for editorial standards, policies and direction of the jour- prepared in a metastable electronic state in order to be manipulated by laser light, and it thus carries a large nal, and leadership of the staff of about 15 editors. Physical Review internal energy. This article surveys the specific properties of these metastable noble gases, such as their E is a large multidisciplinary journal specializing in statistical, non- unique collision dynamics. The relevance of these gases for metrology is also discussed. linear, and soft matter physics. http://rmp.aps.org/abstract/RMP/v84/i1/p175_1 The ideal candidate should possess many of the following qualifica- tions: stature in a field of research within the scope of PRE; stature in the PRE author community; experience with scholarly journals; http://rmp.aps.org management and interpersonal skills to deal effectively with an in- ternational array of authors, referees, and editors and with the APS; advocacy, integrity, and wisdom to lead the journal in responding to important matters and issues. DistinguishedDistinguished TravelingTraveling LecturerLecturer ProgramProgram The Editor may maintain his/her present appointment and location and devote at least 20% of his/her time to the position. A higher The Division of Laser Sciences (DLS) of the American Physical Society announces its lecture program in Laser level of commitment would be desirable in the initial year of ser- Science, and invites applications from schools to host a lecturer in 2012/2013. Lecturers will visit selected academic institutions for two days, during which time they will give a public lecture open to the entire academic vice; several possible levels of long-term commitment, from 20% community and meet informally with students and faculty. They may also give guest lectures in classes related to to 50%, are possible. The initial appointment is for three years with Laser Science. The purpose of the program is to bring distinguished scientists to colleges and universities in order renewal possible after review. Salary is negotiable and dependent to convey the excitement of Laser Science to undergraduate students. on time commitment. The desired starting date is 1 July 2012. The APS is an equal employment opportunity employer and especially The DLS will cover the travel expenses and honorarium of the lecturer. The host institution will be responsible only for the local expenses of the lecturer and for advertising the public lecture. Awards to host institutions will be made encourages applications from or nominations of women and mi- by the selection committee after consulting with the lecturers. Priority will be given to those predominantly under- norities. The search is not limited to residents of the United States. graduate institutions that do not have extensive resources for similar programs. Inquiries, nominations, and applications should be sent by 1 Applications should be sent to the DTL committee Chair Rainer Grobe([email protected]) and to the DLS Secretary- June 2012 to: K. Sreenivasan, PRE Search Committee Chair, ed- Treasurer Anne MyersKelley ([email protected]). The deadline for application forvisits in Fall 2012 is May 30. [email protected] Detailed information about the program and the application procedure is available on the DLS-DTL home page: METHODS continued from page 1 http://physics.sdsu.edu/~anderson/DTL/ looked vaguely like shots of the “What I’ve always brought night sky: speckles of light scat- with me when I’ve been working Lecturers for 2012/2013: tered against a dark blue back- in the bio arena is the techniques Laurie Butler, University of Chicago Jim Kafka, Spectra Physics Luis A. Orozco, University of Maryland ground–a vast frontier to be ex- that we use,” she said. “Whether Hui Cao, Yale University Fleming Krim, University of Wisconsin Carlos Stroud, University of Rochester plored. In this case, those bits of it is actually doing lithography, Eric Cornell, University of Colorado Christopher Monroe, University of Maryland Ron Walsworth, Harvard University light are fluorescent markers at- making devices, to actually how tached to a particular type of bio- we take measurements. And I CRAWLIES continued from page 5 marker called CCR7 that appears think what we’re bringing in is whether or not these cancer cells degrees can affect the snake’s curvature. When the bracelet is on the surface of breast cancer a very quantitative technique, are technically stem cells is still frictional coefficient by up to 50 slapped against someone’s wrist, cells. CCR7 is of particular inter- quantitative way of looking at not clear). A linear rate of tumor percent. When climbing, a snake’s it releases the spring causing the est to cancer researchers because things. In the end, the biologists growth would suggest that cancer scales stand on end and dig into bracelet to curl. Chen and his col- its high expression is associated still know how to do it best, but “stem cells” share characteristics whatever surface it’s trying to leagues showed that the quick with lower survival rates among physicists bring new and innova- with adult stem cells, which divide scramble up. However when it chomp of the flytrap comes from patients. Sohn and her group are tive things to the table.” into a single stem cell and a second needs to slip quickly across a a similar spring-like structure that the first to attempt to map the spa- Sohn is an applied physicist, progenitor cell that produces only plane, it pulls its scales parallel to holds the leaves that make up the tial distribution of those markers tackling cancer from the labora- a few generations of daughter cells its body to reduce friction. jaws of the flytrap. on the surface of breast cancer tory. Krastan Blagoev is a theo- before dying off. Exponential tumor Little Slap-Bracelet of Horrors “The