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Weart Honored with Pais Award Pencer R HistoryNEWSLETTER Physics A FORUM OF THE AMERICAN PHYSICALof SOCIETY • VOLUME XII • No.5 IMAGES FROM Weart honored with Pais Award pencer R. Weart has been awarded the S2015 Abraham Pais Prize for the His- THE 2014 tory of Physics, “for foundational contribu- tions to the intellectual progress, institution- APRIL MEETING al underpinnings, and public impact of the history of physics, from nuclear physics to IN SAVANNAH, condensed matter to climate change.” GEORGIA Weart has exerted a profound influence on Christian Bibas the history of physics. Shaping the field for Spencer Weart more than four decades, his outstanding scholarly achievements have opened new perspectives within the history of physics as well as new disciplinary areas of research. The path-breaking analysis presented in Physics circa 1900 (co- authored with Paul Forman and John L. Heilbron, 1971) remains central to historians’ assessment of the physics discipline. His foundational studies in nuclear history, Scientists in Power (1979) and Nuclear Fear: A History of Images (1988, and its fol- low on The Rise of Nuclear Fear, 2012), have tracked the ramifi- cations of the discovery of nuclear fission, defining frameworks within which other historians have long continued to work. As co-author of Out of the Crystal Maze: Chapters from the History of Solid State Physics (1992), Weart gave key impulses to a new historiography that has since expanded manifold. His broad reach across the physical and into the environmental sciences is on view in his book The Discovery of Global Warming (2003, expanded edition 2008, now translated into five languages). The clarity, precision, and dispassionate presentation so character- In This Issue istic of Weart’s scholarly work have enabled it to exert a profound influence in multiple domains: on science education, on the dis- Spencer Weart awarded 2015 Abraham Pais Prize 1 cussion of contemporary policy issues, and on the general public’s perception of physics. FHP events planned for the March and April Meetings 2 Weart has contributed importantly to defining expectations for the 2014 April Meeting Session Reports 2 web-based presentation of intellectually rigorous scholarship, as • The Many Worlds of Leo Szilard 4 his own website on the history of climate change research dis- plays. Weart’s achievements stand out, moreover, in the context • Gaining Inspiration from Galileo, Einstein and Oppenheimer 5 of developing the unique and crucial AIP Center for History of • Pais Prize session in honor of Davis Cassidy 5 Physics, along with the Niels Bohr Library. Under his thirty-five year leadership, these facilities have not only encouraged, but New Books of Note 6 also in many instances made possible, a broad range of scholarly research and its public presentation across the entire spectrum of the history of physics. Weart has helped lead major projects Continued on page 2 Weart received a BA in physics from Cornell University in 1963 and a PhD in physics and astrophysics from the University of Col- Weart honored with Pais Award orado, Boulder in 1968. He did postdoctoral work at the Califor- documenting the development of astronomy, geophysics, lasers, nia Institute of Technology, supported as a Fellow of the Mount condensed matter, and high-energy physics that have served a host Wilson and Palomar Observatories. He then undertook graduate of other researchers. training in history at the University of California, Berkeley. From 1974 to 2009 Weart directed the Center for History of Physics of Along with his role as a researcher and mediator, Weart has had a the American Institute of Physics and its Niels Bohr Library, insti- significant impact, finally, through mentoring a cohort of younger tutions dedicated to preserving and making known the history of historians. physics, astronomy, geophysics, and allied fields. Upcoming FHP events at the 2015 APS March and April Meetings APS Meeting, March 2-6 San Antonio, TX • Inspirational Approaches to Teaching Physics/History of Physics Co-sponsored by FHP and FED Monday, March 2, 2015 • 11:15 a.m. - 2:15 p.m. Session Co-chairs: Catherine Westfall and Randall Knight Experts in physics and history of physics education will share ideas on inspir- ing students about physics and history of physics. “The Use of Theater and the Performing Arts in Science Education and the Gigantic boots located at the entrance of Teaching of History,” Brian Schwartz, Brooklyn College and the Graduate North Shore Mall in San Antonio, TX. Center, CUNY “Bruno, Galileo, Einstein: The Value of Myths in Physics,” Alberto A. Martinez, University of Texas, Austin “Teaching Physics to Future Presidents,” Bob Jacobson, University of The Forum on History of Physics of California, Berkeley the American Physical Society pub- lishes this Newsletter biannually at “Composing Science: Integrating Scientific Inquiry and Writing Instruction,” http://www.aps.org/units/fhp/newslet- S. Leslie Atkins, California State University, Chico ters/index.cfm. Each 3-year volume consists of six issues. “How Things Work: Teaching Physics in the