A P S N E W S APSJULY 1996 THE AMERICAN P HYSICALNews SOCIETY VOLUME 5, NO 7 Highlights from Indianapolis: Trapped Francium, Energy Alternatives, Age of the Universe, Gender Gap

pproximately 1,400 physicists page 7), gender bias in the GREs (see reception hosted by A assembled in Indianapolis, page 3), and the future of physics. In APS President J. Rob- Indiana, for the 1996 Joint Meeting of addition, the AAPT organized several ses- ert Schrieffer (Florida The American Physical Society (APS) sions devoted to issues in education, State University). and the American Association of some in conjunction with APS commit- Twelve prizes and Physics Teachers (AAPT), 2-5 May. The tees or units. awards were pre- most varied of APS meetings because of sented, and the the number of APS divisions represented Another prominent feature was a spe- recipients gave lec- in the program, the Spring Meeting cial plenary session on Friday afternoon, tures on their explored current topics in particle modeled on the Unity Day symposia respective topics at physics, astrophysics, fluids, particle held in recent years at the annual Joint various sessions beams, physics of beams, nuclear APS/AAPT Meeting. The session featured throughout the physics, applications, and atomic, the retiring presidential address by APS week. Citations and molecular and optical physics. Past President C. Kumar N. Patel, as well brief biographies of as general lectures on black holes and the recipients ap- Topics of technical sessions included the Bose-Einstein condensation, respec- peared in the April first entrapment of a francium atom (see tively, by Kip Thorne (California Institute 1996 issue of APS story below), new data on globular clus- of Technology), recipient of the 1996 News. Ten thousand Francium Atoms trapped in a volume about the size of a pin head. ters (see page 4), the discovery of over Lilienfeld Prize, and Carl Wieman (Uni- 100 new isotopes, (see page 3), and re- versity of Colorado/JILA) (see page 5). Technical Sessions. with muon antineutrinos oscillating cent advances in nuclear-based medical Neutrino Oscillations. Los Alamos into electron antineutrinos, compared imaging (see page 2). General interest The traditional ceremonial banquet for scientists have found additional to the nine events observed last year. sessions included such topics as the fu- the bestowal of prizes and awards was evidence that neutrinos have mass, Last year, an experiment at LANL turned ture of renewable energy sources (see held Saturday evening, preceded by a observing 22 events that are consistent (Continued on page 8) Scientists Trap Rarest Element — Francium esearchers at SUNY-Stony Brook not been a problem, it has been a major cium or a pellet of francium,” said team plans to study the atomic prop- Rhave successfully trapped the challenge to trap francium atoms and Orozco. “You have to be making it all erties of francium atoms, which opens world’s rarest naturally occurring ele- study them. Researchers at Stony Brook, the time in order to work with it.” new horizons for the understanding of ment, francium, setting the stage for Berkeley, and elsewhere have previously the atomic structure of a very heavy high-precision tabletop measurements used magneto-optic traps to collect ra- Because the atoms were created with element. For example, a new energy on how the weak nuclear force mani- dioactive atoms, but a challenge with too much energy to be immediately level has been observed for the first fests itself at the atomic level. The Stony francium has been to figure out how to trapped with lasers, the Stony Brook time, and lifetime measurements are in Brook team developed a technique to tune the trapping lasers, since there are team devised methods to remove en- progress. trap more than 10,000 francium atoms no known stable isotopes of francium ergy from them quickly and efficiently. in a volume about the size of a head to use as a reference. Recent develop- After converting the ions into neutral Studies of trapped francium can also ul- of a pin, using six laser beams and an ments were described by Gene Sprouse atoms and slowing them down con- timately lead to high-precision inhomogeneous magnetic field. in a DNP Mini-symposia on Friday at the siderably, they send the francium into measurements of a phenomenon known Joint APS/AAPT Meeting. a magneto-optical trap, a device em- as parity nonconservation, which would Francium is the heaviest alkali and the ploying six laser beams — which had then provide information on the inter- least stable of the first 103 elements The SUNY team, headed by Luis Orozco, to be tuned to the correct frequency to relationship between the on the periodic table. Less than 30 can now produce a million ions per sec- slow and confine the atoms — and a electromagnetic and weak force. The grams of it exists on the Earth at any ond of francium-210, which has a half-life nonuniform magnetic field. Inside the francium energy transition is forbidden one time, in uranium deposits. It ap- of about three minutes, by bombarding traps, the atoms bounce back and forth by the electromagnetic interaction be- pears, atom by atom, as heavier atoms a gold target very close to melting point between specially coated glass walls, cause it violates parity, but is permitted decay, and it disappears in less than with beams of oxygen from the super- slowing down some atoms enough to by the parity-violating weak interaction. 20 minutes as francium itself decays. conducting linear accelerator at Stony be caught at the center of the trap. The effects of parity violation are at least While creating francium artificially has Brook. “You can’t have a bottle of fran- 18 times more pronounced in francium Now that this rare element can be con- than in cesium, another atom in which centrated and confined, the research parity violation has been studied. IN THIS ISSUE

Highlights from Indianapolis ...... 1 Scientists Trap Rarest Element ...... 1 APS E-print Server Running APS E-print Server Running ...... 1 he American Physical Society is version of the service will be available Technological Advances May Revolutionize Medical Imaging ...... 2 Tdeveloping a World-Wide-Web- from July 1, 1996 through the APS home Two New APS Topical Groups ...... 2 based system for members and other page [http://www.aps.org] under the Fighting the Gender Gap ...... 3 physicists to post preprints, and to ‘New Services Available’ listing for the Over 100 New Isotopes Discovered with Novel Fission Method ...... 3 browse those which have been made journals, and during testing will be avail- Particle Beam Processing Industrial Applications ...... 4 publicly available. The service is similar to able directly at http://publish.aps.org/ APS Council Approves Three Statements on Energy Issues ...... 4 the ‘e-print’ archives run by Paul Ginsparg eprint/test/. Science Policy, Black Holes and BEC Featured at Plenary Session ...... 5 at Los Alamos since late 1991, but has some New Cluster Data Puts Universe at 13 Billion Years ...... 5 technical differences intended to make it Physicists are invited to try the APS E- Stockpile Stewardship, Non-Proliferation Policies Pose Challenges to more accessible and user-friendly, and Print prototype and send comments to Nuclear Weapons Labs ...... 5 other features that should help a larger the administrators of the service at the Opinion ...... 6 fraction of the physics community get e-mail address: [email protected]. Energy Alternatives Vital To Meet Future Demands ...... 7 involved with this enabling technology. Members can also contribute over the MULTIMEDIA REVIEW ...... 7 next few months to the setting of pri- 1996 General Election Preview ...... 9 The APS E-print service will also help in orities for the service (such as what Announcements ...... 11 the exploration of new Internet-based word processor formats to support) by The Back Page ...... 12 technology for submitting, refereeing, answering the questionnaire available APS Meeting News ...... Insert editing and publishing papers in the on the web at http://publish.aps.org/ Physical Review journals. A prototype eprint/test/gateway/questions. APS News July 1996 Technological Advances May Revolutionize Medical Imaging