hinge starts as a straight cells. retical physicist working on can- growth suggests that the cancer cells The chomp of a Venus flytrap rod and then, as it grows and To individually image the cer via the clinic. are dividing more like embryonic is surely one of the most terrifying opens, the hinge slightly develops stem cells, into two new cells that receptors, Sohn and her group Blagoev is director of the spectacles in the plant kingdom. this negative curvature shape,” used a technique called STORM Physics of Living Systems pro- survive long-term and continue to New research into their infamous Chen said. (stochastic optical reconstruc- gram at NSF. According to the divide. The indication–a faster rate bite indicates that they might have They tested this by taking high tion microscopy), developed by a program website, the Physics of of tumor cell production–is grim. It a lot in common with popular toy speed film of flytraps chomping group at Harvard led by Xiaowei Living Systems supports research is these “dividing cancer cells” as jewelry from the 1980s. down on insects, and observing Zhuang. STORM allows the user with a focus on “understanding Blagoev labels them, which would “There could be these slap- how the hinge deformed. A flytrap to stack images of the same sam- basic physical principles that un- need to be targeted with new thera- bracelet type bi-stable structures is set off when small sensor hairs ple area, and reconstruct them derlie biological function.” He pies. embedded in the hinge,” said Zi into a 2-D or 3-D image with is also a theoretical condensed The next step in evaluating this Chen from the Washington Uni- on the inside of its jaws are prod- nanoscale resolution. In Sohn’s matter physicist by training. In theory is to show that this expo- versity of Saint Louis. “We think ded twice by unsuspecting prey. research this means looking at a press conference at the March nential growth occurs across all pa- the hinge is something that most The team was also able to get the individual biomarkers to study Meeting Blagoev, speaking as an tients. Blagoev says he has found a people haven’t been paying atten- trap to engage by poking the hinge their distribution. Now Sohn and individual, argued that theoretical technique to rescale patient data into tion to because most studies fo- with a needle, causing its spring to her group will grow breast cancer physicists can not only be helpful, a single analysis. He is preparing his cus on the change of shape of the release and the trap to shut. cells in different microenviron- but might even be necessary to results for publication. leaves.” “It’s amazing to think that ments. The group would like to unearth the driving forces behind Theoretical physicists specialize Slap-bracelets work because nature has figured out this com- find out how mechanical forces cancerous tumor growth. in the analysis of complex systems, embedded in them, are thin sheets plicated mechanism millions of and chemical cues change the Blagoev and colleague Tito and can provide unprecedented ex- of stainless steel that act as springs. years ago, to couple these dramat- spatial distribution of markers Fojo, a medical oncologist in the pertise in data analysis. Blagoev When the bracelets are unrolled, ically different bi-stable behaviors like CCR7, and eventually under- Center for Cancer Research at also believes that because of the tension is built up in the spring, in one species to function,” Chen stand how their presence is linked the NCI, are analyzing data from complexity of cancer–the incredible and it develops a slight negative said. to patient survival rates. clinical trials in oncology in order variety of cells that can arise even “Right now we have no idea to study tumor growth. Most clin- in a single patient–that a physics cists interested in cancer research lished but that’s available in their what the spatial resolution will ical data shows tumors under the approach might help identify more together with clinical cancer re- labs. We’re looking for people tell us, because no one’s had the influence of trial drugs, but when fundamental drivers behind cancer searchers and oncologists, to share who would be interested to come opportunity to do this,” said Sohn tumor cells become resistant to a behavior. ideas and develop project propos- for 5 or 6 days and actually spend in an interview. “But I think it’s drug, normal tumor growth may “This idea of creating simple the- als. Blagoev says he is waiting to 8 to 10 hours a day working with going to tell us something; I think begin again. These growth rates ories is the essence of physics,” said find a mechanism to make the pro- colleagues from the other field you should check back with me in are recorded in the data until the Blagoev. “I think that what phys- gram a reality. to develop ideas,” said Blagoev. a month.” patient is removed from the trial. ics can bring here is to try and find “It seems to me, based on my “In my experience, when clinical Sohn did her PhD work at Har- That window of natural growth common things rather than the dif- experience and what I know of the oncologists work with theoretical vard working on superconductiv- rate provides the data Blagoev ferences between different cancers. work of others, that there is a big physicists I think they understand ity. She says her background and and Fojo want to study. We sort of have to forget about the need for theoretical physicists to the power of quantitative thinking her training have proved valuable The growth rate of tumors details and look at the forest.” enter the labs of clinical oncolo- in terms of simple models. And as she pursues the grand chal- depends on the characteristics Now Blagoev wants to start a gists to work with them, and look they see the value this can have to lenge of fighting cancer. of cancer stem cells (although program to bring theoretical physi- at the data that’s never been pub- cancer research.” 8 • May 2012 The Back Page

