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JANUARY 1996 the AMERICAN P Hysicalnews SOCIETY VOLUME 5, NO 1 A P S N E W S APSJANUARY 1996 THE AMERICAN P HYSICALNews SOCIETY VOLUME 5, NO 1 Sessler Chosen as APS Vice-President in 1995 Election embers of The American Physical Public Affairs, the Committee on the sues as energy conservation, and reit- tralian National University from 1966 to MSociety have elected Andrew M. International Freedom of Scientists, the erated the importance of U.S. 1968. He returned to Michigan State Sessler, a senior scientist at Lawrence Committee on Applications of Physics, involvement in ITER, as well as the need University as an Assistant Professor in Berkeley Laboratory, to be the Society’s and the Division of Physics of Beams. for a fusion facility in this country. He 1968 and has held a faculty appoint- next Vice-president. Sessler’s term Describing himself as “an optimist and also supports a proposed APS-spon- ment there ever since. He served as begins on 1 January, when he will an activist,” Sessler focused in his sored study on the status and associate director of the National Su- succeed D. Allan Bromley (Yale candidate’s statement on ways the APS technological potential of electricity perconducting Cyclotron Laboratory University), who will become President- generation from renewable energy and chaired MSU’s Department of Phys- Elect. Sessler will become APS President sources. “Such unbiased studies can be ics and Astronomy from 1988 to January in 1998. The 1996 President is J. Robert of great importance to the government 1994, when he assumed his current post Schrieffer of Florida State University (see and the citizenry, and it puts the APS, as Dean of the Graduate School. interview, page 2). in good light, into the public eye,” he said, citing past work on safe reactors, Crawley’s research interests are in experi- In other election results, Gerard M. high efficiency vehicles, and directed mental nuclear physics, particularly in the Crawley of Michigan State University energy weapons as examples. simple modes of nuclear excitation. His was elected as chair-elect of the Nomi- APS service includes a stint as chair of nating Committee, which will be chaired The Society’s efforts against pork-bar- the Division of Nuclear Physics from 1991 by Martin Blume of Brookhaven Na- rel additions to the federal budget, as to 1992. He also co-chaired the division’s tional Laboratory in 1996. The well as Congress’ cancellation of the Resource Committee. In this latter role, Nominating Committee selects the slate Superconducting Super Collider and the he was responsible for the production of candidates for vice-president, gen- Advanced Neutron Source, are good and circulation of a brochure which at- eral councillors, and its own chair-elect. examples of the APS assuming a vocal tempted to explain to a lay audience what Its choices are then voted on by the role in shaping national science policy, nuclear physicists do and what society APS Membership. Susan J. Seestrom (Los according to Sessler. He also believes gains from an investment in nuclear phys- Alamos National Laboratory), Donald the APS should continue to be a strong ics. He chaired the Selection Committee Hamann (AT&T Bell Laboratories), advocate for small science, which he for the APS Visiting Minority Lectureship Daniel Auerbach (IBM Almaden Re- Andrew M. Sessler deems essential to the continued health in 1994 and is currently a member of the search Center) and Ronald Walsworth and vitality of the field. However, “At APS Committee on the Status of Women (Smithsonian Astrophysical Observa- can take action on such far-reaching the same time, we clearly need in many in Physics. tory) were elected general councillors. challenges as continued support of subfields of physics a healthy national physics research by the federal govern- program built upon major facilities in Crawley identified three major chal- Vice-President ment, the continued health of the the U.S., as well as vigorous interna- lenges facing the physics community in After earning a bachelor’s degree in profession in industry and academia, tional programs based upon jointly his candidate’s statement: the contin- mathematics from Harvard University, and the shrinking job market for Ph.D. constructed major facilities,” he said. ued tight job market for Ph.D. physicists, Andrew Sessler received his Ph.D. in physicists. The APS should also be con- and the perpetuation of the myth that physics from Cornell University. He cerned with the impact of electronic Chair-Elect, Nominating Committee choosing a career other than faculty at spent a year with Hans Bethe doing publishing on its journals, as well as Gerard Crawley received BSc and MSc research universities constitutes failure elementary particle physics research continuing its efforts on behalf of phys- degrees from the University of as a physicist; better representation of before joining the faculty of Ohio State ics education, women and minorities in Melbourne in Australia in 1959 and women and minorities in the physics University. In 1962 he moved to physics, human rights, and stimulating 1961, respectively, and a Ph.D. in phys- profession; and the need for better com- Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, where physics in other countries. ics from Princeton University in 1965. munication with non-physicists, both in he has remained ever since, with the Following a postdoctoral appointment local and federal government, and the exception of brief tenures at the Niels Specifically, Sessler supports increased at Michigan State University, he was a general public. “We must help them to Bohr Institute, CERN, and Japan’s KEK APS involvement in “selling” physics to Queen Elizabeth II Fellow at the Aus- (continued on page 8) facility. He served as LBL’s director from the government, the universities and the 1973 to 1980. industrial sector, which he believes is essential to creating new jobs and secur- Sessler has also been active in arms ing old ones for physicists. “Physicists are control and human rights issues, chair- remarkably capable of performing in ing the Federation of American ways which constantly surprise non- Scientists from 1987 to 1991, and co- physicists,” he said of future employment INSIDE THE BELTWAY founding Scientists for Sakharov, Orlov opportunities. “We are admirably suited and Sharansky. He received the first APS for ‘nontraditional’ jobs.” Freshman House Republicans Muscle Legislation to a Crawl Nicholson Medal for Humanitarian Ser- by Michael S. Lubell vice for the latter accomplishment. To this end, Sessler particularly advo- Sessler’s extensive service with the APS cates stressing ways physics can When Congress returned from its sum- House or Senate appropriations bill or includes stints as chair of the Panel on contribute to such pressing national is- mer recess shortly after Labor Day, the the actual spending for FY 1995. But in Republican leaders knew that they had some instances the Senate or House a full plate before them. What they appropriations bills had zeroed out ac- IN THIS ISSUE didn’t know was how indigestible its tivities of the federal government, such contents would turn out to be. Work- as the Advanced Technology Program Sessler Chosen as APS Vice-President in 1995 Election ............................... 1 ing against the October 1 deadline for administered by NIST. To deal with INSIDE THE BELTWAY .................................................................................. 1 the new fiscal year, they could barely these, the Continuing Resolution pro- Schrieffer Focuses on Improving Communication, Science Education .......... 2 achieve enough consensus to send two vided for spending at a level 10 percent Nobel APS Presidents .................................................................................... 3 of the thirteen appropriations bills to below the FY 1995 figure. IN BRIEF ........................................................................................................ 3 President Clinton’s desk for his consid- Insights Into Nuclear Structure Featured at 1995 DNP Fall Meeting .............. 4 eration. He signed the one for military It took all of Speaker Newt Gingrich’s APS Honors Two Young Physicists With 1995 Apker Award .......................... 4 construction, but vetoed the other for considerable leadership skills to sell his Challenge to Scholarly Surveys Again Rejected ............................................. 5 legislative branch spending. House Republican freshmen on the tem- DNP Workshops Explore Transition Physics, Education Reform ................... 5 porary spending plan. But their public Southeastern Research Opportunities Featured at SES Fall Meeting ............ 5 To avoid shutting down the federal objections to the deal worked out with Opinion ........................................................................................................... 6 government, all parties in the budget the White House made it abundantly Ballot Survey Indicates More APS Members Are Going Electronic ................ 8 debate were forced to agree to a Con- clear to even the most casual of ob- Announcements ........................................................................................... 11 tinuing Resolution. For six weeks, it servers that these missionaries were not The Back Page ............................................................................................. 12 allowed all agencies to spend money about to forego their November 1994 APS Meeting News ................................................................................. 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