ew advances in medical imaging treatment planning of patients suffer- imaging the axillary nodes in patients Weinberg hopes that this higher effi- Ntechnologies could significantly ing from heart disease, cancer, epilepsy with suspected breast cancer, often the ciency can be used to find smaller revolutionize existing clinical practices and Alzheimer’s disease, its distribu- first site where cancer spreads. tumors, or reduce the patient radiation by enabling non-invasive and low- tion to date has been limited to major dose used in conventional nuclear radiation alternatives for diagnostic research institutions and medical Functional Mammography. In ef- medicine instruments. purposes, according to speakers at a centers because of the high cost. There forts to fight breast cancer, physicians Thursday afternoon session of the 1996 are currently fewer than 100 PET cen- employ mammography techniques — Active-Matrix, Flat-Panel Imagers. Joint APS/AAPT Meeting in ters in the U.S. Many of these use the such as ultrasound imaging, magnetic Larry Antonuk of the University of Indianapolis, Indiana. Sponsored by process as a biomedical research tool in resonance imaging, PET, and single- Michigan in Ann Arbor described a pair the APS Division of Nuclear Physics animal studies. photon imaging with a gamma camera. of flat- panel imaging systems for di- and the Forum on Industrial and agnostic x-ray and cancer therapy Applied Physics, the session explored Cherry’s laboratory, in conjunction In efforts to improve detection of imaging with image quality comparable such emerging technologies as the with CTI PET Systems in Knoxville, breast cancers, Irving Weinberg of PEM to that possible through conventional application of positron emission Tennessee, are techniques. Developed in collabora- tomography to laboratory testing of developing tion between the University of animals, a functional mammography MICROPET, the Michigan and Xerox, these devices are technique using radiotracer methods world’s highest capable of forming high-quality x-ray to detect breast cancers, and digital x- resolution PET for images in real time — as fast as 30 times ray imaging with active-matrix, the imaging of small per second. flat-panel imagers. laboratory images. “This development As large as 26 centimeters on a side PETs for Imaging Laboratory Ani- opens the possibil- and a millimeter thick, the imaging cir- mals. Simon Cherry of the University ity of performing cuits consist of thin-film transistors of California, Los Angeles, described a animal drug trials (TFTs) and photosensors made of positron emission tomography (PET) without the need amorphous silicon. Together these scanner that can detect features as for vivisection, sav- constitute an imaging pixel, with the small as 1.7 mm, compared to the four ing animal lives and TFT acting as a switch to control read- mm possible in conventional units. cutting costs for out of signal generated in the drug companies,” photodiode. The array is covered by a In contrast to other medical imaging said Cherry. phosphorescent material which serves techniques, such as MRI or CAT scans, to convert incident X rays to light. PET provides unique information on A use of MICROPET Schematic of active-matrix imager system. the rate of functional processes in the is to look at the According to Antonuk, flat-panel im- body. According to Cherry, one of its functional effects of agers offer a number of advantages. major strengths is the availability of substance abuse in the monkey brain Technologies in Bethesda, Maryland They are inherently resistant against ra- positon-emitting isotopes of elements, and to relate this to human drug ad- described a complementary approach diation damage, so performance will such as carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and diction and its treatment. Other called functional mammography, a pro- not degrade in the high radiation en- fluorine. Many hundreds of com- potential applications include drug cedure that provides information on vironment of cancer therapy pounds of these elements have been testing, the effects of cancer treatments, the biochemical processes in the breast applications. Good x-ray sensitivity, synthesized without changing their bio- and developmental studies in the nor- by introducing radioactive tracers into low noise and large dynamic range chemical properties. By choosing the mal and abnormal brain. the breast via the bloodstream. The offer the potential of superior image appropriate positon-emitting compound, tracers are then are imaged with a de- quality at reduced exposure to the PET can be used to measure biological Still other PET-based technologies un- tector similar to those used in PET patient. Finally, digital images allow processes such as blood flow, glucose der development include a low-cost scans. quick processing on a computer or metabolism, neutrotransmitter biochem- PET system to fit inside a conventional shared electronically. Other advantages istry, receptor affinity, enzyme activity, MRI machine to permit simultaneous The detector system can be added to include the compact, thin profile of the and gene expression. PET and MRI imaging, providing im- traditional x-ray mammography ma- imagers, real-time acquisition and dis- ages of the anatomy and function in chines as a low-cost add-on, play, and a high linearity of response. However, while the process has been the same imaging session. Also in the anticipated to be under $50,000. Un- used clinically in the diagnosis and works is a low-cost detector system for like the gamma and PET cameras “There is every indication that the fu- employed, which imaged areas of the ture imaging performance of optimized body, functional mammography uses active-matrix, flat-panel imagers could a detector system designed specifically meet or exceed that of existing radio- APS COUNCIL 1996 to be placed on the breast, resulting graphic, fluoroscopic, and portal President in highly efficient signal detection. imaging systems,” said Antonuk. APS News Robert Schrieffer, Florida State University President-Elect D. Allan Bromley, Yale University Coden: ANWSEN ISSN: 1058-8132 Vice-President Series II, Vol. 5, No. 7 July 1996 Andrew M. Sessler, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory © 1996 The American Physical Society Executive Officer Judy R. Franz, University of Alabama, Huntsville Editor: Barrett H. Ripin Treasurer Two New APS Topical Groups Newswriter: Jennifer Ouellette Harry Lustig, City College of the City University of New York, emeritus Production: Elizabeth Buchan-Higgins Editor-in-Chief Benjamin Bederson, New York University, emeritus t its Joint APS/AAPT Meeting, the The objective of the Topical Group on Coordinator: Amy Halsted Past-President C. Kumar N. Patel, University of California-Los Angeles AAPS Council and Executive Board Statistical and Nonlinear Physics is the approved the establishment of two new advancement and diffusion of knowl- APS News is published 11X yearly, monthly, except the Au- General Councillors gust/September issue, by The American Physical Society, One Daniel Auerbach, Kevin Aylesworth, Arthur Bienenstock, Vir- topical groups: the Topical Group on edge in the interdisciplinary area of Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740-3844, (301) 209-3200. ginia Brown, Jolie A. Cizewski, Jennifer Cohen, Charles Duke, It contains news of the Society and of its Divisions, Topical Elsa Garmire, Laura H. Greene, Donald Hamann, William Happer, Magnetism and its Applications, and the nonequilibrium statistical physics, with Groups, Sections and Forums; advance information on meet- Anthony M. Johnson, Miles V. 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2 July 1996 APS News Fighting the Gender Gap: Standardized Tests Are Poor Indicators of Ability in Physics omen and underrepresented the test itself. ETS has implemented nu- graduate admissions at Harvard Univer- thoughtful thinker who gathers new in- Wminorities typically score merous procedures in both test sity for more than 20 years. Jennifer formation, organizes and evaluates and significantly lower than men on the development and analysis to ensure the Siders, a recent physics Ph.D. from the expresses original thoughts clearly and standardized tests designed to predict fairness of its tests. Specifically, it aims University of Texas who is now at Los concisely.” performance in undergraduate and for broad representation on the test de- Alamos National Laboratory, took the graduate physics and math courses, and velopment committees, culling members GRE subject test four times to meet her The impact of gender gaps in standard- are hence more likely to be disqualified from college and high school, public and department’s minimum requirement of ized test scores can be devastating. during the initial admissions screening private institutions, with geographic dis- 700. She finally managed to raise her Female students are twice as likely as process. But according to speakers at tribution and at least one minority and score 200 points, not by learning more males to be disqualified by minimum a Friday afternoon session at the 1996 female representative. All tests are sub- physics, but by learning how to take cutoff score requirements, even though Joint APS/AAPT Meeting, standardized ject to “sensitivity reviews” to eliminate standardized tests, often at the expense their overall academic performance tests such as the SAT and GRE are in any potentially offensive language or of her actual coursework. tends to be higher. Many talented reality very poor indicators of students’ content, and are checked for sufficient women and minority students may be success in these rigorous subject areas. references to minorities and women The standardized test format also seems discouraged from applying to top in- when the subject matter warrants it. to favor students Georgi describes as stitutions if they feel their scores are Anne Marie Zolandz, who works on “idiot savants”: those with strong math- too low. In addition to lower self-con- test development for the Educational Statistical analysis is also performed to ematical skills who are very good at fidence and career expectations, the Testing Service (ETS), reported that in identify test items for which subgroups manipulating symbols without learning gender gap may decrease women’s 1994-1995, women represented about of the population may perform differ- any of the real physics behind them, chances of earning fellowships. 28 percent of the total population for ently. For example, on biology tests, it but who nevertheless tend to perform the SAT II physics test. However, while was discovered that women generally exceptionally well on the GREs. In con- Zolandz emphasized that ETS policy more women are taking the test than performed better on questions concern- trast, two of his most impressive dictates that test scores should never ever before, their scores continue to ing the reproductive system. ETS uses undergraduate physics students, both be the sole basis for an admissions show a 50-point difference from the a method called differential item func- women with excellent undergraduate decision or rejection, and also discour- men taking the test. African-Americans, tion (DIF) to identify potentially biased records, scored much lower than ex- ages the use of cut-off scores below Hispanics, and Native Americans also items. Those which show a large dif- pected. Phyllis Rossiter, author of The which applicants are summarily re- score consistently lower than white and ferential factor of 15 percent or more SAT Gender Gap, concluded that, “This jected. “The test scores are only one Asian-American students. Fewer stu- are reviewed and sometimes discarded. highly speeded test rewards the facile piece of information about a student,” dents take the GRE physics subject test, Surprisingly, some of those items with test taker, rather than the sophisticated, (Continued on page 11) with women comprising only 16 per- a high DIF are standard physics prob- cent of the sample, and a comparison lems in kinematics, electrostatics, or of scores of men and women reveal a optics, with no obvious pattern in terms Over 100 New Isotopes Discovered standard deviation of about 150. The of content or skill levels to explain the GREs are primarily taken by white stu- wide differentials. with Novel Fission Method dents, followed by Asian-Americans, and these groups typically score sig- So where does the problem lie? A joint cientists have produced over 100 mitted through the magnet. According nificantly higher than other minorities. study by the ETS and the College Board Snew neutron-rich isotopes for ele- to Bernas, the efficiency of her projec- concluded that multiple choice formats ments between vanadium and rubidium tile-fission method is more than four The gender gap that favors boys per- favor men over women, partly because at the GSI laboratory in Darmstadt, Ger- orders of magnitude greater than that of sists across all other demographic men are more willing to guess on tests many, using a novel technique reported former in-flight methods, and the time characteristics, including family income, when they don’t know the answer. Men by Monique Bernas of the Institut de required for separation and identification parental education, grade point average, also perform better on timed tests. Physique in Grenoble, France, Friday af- is shorter than any beta-decay half-lives. course work, and class rank, according Another ETS study found that when the ternoon at the Joint APS/AAPT Meeting. to Pamela Zappardino, a professional time limit was removed from SAT Unlike conventional target-fission tech- In the present experiment, rare fragments psychologist and executive director of subtests, girls’ scores improved mark- niques, in which a target of metallic foil of all elements produced in fission are FairTest, a Cambridge, Massachusetts edly, while boys’ scores changed very is hit by a beam of light particles, Bernas unambiguously identified event by event organization that focuses solely on as- little. At present, there are no plans to has developed a new method that relies by measuring energy loss after separa- sessment reform, while working against alter the format of the tests. “The ETS on projectile fission. tion by the spectrometer and misuses and abuses of standardized test- is dedicated to developing tests that are time-of-flight along a well-defined path ing. “I think there’s a fallacy in the as equitable as possible to all groups,” The new isotopes were made by accel- in the magnets. This is because the frag- assumption that the SAT or GRE is actu- explained Zolandz. “But we are oper- erating uranium-238 up to an energy of ments move at nearly the beam velocity, ally telling us something,” said ating under the strengths associated 750 MeV per nucleon and colliding them close to the uranium beam direction, and Zappardino. “At best, the SAT only ac- with administering large-scale tests at with beryllium and lead targets. The frag- are totally ionized, making them easier counts for about 16 percent of the a reasonable cost, which presently ments are then separated using the to detect than in previous experiments, variance in first-year college grades. That means multiple choice questions.” high-performance spectrometer FRS at where they emerged at low velocities in isn’t a great predictor, by anybody’s yard- GSI-Darmstadt. “All these neutron-rich any direction with different ionic states. stick.” The SAT math test, for example, According to Zappardino, gender differ- isotopes are produced daily in nuclear Using this technique, a large number of consistently underpredicts women’s per- ences can certainly be manipulated by power reactors, but they occur so rarely isotopes can be simultaneously ob- formance in college math courses. selected different test items. For example, that they could not have been observed served; with target fission, only light for the first several years when the SAT before,” said Bernas. “This is the first elements have been identified in flight. An April 1995 study at the University was offered, boys scored higher than direct observation of every single type of California, Berkeley, found that girls on the math section, while girls of isotope produced in fission.” The new isotopes do not last very long; women with identical academic in- achieved higher scores on the verbal their expected half lives range between dexes to men obtained higher grade section. The ETS decided the verbal test Fission is the most efficient means of pro- 20 to 700 milliseconds. However, a num- point averages in every major on cam- needed to be balanced more in favor of ducing neutron-rich isotopes, and since its ber of them qualify as “r-process” nuclei. pus, including math and physical boys, and added more questions per- discovery in 1938, more than 400 new ra- According to Bernas, in our universe, sciences. The report concluded that taining to politics, business and sports. dioactive isotopes have been found and about half of the abundance of elements women should have about 140 points No similar efforts were made to balance studied, separated mainly by radiochemi- heavier than iron was produced by rapid added to their index to compensate for the math section. “Since then, boys have cal methods. When the first uranium beam neutron-capture reactions occurring on the SAT’s underprediction, and that outscored girls on both the math and was accelerated at relativistic energies at a short time scale, and sequential cap- non-test criteria, such as high school verbal sections,” said Zappardino. “So the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, the tures therefore lead to the production GPA, were much better predictors for when girls show a superior performance, fission cross-sections were measured in of extremely neutron-rich isotopes. Later, women in all academically rigorous and balancing is required; when boys show a pioneering experiment using small sili- these isotopes beta-decay back to the male-dominated fields. David Morin, a the superior performance, no adjustment con detectors. However, while elements stable atomic nuclei. physics graduate student at Harvard, is necessary.” could be identified, the isotopes were Thus, the projectile-fission method opens conducted his own study last year of not separated. On-line mass separation a wide field for nuclear structure inves- the correlation between GRE scores Foreign students, especially those from techniques were established in 1967, but tigations. For example, the spectroscopic and performance in graduate school, China, also do well on the GRE sub- the process was still chemistry-depen- analysis of the newly observed isotope focusing on Harvard students. He ject test, although their performance in dent and inefficient for some elements of nickel-78 — a doubly magic nucleus found that while there was a very slight graduate school isn’t any better or with short-lived isotopes. with 28 protons and 50 neutrons — will correlation between GRE scores and worse than their American colleagues. Finally, in-flight separation techniques provide a crucial test for nuclear structure graduate course grades, there was no “That suggests to me that the physics based on large spectrometers combin- models, and will be used to determine re- correlation with other measures of suc- subject test measures some specific skill ing electric and magnetic fields were sidual interactions in the shell model cess in graduate school, including oral that can be taught, and it is taught very developed to separate ionized fission picture. “Fundamental characteristics need exam scores and overall completion effectively in China, but it is not at all fragments independent from their chemi- to be known for these nuclei in order to time for the Ph.D. degree. clear how much this skill has to do with what we want to know about poten- cal properties. They are fast, with the understand mass abundancy in the solar The gaps in scores do not seem to arise tial physics students,” said Howard ability to identify fragments in a millionth system and to constrain astrophysical from inherent gender or ethnic bias in Georgi, who has been involved with of a second. However, only one in a models for supernova explosions,” said million of the fission products are trans- Bernas of the effect. 3 APS News July 1996 Particle Beam Processing Industrial Applications

here is burgeoning interest in the McKeown reported on his company’s $3 million apiece, whereas an electron applications; surface processing requires Tdevelopment of particle beam efforts to develop and market three beam accelerator like the IMPELA can about 10 kW. processing techniques for commercial IMPELA electron accelerators (10 MeV, achieve the same production yields as applications, according to Fred Dylla of 50kW) to commercial environments. four or five autoclaves, provided the vol- Crystallography. According to C. Abad- CEBAF, who opened a Friday morning The accelerators cost about $8 million umes are high enough. Electron beam Zapatero of Abbot Laboratories in Illinois, session on the topic at the 1996 Joint each, and are designed to displace ex- curing also has lower energy costs, re- the unraveling of the three-dimensional APS/AAPT Meeting. There is increasing pensive chemicals used in the pulp and duced environmental costs due to lower structure of nucleic acids and proteins by consumer and regulatory pressure to paper industry, to sterilize sewage toxic emissions and the use of solvent- physics-based experimental techniques develop “greener” products using “dry sludge, detoxify chemically contami- free resins, and lower residual distress to — including x-ray diffraction from single chemistry” with reduced environmental nated soils, to irradiate foodstuffs such parts. In addition, it allows manufactur- crystals — has had a tremendous impact impact, as well as production processes as cellulose, and build radiation service ers to vary the dosage to do selective on our understanding of many biomedi- that yield only product and no waste. centers for a diversity of other applica- curing. cal processes. This structural knowledge These objectives can be achieved with tions. Trials on 200 tons produced by is finding applications of macromolecu- the use of photons or elementary paper mills in 1995 resulted in savings UV FEL Processing. According to lar crystallography in biotechnology. For particles in such commercial processes of $55 million and a 33% reduction in Michael Kelley, a senior research asso- example, the knowledge of the three-di- as surface modification, polymerization pollution. But competition from tradi- ciate with DuPont Central Science & mensional structure of the target enzymes, of materials, micromachining, and tional chemical methods is stiff, and the Engineering, the ability of ultraviolet complexed with their inhibitors, is help- deposition and etching of materials, to investment capital required is consider- light to transform materials was recog- ing to accelerate the design of future name a few. able. McKeown estimated that about nized at the turn on this century, and drugs. $1.5 million in revenue is needed an- ever since, its use for processing has However, apart from a handful of high nually to support outlays of this scale. been re-investigated each time a new Novel enzymes with new characteristics value-added applications, the commer- UV light source technology has become and improved catalytic properties are cial impact of these emerging Electron Beam Curing. Victoria available. Particularly promising are re- being produced by random and site-di- technologies is limited because the unit Weinberg of Northrup Grumman de- sults in the surface modification of rected mutagenesis, and understanding cost is too high, and production capac- scribed progress in electron beam curing metals and polymers, and in these structural alterations in the mutant ity too low, to compete with existing of metals used in construction of mili- micromachining, using short, intense, enzymes is facilitating the design of novel chemistry-based methods. “Accelerated tary and commercial aircraft, single-wavelength pulses from excimer proteins with still unknown properties. particle beams offer many diverse op- automobiles, and recreational equip- lasers. However, the cost of excimer la- In addition, the advent of the third gen- portunities to process materials if ment, such as tennis rackets and golf ser light and their maximum unit size eration synchrotron radiation sources economic targets can be met,” said clubs. Despite the high capital and op- have limited their commercialization to such as the Advanced Proton Source Dylla. eration costs of conventional thermal high-value applications, mostly in medi- (APS) has opened yet another avenue curing methods, manufacturers in the cine and electronics manufacturing. for the interaction between the physi- Electron Beam Processing. “The com- past were willing to pay those higher Also, the bulbs are too small for mass cal and biomedical sciences. mercialization of electron processing prices to achieve optimal performance. production quantities. Abad-Zapatero believes that the wide applications is driven by demonstrated Now, however, economic pressures are availability of high brilliance, easily tun- technical advantages over current prac- causing them to explore more cost-ef- Kelley estimates that the horizon for able x-ray sources will have a tice,” said Joseph McKeown of AECL fective alternatives while maintaining commercialization is an energy cost tremendous impact on the biotechnol- Accelerators. “Mature and reliable ac- high performance, the most promising below 0.5 cents per kilojoule of light, ogy of the future. celerator technology has permitted more of which is electron beam curing. with a unit capacity above 10 kW. The consistent product quality and the de- only technology capable of reaching this Other particle beam processing tech- velopment of new processes. However, Electron beam curing uses high-energy goal is the free electron laser (FEL) based niques described in the session included the barriers to commercial adoption are radiation to effect physical and chemical on a superconducting radiofrequency x-ray lithography, ion beam surface often not amenable to solution within changes in materials, and the process is accelerator. The FEL’s picosecond pulse treatment, magnetically nozzled plasma the laboratory alone.” Plant engineer- 10 to 1000 times faster than conventional length and high peak power offer fur- accelerators for materials surface treat- ing, production, project management, thermal curing, which usually takes 12- ther advantages for micromachining, ments, and high-power proton beam financing, regulatory control, product 14 hours. Thermal curing requires and progress is being made toward a 1 applications for such objectives as throughput, and plant operational effi- cumbersome tooling and equipment. The kW technology demonstration, the mini- acclerator production of tritium. ciency all contribute to the business risk. autoclaves used in the process run about mum required for micromaching APS Council Approves Three Statements on Energy Issues

he APS Council approved three federal investment in basic research and x-ray diagnostics of computer chips COUNCIL STATEMENT ON “ENERGY: Tstatements on energy-related issues strong bipartisan backing. In spite of and other high-tech materials. The OER THE FORGOTTEN CRISIS” at its meeting in May. The first statement extraordinary budgetary pressures, has provided a vital complement to the Our nation’s complacency about the en- expressed concern over proposed large leaders in both political parties continue support of basic research carried out by ergy problem is dangerous. While the budget cuts for the DOE’s Office of to maintain this bipartisan commitment. NSF and NIH and programs in other mis- understandable result of currently abun- Energy Research for FY 1998 and beyond. They have properly identified the sion agencies. The OER, for example, as dant supplies of energy at low prices, The second urged sustained support for National Science Foundation (NSF) and part of its radiation health and safety such complacency is short-sighted and plasma and fusion science, which is faced the National Institutes of Health (NIH) mission, initiated the human genome risky. Low-cost oil resources outside the a one-third cut in its budget for FY 1996. as key sponsors of scientific research. project and currently provides approxi- Persian Gulf region are rapidly being de- The third statement called for continued However, they have overlooked the mately one-third of all of its federal pleted, increasing the likelihood of and diversified investments in energy prominent roles played by some funding. sudden disruptions in supply. Energy-re- research and development, and policies. programs in the mission agencies. This lated urban air pollution has become a The complete text of the three statements is now particularly true of the Office of The Council of The American Physical world-wide threat to human health. At- follows. Energy Research (OER). Society strongly urges policy planners not mospheric concentrations of carbon to make short-term decisions which re- dioxide, other greenhouse gases and More generally, among federal agencies, COUNCIL STATEMENT ON THE OF- duce DOE’s crucial basic research aerosols are climbing; this will cause the DOE through OER is the leading sup- FICE OF ENERGY RESEARCH activities. Proposed cuts would dimin- changes in temperature, precipitation, The Council of The American Physical porter of basic research in the physical ish our quality of life and our nation’s sea level, and weather patterns that may Society is gravely concerned that some sciences, accounting for almost as much future economic competitiveness and damage both human and natural systems. federal spending as NASA, the Department policy documents and budget scenarios military security. of Defense and the NSF, combined. In for FY 1998 and beyond plan large cuts The introduction of non-fossil-fuel en- support of basic research as a whole, the ergy sources, new ways of producing and to the DOE’s Office of Energy Research, COUNCIL STATEMENT ON PLASMA DOE ranks third among federal agencies. using fossil fuels, and a myriad of en- one of the primary sponsors of science PHYSICS AND FUSION SCIENCE With its progenitors, the Atomic Energy ergy-efficient technologies have helped in the United States. The cuts being con- The American Physical Society stresses Commission and the Energy Research and to improve our energy security and to sidered would seriously damage a major the scientific importance of plasma phys- Development Administration, DOE-funded reduce environmental stress. In an era component of the nation’s outstanding ics and fusion research, and the need research has led to more than sixty Nobel of growing global energy demand, such basic research activities, in universities for a research environment that encour- prizes, attesting to the high quality and innovations must continue. as well as national laboratories. They ages fundamental, long-term impact of the work it supports. would threaten our nation’s quality of investigation. The one-third reduction in The Council of the American Physical life, future economic competitiveness and The science base built through OER sup- support of programs in plasma and fu- Society urges continued and diversified military security. The Council urges plan- port over the past several decades has sion research in FY 1996 endangers this investments in energy research and de- ners to rectify this situation and make generated a wealth of technological ad- area of scientific research. Further cuts velopment, as well as policies that budgetary adjustments accordingly. vances that have dramatically improved to these programs would seriously dam- promote efficiency and innovation the energy security of our nation. Re- age this important field. Once dismantled, throughout the energy system. Such in- For more than half a century, every search supported by OER has also made these research programs may take de- vestments and policies are essential to Congress and every President has major contributions to magnetic reso- cades to rebuild. The Council of the ensure an adequate range of options in recognized the unique role of science in nance imaging (MRI) and medical American Physical Society urges sus- the decades ahead. Our national secu- sustaining the nation’s world-power isotopes; composite materials used in tained support for plasma and fusion rity, our environmental well-being, and status. They have consistently given military hardware and motor vehicles; science by the U.S. government. our standard of living are at stake. 4 July 1996 APS News Science Policy, Black Holes and BEC Featured at Plenary Session