his year the APS March Meeting put a fo- the truth. Even imperfect theories and assump- Tcus on the Meso realm, featuring a special tions can ultimately lead to proper descriptions, session devoted to the topic. The session was Emergent Physics at the Mesoscale because the laws of nature are strong attractors. special for many reasons. First, it was made Report from the special Kavli Session at the As a theoretical biophysicist he could take rig- possible by the generous support of the Ka- orous but minimalist approaches to complex vli Foundation. It was arranged with a ple- 2012 APS March Meeting problems and yield delightful insights because nary flavor in that a number of other invited he made sure never to stray far from experiment. symposia that might have competed for an by Sam Bader Thus, his feet are grounded in reality, but his audience were moved to other time slots. The to explore the Meso realm? How can mastering the Meso largest ballroom on the top level of the Boston Convention head could still be peering up into the clouds, realm benefit society at large? Center was used for this event alone, providing seating for dreaming of order in the biosphere, due to the action of Those approached to speak were mostly stunned for over 2,000. Most importantly, the event was special because messenger RNA. one reason or another, and hesitant, not realizing that they of the outstanding presenters who participated, and the at- Following the clear and steady message of reason of were engaged in mesoscale science, or finding it verging mosphere that they created. This report provides an over- Bill Bialek, George Whitesides of Harvard rushed in from on sacrilege that their science would be presented under view of the session and what the topic of Meso can motivate teaching his large undergraduate class to arrive just on time a banner that invokes Emergence. But all agreed to par- in the future. to present his talk and wrap the session into a tidy bundle. ticipate despite their various disavowels. Bob Laughlin of In 2011, the Kavli Foundation underwrote special su- Stanford was the first speaker. He described and embraced He took the biochemical molecules that Bialek treated via perconductivity centennial sessions, a pure love-fest for the the concepts of Emergence and the Middle Way with great equations and algorithms and put them in multiple settings, March Meeting, hailing a history of accomplishments that eloquence and humor. As the person who literally wrote discussing their non-equilibrium thermodynamics, the role took us back to the laboratory of Kammerlingh Onnes, while of entropy, of molecular recognition, of the downfall of the also bringing us into the future with the recent mysteries of the book on Emergence, and thus, the need to realize that familiar lock-and-key model and of binary approaches in the pnictide materials. The 2012 special session was differ- there are organizational principles on every scale, he de- ent. It took us a bit away from our comfort zone to occupy fined Meso in an all-encompassing way that reached out to general. He stressed the complexity over the simplicity that new space by thinking Meso. In 2012 we could have cel- include much of nano, bio, and correlated electron physics. Bialek found. He highlighted the role of new tools to open ebrated 50 years of the Josephson junction, or 25 years after Individual nano objects interact giving rise to new behavior. new doors in order to effect scientific revolutions. He cov- the Woodstock of Physics that occurred at the 1987 March Biomolecules form into organelles and then organize into ered an enormous stretch of territory, reaching back to re- Meeting where the discovery of cuprate superconductivity cellular structures. Correlated electron systems undergo inforce points that Bob Laughlin made earlier about simple unfolded in real time in an all-night session where new re- various collective condensations with characteristic corre- laws of Newtonian physics, as well as the unpredictability lation lengths that generally are neither on the atomic nor sults were being called in, and graphs were faxed in only and surprises that science presents and that fans the flames macroscale. Laughlin made it clear that to embrace the con- minutes before being presented. But superconductivity was of our passion for our field. covered in 2011, so 2012 seemed the right time to stretch, cept of Emergence implies leaving reductionism behind. to renew our field, and think broadly and strategically of the His presentation totally captivated a full house. new horizons ahead that Meso might represent. Yet, is it really possible that our diverse community could Meso denotes the middle, thus it was appropriate for the speak with one tongue, could gather under a single banner, Regardless of one's interests, hard much like the particle physicists who, in lockstep, tout the session to be held in the middle of the March Meeting, on matter or soft matter, experiment, Wednesday, February 29th. APS Executive Officer Kate quest for the God particle? Not so fast…Reality soon set in Kirby moderated the session, introducing the distinguished as Bill Phillips of NIST took the podium. He approached his theory or computation, there is the task as a boxer would enter the ring, first climbing through speakers in turn, but first making history with the memora- possibility to reinvent ourselves ble statement that, unlike the nanometer (for the nanoscale), the (imaginary) ropes of the arena, then warming up (his “there is no mesometer.” Mesoscale is, in other words, not laptop) as he was introduced. He made short shrift of the through the new scientific paths we concept of