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Featuring APSONLINE A supplement to A P S N E W S APS News APSNOVEMBER 1996 THE AMERICAN P HYSICALNews SOCIETY VOLUME 5, NO 10 New Results Supporting Standard Model Highlight 1996 DPF Meeting

ew experimental results increase detector groups. The combined data Higgs mass lies within the lower part Eventually it was determined that the Nconfidence in the Standard Model, also resulted in a more precise of the range suggested by the new data and theory could be brought into including the latest mass measurements determination of the mass of the W measurements of the top quark and W better agreement by modifying the frac- for the top quark, W and Z particles, boson, a carrier of the so-called weak particle, it could be observed at the tion of the proton momentum carried as well as electroweak precision mea- force. The new mass, expressed as an upgraded LEP-II collider at CERN. If the by energetic gluons. surements, according to speakers at average from ’s CDF and D0 mass is towards the higher range, sci- Last year, scientists at the HERA elec- various invited and contributed ses- detectors and from CERN experiments, entists may have to wait for a future tron-proton collider in Germany sions of the 1996 APS Division of was determined to be 80.35 GeV, upgrade of the Tevatron or for CERN’s reported that the density of low mo- Particles and Fields (DPF) Meeting, held reducing the overall uncertainty from Large Hadron Collider, scheduled to mentum gluons in the proton was 10-15 August in Minneapolis, Minne- 160 to 130 MeV/c2. begin collecting data in 2006. much larger than expected. Using new sota. This year’s meeting also featured The mass of the Z boson has been special detectors, the H1 and ZEUS ex- QCD Theory reports on the first observation of W+W- determined as 91.1863 ±.0020 GeV/c2, periments found that this excess pairs and exciting new results in QCD as a result of new extremely precise Fermilab’s Liz Buckley-Geer, who persists down to those gluons carrying theory. measurements that emerged from the spoke on Thursday morning, reported as little as one-millionth of the proton’s ALEPH, DELPHI, L3 and OPAL experi- that the CDF detector also produced momentum, a striking effect that may New Precision Measurements ments at CERN’s LEP measurements of quark or gluon jets provide evidence of a new regime in More precise measurements of the top collider, as well as the SLD experiment at large angles with respect to the pro- which perturbative treatment is sup- quark have been achieved at Fermilab’s at SLAC. In addition, new measurements ton beams, and with energies planted with collective effects of Tevatron collider merely one year after from the CLEO experiment at Cornell approaching half the energy of incom- multiple-gluon states. In addition, sci- its momentous experimental discovery University helped resolve two possible ing beam particles. While the data entists with CERN’s LEP collaborations was announced. According to Sally areas of deviation observed last year at agreed qualitatively with QCD predic- have succeeded in isolating pure samples Dawson of Brookhaven National Labo- LEP and SLAC in the rate of decay of the tions in the production rate, data for of quarks or gluons emerging from Z ratory, who closed the conference with Z boson into charm and anti-charm the largest-energy jets exceeded pre- boson decay, which had previously been a summary of the year’s highlights in quarks, and in the rate for Z decay into dictions by nearly a factor of two. In experimentally indistinguishable. This , the new results are bottom and anti-bottom quarks. contrast, the D0 experimental data, ability could become an important ex- viewed by many as a triumph of the In addition to providing further ex- agreed more closely with QCD theory. (Continued on page 3) Standard Model, although some key perimental confirmation for the questions remain unresolved. Standard Model, these improved par- The new mass of the top quark is ticle measurements are an important determined to be 175 ±6 GeV, an link to finding the as-yet-unobserved improvement in precision by a factor Higgs boson, which endows the W and of two. The 100 candidate events used Z bosons with large mass and is also INSIDE THE BELTWAY to calculate a new value for the top believed to be responsible for breaking quark mass represent the combined the symmetry between the weak and Science in Crisis: Fact or Fiction inventories of both the CDF and D0 electromagnetic forces. In fact, if the by Michael S. Lubell, APS Director of Public Affairs ashington is a town that thrives further than the new five-year projec- Won accusations, leaks and exag- tions for the federal science budget. geration. The goals of the propagandists Democrats and Republicans, alike, have are control, power and turf. And captur- repeatedly proclaimed strong support for ing the attention of the media is central basic research. But whether the budget to any success they might achieve. forecasts emanate from the Democratic In an age of electronic communica- White House or the Republican Congress, tion, channel surfing and limited the out year spending plans for science attention spans, the 10-second sound are anything but encouraging. bite has become crucial for anyone The presidential budget, released in hoping to get a message across. For March and adjusted in July, forecasts a science, the message this fall has been drop of 18.1 percent in constant dollars reduced to a single word — Crisis! for the National Science Foundation’s R&D account