Context of Everyday Objects,” The articles in this issue represent Louis Bloomfield, University of Virginia the views of their authors and are not necessarily those of the Forum or APS. • Pais Prize Session: Physics at the Intersection of History, Technology, Editor and Society Robert P. Crease Co-sponsored by FHP and FPS Department of Philosophy Wednesday, March 4, 2015 • 8:00 a.m. - 11: 00 a.m. Stony Brook University Session Chair: Catherine Westfall Stony Brook, NY 11794 [email protected] This session will investigate the relationship physics has maintained with (631) 632-7570 society over the last century and a half, particularly in relation to technologi- cal change. Book Review Editor Michael Riordan [email protected] “Understanding the Impacts of Global Warming: A History,” Spencer Weart, American Institute of Physics Continued on page 3 2 Volume XII, No. 5 • Fall 2014 • History of Physics Newsletter Upcoming Events at the 2015 APS March and April Meetings Continued from page 2 “Burnt by the Sun: Jack Kilby and the ‘70s Solar Boom,” APS Meeting, April 11-14 Cyrus Mody, Rice University Baltimore, MD “Optimistic Dangers: Views of Radium Therapy During • Three Perspectives on the Supercollider the American Radium Craze,” Aimee Slaughter, Los Organized by Michael Riordan Alamos Historical Society Monday, April 13 • 10:45 a.m. - 12:33 p.m. Session Chair: Michael Riordan “To Rule the Waves: Cable Telegraphy and the Making of ‘Maxwell’s Equations’,” Bruce Hunt, University of “The Disappearing Fourth Wall: John Marburger, Science Texas at Austin Policy, and the SSC,” Robert P. Crease, Stony Brook University “The Social Appropriation of Quantum Language and Imagery,” Robert P. Crease, Stony Brook University “DOE Perspectives on the Supercollider,” James Decker, Garman, Sullivan & Associates, LLC • Why Peer Review? “The Demise of the Superconducting Super Collider, Organized by Daniel Ucko, Stony Brook University, 1989–1993,” Michael Riordan, University of California, Physical Review Letters Santa Cruz Thursday, March 5, 2015 • 8:00 a.m. -11:00 a.m. Session Chair: Robert P. Crease • APS and Public Engagement in Historical Perspective How has peer review developed in scientific publishing, Organized by Joseph Martin what is its value, and are there alternatives? Tuesday, April 14 • 10:45 a.m. - 12:33 p.m. Session Chair: Joseph Martin “There Is No ‘I’ in Referee: Why Referees Should Be Anonymous,” Daniel Ucko, Stony Brook University, The history of the American Physical Society in the sec- Physical Review Letters ond half of the twentieth century, with particular empha- sis on the Society’s role in politics and public outreach. “Validity, Not Dissemination,” Samindranath Mitra, Physical Review Letters “The American Physical Society and the Ethics of Cold War Science,” Sarah Bridger, Cal Poly History “Peer-review: An IOP Publishing Perspective,” Tim Department Smith, IOP Publishing “APS Efforts to Defend Human Rights,” Edward “Inside Nature,” Andrea Taroni, Nature Physics Gerjuoy, University of Pittsburgh “The Evolution of the APS Forum on Physics and • A Staged Reading of the Play Background, by Society,” David Hafemeister, Cal Poly Physics Lauren Gunderson Department Sponsored by FHP Grand Hyatt San Antonio • Public Lecture Wednesday, March 4, 2015, 8:00 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. Cosponsored by FHP and GGR: Saturday, April 11, 2015 • 7:30 p.m. - 8:06 p.m. “Einstein’s Legacy: Studying Gravity in War and Peace,” David Kaiser, MIT • A Staged Reading of the Play Transcendence: Relativity and Its Discontents, by Robert Marc Friedman Sponsored by FHP Hilton Baltimore Inner Harbor Sunday, April 12, 2015, 8:00 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. Volume XII, No. 5 • Fall 2014 • History of Physics Newsletter 3 The Many Worlds of Leo Szilard: Physicist, Biologist, and Peacemaker by William Lanouette At the April 2014 APS meeting in Savan- Alamos as a consultant for the first of many nah, a panel honored two notable anniver- summers in 1950-52, before moving from saries: the 50th of Leo Szilard’s death, and the Physics Department at the University the 75th of the Einstein/Szilard letter to of Chicago in December 1952 to the new President Franklin D. Roosevelt that led to IBM Watson Scientific Laboratory at Co- America’s development and use of atomic lumbia University, at a cocktail party at the bombs during World War II. “The Many home of Mildred and ‘Murph’ Goldberger, Worlds of Leo Szilard” convened two sci- Edward Teller told me of the high regard in entists who knew him with his biographer which he held Leo Szilard. He said, ‘You for talks rich in both professional and per- know the way I use Freddie De Hoffman sonal details. for calculations at Los Alamos, that is how Leo uses me.’ Leo Szilard’s ingenuity and The session was hosted by MIT physicist inventiveness outclassed those of Edward Daniel Kleppner, who said Szilard was Teller.” “one of the most remarkable minds of his generation in the 20th century, and a unique Szilard in Budapest about 1914 In biology, too, Szilard outclassed his col- personality in physics.
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