emergence, discarding it mercilessly, and with it a length scale, nor is it a time scale. What is it? It’s any pursue. physical realm between endpoints, such as the transitional our hopes of unity. He presented his elegant experimental realm between micro and macro scales, between quantum work on ultra-cold trapped atomic gases, simple ingredients and classical, between biomolecular components and living that display complex and unexpected collective behaviors. But, wait… are these not perfect examples of Emergent be- structures. It has enough of an elusive quality to it that it All in all it was one heady experience. But it wasn’t over havior on the Mesoscale? Of course they are. But as two might just become a new way to capture our essence. when it was over. The Kavli session was followed by an- towering giants of physics, Laughlin and Phillips, Nobelists separated in their award dates by a mere year, disagreed other session that was billed as a Town Hall meeting. At this profoundly, their audience was left suspended, unable to satellite-type event the role and future of mesoscale science adopt a single voice. Simple ingredients–two speakers–and was discussed informally in order to help funding agencies already those who gathered witnessed a fundamental aspect (specifically the Office of Science at DOE) to decipher the of Emergence, the inability, the impossibility of control. opportunities and promise of Meso. A website is available How to proceed? I think back to the early days of Nano, to obtain input from the community: www.meso2012.com and how physicists greeted it with a thud because we had Regardless of your interests, hard matter or soft matter, been engaging in atomic scale research for the past thirty experiment, theory or computational science, there is the years at least. Atomic scale certainly transcended Nano. possibility to reinvent ourselves through the new scientif- What was the big deal about Nano? But the funds appeared, ic paths we pursue. There is the opportunity to open new and no one even remembers now what an Ångstrom is. sources of research funding if the narrative is sufficiently Nanotechnology is written about regularly in magazines, engaging. Although as a community we do not, and per- and there are even commercial products, such as clothing, haps don’t even aspire to talk with a single voice, our many that bandy around the name Nano. voices, heard on February 29th, can enable us to leap to Angela Belcher of MIT was the next speaker. Avoiding Bob Laughlin regales the audience with tales of "Mesoscopic Law- the philosophical duel, she mesmerized the audience with new heights. lessness". the wonders of virus-assisted self-organization. The slen- In closing it is important to thank all of those who The official title of the session was “Emergent Physics der, cigar shaped M13 bacteriophage was her favorite. She contributed to the success of the experience, most nota- at the Mesoscale,” its purpose to initiate a dialogue to de- was too busy, rushing to create new composite materials bly the speakers, the Kavli Foundation, and the folks at fine scientific opportunities at the Mesoscale for the next with energy applications in the real world, to be slowed the American Physical Society. The unit organizers of the decade. A goal was to reinvent Meso science and to create down by polemics. She painted a picture on a broad canvas March Meeting provided input and suggestions that guided an engaging narrative to inspire the next generation of re- of a dazzling array of bio-inorganic material opportunities the creation of the program. Special thanks go to Barbara searchers, much as Nano did this past decade. The organiz- that await exploration. Is it possible that a spokesperson for Jones of IBM, 2012 Program Chair for the Division of Con- ers also hoped to energize science policy makers, our spon- the Nano realm could so seamlessly transition to the Meso densed Matter Physics (DCMP), who worked tirelessly to sors, and an enlightened public as to the deep and intriguing realm? Angela Belcher showed that it is not only possible, it help bring the special session to fruition. Nandini Trivedi of questions posed by Mesoscale science. We hoped to em- can readily become fashionable to do so, without sacrifice, Ohio State, a member of the DCMP Executive Committee, brace opportunities that are theoretical, computational and without letting go of Nano. Belcher is a fiery speaker, de- is credited with recommending the session title, “Emergent experimental, basic and applied, and that span the areas of livering in a fast paced cadence. But the effect was to calm Physics at the Mesoscale.” The APS and the physics com- condensed matter, complex functional materials, quantum rather than stir the audience. The storm had passed. Belcher munity are extremely grateful to the Kavli Foundation for information science, and biological, chemical and medical ushered in the pure sense of fulfillment and joy of discov- physics, including soft-matter self-assembly. Examples of ery, irrespective of didactic labels. its generous support of a special session at the March Meet- seminal questions include: are there as yet undiscovered Bill Bialek of Princeton then took the stage to universal ing for a second year in a row. rules that govern mesoscale phenomena? On the road from acclaim, demonstrating the integral relationship between Sam Bader, Argonne National Laboratory, was 2012 Nano to Macro, what challenges does the mesoscale experiment, theory and simulation. His message was one of Program Chair of the APS March Meeting, and Chair (now pose? What new scientific tools and facilities are needed forgiveness. He was not on a quest for the ultimate path to Past Chair) of the Division of Condensed Matter Physics.

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