over the period 1995 to The APS Committee on Committees A little more than a month ago, Presi- dential Science and Technology Advisor 2002. The Republican plan, contained No kidding! Just as many of you suspected, the APS even has a committee to keep track of its Jack Gibbons and other analysts punc- in this year’s congressional Budget Reso- many (about 20) committees. Pictured above are: Joseph Dehmer (standing at left), Martin Blume, tuated this exclamation in commentaries lution, offers a slightly more positive Laura Greene, Amy Halsted (committee administrator), Ernie Henley, James Wynne, Zachary Levine at the George Washington University projection, but still shows a cut of 6.8 (standing) and Anthony Johnson. Barbara Levi, COC chair, is not in the photo. This hard working symposium Science in Crisis at the Mil- percent. group of member volunteers selects about 40 members out of 400 nominees to fill openings on lennium. A day later, similar notes For the Department of Energy, which 1997 APS committees. COC also conducts reviews of committee activities. Now, as to who keeps reverberated in the marble rotunda of accounts for about 50 percent of all fed- track of the Committee on Committees… the Low Memorial Library at Columbia eral funding in the physical sciences, the University, site of the conference Science out year projections are even bleaker. the Endless Frontier, 1945-1995. During the last few years, the DOE has IN THIS ISSUE For scientists, policy makers and been an agency under siege. Attacks politicians, the central question is how on it have come from antagonists at New Results Supporting Standard Model Highlight 1996 DPF Meeting ..... 1 much truth underlies the rhetoric? To both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue. Not Inside the Beltway ...... 1 find the answer, one need look no (Continued on page 6) Physicists To Be Honored at November Meetings...... 2 Aylesworth Observes Politics in Action on the Hill ...... 2 1997 March Meeting: Large & Small, Old & New ...... 3 McIlrath to Become New APS Treasurer AIP Offers New Web Site for History of Physics and Astronomy ...... 3 On 11 November, Thomas J. McIlrath the graduate school there. A laser and IN BRIEF...... 3 will become Treasurer of The Ameri- atomic physics experimenter, he is also Opinion ...... 4 can Physical Society. McIlrath, who a staff member at the National Institute Szilard, Schawlow Inducted into Inventor’s Hall of Fame ...... 6 holds a Ph.D. in physics from Princeton of Standards and Technology in Schrieffer and Garmire Named to Committee on University, is a professor in the Insti- Gaithersburg, Maryland. McIlrath suc- National Medal of Science ...... 6 tute for Physical Science and ceeds Harry Lustig, who has been APS Announcements...... 7 Technology at the University of Mary- Treasurer since 1985. A longer article The Back Page ...... 8 land at College Park and associate dean about the new treasurer will appear in APS Meeting News ...... Insert for research and graduate studies in APS News soon. APS News November 1996 Physicists To Be Honored at November Meetings

Five physicists will be honored for their acoustics, turbulence control, large eddy in plasma-based accelerator concepts; 1996 Fluid Dynamics Prize work in fluid dynamics and plasma simulation and parallel computing. particularly for their unambiguous physics in November. The 1996 James Established in 1979 the Fluid Dynam- experimental demonstration that AWARDS Clerk Maxwell Prize, Excellence in ics Prize is intended to recognize and can be accelerated to relativistic energies Plasma Physics Award, and the Simon encourage outstanding achievements in by the beating of two laser beams in a Ramo Award will be presented during fluid dynamics research. The prize is 1996 Excellence in Plasma plasma with their frequency difference the annual fall meeting of the Division now supported by friends of the Divi- Physics Research Award equal to the plasma frequency.” of Plasma Physics in Denver, Colorado, sion of Fluid Dynamics and the AIP Established in 1981, this award is in- Clayton received his Ph.D. in engi- November 11-14. The 1996 Fluid Dy- Journal, Physics of Fluids. tended to recognize a particular recent neering from UCLA in 1984 and is namics Prize and Otto Laporte Award Parviz Moin outstanding achievement in plasma currently the project manager for UCLA’s will be presented during the annual fall Fermi National Laboratory physics research. Neptune Laboratory. He has contributed meeting of the Division of Fluid Dy- to the understanding of stimulated namics (DFD) in Syracuse, NY, Citation: “For his pioneering work of Christopher E. Clayton Brillouin scattering, collinear optical mix- November 24-26. direct numerical simulation and large- Chandrashekhar Joshi ing, and most recently, to the wave eddy simulation of turbulent flows in PRIZES University of California, Los Angeles breaking of relativistic plasma waves the study of turbulence physics, modeling and control; for developing Citation: “For their pioneering experiments (Continued on page 6) 1996 James Clerk Maxwell Prize novel approaches in turbulence Established in 1975 by a donation from research using a computer-generated Maxwell Laboratories, Inc., the James database as the primary resource; and Aylesworth Observes Politics in Clerk Maxwell Prize is intended to rec- for his leadership in the international ognize outstanding contributions to the turbulence research community as the Action on the Hill field of plasma physics. founding director of the Center for Turbulence Research.” Thomas Michael O’Neil utgoing APS Congressional University of California, San Diego Moin received his Ph.D. degree in O Fellow Kevin Aylesworth mathematics and mechanical engineer- received a crash course in politics and Citation: “For seminal contributions to ing from Stanford University in 1978. the inner workings of the federal plasma theory including the effect of He was a fellow of the National Re- government during his year on Capitol trapping on Landau damping, the search Council and a staff scientist at Hill, tackling opposing viewpoints from plasma-wave echo, and the confinement, the NASA Ames Research Center be- other Congressional offices, special transport, and thermal equilibria of non- fore joining the Stanford faculty in 1986. interest groups, lobbyists and the neutral plasmas, liquids and crystals.” He is the founding director of the Cen- national media, while keeping abreast O’Neil received his Ph.D. from the ter for Turbulence Research at Stanford of a maelstrom of technology-related University of California, San Diego, in and NASA/Ames. Established in 1987 policy issues. 1965 and spent the next two years as a as a research consortium, the center is Following an intensive, 10-day ori- member of the research staff at Gen- devoted to fundamental studies of tur- entation period and interview process eral Atomic. In 1967 he joined the UCSD bulent flows and is widely recognized a year ago, Aylesworth chose to spend faculty, where he is currently a profes- as an international focal point for tur- his fellowship year as a legislative as- sor of physics. His early research bulence research, attracting diverse sistant for Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), focused on nonlinear effects in plas- groups of researchers from engineer- responsible for issues of defense, dis- mas and included the extension of ing, mathematics and physics. armament, energy and veterans’ affairs. tion of these accomplishments. He has tes- Landau damping to the nonlinear re- Moin pioneered the use of direct and “Politically I tended to agree more with tified before Congress and also met with gime, as well as the theory of plasma large eddy simulation techniques for the the stance of Harkin’s office, so I felt it representatives of the NSF and the Office wave echoes. More recently, he has study of turbulence physics, control and was a pretty good match,” he said. of Science and Technology Policy, as well studied the novel physics of magneti- modeling concepts, and has written Specific highlights of his year in- as participating in numerous panel discus- cally trapped nonneutral plasmas, widely on the structure of turbulent shear cluded Aylesworth’s work, along with sions on employment-related issues. liquids and crystals. In 1991 he was co- flows. His current interests include in- others in Harkin’s office, on an amend- His experiences on the Hill have recipient of the APS Excellence in teraction of turbulent flows and shock ment to the defense authorization bill, helped offset his earlier image as a “hot- Plasma Physics Award. waves, aerodynamic noise and hydro- which President Clinton signed into headed” young troublemaker. “I was a law in September. He also drafted nu- bit brash in my early years, but I think merous statements on Harkin’s behalf, I had to be to get any notice,” he said. and found himself dealing with the “I contend that my brash tactics paid APS COUNCIL 1996 media on the high-profile issue of re- off, although I paid a personal price

President imbursement of restructuring costs for for it. Some people still think I’m 90 APS News Robert Schrieffer, defense contractors that sell to or percent bomb thrower and 10 percent President-Elect D. Allan Bromley, Yale University merge with other corporations. “I reasonable, when in fact I’m the other Coden: ANWSEN ISSN: 1058-8132 Vice-President Series II, Vol. 5, No. 10 November 1996 Andrew M. Sessler, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory learned very quickly to keep my mouth way around.” He admits, however, that © 1996 The American Physical Society Executive Officer shut, although perhaps not as quickly the image comes in handy during tricky Judy R. Franz, University of Alabama, Huntsville Editor: Barrett H. Ripin Treasurer as my office mates would have liked,” negotiation processes. Newswriter: Jennifer Ouellette Harry Lustig, City College of the City University of , emeritus he said. Although he has gained the most Production: Elizabeth Buchan-Higgins Editor-in-Chief Benjamin Bederson, New York University, emeritus In addition to honing his skills in recognition for his work on funding Coordinator: Amy Halsted Past-President C. Kumar N. Patel, University of California-Los Angeles teamwork and media relations, the ex- and employment issues, Aylesworth

APS News (ISSN: 1058-8132) is published 11X yearly, monthly, General Councillors perience of dealing with people from has strong interests in science and law except the August/September issue, by The American Physical Daniel Auerbach, Kevin Aylesworth, , Virginia all walks of life helped Aylesworth and hydrogen energy policy, and as he Society, One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740-3844, (301) Brown, Jolie A. Cizewski, Jennifer Cohen, Charles Duke, Elsa 209-3200. It contains news of the Society and of its Divisions, Garmire, Laura H. Greene, Donald Hamann, William Happer, hone his communication skills, espe- looks for employment at the end of his Topical Groups, Sections and Forums; advance information on Anthony M. Johnson, Miles V. Klein, