A P S N E W S DECEMBER 1998 THE AMERICAN PHYSICAL SOCIETY VOLUME 7, NO. 11 APS News[Try the enhanced APS News-online: [http://www.aps.org/apsnews] APS Centennial 33 March 20-26, 1999 Months to Go www.aps.org/centennial George Trilling Elected APS Vice-President embers of The American Physical The 1999 president is Jerome Friedman Trefil of George Mason University. experimental particle physics, and has in- M Society have elected George H. (Massachusetts Institute of Technology). Several minor amendments to the APS cluded studies of hadron interactions and Trilling, a professor emeritus at University [Look for our annual interview with the Constitution were also approved by the resonances, electron-positron annihilation of California, Berkeley and senior faculty incoming APS president in the January membership in order to permit electronic at high energy, and colliding beam experi- physicist at Lawrence Berkeley National 1999 APS News.] ballots in future membership-wide elec- ments and detectors. Within the APS, Laboratory, to be the Society’s next vice- In other election results, Michael S. tions and proposed Constitutional Trilling served on the Physics Planning president. Trilling’s term begins on 1 Turner of the University of Chicago and amendments. The Society hopes that elec- Committee and as Chair of the Division of January 1999, when he will succeed James Fermilab was elected chair-elect of the APS tronic balloting will increase voter Particles and Fields. He is presently a DPF Langer (University of California, Santa Nominating Committee, which will be participation, lower expenses, and reduce Divisional Councillor. Barbara), who will become president-elect. chaired by Daniel Kleppner of MIT in the environmental impact generated by In his candidate’s statement, Trilling Trilling will become APS president in 2001. 1999. The Nominating Committee selects the mailing of paper ballots to each APS identified the Society’s general meetings, the slate of candidates member. Confidentiality and accuracy of education and outreach, and communica- for vice president, gen- electronic ballots would be assured, al- tion with the membership as priorities for eral councillors, and its though members preferring to vote on a the APS. He supports emphasizing pre- own chair-elect. Its paper ballot would retain that option for sentations by outstanding speakers on choices are then voted the foreseeable future. topics of general interest to help maintain on by the APS mem- interest in general meetings. Finding ways bership. Elected as new Vice-President to make undergraduate physics education general councillors Born in Poland, Trilling received his PhD more valuable and attractive could help were Philip H. in 1955 from the California Institute of combat the reduced numbers of physics Bucksbaum of the Uni- Technology, joining the University of majors in many universities. With regard versity of Michigan; L. Michigan in 1957 as assistant professor of to outreach and research support, Trilling Craig Davis of the Ford physics. Three years later he moved to advocates working with other professional Research Laboratory; the University of California at Berkeley, societies to play a leading role in inform- Leon Lederman of the serving as Department Chair in 1968-72, ing the government and general public George Trilling Michael S. Turner Illinois Institute of and as Director of the Physics Division of about the importance of R&D over a broad APS Vice- President APS Chair-Elect, Technology and the Lawrence Berkeley National Labora- range of scientific fields, particularly em- Nominating Committee Fermilab; and James tory in 1984-87. His research is in continued on page 6

Inside Physicists Win Nobel Prizes in Physics and Chemistry CENTENNIAL n October, the 1998 Nobel Prize Centennial Travel Awards for NY State in Physics was awarded to Horst High School Teachers ...... 2 I Elucidating the Stormer of Columbia University, and Dan A Century of Physics ...... 3 1975 - 1985: Images Tsui of Princeton, University, for their Hall Effect Senior/Retired Member Breakfast ...... 3 discovery of the fractional quantum Hall The Hall effect is named after Grand Reunion at the Centennial ...... 3 effect at Bell Labs in 1982. They share the prize with Robert Laughlin of Stanford Edwin Hall, who in 1879 observed NEWS University, who explained the puzzling that electrons moving longitudinally Rooney Tackles Wide Range of S&T Issues as Congressional Fellow ...... 2 phenomenon in terms of quasiparticles along a metal strip (under the influence of an electric field) will, if Peter Rooney reflects on his year as a legisla- a year later. The award will be officially Curtis Hendrickson/National High Magnetic Field Laboratory tive assistant in the Congressional office of presented at the Royal Swedish also subject to a magnetic field Senator Joseph Lieberman (D-CT). A non-superconducting, 33-tesla magnet that Academy of Sciences in Stockholm, is used for continuing research into the perpendicular to the plane of the strip, Distinguished Traveling Lecturer Program in Laser Science ...... 2 Sweden later this month. Stormer and quantum Hall effect. be deflected toward the side of the Tenure Task Force Submits Final Report .... 3 Tsui, both APS Fellows, shared the 1984 strip. Because of this, an excess of The APS Task Force on Academic Tenure pre- Oliver Buckley Prize, which Laughlin won ratory at Bell Laboratories from 1992-98, charge will build up one side of the sented its final report in September. two years later. The trio also shared the and is now a professor of physics at Co- strip. This Hall voltage is proportional Executive Board Reaffirms 1995 EMF 1998 Medal of the Franklin Institute for lumbia University. Born in 1939 in Henan, to the strength of the magnetic field. Statement ...... 3 their work associated with the fractional China, Tsui received his PhD in physics That is, a plot of Hall voltage (or Physical Review Focus ...... 5 quantum Hall effect. in 1967 at the University of Chicago, and equivalently the electrical resistance Meeting Briefs ...... 6 Organic, Polymer and VCSE Lasers Highlighted Born in 1950 in Visalia, California, has been a professor at Princeton Uni- of the material to the sideways current at ILS-XIV; Plasma Processing, Electron Swarms Laughlin received his PhD in physics in versity since 1982. flow) versus field strength would be Highlight 1998 GEC; DNP Holds 1998 Fall 1979 at the Massachusetts Institute of Two other APS Fellows shared the linear. All of this can be explained in Meeting. Technology. He has been a professor of 1998 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Walter terms of classical physics. OPINION physics at Stanford since 1989. Stormer Kohn, a physicist at the University of Later, the Hall effect would be studied Science Policy and Science Community ..... 4 in a very different setting. This time the William R. Brinkley summarizes biologist’s was born in 1949 in Frankfurt/Main, Ger- California, Santa Barbara, and John Pople, view of U.S. science policy. many, and earned his PhD in physics a chemist at Northwestern University electrons are those moving in the two- How Duct Tape Sealed My Place 1977 at Stuttgart University. He was a were cited for their contributions to the dimensional world at the interface continued on page 6 in History ...... 5 supervisor of the Physical Research Labo- continued on page 6 Max Sherman DEPARTMENTS Zero Gravity ...... 4 1998 Ig Nobel Prizes Announcements ...... 7 CRITICAL CENTENNIAL MEETING DEADLINES The Back Page ...... 8 Charles Duke of Xerox shares his strategies for getting value from industrial R&D. Student Travel Grant Applications Post Deadline Abstracts 2/19/99 (See Announcement, page 7) 12/15/98 (Posters only) Holt Elected Rush Holt (D), an APS Early Registration 1/15/99 Housing and Tours Deadline 2/20/99 member, was elected to the US House of See Enclosed APS Meeting Announcements for complete Representatives in the 12th Congressional Centennial Meeting Abstract and Registration Information District in New Jersey. APS News December 1998 Rooney Tackles Range of S&T Issues as Congressional Fellow rappling with defense R&D issues, These experi- developing, science and technology issues G supporting efforts to restructure the ences provided are going to be very important in policy R&D tax credit, and lobbying to double valuable back- [This fellowship is] a making.” federal investment in R&D in the decade ground for Rooney wonderful experience, even Overall, Rooney pronounced his fellow- are just all in a day’s work for Peter Rooney, as he tackled a better than I could have ship year “a wonderful experience, even the 1998 APS Congressional Fellow. broad range of sci- ““ better than I could have anticipated,” and “““anticipated. Rooney spent the past year as a legisla- ence-related issues praised the experience, professionalism, tive assistant in the Congressional office as a Congressional Peter Rooney effectiveness and strong involvement in of Senator Joseph Lieberman (D-CT), Fellow. A significant 1998 APS Congressional Fellow science issues of Senator Lieberman and lending his technical expertise on a vari- portion of his time his Congressional staff. Rooney intends to ety of science and technology issues. was spent on innovation defense R&D is- lobbying for Senate support of a bill that remain involved in the science policy Rooney received his PhD in physics sues related to Senator Lieberman’s seeks not only to make the tax credit per- arena, preferably on Capitol Hill. “I love from the University of California, San Di- position as ranking member on the Acqui- manent, but would restructure the what I’m doing now and would love to ego, in 1995, where his research focused sitions Technology Subcommittee of the program to make it more efficient and ac- remain in this arena,” he said. on studying the effect of deposition con- Senate Armed Services Committee, which cessible. That effort was spearheaded by The APS Congressional Fellowship pro- ditions on chemical order in single-crystal, has jurisdiction over the defense R&D in- senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), the rank- gram is intended to provide a public thin-film binary-metal alloys. During gradu- frastructure. ing member on the Senate Joint Economic service by making available individuals ate school, he obtained valuable Another critical thrust was civilian R&D Committee, and his committee staff. with scientific knowledge and skills to experience as a research assistant with two funding, specifically the creation of a bi- Rooney also briefly found himself involved Members of Congress, few of whom have industry-affiliated research centers, stimu- partisan bill that would double federal in the debate on digital copyright issues a technical background. This is deemed lating his interest in U.S. industrial research funding over the next 12 years, for databases. important because public policy increas- competitiveness and its relation to tech- currently known as S.2217, the Frist- Rooney was encouraged by his obser- ingly is determined by technical nology-intensive industries. He also has Rockefeller Federal Research Investment vation of both increased Congressional considerations, and science is a major com- prior experience as both an entrepreneur Act. While “we did get a bill through the interest in science and technology issues, ponent of many issues with which and pubic service advocate with his local Senate,” says Rooney, the effort must be- and increased levels of scientific literacy Congress must grapple: global warming, school board, as well as lobbying organi- gin anew in the next Congress, since “there as a result of that growing interest. He sees energy policy, defense technologies, zation in California on behalf of was no viable House companion bill.” Still, “a growing recognition that the high- tech AIDS, pollution, communications technolo- environmental issues. he believes that this year’s main accom- sector of the economy is in fact very im- gies, to name a few. In turn, the program Just prior to his fellowship year, Rooney plishment was the building of a coalition portant.” As an example, he points to enables scientists to broaden their experi- was a program officer for the National of interest groups around the issue. The Texas, where employment in the high ence through direct involvement with the Research Council (NRC), with primary re- APS played a crucial role in forming this tech sector is currently almost 10 times legislative and political processes, which sponsibility for the management of the coalition, along with other professional sci- that of the oil industry, as well as numer- ideally will enhance not only their own annual assessment of technical programs ence and engineering societies (see APS ous other states that have traditionally been careers, but the physics community’s abil- for areas of the National Institute of Stan- News, January 1998, page 6). “The ground- aligned with heavy manufacturing or agri- ity to communicate more effectively with dards and Technology that are engaged work has been laid [for] increased R&D culture and are moving into software and its representatives in Congress. in physical science and information science funding in the next Congress, and it is my telecommunications. “Eventually that If you are interested in becoming a research and development. He also served expectation that there will be coopera- seeps into the Members’ consciousness,” Congressional Fellow turn to the Announce- as study director for three different NRC tion with both the House and the White he says, “So there’s a perception that be- ment on page 7. The application panels: one on planetary protection issues House on this issue next year.” cause of the way the economy is deadline is January 15, 1999. surrounding a possible Mars sample return Another issue that cropped up during mission; another evaluating various NASA the year was the Research and Experimen- approaches to managing space science hu- tation tax credit. Colloquially known as the Distinguished Traveling Lecturer man exploration missions; and a third to R&D tax credit, the long-standing program examine the status of research and engi- is intended to create incentives for private Program in Laser Science neering directed toward developing sector investments; unfortunately, it tends alternative fire suppression agents to re- to lapse every few years, according to he Division of Laser Science (DLS) Electrical Engineering, Portland State place halons on naval platforms. Rooney. He aided the Lieberman office in T of the American Physical Society an- University. Lasers and Optical Systems. nounces the continuance of its • Wolfgang Ketterle, Dept. of Physics, sponsorship of a lecture program in La- MIT. Atom cooling and trapping. ser Science, and invites applications from DLS will be responsible for the travel host schools for the next round of awards. expenses and honorarium of the lecturer. APS COUNCIL 1998 Lecturers will visit selected academic in- The host institution will be responsible President stitutions for two days, during which time for the local expenses of the lecturer and APS News Andrew M. Sessler*, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory President-Elect they will give a public lecture open to for advertising the public lecture. Rec- Coden: ANWSEN ISSN: 1058-8132 Jerome Friedman*, Massachusetts Institute of Technology the entire academic community and meet ommendations to the DLS chair for host Series II, Vol. 7, No. 11 December 1998 Vice-President © 1998 The American Physical Society James S. Langer*, University of California, Santa Barbara informally with students and faculty. institutions will be made by the Selec- Executive Officer Judy R. Franz*, University of Alabama, Huntsville (on leave) They may also give guest lectures in tion Committee after consulting with the Editor: Barrett H. Ripin Treasurer classes related to Laser Science. The pur- lecturers. Priority will be given to those Newswriter: Jennifer Ouellette Thomas McIlrath*, University of Maryland (on leave) Editor-in-Chief pose of the program is to bring institutions that are not located in major Production: Elizabeth Buchan-Higgins Martin Blume*, Brookhaven National Laboratory Alicia Y. Chang Past-President distinguished scientists to predominantly metropolitan centers and do not have Coordinator: Amy Halsted D. Allan Bromley*, Yale University undergraduate colleges and universities extensive resources for similar programs.

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Requests from subscrib- High School Teachers ers for missing issues will be honored without charge only Representatives from Other Societies if received within 6 months of the issue’s actual date of Thomas O’Kuma, AAPT; Marc Brodsky, AIP he New York State Section of the Individuals interested in applying publication. Staff Representatives APS will make up to two awards of should contact Carolyn MacDonald, Barrett Ripin, Associate Executive Officer; Irving Lerch, Director T Periodical Postage Paid at College Park, MD and at additional of International Affairs; Ramon Lopez, Director of Education and as much as $1000 each for high school Chair NYSS APS, Physics University at mailing offices. Postmaster: Send address changes to APS Outreach; Robert L. 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The deadline for Atlanta, Georgia, March 20-26, 1999. applications is January 15, 1999. 2 December 1998 APS News Tenure Task Force Submits A Century of Physics Final Report he APS Task Force on Academic Raymond Brock, Michigan State Univer- 1975-1985: Images by Hans Christian von Baeyer, William and Mary University TTenure, chaired by John Poate (New sity; Jolie Cizewski, Rutgers University; Jersey Institute of Technology), Roger Falcone, University of California, presented its final report to the APS Berkeley; Robert Gluckstern, University n July 20, 1976, a couple of Executive Board in September, and to of Maryland; and Stephen Ralph, Geor- weeks after the two hundredth the APS Council in November. The task gia Institute of Technology. In addition, birthdayO of the United States, an force concluded that no official statement Jack Roach, executive assistant chief automated spacecraft landed on Mars from the APS is required at this time. The counsel to the Office of the President at and beamed back images of its red soil. full report follows below. the University of Maryland, College Park, The world held its breath as a robot The other members of the APS Task served as legal consultant to the task searched for extraterrestrial life (and Force on Academic Tenure were force. found none). As significant as the experiment, was the manner in which Final Report on Academic Tenure the news was reported to the public. As a result of the universal spread of color After an extensive review the APS Task weights of teaching and research in the TV, visual images began to supplant the Force on Academic Tenure concluded that tenure decision process must be given; this written and spoken word which had been the academic community regards tenure implies an understanding of the institutional Photo from the A Century of Physics Time Line Wall Chart the principal carrier of news since as a privilege not an entitlement and if mission. Peering into the human body with a antiquity. institutions, which combine both research Finally, there is a lack of knowledge in Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Science itself has long recognized and teaching, were to start from scratch the academic community as a whole re- the value of human vision enhanced by they would probably come up with a sys- garding the legal basis and the very recent technology. To the telescopes, microscopes, and cameras of classical physics the tem very similar to the existing tenure history of tenure. There is still not a body twentieth century has added television, holography, and, most importantly, the system. of law relating to tenure or academic free- computer. The field of computer graphics, which builds upon discoveries in modern There is little evidence that the profes- dom. Tenure is essentially a contractual physics, has in turn become an indispensable tool for basic research. sorial academic community, or physicists agreement and academic freedom stems In 1981 an ancient dream came true when the outlines of individual atoms in industry and national labs, are overly from the First Amendment right. were revealed to the human eye for the first time. The instrument that made this concerned about tenure. The tensions that The Task Force recommended that the possible, called the Scanning Tunneling Microscope (STM), consists of a fine needle exist are between the tenured and the non- APS should not make a statement about whose tip gently scans a surface the way a blind person’s fingertip might scan an tenured stream teaching and research the role or future of tenure in the physics unfamiliar face. The digitized contours are fed into a computer which organizes staff. These tensions could grow as uni- community at this time. Such a statement them into a picture resembling the underside of an egg carton: each bump versity research enterprises expand. could be harmful in the current environ- represents a single atom. Synthetic color coding adds to the contrast and helps to Junior physicists discern that problems ment where the tenure debate, which is identify atoms of different species. The resulting map of the invisible atomic with the tenure system lie primarily with not a uniquely physics phenomenon, ap- landscape we inhabit is imbued with a haunting beauty. such factors as lack of retirement age pears to be largely driven by political or In medicine the combination of computers with different probes has yielded for senior faculty. They also perceive perceived financial imperatives. The Task equally dramatic results. Views of the brain produced by pencil-thin beams of X- the increase of the non-tenured stream Force feels that there are much bigger chal- rays — useless when considered individually — are assembled by Computerized to be a problem. Institutions that expand lenges facing the physics community such Tomography (CT) scanners into three-dimensional color coded images that have their missions from a predominantly teach- as more comprehensive undergraduate revolutionized neurosurgery. Ultrasound images of fetuses have benefited obstetrics. ing role to include research frequently and graduate training, financial constraints, Other techniques for peering into the human body include Magnetic Resonance experience tensions between the exist- and the physics research infrastructure. Imaging (MRI), which produced the picture and Positron Emission Tomography ing teaching faculty and the newly-hired If there are to be changes in the tenure (PET scanning), which records the radiation emitted when positrons from radioactive research faculty. This is especially true process or structure of the physics com- materials administered to the body annihilate electrons in nearby cells. if the institution does not have the re- munity they will probably be driven by Even pure mathematics, the queen of the sciences aloof from the material sources to hire an adequate number of market and/or political forces. The time world, has embraced computer graphics. The Mandelbrot set, for example, a research-oriented faculty. for a statement by the APS would be when mathematical structure whose delicate beauty and complexity fascinates The review process now spans the these forces start to radically change the mathematicians, artists, and computer whizzes, owed its discovery in 1979 to the range from the usual annual salary re- physics community. emerging image making capability of the computer. view (and concomitant merit reviews) The Task Force urged the APS to en- The generations of physicists after 1975 will not look at the world through glass of junior and senior faculty to a periodic courage all physics departments to lenses, but at its image on a computer monitor. What will they see? formal review of the person’s tenure, a articulate the requirements for tenure and process which could ultimately lead to loss promotion and mentor junior faculty at Editor’s Note: A CENTURY OF PHYSICS, a dramatic illustrated timeline wallchart of of same. Physics departments do not usu- all stages. In addition, an APS sponsored over a hundred entries on eleven large posters is intended for high schools and col- ally feature in tenure wars because of article detailing the legal history of ten- leges. Each poster covers about a decade and is introduced by a thumbnail essay to quantitative nature of discipline. However, ure and academic freedom in Physics provide a glimpse of the historical and scientific context of the time. A CENTURY OF a better job could be done articulating an- Today or the Chronicle of Higher Educa- PHYSICS will be on display at the Atlanta Centennial Meeting in March. nually the criteria for tenure to tenure-track tion could be of general interest to the faculty. Realistic evaluations of the relative community. In the January 1999 issue, APS News will feature the tenth and penultimate introductory essay: 1985 - 1995: Taking a Second Look. Executive Board Reaffirms 1995 EMF Statement t its September meeting, the APS line fields. The Executive Board was Attend a Grand Reunion at the Centennial A Executive Board reaffirmed the prompted by actions of a panel convened Society’s 1995 statement [http:// by the National Institute of Environmental In response to an invitation to all PhD-granting physics departments, the universities www.aps.org/statements] on power line Health Sciences, which voted to make EMF and research laboratories listed below have chosen to participate in our special “Grand fields and public health, triggered by public a “possible” carcinogen. Their claim Reunion” which is part of the APS Centennial Celebration. The Grand Reunion will be concern over the perceived potential contradicts a 3-year NRC review and held on Tuesday, March 23, 1999 from 6:00-8:30 p.m. at the Georgia World Con- cancer risks of extreme low frequency monumental NCI epidemiological studies. gress Center. All of these institutions cordially invite current and previous students, post electromagnetic fields generated by said In a second statement approved at the docs and faculty, as well as friends to visit their reception and renew old acquaintances. power lines. That statement concluded same meeting, the APS Executive Board Because space is limited, we regret that we can no longer invite additional univer- that “conjectures relating cancer to power of the American Physical Society affirmed sities to participate in the Grand Reunion. line fields have not been scientifically its continuing support for the efforts of its Arizona State University Los Alamos National Laboratories University of California, San Diego Brookhaven National Laboratories Louisiana State University University of California, Santa Barbara substantiated.” In fact, since then, additional officers and others to achieve science- Brown University Massachusetts Institute of Technology University of Connecticut scientific studies and exhaustive content standards in the State of California California Institute of Technology Michigan State University University of Florida Case Western Reserve Naval Postgraduate School University of Illinois, Urbana epidemiological surveys have uncovered that are consistent with those developed Columbia University Norfolk State University Champaign Cornell University North Carolina State University University of Maine no evidence of health effects from power by the NAS and AAAS. CUNY, Brooklyn College New York University University of Maryland CUNY, City College of New York Northeastern University University of Michigan CUNY, Hunter College Oak Ridge National Laboratories University of Minnesota CUNY, Queens College Ohio State University University of North Carolina, Chapel Drexel University Ohio University Hill Senior/Retired Member Breakfast at Centennial Duke University Old Dominion University University of Pennsylvania Emory University Penn State University University of Pittsburgh n APS Senior/Retired Member breakfast will be held Tuesday, March 23 from Florida Institute of Technology Purdue University University of Rochester 7:30am to 9:00am Spouses and companions are welcome. This special break- Florida State University Rutgers University University of Tennessee, Knoxville A George Washington University Sandia National Laboratories University of Texas fast will be hosted by the APS and Mid-Atlantic Seniors Group. Tickets can be Georgia Institute of Technology Southern Illinois University, Carbondale University of Washington Hampton University State University of New York, Stoneybrook University of Wisconsin, Madison purchased for $10 at the time you register for the meeting, either prior or on-site. Harvard University Stevens Institute of Technology University of Virginia Iowa State University Texas A & M Vanderbilt University Space is limited, and tickets will not be sold at the door. Information will be available Jefferson Laboratories University of California, Berkeley Virginia Polytechnic University about the activities of the newly-formed Mid-Atlantic Seniors Group and how other Lawrence Livermore National Lab. University of California, Davis West Virginia University Lehigh University University of California, Riverside William & Mary senior groups can get started.

3 APS News December 1998 OPINION Science Policy and the Science Community by William R. Brinkley, President FASEB (Federation at American Socities for Experimental Biology) his is truly a great time to be a National Science Policy, has revealed growth in research funding has been funding. Last year, we testified jointly on T scientist. New tools and technologies several points of strong agreement, two proven false. Economic conditions the NSF appropriation with the Presidents are enabling us to perform more research of which are especially important to the change and budget caps can be raised, of APS and ACS and look forward to con- and do it more rapidly then ever before. long-term future of American science. We revised or surmounted. Success in sci- tinuing this cooperation in the coming Startling and revolutionary discoveries are agree wholeheartedly with the sugges- ence has always been characterized by year. We have also been active support- occurring at an unprecedented rate. tion that scientists become involved early a refusal to accept the limitations that ers of the Coalition for National Science Electronic communications allow us to in the political decision making process. others have set. Things once believed Funding (CNSF), an umbrella organiza- work directly with colleagues around the We also support the recommendation impossible are now so much a part of tion working to raise the profile of the world as through they were just down that the federal government fund basic our everyday lives that we often forget NSF and increase funding for research in the hall. Public support is high, yet this is research in a broad spectrum of scien- how remarkable and revolutionary they science, engineering, and mathematics. also a time of many serious challenges. tific disciplines. The contributions of these are. We hold the same view in public FASEB’s testimony in support of the Our system of graduate education and fields are essential to the accomplish- policy and will continue to aggressively National Institutes of Health (NIH) was research training is experiencing strains, ments of the U.S. science enterprise and pursue the programs and policies that based upon our assessment of the tre- and many people are beginning to any growth in future funding must re- are in the best interests of the research mendous opportunity for advancement question the continued viability of a flect their importance. community. in the health sciences. These recommen- system that has produced such Regarding political involvement, I can assure you that the community dations, however, explicitly acknowledge exceptional scientific and technical talent. FASEB has been and will continue to be of biological scientists stands firmly be- the importance of physics, chemistry, There are ethical issues arising out of new actively engaged. We believe that our hind the goal of funding in a broad mathematics, computer science, and discoveries and funding issues that grow past and future successes are consistent spectrum of disciplines. For we truly other fields in medical research and call more vexing as the cost of doing research with — and not antagonistic to — growth believe that tremendous potential for for funding increases to ensure that re- increases. in other fields. The increases in funding progress in biological and medical re- search in these fields is able to flourish. As scientists, we must focus our criti- biomedical research do not come at the search will only be achieved if there is a Our FY1999 funding conference report cal attention on our own research expense of the other fields of science. steady flow of new insights from the called upon NIH to establish more col- enterprise as well as on the subjects of There is no single pool of science funds, other fields of science. These discover- laborative programs with physicists, our various disciplines. Therefore, we from which one field’s success is gained ies have propelled much of our progress mathematicians, and engineers. were especially fortunate when the lead- at the expense of others. FASEB’s suc- in the past and will undoubtedly guide Indeed, it is time to raise the funding ership in Congress chose a man of cessful program of articulate, focused, and our success in the future. FASEB is on levels of all areas of science in the name science, physicist Vernon Ehlers (R-MI), persistent advocacy can be a model for record in support of broad, of improved health, quality of life and to chair a major review of U.S. science other groups. In addition, we stand ready multidisciplinary funding. Last year, our standard of living. Advances in mathemat- policy. We now have the report from this to support those actions that are consis- annual funding conference recommen- ics, physics, chemistry and engineering study (see “The Back Page”, APS News, tent with our programs and within our dations included a 10% increase for NSF, are vital to progress in medical science. November 1998). As President of the areas of expertise. Our efforts have been including all of its directorates and pro- Therefore, FASEB fully endorses con- Federation of American Societies for Ex- based on the view that strong and vocal grams. gressman Ehlers’ proposal that the federal perimental Biology (FASEB), I have asked support for research funding is our right For several years, we have invited the government increase funds for basic re- our public affairs committee to take a as citizens and our responsibility as ex- leaders of the American Physical Society search in a broader spectrum of scientific careful look at this report and its recom- perts on the scientific opportunity. (APS), the American Chemical Society disciplines. We look forward to the op- mendations. We must not allow nay-sayers to de- (ACS), and the American Mathematical portunity to work with the leaders of Our initial review of the report, Un- fine our agenda for us. The assumption Society to join us in developing our rec- these disciplines to help make this hap- locking Our Future: Toward a New that the federal budget cannot support ommendations for federal science pen.

zero gravity

Ig Nobel Prizes Awarded at Harvard The 1998 Ig Nobel Prizes, presented Peace for achievements that “cannot or should Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee not be reproduced,” were awarded at of India and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif Harvard’s Sanders Theatre in early October of Pakistan for their aggressively peaceful before 1200 spectators in a ceremony explosions of atomic bombs. filled with hijinks, paper airplanes, and duct Chemistry tape. The event was produced by the Jacques Benveniste of France for his science humor magazine, Annals of homeopathic discovery that not only does Improbable Research (AIR), and co- water have memory, but that the infor- sponsored by the Harvard Computer mation can be transmitted over telephone Society, the Harvard-Radcliffe Science lines and the Internet. Fiction Association, and Manco, proud Science Education tm

suppliers of Duck Tape. Dolores Krieger, Professor Emerita, Leo Cullum © 1998 from The Cartoon Bank. All Rights Reserved. The Prizes were physically handed to New York University, for demonstrating the winners by genuine Nobel Laureates the merits of therapeutic touch, a method William Lipscomb (Chemistry ‘76), Rich- by which nurses manipulate the energy Brain Teaser ard Roberts (Physiology or Medicine ‘93), fields of ailing patients without physical Limerick Contest Dudley Herschbach (Chemistry ‘86), and contact. Submission deadline Sheldon Glashow (Physics ‘79). The Statistics extended to evening also featured numerous tributes Jerald Bain of Mt. Sinai Hospital in Toronto to duct tape, including a duct tape fashion and Kerry Siminoski of the University of January 31, 1999 show and a duct tape opera. Richard Rob- Alberta for their carefully measured report, We are looking for original brain erts was the prize in the annual “The Relationship Among Height, Penile teaser limericks on more ad- Win-a-Date-With-a-Nobel-Laureate Con- Length, and Foot Size.” vanced physical and mathemati- cal concepts, as a challenge to test. Physics Recipients of the 1998 Ig Nobel Prizes Deepak Chopra of The Chopra Center readers and would-be are as follows: for Well Being, La Jolla, California, for his limerickists alike. Winning entries will receive the usual Safety Engineering unique interpretation of quantum physics Troy Hurtubise, of North Bay, Ontario, as it applies to life, liberty, and the pursuit fabulous prizes, plus publication for developing, and personally testing a of economic happiness. Sheldon Glashow in a future issue of APS News. suit of armor that is impervious to grizzly (Nobel 79) accepted on behalf of Chopra, The deadline for receipt of bears. citing Chopra’s use of quantum mechan- submissions is January 31,

1999. To view examples, see Photo courtesy of Bill Frazer Biology ics in the pursuit of economic bliss. In his Zero Gravity in the August/ Peter Fong of Gettysburg College, best-seller, “Quantum Healing,” Chopra ex- APS Headquarters? Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, for contributing plained that, “We need to consult the September 1998 APS News (page 5) or online at http:// (It is actually a porta-pottie near Aspen, CO. to the happiness of clams by giving them quantum to understand how the mind piv- The “APS” stands for “Affordable Portable www.aps.org/apsnews/. Prozac. ots on the turning point of a molecule.” Services”)

4 December 1998 APS News How Duct Tape Sealed My Physical Review Focus Place in History PR Focus is a FREE APS electronic journal featuring highlights of selected Physical Review Letters accessible to all physicists. The editor is David Ehrenstein [see page 1, by Max Sherman April 1998 APS News]. PR Focus is available at the web address: http://publish.aps.org/ FOCUS/. APS News will print samplings from PR Focus over the next few issues to “Daddy is famous,” declared my five- rather than the Lawrence Berkeley Lab. introduce the membership to this new journal. To receive one-paragraph introductions year-old. “Famous” is something Sabrina To the labs, this is like confusing a Repub- to Focus stories each week by e-mail, send the following message to [email protected]: can relate to, unlike “scientist,” which is lican from North Carolina with a Democrat subscribe focus [Leave the subject line blank]. what Daddy really is. While my daughter from Massachusetts. [The Berkeley Lab is might have had some vague the older and more diverse, while Atom Wire Resists Conventions understanding of the purpose of my Livermore Lab does the classified nuclear s the electronic circuits on chips continue scientific work — “saving electricity” — weapons work.] The Berkeley Lab public A to be miniaturized, physicists have naturally she now thinks that Daddy’s job is to have relations office sprang into action, taking a looked ahead to the smallest wires possible: those , 3515 81 his name in the paper and on the radio. press release it had been preparing in a made of only a few atoms or molecules. I owe this to what appears to be one more leisurely fashion and expediting it Researchers have made some rudimentary versions of the foundations of American society: — so that such a mistake would not hap- in the lab, but the electrical properties of atomic duct tape. Yes, I am talking about that gray pen again. wires are not well understood. Calculations published Lett. Rev. Phys. World’s smallest wire. Electron sticky roll of stuff you probably have in That’s when the phones started ring- in the 19 October PRL show that even in a simple your house, car, ing. I was a little density contours show the six-atom example, those properties can be surprising. While chain and semi-infinite slabs of metal boat, truck, or ga- taken aback when I a normal wire increases its resistance with increasing rage. You may have got a call from a re- used for the calculation of atom wire Yes, I really am a length, they found that the resistance of a chain of conductivity. heard about me in porter who “covers carbon atoms oscillates with length, becoming September, or at scientist, and yes, I duct tape for the higher for an even number of atoms than for an odd number. The results show that the least about my really am ‘doing science.’ Wall Street Journal.” connections at either end of the atom wire have important effects on the wire’s properties work, because I was “““ It occurred to me and must be studied in more detail before the technology can be implemented. Max Sherman credited with finding that this was a rather Atom wires are not only small; their lack of impurities should allow them to carry thou- out that duct tape is APS Member, Professor of specialized position, Physics and Senior Scientist sands of times the current density that normal copper wires can handle, according to Phaedon really not very good until he informed Avouris of the IBM Watson Research Center in Yorktown Heights, NY. He also sees atom for sealing ducts. me that he did wires as model systems for learning about carbon nanotubes, the molecular cousins of buckyballs The story of my findings spread globally, other things as well. In the next week came that many researchers see as today’s most practical nanoscale wires. To better understand breaking through all the other news barri- the Sacramento Bee and San Jose Mer- the properties of these tiny conductors, Avouris and his IBM colleague Norton Lang analyzed ers, appearing in more places than I care cury News. I formed an appreciation for a wire made of between three and seven carbon atoms attached to large chunks of metal at to count. It was a duct tape feeding frenzy. what good science editors and writers do each end, which represented connections to a macroscopic circuit. Assuming 0.01 volts Yes, I really am a scientist, and yes, I at metropolitan papers. Most of the other were applied across the wire, they calculated its conductance (inverse of resistance). really am “doing science.” I study energy coverage was derived from these two sto- According to their calculations, the conductance of such a wire does not change continu- efficiency in buildings. This task has in- ries. Carrie Peyton of the Bee came to our ously with length, but is higher for odd numbers of atoms than for even numbers. The volved testing the effectiveness of duct lab to interview us and see the apparatus reason, they found, is that for three, five, or seven carbon atoms, there are more available sealants. Anyone who has dealt with old and the results. Glennda Chui of the Mer- states for electrons to occupy as they traverse the wire. This pattern is determined not only ducts in an attic will not be surprised to cury News came down to the conference by the structure of the free carbon chain, but also by the number of extra electrons that are hear about failing duct tape. Although I where I was presenting the results. permanently drawn onto the wire from the metal contacts. Lang and Avouris also looked at have always used duct tape, it was not The few days which followed are still a the wire’s conductance as the two electrodes are moved apart, keeping the wire fixed in part of my boyhood ambition to make a blur. I was interviewed (by phone) by length and centered between them. Again, the result was surprising: The conductance career out of it. While getting my PhD in MSNBC, NPR, CBS, the Associated Press drops, then increases to a maximum with increasing distance, even as the electrodes’ contact physics from Berkeley, such dreams in- and several others that I can’t remember. with the wire worsens. volved winning a Nobel Prize or The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s Both results point to the importance of the carbon-metal interactions, says Uzi Landman, discovering a new element, a new planet, “As It Happens” radio program did a story of the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta. “It’s not enough anymore to just study the a new particle or new energy sources, with my Canadian co-author, Iain Walker, nanowire itself because everything can change when you make the contact.” He says rather than finding flaws with duct tape. followed by a listener call-in on duct tape researchers have suspected the importance of metal contacts with carbon-based wires, but I decided early in my career to work the following day. “nobody actually did a hard calculation.” Landman says the work should inspire other theo- on the scientific aspects of energy and en- Soon I was doing several interviews rists to perform more detailed calculations of these effects and experimentalists to test the vironmental issues. My colleagues and I daily, answering questions like: “How did predictions. have been working on the important, but it get its name?” (I don’t know.) “What hardly Einsteinian, problems of why so can you use it for?” (Anything but ducts.) This PR Focus article appeared in PR Focus vol. 2, story 20, posted October 23, 1998. much energy is wasted in the heating and “Do you use duct tape?” (All the time, just Primary material: Oscillatory Conductance of Carbon-Atom Wires, N.D. Lang and Ph. cooling ducts of houses. Over the past two not on ducts.) It gives one a bit of a swelled Avouris, Phys. Rev. Lett. 81, 3515 (19 October 1998). years, we have used the resources of the head to have two producers from NPR [Note: A line was dropped from the first paragraph of the November PR Focus article. The on-line version Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory to fighting over which show you should be has the correction.] build an apparatus capable of doing ac- on, or to put the Associated Press on hold celerated testing of different kinds of duct while you talk to CBS. sealants. We exposed the sealants to rapid Early one morning while I was at the “You wasted your 15 minutes of fame are plenty) is a win-win situation, saving changes in heat, cold and pressure in conference, my wife Jan got a phone call on duct tape?” the homeowner money and helping the ranges typical of extremes found in asking for me. When the caller then asked There is a serious side to this story. environment. But as one-liners go, see- houses. While most of the sealants passed for Iain Walker, who would not normally Millions of homes have their duct sys- ing yourself quoted in Time magazine is our test, duct tape failed, often in just a be at my home at that hour, she was a bit tems sealed with duct tape. Our results hard to beat. few days. concerned. But when the called asked if indicate that there could be a large num- Soon all of this duct tapery will be for- The sound bite I provided for this, which she knew anything about duct tape, she ber of premature failures, especially in gotten by the press. I will get back to was grabbed by the media, was that “it realized what was going on. What Jan did the Sun Belt. Such failures would not usu- my less exciting but still important re- failed reliably, and often catastrophically.” not realize was that as soon as she said ally be obvious. Rather, it would look as search. Sabrina has already grown tired I admit to selecting those words for their she knew a little of the results, she was on if the air conditioning (or heating) was of hearing about duct tape and has or- impact. “Catastrophically” is technically Alaskan radio — live. The Anchorage simply not doing the job as well as it dered us to stop talking about it at dinner. quite accurate, but sounds like something newspaper reported that a pillar of Alas- used to. The homeowner would call the She has declared, and rightly so, that her more dramatic than tape falling off quickly. kan culture was under attack; it appears repair guy, who would sell them a larger first week in kindergarten ought to be Because our findings were so clearcut, that Alaskans take their duct tape quite unit, and all would be fine again. the subject of conversation. we wanted to publish them promptly for seriously. Fine, except for the fact that the ho- I am, however, still a “duct tape hero” the benefit of sponsors, so we chose the There is a sort of duct tape cult, which meowner was paying far too much in the eyes of my seven- year-old, Alex. journal Home Energy (July/August 1998 I became aware of when we started this money for energy and equipment, and He read that duct tape is like the Force issue), rather than the more hidebound research. Web sites and books abound, that big chunks of carbon were being because it binds us and holds us together. scientific publications we usually pick. glorifying the many uses of duct tape. added to our atmosphere needlessly. This Naturally, then, Daddy must be a Jedi [“Can Duct Tape Take the Heat?” can be Few mention ducts at all. The cults ap- enormous potential savings is why the knight. Thank you, duct tape. found online at www.homenergy.org/ pear harmless, but my wife is concerned utility rate payer (through the California 989ductape.title.] Almost as soon as our over my notoriety. So she has forbidden Institute for Energy Efficiency) and the Max Sherman, an APS member, is published results became available on the me from opening any packages sealed American taxpayer (through the Depart- professor of physics at the University of Web in July, my life took on a different with duct tape, meeting with duct tape ment of Energy and the Environmental California, Berkeley, and a senior sci- character. It started quietly, with a call from manufacturers unchaperoned, or having Protection Agency) are paying us to do entist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Better Homes and Gardens, which was anything to do with the state of Mon- duct research. Laboratory. His Home Page is http:// preparing a duct tape piece mentioning tana. As a professional, the one line I should www-epb.lbl.gov/MHSherman. Further my research for its September issue. My friends and relatives have since probably be the most proud of is the one duct tape information is available from Perversely, a July 27 story in USA To- called in from all over the country. There in the soon-to-be-adopted energy code http://ducts.lbl.gov/ducttape day indirectly triggered the frenzy that was a bit of, “You got a PhD in physics of the state of California that discourages Reprinted, with permission, from The followed. USA Today gave credit for this so you could what? Study duct tape?” Or, the use of duct tape on ducts by build- Washington Post, Sunday, September research to the Lawrence Livermore Lab “Real scientists don’t do duct tape.” Or, ers. Using other sealants (of which there 13, 1998, page C01. 5 APS News December 1998

Nobel Prizes, continued from page 1 APS Election, continued from page 1 establishment of computational quantum cal Review Focus articles [www.aps.org/ phasizing the need to recruit the active fundamental forces and symmetries in atoms. chemistry. Kohn, who headed the Insti- FOCUS/] and the Nobel Prize website support of industrial leaders. He received his PhD degree in physics from tute of Theoretical Physics in Santa [www.nobel.se/foundation/press- Finally, Trilling noted that there is too the University of California at Berkeley in Barbara from 1979-1984, developed the prize98.html]. little awareness on the part of most APS 1980, joining the technical staff at Bell Labs density-function theory, which describes members of many of the Society’s activi- in Murray Hill, NJ in 1982, where he remained atomic and molecular bonding not by ac- ties, and improving awareness through until moving to the University of Michigan in counting for the motions of all the APS News, divisional newsletters and elec- 1990. He has served the APS on numerous participating electrons, but rather by tronic mailings could even increase committees, and is also a Distinguished Trav- specifying the effective density of elec- membership in the Society. In summary, eling Lecturer for the Division of Laser Science. trons, making the whole problem much he praised the quality of the Society’s Davis is the Manager of the Physics De- more computationally tractable. Pople present leadership, concluding, “It is mov- partment, Ford Research Laboratory. His developed computational methods com- ing effectively in response to financial, personal research has been in electro/ bining new quantum chemistry insights managerial, political and technical chal- magnetorheological fluids, composite mate- with the increasing power of comput- lenges, and it will be incumbent upon its rials, applications of superconductivity, ers. future officers to maintain that momen- magnetic levitation of high-speed ground Addition information on the research tum.” transportation, electron tunneling, atomic Nicola Marzari and David Vanderbilt/Rutgers University Vanderbilt/Rutgers Nicola Marzari and David for which the 1998 Nobel Prizes in Phys- Localized orbitals in the electronic structure spectra, electron spectroscopy, resonant pho- toemission, and the theory of alloy ics and Chemistry were awarded can be of the BaTiO3 crystal, calculated using Chair-Elect of the obtained from two October 1998 Physi- density functional theory. Nominating Committee semiconductors. He received his PhD in Turner is the Bruce V. and Diana M. physics from Iowa State University in 1966, Rauner Distinguished Service Professor and and joined the Ford Motor Company in 1969. Chair of the Department of Astronomy & Davis served APS as Chair of the Forum on MEETING BRIEFS Astrophysics at the University of Chicago. Industrial and Applied Physics (FIAP) in 1997- He also holds appointments in the De- 98. partment of Physics at Enrico Fermi Lederman served as Fermilab Director Plasma Processing, Electron Swarms Highlight 1998 GEC Institute at Chicago, and on the scientific from 1979-1989. Before that he taught and Plasma processing, electron swarms, and innovative plasma sources were staff at Fermilab. Turner received his PhD did research in particle physics at Columbia among the featured topics at the joint meeting of the Gaseous Electronics in Physics from Stanford University in 1978, University, where he also did his graduate Conference (a popular APS-sponsored topical conference) and the Interna- and he joined the University of Chicago work. While at Columbia, he did research at tional Conference on Reactive Plasmas (ICRP), held October 19-22 in Maui, that same year. He has been honored with the 400 MeV Synchrocyclotron, at Hawaii. Plenary sessions included a presentation by the recipient of the 1998 the APS Julius Edgar Lilienfeld Prize. His Brookhaven National Laboratory, at CERN’s APS Will Allis Prize, Ray Flannery of Georgia Tech, on three-body recombina- current research interests include inflation- Intersecting Storage Rings, at the Berkeley tions at thermal and ultra-low energies. Robert Compton of Australian National ary cosmology, big-bang nucleosynthesis, Bevatron and the Rutherford Lab in the UK. University reported on new results from electron swarm experiments, which dark matter and structure formation, and He is the 1965 recipient of the National he believes provide a valuable link between gaseous electronics and atomic the cosmic microwave background radia- Medal of Science and the 1993 Fermi Prize. physics. Hideo Sugai of Nagoya University in Japan described efforts to de- tion. Within the APS, Turner has served He received the Nobel Prize in Physics in velop high- density large-diameter plasma sources to keep up with continuing on the APS Council and Executive Board, 1988 for his work with Mel Schwartz and progress in plasma-aided deposition and etching for the manufacture of semi- the Publications Oversight Committee, the Jack Steinberger on neutrinos. He has co- conductor devices. Other speakers focused on the development and Committee on the Status of Women in authored Quarks to the Cosmos with David commercialization of large area color plasma displays, the role of plasma diag- Physics, and the Committee on Commit- Schramm, and The God Particle with Dick nostics in developing plasma processing tools for the semiconductor industry, tees. Teresi. and the development of new industrial plasma apparatus: an ozone genera- In his candidate’s statement, Turner em- Trefil received his PhD in theoretical phys-

tor, a CO2 laser, and a plasma display panel excited by silent discharge. phasized the importance of maintaining the ics from Stanford University. After postdocs Society’s leadership role on behalf of the at CERN and MIT and a junior faculty ap- DNP Holds 1998 Fall Meeting physics community, through its research jour- pointment at Illinois, he joined the faculty at The APS Division of Nuclear Physics (DNP) held its annual fall meeting, nals, education and outreach programs, and the University of Virginia. He assumed his October 28-31 in Santa Fe, New Mexico, opening with a special evening meetings. “The engine of the APS is its mem- current position at George Mason in 1985. session commemorating the life and science of David Schramm, a prominent bership,” he said. “Physicists working in a His current research, carried on in collabora- cosmologist who was killed in an airplane crash earlier this year. A plenary variety of settings... on exciting forefront tion with the paleontology group at the session on frontiers in nuclear and particle astrophysics and cosmology was problems in dozens of subdisciplines.” University of Chicago, involves constructing also featured, along with invited sessions on such topics as neutrino oscilla- mathematical models to interpret the fossil tions and neutrino mass, double beta decay, the search for exotic mesons, and General Councillors record. His main interest is in promoting sci- hadron structure and nuclear force. The meeting also featured four mini-sym- Bucksbaum is the Otto LaPorte Professor entific literacy both inside the university and posia on nuclear spectroscopy with gammaspheres, meson electroproduction, of Physics at the University of Michigan, and among the general public. His writing has proton emitters, and Standard Model constraints from beta decay. Just prior to Associate Director of the NSF Center for won numerous awards, including the AAAS the meeting, the DNP sponsored three parallel workshops: physics with the Ultrafast Optical Science. His research is in Science Journalism Award. He is a Fellow of Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider; the spin flavor structure of the nucleon; and experimental atomic physics with emphasis the World Economic Forum and a member new opportunities for nuclear physics with spallation neutron sources. on the behavior of atoms and molecules in of the AAAS Committee on Public Under- intense laser fields, and on measurements of standing of Science. Organic, Polymer and VCSE Lasers Highlighted at ILS-XIV Applications of ultrafast spectroscopy to biological problems and recent advances in vertical-cavity-surface-emitting (VCSE) lasers were among the technical highlights at the 14th Interdisciplinary Laser Science Conference (ILS-XIV), held 5-9 October 1998 in Baltimore, Maryland. Sponsored by the Elucidating the Hall Effect, continued from page 1 APS Division of Laser Science and held in conjunction with the annual meet- ing of the Optical Society of America, the conference combines fundamental between two semiconductors. As with many other quantum phenomena the act of studies of laser interactions with atoms, molecules, clusters, plasmas, and confinement (the two-dimensional electron gas, or 2DEG, stuck between the materials with research on emerging applications, such as environmental studies, semiconductors) led to quantization. A plot of Hall resistance versus field strength was no atmospheric monitoring, and medicine. longer linear: it had become a staircase. In other words, nature would not permit just The featured plenary speaker for 1998 was Philip Bucksbaum of the Uni- any resistance, but only allowed certain resistances dictated by fundamental quantum versity Michigan, who spoke on quantum wave packet sculpting with shaped principles. The specific choice of semiconductor did not play a part. Klaus von Klitzing ultrafast radiation, highlighting exciting new developments in using lasers to discovered this “quantum Hall effect” in 1980 and won the physics Nobel Prize in create and control the evolution of quantum wave packets. 1985. So exacting is the quantization of resistance (better than a part in many millions) Four critical review talks were given by recognized experts on exciting that von Klitzing’s experiment has since been used to define the unit of resistance. new developments in the field of laser science. Ananth Dodabalapur of Bell Stormer and Tsui carried this research further. At even colder temperatures Laboratories/Lucent Technologies summarized the history and latest progress and higher magnetic fields, they discovered steps within the steps. This “fractional on organic and polymer lasers. William Torruellas of Washington State Univer- quantum Hall effect” (FQH) was at first hard to explain. Robert Laughlin surmised sity reviewed the “Golden Age” of optical solitons followed by a review of that the electrons were combining with the flux quanta of the magnetic field. Electrons the “Golden Age” of spatial solitons by Grover Swartzlander, Jr., of Worcester are fermions, spin-half particles, and normally do not like to condense into a Polytechnic Institute. shared quantum state, but in combination with the flux quanta they would become The final critical review session featured a talk on fiber gratings and ultra- bosons, spin-zero or spin-one states, which are not averse to sharing a quantum violet photosensitivity in glass by Turan Erdogan of the University of Rochester. state. This is analogous to what happens in low-temperature superconductors when, Opening with a summary of recent time-resolved studies of epidermal chro- first, electrons pair up (into Cooper pairs, which are bosons) and then, second, mophores by Duke University’s John Simon, a Monday afternoon invited session condense into the shared superconducting quantum state in which all the electrons on applications of ultrafast spectroscopy to biological problems also featured in the supercurrent act as an ensemble. One side effect of Laughlin’s conjecture a talk by Gilbert Walker of the University of Pittsburgh on ultrafast studies of was that the FQH electron ensembles could have fractional charges. That is, the nitric oxide, which plays many roles in intra- and inter-cellular signaling. And ensembles acted as if they were particles (quasiparticles) with an electrical charge according to Warren Beck of the Vanderbilt University, the dynamics of bio- which was a non-integral multiple of the basic electron charge. In 1997 this logical charge transfer can be probed using dynamic absorption spectroscopy hypothesis was experimentally verified in Israel and France. with impulsive excitation. —Philip F. Schewe, AIP Public Information

6 December 1998 APS News Announcements

APS/AIP 1999-2000 Matching Fund Grants for Students CONGRESSIONAL SCIENCE FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM

THE AMERICAN PHYSICAL SOCIETY AND THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF PHYSICS are currently accepting to Attend APS Centennial applications for their 1999-2000 Congressional Science Fellowship Programs. Fellows serve one year on the staff of a senator, representative or congressional committee. Eligibility: All undergraduate and partments will be notified in early They are afforded an opportunity to learn the legislative process and explore science first-year graduate students enrolled January, 1999. All nominations must policy issues from the lawmaker’s perspective. In turn, Fellows may lend scientific and in physics courses at any university be mailed to: technical expertise to public policy issues. or college in the U.S. Executive Office QUALIFICATIONS include a PhD or equivalent in physics or a closely related field, a strong Nominating Letter: Physics de- The American Physical Society partments should forward to the APS interest in science and technology policy, and, ideally, some experience in applying ATTN: Matching Grants for scientific knowledge toward the solution of societal problems. Fellows are required to a brief statement of no more than 250 Physics Students be U.S. citizens and, for the AIP Fellowship, members of one or more of the AIP words concerning the rationale for One Physics Ellipse Member Societies at time of application. selecting the student(s) it wishes to College Park, MD 20740-3844 Term of Appointment for both fellowships is one year, beginning in September of 1999, nominate. Nominating letters must in- Special Note: Since the APS has with participation in a two-week orientation in Washington, organized by the American clude certification that at least $250 limited funds to support the attendance Association for the Advancement of Science. Choice of congressional assignment is of matching support will be provided of physics students at the APS Centen- reserved to Fellows. by the department to supplement the nial Celebration, departments may elect A STIPEND of up to $46,000 is offered, in addition to allowances for relocation, in-service APS award, and a completed infor- to support the attendance of more stu- travel, and health insurance premiums. mation sheet. Any questions or dents on their own, even if no travel requests for information should be di- grant from the APS is awarded. The APPLICATIONS should consist of a letter of intent, a 2-page resume, and three letters of rected to Erika Ridgway, 301-209-3269; APS asks that if a department does reference, accompanied by a cover sheet indicating: name, address, phone, email, [email protected]. choose to fully support more students, references, US citizenship, PhD status, society membership , and where you learned about the programs. All submissions should be on standard 8.5”x11” All letters must be re- that the APS be notified so that all stu- Deadline: paper, single-sided and unstapled, and should be sent directly to the ad- ceived at the APS by December 15, dents attending can be informed of the dress below. Candidates should state in the letter why they are applying 1998. Selected students and their de- activities and events designed for them. and briefly describe their public service experience. Letters of refer- ence should discuss not just the candidate’s competence as a physicist, but also the education, experience, and attributes which would par- ticularly qualify the candidate to serve as a Fellow. Unless otherwise specified in the letter, the applicant will be considered for both APS and AIP fellowships. Call for 1999 Awards and Nominations ALL APPLICATION MATERIALS MUST BE POSTMARKED BY JANUARY 15, 1999. APS/AIP Congressional Science Fellowship Programs Award for Outstanding Excellence in Plasma 529 14th Street NW, Suite 1050 Doctoral Thesis Research Physics Research Award Washington, DC 20045 in Plasma Physics Established in 1981 with support from APS and AIP HomePages: www.aps.org and www.aip.org Established in 1985 and endowed by Gen- Friends of the Division of Plasma Physics Please note that other physics-related Congressional Science eral Atomic. Purpose: To recognize a particular recent Fellowship opportunities are sponsored by AIP Member So- outstanding achievement in plasma physics re- Purpose: To provide recognition to ex- cieties. For information on the American Geophysical ceptional young scientists who have performed search. Union program, contact Daryl Tat/202-939-3222. For original doctoral thesis work of outstanding Nature: The award consists of $5,000 to programs sponsored by the Optical Society of America, be divided equally in the case of multiple win- scientific quality and achievement in the area contact Liz Baldwin/202-416-1418. of plasma physics. ners, and includes a certificate citing the contributions made by the recipient or recipi- Nature: The annual award consists of $2,000, a certificate citing the accomplishments ents, to be presented at an award ceremony at of the recipient, and an allowance of up to the Division of Plasma Physics Annual Meeting $500 for travel to attend the annual meeting of Banquet. the Division of Plasma Physics at which the Rules and Eligibility: Nominations are APS Mass Media Fellowship Program award will be presented. open to scientists of all nationalities regardless of the geographical site at which the work was Rules and Eligibility: Nominations will be Applications are now being accepted should possess outstanding written done. 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Also, the nominee must not for physics students to work full-time intensive three-day orientation in early have passed his or her final doctoral examina- porting information by 1 April, 1999 to: tion or started regular employment more than Charles F F Karney over the summer as reporters, June 1999 at the AAAS in Washing- 18 months before the nomination deadline for Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory researchers, and production assistants ton, DC, winning candidates will work the selection cycle in which the nomination is Princeton University in mass media organizations full-time through mid-August. Remu- PO Box 451 to be considered. Each nominee will be con- nationwide. neration is $4,000, plus a travel sidered in not more than two consecutive Princeton NJ 08543-0451 cycles. Phone (609) 243-2607 Purpose: The program is intended allowance of approximately $1,000. 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ATTN: Mass Media Fellowship Phone (319) 335-1686 Eligibility: Priority will be given Program Fax (319) 335-1753 Established in 1975 and funded by Max- to graduate students in physics, or a Email [email protected] well Technologies, Inc. 529 14th Street NW, Suite 1050 closely related field, although appli- Purpose: To recognize outstanding contri- Washington, DC 20045 butions to the field of plasma physics. cations will also be considered from Information on application require- Nature: The prize consists of $5,000 and a outstanding undergraduates and post- ments can be found at http:// certificate citing the contributions made by the doctoral researchers. Applicants www.aps.org/public_affairs/Media.html Nicholson Medal for recipient. 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7 APS News December 1998 THE BACK PAGE How To Get Value from Industrial R&D by Charles Duke, Xerox Corporation he competitive environment for supplies pre-competitive knowledge, generated in large part by circumstances T industry has been transformed over technology and trained personnel as in- and policies beyond its purview. In today’s the past 10 years. Markets, suppliers and puts to the big-bang and global economy the validity of this thesis partners have become globalized. evolutionary-universe models. The big is being tested in real time, and we can no Information technology has resulted in brother approach presumes that R&D in- longer be sure that it will remain appro- new ways to work. The international scene vestment and macroeconomic growth are priate. Physicists cannot assume with has changed from one of military to correlated, without inquiring into the de- confidence that the future will be like the economic competition. The net result has tailed mechanisms within firms and immediate past. been an industrial pace of unprecedented industries by which this correlation is gen- tempo and intensity, with profound effects erated. The model is characterized by New Industrial R&D on the working lives of physicists, publicly funded research at universities, especially those in industry. government institutes, and private contrac- Paradigm So how does R&D contribute to the tors. Examples include national military What is a firm to do? A large diversified success of individual firms? Two commonly prowess enabled by R&D, especially dur- firm has no “right” model of R&D value. held models describe the process: the “big ing the Second World War and Cold War; Instead, each individual segment of its busi- bang model” and the “evolutionary uni- and technology foresight programs like nesses must embrace the model that verse model,” named after analogous those in the United Kingdom, Australia and describes it best. Large firms like Xerox models that physicists know well. A third, Japan. Research funds are provided by seek to institutionalize the pursuit of value the “big brother model,” deals with the government agencies or by site funding from R&D by adopting management and Charlie Duke macroeconomic value of research to a mechanisms, such as overhead charges on funding policies that encourage this pro- nation or society as a whole. military procurements. This is the environ- cess. In particular, management policies players who practice it. There are three In the big bang model, novel research ment in which most physicists have spent are designed to focus R&D activities on classes of players: those who make things discoveries or inventions spawn entire new their professional careers. meeting customer needs. In Xerox, we do happen, those who help things happen, industries. Familiar examples include this through a structured market-technol- and those who watch things happen. nuclear power and nuclear weapons Selecting the Right Model ogy-product development process which Those who make things happen are (1940-1960), xerography (1960s), the So which model works? Well it depends. we call “time to market”. This process en- the committed players, who work directly transition from vacuum tube to semicon- The way in which R&D contributes to a compasses all the steps from market and on industrial R&D as an employee or con- ductor electronics (1960-1980), the switch firm’s success depends on which quadrant technology identification, through product tractor. They play by the paradigm’s rules, from propeller to jet aircraft (1950s), and of the “market-technology” matrix, shown definition, design and delivery to delight- and they create value for modern indus- the rise of the personal computer and the in the figure, that the company lies in. For ing the customer. trial firms. Those who help things happen Internet (1980 to date). These new in- example, the big bang model is most ap- The time-to-market process is structured are the company’s partners, be they uni- dustries have a fragmented structure, propriate for those working with emerging so that the process can be improved from versities, government institutes or containing many competing firms, particu- technologies in emerging markets. For year to year, the hallmark of any quality contractors. They may have their own larly small ones. New products evolve companies with established technologies company. It ensures that new ideas and agendas, but they must nevertheless de- rapidly, being generated in a highly cre- in established markets, the evolutionary discoveries of researchers are quickly cast liver their contribution to industrial value ative but often relatively unstructured universe model is more relevant. The es- in the form of “technology investment op- creation under the new paradigm in their fashion. tablished technology/emerging market tions,” which are “actionable” propositions role as suppliers. Those who watch things In the evolutionary universe model, quadrant belongs to the “global for new Xerox businesses. Therefore when happen comprise the bulk of the physics existing technology is continually refined, marketeers” — firms like Coca-Cola and deciding which of the many good ideas to profession. Supported generously by gov- driven by gradual changes in market, McDonald’s, which take Coke and Big scale up and pursue, both the business ernment largess for more than three manufacturing and technology — particu- Macs to developing economies. For them, and the technical aspects of the idea are decades until recently, they could — and larly technology generated by R&D. physical science research, as opposed to considered in a balanced way. often did — look with disdain at the sup- Familiar examples include electric power, market research, is irrelevant to their suc- To realize the benefits from its R&D posedly mundane world of industry. jet aircraft, cars with internal combustion cess. investments, a firm must invest far more Unfortunately, young physicists cannot engines, and xerographic copiers after their Meanwhile, the established markets/ in its product design, delivery and manu- enjoy this luxury because according to sta- initial development. The model is charac- emerging technology quadrant is the prov- facturing processes than in R&D. The rule tistics collected by the American Institute terized by mature markets and an ince of technology explorers, who seek of thumb is that for every $1 invested in of Physics, at best one in seven of them in established industry structure containing to satisfy recognized needs in new ways. R&D, a company should spend $10 in the U.S. will find “traditional” physics em- relatively few, mostly large firms. Personal This is difficult to do. History is replete product design and $100 in product de- ployment. computer software and hardware is evolv- with the wreckage of firms that were domi- livery and manufacturing. R&D investment For those who are or wish to be “play- ing rapidly into this model. Waves of nant when one technology held sway, but per se is rarely the limiting factor in gen- ers” in industrial R&D, you might consider evolutionary technological change are in- failed to make the change to another. (Re- erating economic growth. More often, the three actions. First, the big bang value sys- terspersed with quiescent periods, during member when the now-defunct RCA product design, delivery and manufactur- tem is inappropriate in your new life; which only minor variants of existing prod- dominated color TV production, or when ing costs form the bottleneck. discard it. Second, commercial value rather ucts are launched. Marketing, General Electric was an important vacuum By using different funding mechanisms than technical novelty or elegance is re- manufacturing and product development tube manufacturer?) Firms wishing to suc- for different classes of R&D, Xerox incor- warded; so generate it by doing the right are all highly structured. ceed in this quadrant must combine porates the insight gleaned from the thing. Third, structured work processes that The big brother model, however, is a advanced technology with a keen insight market-technology matrix into its own lead to continuous improvement are an macroeconomic construct, in which gov- into how to package it in order to satisfy R&D funding process. The company also essential vehicle for generating value at a ernment investment in R&D is believed an understood market need in a dramati- adopts specific R&D management prac- competitive cost; embrace them by do- to drive macroeconomic growth on a na- cally new fashion. This activity transcends tices to focus the attention of every ing the right thing the right way. These tional scale. The public investment physical science research in its conven- employee on the fact that the primary goal may not be lessons you learned in col- tional sense. of R&D is to create business value. The lege, but you ignore them at your peril. company’s researchers co-develop busi- The new global competitive environ- However, when ness options; they do not “transfer ment has made firms take a more focused it comes to setting technology” in the conventional sense. Re- approach to their R&D investments, and national macroeco- searchers — working both on their own the new industrial R&D paradigm de- nomic policy, no and in teams — are empowered to de- scribed above has replaced the rather clear answer sug- fine and solve business problems, and are more comfortable one based on the big gests itself. The rewarded financially in proportion to the brother model of the past. The future, at devil is in the de- value of their solutions. Last, but by no least in industry, belongs to those who tails. A nation must means least, most “basic” (knowledge-ori- recognize this fact and exploit it. span all four quad- ented) research is done in partnership with rants: One size does universities, on topics such as materials Charles Duke is vice president and se- not fit all. The big research and control theory. nior research fellow of corporate research brother model is an and technology at Xerox Corporation in article of faith, Array of hope — the way that R&D contributes to a firm’s success Impact on Physicists Webster, New York. Adapted from an ar- depends on which quadrant of the “market-technology matrix” the based on military The new paradigm I have described ticle in PHYSICS WORLD, Volume 10, company lies in. successes that were exerts a profound impact on the individual number 8, August 1997, pp. 17-18.

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