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April 2002 NEWS Volume 11, No April 2002 NEWS Volume 11, No. 4 A Publication of The American Physical Society http://www.aps.org/apsnews Executive Board Expresses Concern Over Funding Imbalance In Bush Administration’s FY2003 Budget Request When President Bush unveiled outside of the scientific community tire research budget of the National for physical science remains es- his FY 2003 budget request for have expressed concern at the im- Science Foundation, in keeping sentially flat, the APS Executive The Executive Board of the R&D in February, no one was sur- balance of research funding with the president’s campaign bud- Board approved a resolution re- American Physical Society ap- prised at the emphasis on priorities in favor of the biological get to double the NIH budget by garding the FY2003 budget plauds the proposed increased antiterrorist, and on homeland sciences. 2003. request at its meeting on Febru- for the NIH and for life sciences and economic security in the wake For example, the National Insti- Noting that while funding for ary 23, 2002. The full text of the generally in the FY2003 Bud- of the September 11th attacks. How- tutes of Health would receive a $3.9 biological and medical research Executive Board statement is con- get Request submitted by President Bush on February 4, ever, many both within and billion increase, larger than the en- continues to increase, funding tained in the box at the right. 2002. However, the Board ex- presses great concern about Task Force to Weigh Pros the requested budgetary lev- Outlook on FY 2003 Budget Bills els for research in the physi- cal sciences. and Cons of Topical Groups The Board notes that in cur- By October 2002, thirteen FY third of all senators at stake. Ev- rent dollars, support for physi- 2003 appropriations bills should ery action that Congress and the Assessing potential impact and while others have considerably less cal science activities at the have been enacted. This deadline Administration takes will be scru- weighing the pros and cons of wel- interaction with other parts of the NSF would actually decline, is rarely met, and a number of fac- tinized for its impact on the coming new topical groups to the Society. and in constant dollars, sup- tors make it less probable that control of the Senate and House. Society’s infrastructure will be the The official charge to the task port for such activities at the DOE Office of Science would Congress will complete it work While there will be much talk focus of a newly appointed APS force points out that “as new topi- remain almost fixed. If imple- on time this year. There are sev- about reducing the FY 2003 pro- Task Force on Topical Groups. cal groups form, there has been eral major forces affecting this jected budget deficit, it seems mented, these proposals The task force will hold its first growing concern that they may would further exacerbate the year’s budget cycle. An obvious almost certain that Congress will meeting in mid-May, and is ex- cause fragmentation in the physics uncertainty is the pace and scope pass, and the President will sign, imbalance in the federal re- pected to present its findings at the community by isolating physicists search portfolio, raising spend- of future military operations. The appropriations bills pushing the November 2002 Council meeting. in certain areas from the larger com- ing on the life sciences to state of the economy is also a key government back into deficit At its November 2001 meeting, munity, and by depleting the about 55 cents for every re- factor since it affects the amount spending. The budget caps that the APS Council passed a “sense membership and thus the strength search dollar. As former NIH of federal tax revenue. Finally, this provided some restraint in previ- See OUTLOOK on page 3 of the Council” resolution asking of APS divisions.” In addition, add- Director Harold Varmus has is an election year, with the seats ous years have expired. the APS president to appoint a task ing more units can complicate noted many times, this con- for all representatives and one- See OUTLOOK on page 3 tinuing imbalance will jeopar- OUTLOOK force to review the status of exist- already squeezed program planning dize the ability of NIH to ac- ing topical groups, and consider at general meetings, thus lowering complish its mission. It will the criteria for the approval of new the quality of the talks, and require also jeopardize our nation’s APS Establishes Task Force on ones. The APS currently has nine more administrative staff time. “On economic growth and our mili- topical groups, varying widely in the other hand, new topical groups tary defense. Countering Terrorism size and activity level, and the can bring new energy and new Therefore the Board urges number continues to rise. Some members to the APS. It allows the Congress to address the presi- In the wake of the terrorist at- dent William Brinkman says of the work closely with related divisions, See TOPICAL GROUPS on page 6 dential budget deficiencies in tacks of September 11, 2001, rationale behind forming the task their considerations of FY and believing that science, and force. “The attacks on the World Preposterous Public Lecture 2003 appropriations bills. The especially physics, has much to Trade Center and Pentagon, and the Board further urges congres- sional oversight committees to offer in countering further at- anthrax assaults in various locales, Highlights Albuquerque Meeting hold hearings on the support tacks, the APS has established a demonstrate the need for sustaining level for the physical sciences task force on countering terror- the strong partnership between sci- and on the balance of the re- ism, at the request of the APS ence and government to ensure our search portfolio. Executive Board. The fledgling national security.” group will hold its first meeting Chaired by Bob Guenther of on May 3rd at APS Headquarters Duke University, the new task force close by outlining the challenges in College Park, Maryland. has been given a very general charge, st MSS—credit to www.marblestreetstudio.com researchers face in the 21 century “The events of recent months which reads in part: “The task force as we struggle to develop a true have shaken our nation,” APS Presi- See APS TASK FORCE on page 4 The latest scientific insights into will sponsor a public lecture in con- understanding of the implications the strange and wonderful myster- nection with the April Meeting, of these discoveries. A reception ies that abound in our universe will featuring Sean Carroll of the Uni- will follow, sponsored by the Uni- Los Angeles Area Fellows Gather be featured at the upcoming APS versity of Chicago. Carroll will versity of New Mexico. April meeting, April 20-24, in Al- summarize many of the most [7:30 PM - 9:00 PM, Kiva Auditorium.] buquerque, New Mexico. breathtaking discoveries of the na- In addition to an array of invited ture of the cosmos uncovered in the Nutty Neutrinos and Other and contributed technical sessions, 20th century: that the universe is Physics Enigmas there will be a special public lec- over 10 billion years old, that it is In one of several planned plenary ture and three plenary sessions still expanding, and that ordinary lectures, Helen Quinn of SLAC will featuring talks on a broad range of objects comprise less than 5% of describe the changing landscape of astrophysics, nuclear and particle the stuff of the universe. He will See APRIL MEETING on page 3 physics, as well as biological phys- ics. For the first time the meeting also has joint sponsorship of the High Energy Astrophysics Division HHighlights Darlene Logan/APS (HEAD) of the American Astro- In late January, APS held a reception for Fellows of the Society nomical Society. The program will in southern California. In addition to conversation and refresh- 4 8 also offer historical sessions, tips on Zero The Back ments, the group heard from APS President William F. Brinkman, finding jobs in academia, and an Gravity: Page: Executive Officer Judy Franz, and Education Director Fred Stein. Mad Scientist Don Prosnitz insider’s look at science policy. Gives Way to on Physics, Shown here (l to r) are Fellows Doug Mills (UC Irvine), Bruce Mad Capitalist Homeland Koel (USC) and Emily Carter (UCLA). Our Preposterous Universe Security and the On Monday evening, the APS Justice System. 2 April 2002 NEWS This Month in Physics History “If one were hunting for gold, this ✶✶✶ April 1994: Discovery of the top quark at Fermilab would be the map of where not to dig.” “A number of very clever people —Maria Spiropulu, on results of a have been chipping away at the The Standard Model of par- to 91 GeV. Over the course of a improved the efficiency of iden- search for supersymmetric particles problem and I think now we can ticle physics holds that all matter decade, both the CDF and D0 col- tifying top quarks, allowing at Fermilab, New York Times, Feb- answer: yes, it would be very diffi- is made from a small alphabet of laborations constructed scientists a more detailed look at ruary 5, 2002. cult but it should be possible without elementary particles consisting enormous, complicated instru- the top’s characteristics. The ✶✶✶ breaking the laws of physics to send of six quarks and six leptons. ments in order to isolate the top’s groundwork has been laid for the “We literally spray the liquid probes to the nearest stars.” The heaviest of these, the top (or signature. To do so, the two col- Large Hadron Collider at CERN, lithium on the walls and then it —Geoffrey Landis, NASA, The Inde- t) quark, is unstable and can laborations sifted through the which will begin operation in flows through a bottom drain.” pendent (London), February 16, only be detected when it is cre- debris from collisions of protons 2006, producing two proton —Robert Kaita, Princeton Univer- 2002.
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