PS Past President C. Kumar N. Patel with the financial rewards of such ca- also emphasize team efforts, cost ef- (LISA) under development by the Euro- Aof the University of California, Los reers,” said Patel, citing visible fectiveness, productivity improvement, pean Space Agency and scheduled for Angeles, delivered the annual retiring unemployment of physicists as an ex- accountability, customer focus, completion in 2014, will dominate this area. presidential address at a special general ample. “No discipline can expect to multidisciplinary topics, training of plenary session at the Joint APS/AAPT remain vibrant and capable of making physicists to be problem solvers, and Finally, Carl Wieman of JILA/University Meeting in Indianapolis, Indiana. Patel advances if the smartest among the integration into the social fabric. of Colorado gave a general lecture on focused on the need to reinvent the young people lose faith in its value.” last year’s achievement of Bose-Einstein relationship between physics and “Physics will have to make its case condensation (BEC), a new state of society, based on the significant changes based on its importance to understand- matter predicted over 70 years ago by that have occurred in the last five years. ing nature and natural phenomena and Albert Einstein and the Indian physi- its utility to long- as well as short-term cist Satyendra Nath Bose. In this state The most crucial issue facing physics needs of the society,” said Patel, add- of matter, gas atoms are cooled to near- today is the changing expectations of ing that while the latter does not imply absolute-zero temperatures and are society, which is asking questions that basic research should be disre- crowded together to the point that the about the cost-effectiveness of basic garded, “Physicists must be mindful of atoms overlap with each other and research in light of the continued what constitutes value to society. If we collapse into a single quantum state, worldwide economic downturn and forget the value aspect, then physics where they behave essentially as a worsening social problems, such as may well be funded at the same level single “super-particle.” Wieman’s team education, jobs, housing and physical as arts and humanities, which would combined two key technologies to safety of citizens living in inner urban not be acceptable to anyone.” make their Bose-Einstein condensates: areas. Specifically, international eco- laser trapping and cooling, and mag- netic trapping and evaporative cooling. nomic competition has now replaced The plenary session also featured a lec- the national defense security as a pri- ture by the 1996 APS Lilienfeld Prize mary reason for supporting physics recipient, Kip Thorne of the California Further studies of BECs promise impor- research, and there is an increased tant insights into the strange world of Patel offered several suggestions to Institute of Technology, who summa- emphasis on conversion of basic re- quantum mechanics, including help physics and physicists prosper in rized the theoretical exploration of search into new markets. “There is a nondestructible probes, phase transi- the 21st century, including the contin- nonlinear phenomena in general rela- perception that the U.S. is continuing tion dynamics, Josephson tunneling, ued expansion of understanding tivity from 1960 to 1999, including work to lose its competitive edge in high and the shape and correlation of wave physical phenomena and the world; on black holes, singularities and gravi- technology products worldwide, even function, among other phenomena. participation in setting priorities within tational wave detectors. For instance, the when physics and physical science re- They will also illuminate the future pos- physics and among related disciplines; Interferometric Network presently under search is well supported,” said Patel. sibility of technologically useful learning to relate today’s industrial and construction can perform observational inventions such as the hypothesized health science successes to the long- studies of nonlinear space-time warpage At the same time, universities are ex- “atom laser,” a potentially powerful term investment of resources in physics and black holes, which have yet to be pected to interact more extensively with nanotechnological tool in which the funding; and improving technology directly observed. After 2000, he believes industry, which impacts the education BEC atoms, all in the same energy state, transfer with improved partnerships detailed observational studies using and training of new physics Ph.Ds. would be deposited on surfaces with between academia and industry. Phys- gravitational wave detectors, as well as “The efforts necessary to pursue careers the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna exquisite precision. in physics are seen as being out of line ics research in the 21st century should New Cluster Data Puts Universe Stockpile Stewardship, Non-Proliferation Policies Pose Challenges to Nuclear at 13 Billion Years Weapons Labs ne of the outstanding issues in luminosities — might permit an age of uclear weapons scientists in the director of the U.S. Arms Control and astrophysics is determining the age 12 or even 13 billion years. But he as- O U.S. face a unique technical chal- Disarmament Agency. The Conference of the universe. Some measurements of serted that the ages could not be much N lenge in supporting twin national policy on Disarmament in Geneva is close to the Hubble constant suggest an age as younger than that. New observations objectives: to enhance nonproliferation reaching this goal, and the U.N. General low as 8 billion years, while studies of of his in globular cluster M13 did not goals and global security through the Assembly hopes to open the treaty for the very old stars in globular clusters alter this assessment. Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) signature before the 51st General Assem- indicate an age of 13 billion years or and a negotiated Comprehensive Test bly convenes in September. A major more. At a Thursday morning session at The session also featured a talk by Ban Treaty (CTBT), while maintaining obstacle to be overcome is China’s re- the 1996 Joint APS/AAPT Meeting, Don Wendy Freedman of the Carnegie In- the safety and reliability of a smaller luctance to move ahead, particularly its Vandenberg of the University of Victoria stitute, who presented new Hubble deterrent force without nuclear testing insistence on the right to conduct peace- reported on measurements of globular Space Telescope results based on mea- or new weapons types. Speakers at a ful nuclear explosions, which Holum star clusters that support previous surements of galaxies in the Fornax Saturday morning session of the 1996 described as “the atomic equivalent of a estimates of their age to be at least 13 cluster, at a distance of 60 million light Joint APS/AAPT Meeting discussed friendly punch in the nose.” billion years. Based on measurements years. Freeman reported at a NASA some of the issues surrounding stock- of the distances to galaxies in the Virgo press conference in early May that she pile stewardship, as well as the Many have characterized the CTBT cluster and elsewhere, the new data has and her colleagues were finding that likelihood of CTBT approval in Geneva chiefly as a nonproliferation measure, important implications for the ongoing values for the Hubble constant (H), a this year. but Holum believes its great practical debate over the large-distance scale of measure of the expansion of the uni- impact will also be for arms control — the universe. verse, hovered in the range 68 to 78 The NPT was extended indefinitely one to end development of advanced new km/sec/Mpc. (In 1994, they reported a year ago. This treaty, signed in 1970, nuclear weapons and keep new mili- An important adjunct to the debate is preliminary value of 80.) A separate calls in part on Nuclear Weapons States tary applications from emerging. “By the notion that the universe cannot be group led by Allan Sandage, also of (NWS) to work towards the disarma- fending off such developments, the older than its older stars, which appear Carnegie, recently reported a Hubble ment of their existing nuclear weapons. CTBT will help make nuclear war less to be those in globular clusters, spheri- constant of 57. Critics of this indefinite extension feel likely, and sustain today’s trend toward cal clumps of hundreds of thousands that the NWS will not be under regular smaller nuclear arsenals with shrinking or millions of stars found near and Freedman’s team is midway through a pressure to do so by all the NPT signa- roles in national defenses,” he said. around our galaxy. VandenBerg uses three-year program of measuring the tories if there is no regular reassessment the Canada-France-Hawaii telescope to distance to 20 distant galaxies by ob- of the status of disarmament. Peter Last October, President Clinton directed view the ancient, metal-poor stars in serving Cepheid variable stars, whose Pella, a former William Foster Fellow the DOE weapons laboratories to main- globular clusters, which largely lack the intrinsic brightness is related to the rate who worked with the Arms Control tain scientific capabilities adequate to elements heavier than helium that many at which their luminosity varies. These Disarmament Agency on the NPT, maintain the U.S. stockpile, building on younger stars inherit from earlier su- observations in turn can be used to cali- maintained that countries will pursue his 1993 decision to develop “stock- pernova explosions. By plotting the brate other means for determining nuclear disarmament as a goal only if pile stewardship” without nuclear stars’ luminosities versus their colors, distances to objects at even larger scales they feel it is in their national interests testing. Stockpile stewardship can help and by employing the standard model where local gravitational interactions to do so, and that the permanence of assure the safety and reliability of the for stellar evolution, the age of the stars have a lesser impact on a calculation of NPT along with other measures will U.S. nuclear deterrent, according to can be calculated. H. The secondary yardstick methods enhance security and speed up the dis- John Immele, director of the nuclear include the determination of the peak armament process. weapons technology program at Los Vandenberg said the oldest reliably brightness of type-Ia supernovas and Alamos National Laboratory. However, dated stars, in globular cluster M92, the use of the Tully-Fisher relation, ac- A comprehensive ban on nuclear explo- global attention to the control of were most likely 15 billion years old. cording to which a galaxy’s luminosity sive testing has been the quest of nuclear materials, including reactor- Uncertainties in the determination of is related to its rotation rate. The latest scientists and statement for more than grade plutonium, and some the distances to the clusters — effect- entry in Freedman’s inventory is galaxy 40 years, according to John D. Holum, ing calculations of the stars’ NGC1365 in the Fornax cluster. (Continued on page 7) 5 APS News July 1996 OPINION

APS VIEWS LETTERS WHY ENCOURAGE WOMEN TO ENTER PHYSICS? Foreign Students Do Impact Job Market by Katharine B. Gebbie, Chair, APS Committee on the Status of Women in Physics I would like to comment on the letter students should expect long hours, low The Committee on the Status of Women in Physics was founded 24 years ago to in the March 1996 issue entitled “Don’t pay and job insecurity, and this is a address the production, retention, and career development of women physi- Blame Foreigners for Job Problems,” description of an immigrant’s work. cists and to gather and maintain data on women in physics in support of these by Munawar Karim. Karim asserts that Yes, all of these items must be accepted, objectives. To this end, the Committee sponsors a diverse array of projects xenophobia fuels the concern with the to a degree. There are at least two fac- including the quarterly CSWP Gazette, which has a circulation of more than effect of foreign-born scientists and tors concerning pay and security which, 4,000; a Roster of Women in Physics to assist institutions in finding qualified engineers. It is insulting to U.S. citizen in my opinion, may favor some foreign women candidates for job openings; the CSWP/AAPT site visit project, aimed at physicists when Karim says that “the students. improving the climate for women in university physics departments; WIPHYS, standards of Ph.D. qualifying exams are an Internet listserver for women in physics with more than 600 subscribers; and occasionally lowered to allow U.S. stu- First, U.S. tax treaties with some foreign a new project to compile an archive of the Contributions of Women to Physics dents to pass in order to preserve governments exempt assistantships from 1898-1998, to demonstrate that women, as well as men, have been major play- balance.” This suggests that the creden- U.S. taxes. Citizens of these countries in ers in the scientific endeavor. And, the number and percentage of women in tials of U.S. citizen Ph.D.s (mine, for effect receive more income than U.S. citi- physics have indeed increased. example) may be suspect, and seems zens or foreigners who must pay tax. to imply that foreign graduates may ac- Karim suggests that low pay is part of Yet in the present job market, the question may reasonably be asked, Why tually be preferable. the bargain, but now it seems that in- encourage women to make careers in physics? Is it fair to them? Will they not come is even lower for U.S. citizens simply swell the numbers of unemployed and underemployed physicists? J. I do recognize that fewer able Ameri- than for some foreign students. The sec- Robert Schrieffer, APS President, gave the following answer to these questions: cans are choosing physics, both at the ond factor I see as favoring some undergraduate and graduate level. I be- foreign students is the “fall-back” posi- “…We believe that our goal of advancing and diffusing the knowledge of lieve there are good reasons for this that tion. In general, U.S. citizens are physics is best served if the profession draws upon the widest possible have little to do with the adequacy of restricted to the U.S. job market. For- spectrum of talented individuals. We are therefore committed to remov- basic schooling. In many cases, under- eign nationals can make an attempt to ing barriers that limit the participation of women in physics and to making graduate programs are neglected by crack the U.S. market, and then return available to women the same range of career choices traditionally open faculties which emphasize research and home if they do not succeed here. to men. Women have the right, the need and the talent to compete for graduate programs. I was fortunate to these opportunities…” major in physics at a university where I believe that the physics graduate edu- (excerpt from the April 1996 Physics and Society newsletter) the faculty was committed to under- cation establishment will eventually be graduate teaching, and labs were unable to justify expending consider- Members of CSWP have also addressed the question of why we are encourag- handled by professors or full-time in- able resources to educate a ing women into physics when jobs are scarce. Here are three views: structors. preponderantly foreign student base, many of whom are not able to pursue “The health of a field is determined by the quality of people who go into On considering graduate school, po- careers for which they were trained. it, and physics cannot achieve and maintain excellence without draw- tential students must weigh the We must address this issue. ing the best and the brightest from all segments of society. Thus an considerable investment in time against increased female presence has the potential to improve the quality of the the likelihood of finding appropriate Arnold R. Moodenbaugh physics workforce. If we believe that the field of physics is (or should be) employment. Karim says that physics Westhampton, New York a meritocracy, and if making the field more open to the entry of bright women were to reduce opportunities for some men, it would presumably Given that the APS is spending a sub- importation of more foreign-born sci- be the mediocre who find themselves squeezed out. Surely the reasons stantial amount of effort to re-orient entists and engineers. why women should be encouraged to enter physics are the same as why physicists in other technical careers, I men should be so encouraged—intellectual satisfaction, and an oppor- would be curious to know why the Stephen M. Hohs tunity to make a difference in the world by the use of one’s talents and Society does not take a stand on the San Jose, California energy. Why should men have all the fun?” —Laurie McNeil Gordon Gray Professor of Physics and Astronomy Historical FACTOIDS University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill Wilhelm C. Roentgen, the discoverer of X rays, was expelled from high school at “The next generation of physical scientists, we know from our research, age 18; he studied for his high school equivalency exam, took it, and failed; he has grown up, been educated, and wishes to live in a co-ed profession. prepared for an entrance exam to Zurich’s ETH, but never took it. He was Young people are thoroughly co-ed in their perceptions of the field. They admitted to the ETH through the help of a friendly professor. are the future. And their future includes women as equal partners at home and in the workplace. Therefore, the notion that women should (or “Your mere presence spoils the respect of the class for me.” Said by a seventh could) be “discouraged” from entering physics flies in the face of women’s grade teacher at the Luitpold Gymnasium in Munich to his student Albert Einstein. abilities and ambitions and of the needs of the field. The problem isn’t oversupply; it’s insufficient new job creation in physics. In my view women Courtesy of: J. Rigden, Chair APS Forum on History are as likely to contribute to new job creation as men.” —Sheila Tobias Co-author of “Rethinking Science as a Career: Perceptions and Reali- ties in the Physical Sciences,” (Research Corporation, 1995)

“No one should be encouraged to “go into” physics. You should pursue a career in physics when you are called to it - when your love for the beauty of this way of looking at the world makes other choices impossible. It is not supposed to be easy. Except for a few extraordinary times in history, it hasn’t been. But everyone should be encouraged to explore physics, to learn about it, and to have the chance to learn to love it. The wrong that the CSWP tries to set right is that at every level of our educational and professional structure, there are obstacles that make it more difficult for women than for men to have this opportunity. If we can remove these barriers, then more women will be called to physics careers. Indeed, this may make it more difficult for everyone who is called. At the same time, however, I believe that new opportunities for careers in physics will open up. This is a critical time for the future of science in the United States.” —Howard Georgi Harvard University

If science is to thrive, we must make it our goal to achieve a scientifically literate society, a population that understands and values the contributions that science can make to our national well-being. Women are half that population. Only when women see that women are participating fully in the scientific en- deavor—as researchers in the laboratory, as scientific leaders, and as policy makers—will they feel equal partners in a technological society. 6 July 1996 APS News Non-Proliferation Energy Alternatives Vital To Meet Future Demands Policies Pose he world population will have to in the trillions of dollars, according to efficient technologies have recently been Challenges to Nuclear Tincreasingly rely on all forms of the DOE’s Allan Hoffman. The World developed: high-frequency ballasts, com- energy to meet future energy demands, Bank has estimated that over the next pact fluorescent lamps, and low-energy Weapons Labs according to speakers at a Monday 30-40 years, developing countries alone windows. (continued from page 5) morning session at the 1996 Joint APS/ will require 5 million megawatts of new AAPT Meeting in Indianapolis, Indiana. generating capacity, compared with Energy efficient windows were first in- cooperation among the nuclear states The Clinton Administration promotes the today’s total world capacity of about 3 troduced commercially in the early in crafting post-Cold War security re- development and deployment of million megawatts, at a capital cost of 1980s, and Rosenberg estimates cumu- gime are also essential to reducing the renewable energy resources and between $1000 and $2000 per kilowatt. lative volume sales since then at about nuclear danger. technologies such as photovoltaics, 1.7 billion square feet, with a cumula- wind, solar thermal, biomass, geothermal “The environmental implications of that tive savings of about $1.8 billion. Recent A science-based program of evaluation, and hydropower energy options, with much capacity using fossil fuels, even improvements have resulted in a new assessment and expert judgment is a particular applications being tailored to in the more benign form of natural gas, design for these windows, consisting of primary requirement for the U.S. to certain local situations and needs. are severe,” said Hoffman. “If we are to three glazing layers, two coatings, and a enter safely into a test ban treaty. “For minimize adverse local and global envi- filling of argon or xenon gas, providing the first time in history, because of ad- During the energy crisis of the 1970s and ronmental impacts from the inevitable excellent optics and durability at a low vances in science and technology, 1980s, scientists in the U.S. began examin- powering up of developing nations, re- cost to manufacturers. In the future, he including computing and experimen- ing ways to make new products more newable forms of non-polluting and expects the commercial availability of tal simulation, the underpinnings energy efficient. The result: the U.S. non-greenhouse-gas-emitting systems energy efficient windows with electric needed for stockpile safety and reliabil- doubled the efficiency of most new prod- must be widely used.” He predicts a chromates that allow for clear glass as ity under a comprehensive test ban ucts and reduced energy bills by close to gradual transition to a global energy sys- well as adjustment of light. treaty may have finally come within 50 percent. Arthur Rosenfeld, senior advi- tem that is largely dependent on John Sheffield from Oak Ridge National reach,” said Immele. “Although the task sor at the U.S. Department of Energy, renewably energy within 100 years, with Laboratory postulated that with the likely is difficult and some risks exist, science- discussed new scientific strategies for hydrogen possibly emerging as an im- depletion of most fossil fuels by 2100, based stewardship of the nation’s improving the energy and economic sav- portant energy carrier to complement alternate energy sources will be devel- remaining nuclear weapons is now fea- ings even further. “The potential for electricity because of its ability to be used oped according to the region’s sible in an environment of no testing future savings through energy efficiency in all end-use sectors and its benign en- indigenous resources, and that in many and no new weapons.” is even larger if we change utility profit vironmental characteristics. regions, fusion energy will probably be rates,” he said, pointing out that in Cali- According to Rosenberg, several promis- one of the technological goals. Based Immele believes that effective steward- fornia, it is far more profitable for utilities ing new strategies are ready for on the World Bank population projec- ship programs will require several to sell efficiency than to sell raw energy. complementary efforts at the national implementation, including the use of cooler tions, he believes that all alternative laboratories, including advances in roofing and paving materials, and shade energy sources will be needed to meet high-performance computing; en- Improving technological performance trees to reduce air conditioning load, re- future energy demands, and thus sup- hanced surveillance to predict aging and reductions in associated energy costs verse the urban heat island effect, and ports continued investment in fusion and other defects; improved non- have enabled renewables to be low-cost reduce smog. The DOE will showcase vari- energy research. He estimates the first nuclear testing with high explosives; options for generating power under cer- ous commercially available renewable fusion plants could become operational archiving of past design, testing and tain conditions. Also driving their technologies at the 1996 Summer Olympic around 2050, most likely in those coun- materials data; and scheduled increased deployment are environmen- Games in Atlanta, Georgia, this summer, tries, such as Japan and Europe, that have revalidation and life-extension for the tal concerns, future energy security, and including photovoltaics, solar/thermal dish already deployed substantial nuclear seven basic weapon designs in the the recognition that renewables are com- generators, fuel cells, and alternative fuel power and will need more as cheap fos- continuing U.S. stockpile. peting for a total target market ranging vehicles. In addition, three new energy sil fuel becomes less available. MULTIMEDIA REVIEW by Ben Stein Hawking, describing how the Greek Much lighter is the CD-ROM version of found this to be the weakest part of philosopher convincingly argued that the The Cartoon Guide to Physics the program, as the games are kind of A Brief History of Time: An Inter- Earth is round by appealing to the round (HarperCollins Interactive, $39.95), basic and not very fun. In the Hall of active Adventure and The Cartoon shadows the Earth makes when it based on the popular book by Larry Fame section, Lucy and Ringo stand Guide to Physics (CD-ROM) eclipses the moon. Gonick and Art Huffman. Suitable for next to busts of ancient, classical, and anyone who is receiving his or her first modern scientists and converse on the Dealing as it does with the dynamic In “Relativity Street,” an animated ver- introduction to physics, the Cartoon achievements and importance of each. flow of matter and energy in our uni- sion of Albert Einstein recalls how he Guide offers clear and correct lessons Finally, a glossary contains good work- verse, physics is a natural candidate for was inspired with the idea of relativity in basic mechanics, covering such top- ing definitions of the terms multimedia, electronic presentations after talking to a painter who had fallen ics as Newton’s Laws, energy and encountered on the disc. The anima- combining text, graphics, animation, off a roof. A subsequent thought ex- momentum. To its credit, the program tion on this disc is smooth and sound, and music. At its best, multi- periment on relativity shows Einstein doesn’t shy away from displaying ba- seamless. media can convey ideas with a playing a game of ping-pong inside a sic equations and even performing vividness practically unrealizable on trolley heading towards the edge of a simple mathematical derivations. System requirements: paper or blackboard. As CD-ROM- cliff. From Einstein’s point of view, the A Brief History of Time: An Interactive equipped home computers become path of the airborne ping-pong ball Each physics lesson consists of ani- Adventure, Scientific American/W.H. increasingly widespread in the U.S., seems to change as the trolley goes into mated black and white vignettes Freeman (1-800-777-0444). Windows software companies are starting to ship free fall, but from the outside we can narrated by a live-action character version requires a 386 SX or faster, VGA multimedia versions of bestselling see that the ball would follow the same named Lucy and demonstrated by an color monitor and graphics card running books. Popular books on physics are trajectory if the trolley had continued accident-prone cartoon figure named at 256 colors, 8 MB RAM, Windows 3.1, now receiving the multimedia treat- to travel on the rails. In a humorous Ringo. These are very much like ani- SoundBlaster or a compatible sound ment, and both titles tested for this live-action skit elsewhere in the chap- mated versions of Gonick’s popular card, mouse, double-speed CD-ROM month’s column are very good. ter, Marilyn Monroe seductively cartoon books and bimonthly columns drive. Macintosh version requires an LCII describes a thought experiment on spe- in Discover. The lesson on Newton’s or faster, including Performa, Quadra, A Brief History of Time: An Interac- cial relativity to a receptive Einstein. Third Law begins as Isaac Newton chis- and PowerMac series, 256 color moni- tive Adventure (Scientific American/ els the formal versions of his three laws tor at least 13", system 7.0 or later, double W.H. Freeman, $49.95) is the CD-ROM Another section of the program allows on a stone tablet. Then, in Monty speed CD-ROM drive. version of Stephen Hawking’s 1988 best- one to take a trip aboard a spaceship Pythonesque fashion, a block of let- seller that traces humankind’s discoveries to the suspected black hole Cygnus X- ters falls from on high reading, “Action The Cartoon Guide to Physics, on the nature of space-time. Largely 1. On the way to a beautiful rendition equals reaction.” The lesson shows HarperCollins Interactive (800-424- modelled after the 11-chapter book, and of the swirling galaxy surrounding Cyg- how a horse manages to pull a cart even 6234). Windows users require a 486/ utilizing video and sound from the styl- nus X-1, video clips play as physicist though, at first sight, the two seem to 33 or compatible with hard disk drive, ish Errol Morris movie adaptation, the John Wheeler and others describe the exert forces that cancel out each other. Microsoft Windows 3.1, 8 MB RAM, 5 CD-ROM employs ample narration by properties of black holes and what it Other examples show the forces in- MB free hard disk space, 256-color or the author, beautiful graphics and ani- would be like for an astronaut to fall volved when a book is held up on a higher graphics card, 14" SVGA moni- mated thought experiments to flesh out inside one. There also is a well-done table, and the way in which a space tor, double speed CD ROM drive, MPC the often-difficult concepts in Hawking’s biography section of Hawking discuss- shuttle is pushed up by exhaust gases. compatible sound card and speakers. popular work. Chapter One, entitled ing his affliction with Lou Gehrig’s Macintosh version requires 25 MHz “Our Picture of the Universe,” contains disease and his decision to live life to A section of the program entitled “The 68030 or better, 8 MB RAM, 13" 256- a gallery of famous philosophers and the fullest and become a serious scien- Workshop” consists of five games in- color monitor, double speed CD-ROM. physicists in history. Clicking on Aristotle tist. The complete text of the book can tended to give the user a feel for such begins a slide presentation, narrated by be found on the disc, with links to the properties as inertia, projectile motion, Ben Stein is a science writer in AIP’s the speech-synthesizer-aided Stephen appropriate graphics and animations. and potential and kinetic energy. I Public Information Division. 7 APS News July 1996

Airlines over their major hubs in Dallas effect low doses, with considerable bio- (continued from page 1) Highlights from Indianapolis and Chicago. The tests will help deter- assay effects. In a Sunday morning mine whether this model can be used session, Bernard Cohen of the Univer- up tentative evidence of neutrino amount of spin, according to scientists to reduce the number of needlessly re- sity of Pittsburgh reviewed two possible oscillation, a phenomenon in which at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory. Us- routed plane flights. approaches to study the linear-no one type of neutrino (muon, electron, ing the GAMMASPHERE detector at threshold theory (LNT) of radiation or tau neutrino) transforms into LBL, Teng Lek Khoo of Argonne Na- Colliding Beam Fusion. Conventional carcinogenesis in the low dose region. another. According to LANL’s Fred tional Laboratory and his colleagues nuclear fusion reactions are initiated by Federspiel, the observation of the new have measured, for the first time, the magnetically confining a deuterium and The best approach, according to data cannot be attributed to either total energy and angular momentum re- tritium plasma and introducing energy Cohen, is use of the radon vs. lung can- known background processes or to leased when a superdeformed sources to generate the high-tempera- cer relationship, but these studies have statistical fluctuations, since the total mercury-194 nucleus decays to a well- ture conditions necessary for fusion. not been sufficiently robust to extrapo- estimated background from cosmic rays understood, lower-energy nuclear state. Norman Rostoker of the University of late meaningful conclusions from the and other neutrinoes is only about four According to Khoo, connecting these California-Irvine proposed that re- data. An alternative is to study lung or five events. The team is also two states paves the way toward un- searchers should consider conducting cancer rates for various counties and analyzing data on neutrinos produced derstanding the many mysteries experiments that explore the possibil- compare them to average radon expo- by pions and muons decaying in flight, associated with this nuclear state. ity of using exclusively high-energy sure in those counties. Cohen has which have higher energies, and particles to create fusion. found that regardless of corrections for expects to continue collecting data with Supersymmetry. Supersymmetry is a smoking prevalence, the mortality rate their detector over the next two years. theory that seeks to unite quantum me- Experiments have shown that when a actually decreased with increasing ra- chanics with general relativity. An small amount of high-energy particles diation doses, in sharp contrast to Record High Laser Intensity. The advent important ingredient is the existence of are trapped in a magnetic field, they predictions, with a standard deviation of tabletop terawatt lasers has certain hypothetical particles. According are confined for long periods of time. factor of 20. This discrepancy lead to prompted the study of new nonlinear to the theory, each known fermion — With longer confinement times, fusion the conclusion that the LNT theory may optical effects. Donald Umstadter of the such as an electron and quarks with a is easier to achieve. According to well fail in the low dose region. University of Michigan reported on an half integral spin — would have a new Rostoker, this approach could open the experiment in which a self-focusing boson counterpart. Likewise, all known possibility of fusing hydrogen with iso- Science, Politics and Human Rights. laser beam passing through a plasma bosons — particles such as photons with topes such as boron-11. It would Where does one draw the line between reached an intensity of 1020 W/cm2, the integral spin — would have new fermion produce charged-particle by-products scientific activity and complicity with a highest yet reported for any laser. In counterparts. Gordon Kane of the Uni- that are have advantages over the neu- totalitarian regime? Nicholson Medal re- the process of excluding plasma elec- versity of Michigan discussed how trons that result from the traditionally cipient Yuri Orlov of Cornell University trons from a narrow region forming a supersymmetry theory could be put to used deuterium-tritium fuels. examined the ethical decisions a scien- thin channel through the plasma, the the test, and how certain events recorded tist must face when confronted by New Measurements of G. Conflicting laser creates pressures exceeding one in scattering experiments at Fermilab political realities that make the pursuit measurements of Newton’s constant G, giga-bar, higher than any other man may already provide the first hints of of science morally challenging and/or which relates the gravitational force be- made pressure. The collimated and in- supersymmetry at work. professionally difficult. In 1986, Orlov tween two objects to their mass and tense laser beams will eventually be was stripped of USSR citizenship and separation, were presented at the 1995 APS/ used in attempts to accelerate electrons to Materials at Intense Pressures. Scien- deported to the U.S., where he has con- AAPT Spring Meeting (see APS News, July GeV energies over a space of centimeters. tists at Los Alamos are probing the limits tinued to be active in the human rights 1995); the highest discrepancy was more A new generation of ultrashort duration of experimental physics on extreme arena while doing physics research at than half a percent greater than the ac- high-energy electron and photon courses states of matter using magnetic flux Cornell. He discussed the implications cepted CODATA value. The results have may thus be built, potentially the equiva- compression, a technique for convert- associated with speaking out, and ex- stimulated a number of new measurements lent of a Stanford Linear Accelerator or ing the chemical energy released by tended the moral dilemma to U.S. of G by various groups worldwide. For Advanced Proton Source on a tabletop. high explosives into intense electrical scientists who must decide whether or example, a group at Wuppertal University pulses and intensely concentrated mag- not to collaborate with colleagues who in Germany is improving their ability to Crystalline Beams. In a Thursday morn- netic energy. The pulse generators hold positions of high power in repres- measure their source mass position, and ing session on advances in beams and reach magnetic fields in excess of 1000 sive regimes. accelerators, Jeffrey Hangst of Aarhus Tesla. Using the technique, the research- plans to move their apparatus to another University in Denmark reported on ef- ers have made discoveries about several site where temperature and noise level Special thanks to Philip F. Schewe and forts to cool the relative motion of properties of materials observed at the control will be better. Also underway are Benjamin P. Stein of the American In- particles in a circulating beam, as well atomic level, including the quantum Hall measurement experiments at Zurich stitute of Physics Office of Public as the use of resonant laser light as a effect, Faraday rotation and magnetic-field University, University of California, Information for contributing to the cov- diagnostic tool for studying fundamen- induced superconductivity. These experi- Irvine, the University of Washington, and erage of technical sessions in this issue. tal issues in beam dynamics. According ments may provide answers to questions JILA in Boulder, Colorado, as well as in to Hangst, the great strength and speed in astrophysics and planetary physics, Russia, Taiwan and Japan. of the laser cooling process have led such as clues to the state of matter inside Accelerators in Industry. Phil Womble 1996 JOINT MEETING scientists to believe it could be used to the great gas giant planets, as well as new of Oak Ridge National Laboratory de- PROGRAM COMMITTEE: produce a crystalline beam, in which the directions in materials science and solid scribed a technique for detecting Chair: David Cassell, Cornell Univer- ions’ relative kinetic energy decreases to state physics. Researchers will next attempt “remote-handled transuranic waste,” sity; Vice-Chair: Virginia Brown, the point that an ordered state is formed. to compress argon up to 8 million atmo- which are neutron-emitting radioactive Lawrence Livermore Laboratory; He summarized recent experimental spheres to observe the rising stages of by-products, heavier than uranium, and AAPT Program Chair: Ronald Edge, progress in this area, as well as current conductivity in the gas, possibly leading a significant component of nuclear University of South Carolina; APS: theoretical understanding of the condi- to the production of metallic argon, a phase waste produced at Argonne National Judy Franz,; Program Committee: tions under which a spatially ordered state never before seen on Earth. Until Laboratory and elsewhere. In the new Beverly Berger, Oakland University ion beam might be obtained. recently, the technique has been used technique, a compact accelerator gen- (GTG); Fred Dylla, CEBAF (FIAP); primarily for nuclear weapons research. erates a tiny amount of fission in the Robert Erdman, Keithley Instruments, Delta-Enhanced Multifragmentation. waste, creating by-products that help Inc. (IMSTG); Charles Falco, Univer- Scientists at Indiana University have ob- Forecasting Individual Storms. Present identify isotopes in the sample. In the sity of Arizona (FIP); Richard tained the first direct evidence for the weather models used in National same session, George Vourvopoulos of Freeman, AT&T Bell Laboratories expansion of nuclear matter using pro- Weather Service Operations employ a Western Kentucky University discussed (DAMOP); Joan Frye, Howard Uni- ton and helium beams from particle grid resolution of 45-60 kilometers, how neutrons produced by compact versity (COM); Katherine Gebbie, accelerators to heat atomic nuclei to sev- which is sufficient to forecast larger-scale accelerators can be used to perform NIST (CSWP); Edward Gerjuoy, Uni- eral billion degrees. The fragments features, such as fronts and low-pres- real-time analysis of coal to help test- versity of Pittsburgh (FPS); Paul produced in the process were then ana- sure systems, but not enough to ing and blending of different types of Grannis, SUNY-Stony Brook (DPF); lyzed with the Indiana Silicon Sphere anticipate isolated storms over specific coal. The technique can also be used Geoffrey Greene, NIST (PCMTG); Detector, an array consisting of 162 “tele- counties or cities. Kelvin Droegemeier to burn coal economically and envi- Franz Gross, College of William & scopes” for identifying nuclear fragments of the University of Oklahoma has de- ronmentally safety, as well as to test Mary (FBSTG); Beverly Hartline, formed in the disintegration of hot nuclei. veloped a new computational model that coal by-products, such as ash. CEBAF (FED); Wick Haxton, Univer- The Indiana researchers concluded that the provides storm forecasts up to six hours sity of Washington, (DAP); Richard nucleus expands as much as 50 percent of in advance, with up to one-km resolu- Nontechnical Sessions. Hazeltine, University of Texas (DPP); its normal size before breaking apart, which tion. This may lead to enabling Effects on Radiation at Low Doses. In Barry Klein, University of California- corresponds to a density about one-third forecasters to predict individual storms, 1928, the International Commission on Davis (DCOMP); Claudio Pelegrini, of normal nuclear matter. The results are which can be around five km in size. Radiological Protection advised that for University of California-Los relevant not only to the understanding of prudent public protection, no amount Angeles (DPB); Lee L. Riedinger, Uni- microscopic nuclei, but also to cosmologi- Unlike present weather models the new of radiation should be accepted with- versity of Tennessee (DNP); John cal problems, such as supernovae and the model takes into account vertical accel- out expectation of benefit, based on Rigden, American Institute of Phys- formation of neutron stars, pulsars, or pos- erations, which are generally not 1924 studies by physicist Jeffrey ics (FHP); and Steven Sibener, sibly black holes. negligible for storms, where the vertical Crowther that showed linearity at low University of Chicago (DCP). wind velocity can be as strong as the doses. However, this cautious approach Superdeformed Nuclei. When two nu- horizontal wind velocity. The system was is based on direct epidemiological data Meeting arrangements were made by tested over the Southern Great Plains last clei collide off-center, they can fuse to obtained from studies at high radiation Michael Scanlan and Tammany Buckwalter create a superdeformed nucleus: a foot- year and will be run again this year dur- doses, since a large number of test sub- of the APS Meetings Department. ball-shaped nucleus with a large ing collaborative testing with American jects would be needed to find a small 8 July 1996 APS News General Election Preview: Members To Choose New Leadership for 1997

The membership of The American Astronomy, as well as the APS Physics spent 1977 as a research associate at the FOR GENERAL Physical Society will elect a Vice Presi- Planning Committee. Universität Mainz followed by seven years dent, a Chair-Elect of the Nominating as a research associate, Oppenheimer Fel- COUNCILLOR Committee, and four General Council- David N. low, and staff member in the Theory lors in the 1997 General Election. Schramm Division of Los Alamos National Labora- David D. Ballots must be received by the 8 Sep- University of tory. He spent one year as an assistant Awschalom tember deadline in order to be valid. A Chicago professor at Purdue University (1980-81), University of slate of candidates has been prepared and returned to teaching in 1984 at the California, Santa Schramm received his by the Nominating Committee, and bio- University of Washington, where he is Barbara S.B. from MIT in 1967 graphical summaries for each are currently a professor of physics and di- and his Ph.D. in 1971 Awschalom re- provided below. Full biographical in- rector of the Institute for Nuclear Theory. from Caltech, where he remained as a ceived his Ph.D. in formation and candidates’ statements His research interests include atomic and postdoctoral fellow for the following year. experimental physics from Cornell Uni- are printed in the ballot. nuclear tests of symmetry principles and After a two-year stint as an assistant pro- versity, and was a research staff member conservation laws, nuclear astrophysics fessor at the University of Texas at Austin, and manager of the Nonequilibrium issues, and many-body techniques. FOR VICE PRESIDENT he joined the faculty of the University of Physics Group at the IBM T.J. Watson Haxton chaired the Division of Nuclear Chicago, where he is currently the Louis Research Center. In 1991 he joined the Physics in 1992 and currently chairs the Block Professor of Physical Sciences. He faculty of the University of California, Jerome I. Division of Astrophysics. He is currently chaired the department from 1979 to 1985, Santa Barbara, as a professor of physics, Friedman an editor of Physics Letters B and is a and in 1995 became vice president for re- where he is also a member and program Massachusetts former General Councillor. Institute of search, with responsibilities at Argonne coordinator for magnetism and super- conductivity in the Science and Technology National Laboratory as well as the univer- John W. Wilkins Technology Center for Quantized Elec- sity. He also co-founded the astrophysics Ohio State University Friedman received group at Fermilab. His research has in- tronic Structures. His research interests center on exploring electronic and mag- his Ph.D. in experi- cluded numerous topics in theoretical A University of Illinois Ph.D., Wilkins netic interactions in semiconductor mental particle astrophysics and cosmology, as well as the joined the Cornell University physics quantum structures, as well as the clas- physics from the University in Chicago interface of these subjects with nuclear and department in 1964 after a year-long sical and quantum mechanical properties in 1956. After a year as a research as- elementary particle physics. He was elected postdoc at Cambridge University. He of mesoscopic magnetic systems. sociate there, he accepted a three-year to the National Academy of Sciences in was traded for a draft choice in 1988 to appointment at Stanford University. In 1986. He is the recipient of numerous Ohio State University. Only with the 1960, he joined the MIT faculty as an awards, most recently the 1993 APS James Ball assistance of over 70 graduate students Oak Ridge assistant professor, where he has Lilienfeld Prize. Schramm currently chairs and postdocs, could he have rambled served as director of the Laboratory for the NRC’s Board on Physics and As- National from superconductors to metals to semi- Laboratory Nuclear Science and as head of the tronomy. conductors, sampling many excitations physics department. His research has processes by single-particle and many- Ball received his included studies of particle structure FOR CHAIR-ELECT OF THE body paths. Within the APS his primary Ph.D. from the and interactions with high-energy elec- NOMINATING COMMITTEE concern has been publications with ser- University of Wash- trons, neutrinos and hadrons. Recipient vice both on Reviews of Modern Physics, ington in 1958, of the Society’s W.H.K. Panofsky Prize Wick Haxton Physical Review B and Physical Review joining Oak Ridge National Laboratory in 1989, he shared the 1990 Nobel Prize University of Letters and in the oversight and review as a postdoctoral associate that same in Physics with Henry Kendall and Ri- Washington of APS journals. But he also had to en- year, and soon became a permanent staff chard Taylor. Friedman’s professional dure a term on both the Council and member. He has remained at ORNL for activities include service as vice-chair Haxton received his the Executive Board. Unbelievably he most of his career, serving as director of of the Board of the University Research Ph.D. in physics is a founding member of the Division of the Holifield Heavy Ion Facility until Association, and on the National Re- from Stanford Uni- Biological Physics, a field in which he (Continued on page 10) search Council’s Board on Physics and versity in 1976. He has never worked.

______For Membership on the Publications Oversight Committee: ______For Membership on the Investment Committee: ______of Scientists: For Membership on the Committee International Freedom ______For Membership on the Committee International Scientific Affairs: ______For Membership on the Committee Fellowship: ______For Membership on the Committee Applications of Physics: ______For Membership on the Committee Education: ______For Membership on the Committee Constitution & Bylaws: mittee indicated. Nominees must be APS members. Self-nominations are strongly encouraged. highlights and suitability of the nominee for particular com- and attach information on career The Committee needs input from the membership. ship appears on the APS home page under Governance. on the Committees and their present member- Bylaw Committees appointed by the President. Information Oversight Committee and advising the President concerning suitable candidates for service on all other The Committee on Committees has the responsibility for nominating elected members of Publications To be Completed Only by Members of The American Physical Society (please complete both sides)

Nomination Ballot—1997 Bylaw Committees The deadline for receipt of nominations is 9 August 1996. Continued on Reverse Please provide the name and affiliation of nominees Please provide the name and affiliation

✃ 9 APS News July 1996 General Election Preview 1983, when he was named director of Madison in 1966, and spent the next sion of Particles and Fields, and as an California Institute of Technology in the Physics Division. His primary re- two years as a postdoctoral fellow at associate editor for both Physical Re- 1968, and presently divides her time search interests are in nuclear structure Bell Laboratories. In 1968 he joined view Letters and Reviews of Modern between the physics department of with direct reactions, two-nucleon trans- Sandia National Laboratories, perform- Physics. the University of California, Irvine fer reactions, heavy ion reaction ing research in such solid state physics and the astronomy department of the mechanisms, shell model treatment of areas as plasma in solids, inelastic light Ravi Sudan University of Maryland. Her early re- the A=90 region of nuclei, and accelera- scatting in solids, phase transforma- Cornell University search focused on advanced stages tor physics. A former chair of the APS tions and ferroelectricity, and of star evolution, including white Division of Nuclear Physics, he also semiconductor physics. Most recently dwarfs, supernovae and pulsars. Sudan received his served three years as the general pro- he served as Sandia’s director of mi- More recently she has investigated Ph.D. from Imperial gram chair for the APS/AAPT Joint croelectronics and photonics, with the statistical distributions of prop- College at the Uni- Meeting. responsibility for its silicon, compound erties of binary stars and numerous versity of London. semiconductor, sensor and packaging topics in the history and sociology After working a few S. James Gates R&D activities. In August 1995 he left of physics and astronomy. She has years in England University of Sandia to assume the presidency of served as secretary-treasurer of the and India in industry, he joined the Maryland SEMI/SEMATECH, a consortium of APS Division of Astrophysics, and on faculty of Cornell University where more than 200 companies that provide the APS Committee on Meetings. he is the IBM Professor of Engineer- Gates received his the U.S. equipment and materials sup- ing, and member of both the Ph.D. in physics from plier base for the semiconductor device electrical engineering and applied MIT in 1977, and manufacturing industry. Sau Lan Wu spent the next three physics departments. From 1975 to University of years doing post- 1985 he served as director of the Wisconsin, graduate research as a junior fellow of the Chris Quigg Laboratory of Plasma Studies and Madison Harvard Society of Fellows. He spent two Fermi National helped to establish the Cornell years on the faculty of MIT’s mathematics Accelerator Theory and Supercomputer Center, Wu received her department before joining the physics de- Laboratory serving as its first deputy director. His Ph.D. in high en- partment of the University of Maryland research spans all aspects of plasma ergy physics from at College Park. His research centers on Quigg received his physics, including thermonuclear fu- Harvard University investigations of the mathematical prop- Ph.D. in theoretical sion and the technology of in 1970 and did her postdoctoral erties and realizations of supersymmetry particle physics high-powered charged particle study at MIT. She participated in the in quantum and classical theories of par- from the University beams. Recipient of the 1989 APS 1974 discovery of the charm quark ticles, fields and strings, and co-authored of California, Berkeley in 1970, and Maxwell Prize, Sudan has served on at Brookhaven National Laboratory, Superspace, the first advanced compre- spent the next four years as a member the executive committee of the APS where she had previously spent a hensive book on supersymmetry. Gates of SUNY-Stony Brook’s Institute for Division of Plasma Physics, and cur- summer as an undergraduate student. was the first director of the NASA-sup- Theoretical Physics. Since 1974 he has rently chairs the National Research She has been a faculty member in the ported Center for the Study of Terrestrial been associated with Fermilab, head- Council’s Plasma Science Committee. physics department at the University and extra-Terrestrial Atmospheres, and ing the Theoretical Physics Department of Wisconsin at Madison since 1977. was the recipient of the first APS Ed- from 1977 to 1987. Until 1991, he was Virginia Trimble She is a co-recipient of the European ward Bouchet Award. also on the faculty of the University of University of Physical Society’s 1995 High Energy Chicago. His research emphasizes the Maryland/ essential interplay between theory and and Particle Physics Prize for the first Paul S. Peercy University of direct observation of the gluon. She SEMI/SEMATECH experimentation, including such top- California, Irvine ics as electroweak symmetry breaking, is a Fellow in the American Academy properties and interactions of heavy of Arts and Sciences. Wu is also a Peercy received his Trimble received quarks, and high-energy particle colli- member of the DOE’s High Energy Ph.D. in physics her Ph.D. in as- sions. Quigg has served on the Physics Advisory Panel. from the University tronomy from the of Wisconsin at executive committee of the APS Divi- our Envelope to: our Envelope Fax: (301) 209-0865 One Physics Ellipse ATTN: AMY HALSTED ATTN: Email: [email protected] College Park, MD 20740-3844 The American Physical Society Please Address Y Please Address

The deadline for receipt of nominations is 9 August 1996. receipt of nominations is 9 August The deadline for ______

For Membership on the Committee Membership: ______For Membership on the Committee Meetings: ______For Membership on the Committee Minorities: ______in Physics: For Membership on the Committee Status of Women ______For Membership on the Physics Planning Committee: ______Information Nominator’s Name: ______Address: ______Signature: ______

10 ✃ July 1996 APS News ANNOUNCEMENTS Now Appearing in RMP.... IN BRIEF Reviews of Modern Physics is a quarterly journal featuring review articles and colloquia on a wide range of topics in physics. Titles and brief descriptions of the articles in the July 1996 issue are pro- • The APS Lars Onsager Prize will be awarded annually beginning in 1997. vided below. Originally endowed by Russell and Marian Donnelly as a biennial $10,000 award, the couple has decided to make additional yearly donations to Particle physics summary. The 1996 edition of the biennially published fund the award until the principle grows to full endowment of the yearly Review of Particle Properties appears here in summary form. The present prize. Until now, only the Lilienfeld and Schawlow Prizes have been edition marks the completion of the table of standard-model quarks, with annual $10,000 awards. The purpose of the Onsager Prize is to recog- the discovery of the top. It also includes new sections on solar neutrinos, nize outstanding research in theoretical statistical physics, including the big-bang nucleosynthesis, and the Hubble constant. quantum fluids. Quantum computation and Shor’s factoring algorithm. Artur Ekert • Physicist and human rights activist Liu Gang fled the People’s Republic and Richard Jozsa explain in simple physical terms Shor’s algorithm for of China and arrived in the United States on Wednesday, May 1st, 1996. factorization of large umbers. The use of quantum interference to perform After serving a very hard six-year prison sentence, which began shortly computations has attracted great interest among computer analysts and after the massacre of non-violent protesters at Tiananmen Square on physicists, and this algorithm provides a striking illustration of the potential June 4th 1989, Liu was released in June of 1995. He had been third on power of quantum computation. the list of “most wanted” students involved with the democracy move- On the measurement of a weak classical force coupled to a harmonic ment. Since his release, Liu was deprived of any chance of employment oscillator: experimental progress. Mark F. Bocko and Roberto Onofrio and constantly harassed by police, thus robbed of his basic human right discuss quantum noise as a limiting factor in measurements with macro- of survival. The APS’ Committee on the International Freedom of Scien- scopic systems, such as gravitational wave detectors. They also review tists wrote numerous letters to the PRC Government concerning Liu’s recent experiments that approach this fundamental limit. treatment while he was imprisoned and following his release, much of which was in violation of the Constitution of the People’s Republic of Quantum noise in photonics. C. H. Henry and R. F. Kazarinov review China and the United Nations’ Declaration on Human Rights. Liu Gang the basic physical phenomena associated with quantum noise in photonic intends to start a new life in a the U.S. processes, those processes involving the generation, amplification, trans- mission, and detection of light. In a style bridging the gap between physics • The APS New England Section held its annual spring meeting 26-27 April and engineering sciences, the authors outline the important role played by at MIT, organized jointly with the New England regional sections of the quantum noise in many applications. American Association of Physics Teachers and the Society of Physics Students. Friday afternoon’s plenary session featured lectures on such

Nuclear magnetic resonance of C60 and fulleride superconductors. topics as magnetic resonance imaging of lungs with laser polarized gases, Charles H. Pennington and Victor A. Stenger review the contributions of imaging two-dimensional electrons with scanning tunneling microscopes, nuclear magnetic resonance to our understanding of fullerite and fullerides, and the global positioning system. Saturday morning’s plenary session

the materials made from C60 molecules. Magnetic resonance reveals un- on relativity in astrophysics featured talks on the discovery of the binary usual structural properties as well as providing insight into the mechanism pulsar, the search for gravitational waves using laser interferometry, and for superconductivity. detecting dark matter with gravitational lenses. Friday evening’s banquet featured a keynote address by MIT’s Philip Morrison, entitled “Solar Sys- Magnetic relaxation in high-temperature superconductors. Y. tems: Plural at Last.” Yeshurun, Alexis P. Malozemoff, and A. Shaulov review the phenomenon of magnetic relaxation in high-T materials, which prevented realization of C • The APS New York State Section held its annual spring meeting 11-12 the early expectations for superconductivity at liquid-nitrogen tempera- April at IBM’s T.J. Watson Research Center, organized as a topical sympo- tures. The leakage of magnetic flux from these materials has become a sium on “21st Century Computing: Physical Basis to Classroom widely studied phenomenon in its own right, which the authors examine Applications.” Friday morning featured lectures on such topics as quan- with emphasis on the empirical evidence. tum constraints on information processing, ballistic computation, and RMP Colloquium: quantum computation. Friday afternoon focused on new ways of com- The 18 arbitrary parameters of the standard model in your everyday puting, such as the use of cellular automata, adiabatic design of CMOS life. Robert Cahn explores the many ways in which the 18 parameters of logic, and massively parallel computing using DNA. The Friday evening the standard model affect the world as we know it. While these parameters banquet featured a public lecture by IBM’s Rolf Landauer on 50 years of are in a sense arbitrary, slight changes in their values would drastically alter physics computation. The symposium closed with a Saturday morning the properties of our universe. plenary session on new computing environments for the classroom, cov- ering such topics as Web technologies and high-speed communication networks, the Internet as a K-12 teaching tool, and the use of virtual If you would like to subscribe to RMP, please add it to your invoice or reality in graduate education. contact: The American Physical Society Attn: Membership Department One Physics Ellipse College Park MD 20740-3844 Phone: (301) 209-3280 Email: [email protected] CAUGHT IN THE WEB ❏ ❏ ❏ Domestic, $45 Foreign Surface, $55 Optional Air Freight, $70 Notable additions to the APS Web Server for the month of May. The APS Web Server can be found at http://www.aps.org Fighting the Gender Gap (continued from page 3) she said. “They may help contribute to of recommendation, the personal es- your decision, but they are never de- say, and undergraduate records when APS News Online (latest edition) Meetings signed to be the sole indicator.” deciding whom to admit. • Updated APS Meetings calendar Units However, institutions often ignore this • Updated FHP homepage dictum, as in the case of Siders’ experi- While Siders emphatically believes that Careers • Updated DCMP homepage ences with the University of Texas GRE requirements should be dropped • More job listing sites for graduate admissions, Georgi favors graduate admissions committee. Membership a modified version of the GRE physics Miscellaneous • Add your personal home page URL The reliance on standardized testing for subject test, reducing the number of • Help plan and prioritize the APS E- to your Member Directory Listing admission is slowly beginning to questions by half to give students time print Server • Memberships Renewals can now be change. FairTest compiles an annual list to think through the answers and elimi- • New APS Statements on: done online now using our SECURE of four-year colleges that do not require nate time pressures, focusing instead on - Office of Energy Research (96.1) SERVER. standardized test scores, and there are basic skills and knowledge. However, - Energy: The Forgotten Crisis (96.2) currently 241, compared with 112 in “As presently constituted, it’s quite pos- -Plasma Physics and Fusion Science 1989. While Harvard’s graduate admis- sible that the GRE physics subject test (96.3) sions committee requires both the GRE does more harm than good, and we general and physics subject test, its should either fix it, or seriously consider members rely more heavily on letters getting rid of it altogether,” he said.

11 APS News July 1996 THE BACK PAGE Globalization of Technology Poses Challenges for Policymakers by Mary Lowe Good

echnology is directly linked to While science and technology in Europe sources and capabilities incomparable Tnational economic growth, and its and Japan will continue to have impor- in size and scope to those of the U.S., globalization poses difficult challenges tant implications for the U.S., growth in Europe and Japan, all indicators suggest for policymakers, not just in technology these countries will be much slower over that there will be many such nations policy, but in areas such as trade and the next two decades than in a good both crowding and expanding world regulatory policy. Technology-related deal of the rest of the world. Instead, markets, challenging traditional market policy issues are made all the more the locus of world economic growth is leaders for a share. It is happening now. difficult as one struggles to interpret the shifting dramatically to places such as From 1994 to 1995, non-Japanese semi- national interest, when much of the Argentina, Brazil and Mexico in the West, conductor suppliers in the Asia/Pacific technology needed for national growth to Indonesia, South Korea and China in region increased their world market is developed and managed by the East. Growth rates in these coun- share from 8.9 percent to 12.1 percent. multinational companies whose tries are expected to be phenomenal, The Europeans lost very little; instead, markets, operations, and sources of and they are soaring now: Argentina at these gains came at the expense of Ja- capital are distributed throughout the 7.4 percent, Indonesia at 7.3 percent, pan and North American countries. globe. Malaysia at 8.8 percent, South Korea at 8.4 percent, Singapore at 10.2 percent, In my view, policies designed to address The sources of this growth — capital, and China at 11.5 percent. the globalization of technology should increase in overseas investment by technology, and even labor — are in- seek to leverage a nation’s interests in medical device firms. Foreign direct in- creasingly globalized. Investment capital As a group, these newly industrialized the global market place, but do so with- vestment capital outflows from the U.S. flows around the world daily in search countries pose a competitive challenge out impeding world business and grew from an annual outflow of $333 of the greatest returns. As an example that could erode the high-tech position growth. First, in the international arena, million in 1989 to more than $1 billion of the globalization of labor, thousands of the advanced industrial nations. They we need to agree on some reasonable in 1992. of engineers in India are designing com- recognize the linkage between technol- rules of the game. puter chips for America’s leading firms, ogy, growth and jobs, and view their Finally, with the globalization of capi- and beaming these designs overnight to participation in world markets for high- For example, the Trade Related Aspects tal, labor and technology, countries California and Texas via satellite. As tech products as a matter of national of Intellectual Property (TRIPs) Agree- everywhere are striving to attract these more workers telecommute on a global pride. Many have set their sights on join- ment will raise the standards of engines of wealth creation to their basis, we may well begin to ask, “What ing the ranks of the world’s protection given copyrights, trademarks, shores, help them grow, and keep them is the American workforce?” technological leaders. To that end, many patents, industrial designs, semiconduc- within their borders. In the U.S., we have have established a basic two-pronged tor chip layout designs, and trade secrets taken a number of measures to make But it is technology that contributes most strategy directly aimed at economic in all of the countries that become mem- our country a more attractive place to to economic growth. Leading econo- growth competitiveness: first, acquire bers of the World Trade Organization. do business. For example, we are work- mists estimate that technology accounts technology from the world’s leaders to High-tech companies should be major ing toward deficit reduction and a for at least one half of economic growth compensate for inadequate science and beneficiaries. For instance, U.S. software balanced budget to free up capital for in the advanced industrial nations over technology infrastructures; and second, vendors supply 75 percent of the $77 private sector investment. The recently the past 50 years. This is not to say that address those short-comings by aggres- billion world market for packaged soft- passed telecommunications reforms will science should take a back seat to tech- sively developing indigenous ware. Yet it has been estimated that unleash a tidal wave of investment, cre- nology. Science is an integral part of technology resources. Many of these piracy deprived U.S. software develop- ativity and new technology that will the balanced portfolio of research an nations have backed up their strategies ers of about $13 billion in worldwide further buttress the U.S. lead in the In- advanced nation must have to ensure with formal development plans. revenues in 1993. U.S. vendors’ future formation Age. And the President and its long-term growth. But science alone competitiveness depends most signifi- Vice President have championed the cannot secure a nation’s competitive A look at South Korea offers a harbin- cantly on the level of protection of cause of modern infrastructure through edge. The results of basic research are ger of things to come if these nations bring intellectual property rights worldwide. the National Information Initiative, gen- available to the world — often instanta- their national visions to fruition. South erating interest, excitement and neously over the Internet — with the Korea has great ambitions to become a The globalization of technology has investment across the nation. potential to generate economic benefits G-7 nation by 2001 and an equal partner brought many new opportunities for for any company capable of using those with the advanced countries. It plans to bilateral R&D cooperation and for Thus, global competition is taking place results. pave its path to advanced industrial sta- multilateral cooperation. The on two levels. First is the competition tus with information technology, fine precompetitive technologies developed between companies. Second is the com- In contrast, in this high stakes poker chemicals, biotechnology, new materials, jointly in such collaborations are clearly petition between nations to attract and game we call global competition, tech- and aeronautics. Some Korean compa- destined for commercial use and, thus, retain the engines of wealth creation that nology — by virtue of its proximity to nies are now working in cutting edge these arrangements must be carefully increasingly skip around the globe look- the market — must be played close to technologies that were once the sole do- crafted to create the appropriate balance ing for the best opportunities. This is a the vest. Yet as the world’s nations main of advanced industrial nations. between cooperation and competition. competition for investment capital, tech- scramble for a winning hand, technolo- Samsung, a South Korean company, is The U.S. Commerce Department has nology, business activity, and the jobs gies — in the form of products, now the world’s largest maker of DRAMs, worked hard to ensure adequate pro- that come with them. know-how, intellectual property, people and Korea plans to spend $50 billion on tection of intellectual property rights, and companies — are being traded, an information superhighway. and to develop frameworks that ensure People around the world have recog- transferred, hired, bought and sold on balanced contributions and equitable nized this competition between nations. a global basis. Since 1980, the South Korean govern- benefits. The Intellectual Manufacturing For those nations who have little in the ment has increased its R&D investment Systems Program was ground-breaking economic arena, the competition is per- In addition to global trade in technol- significantly. The science and technol- in the development and testing of such ceived to be filled with opportunity and ogy, technology infrastructure — once ogy budget has increased by 15 percent a framework for multilateral coopera- hope for the future. In contrast, for those the sole domain of advanced industrial annually and jumped to over 30 per- tion, and we hope it will serve as a nations that have had much, including nations — is increasingly globalized as cent in the 1996 budget. The Korean model for other international initiatives. the U.S., this competition has raised nations around the world recognize the government plans to increase its R&D much anxiety. Yet we cannot turn back linkage between indigenous technology spending to over 4 percent of the GDP Second, nations must recognize that the the clock and we cannot secede from assets, and economic growth and job by 1998, and to 5 percent by the year globalization of technology has impor- the global competition. Our challenge creation. In the U.S., our attention has 2000. Following the same trend, the tant implications for their domestic is to prepare ourselves to seize the op- long been focused on the technology Korean private sector has rapidly aug- policies. For example, the U.S. Food and portunities and create fertile ground for policies of our European and Japanese mented its R&D investment by about 20 Drug Administration’s product approval economic growth, with a healthy busi- trading partners, and we have carefully percent annually, encouraged in large process and export regulatory require- ness climate, a modern infrastructure, examined their science and technology part by government incentives. As a re- ments are critical issues affecting U.S. and a world-class workforce. policies and R&D spending patterns. sult, total R&D investment has increased exports of medical equipment and sup- Support for R&D remains strong, and from $418 million in 1981 to over $5.4 plies. This industry cites regulatory Mary Lowe Good is the Under secretary collaborative efforts — industry-govern- billion in 1995. delays as one of the key reasons that for Technology in the U.S. Department ment partnerships, as well as bilateral U.S. manufacturers have relocated some of Commerce. This article was adapted and multilateral cooperation — are While one can certainly say that South of their production and R&D facilities from her comments at the 1996 APS major strategic thrusts. Korea is just one country, and its re- overseas. Recent data show a significant March Meeting in St. Louis, Missouri.

The Back Page is intended as a forum to foster discussion on topics of interest to the scientific community. Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the APS, its elected officers, or staff. APS NEWS welcomes and encourages letters and submissions from its members responding to these and other issues.

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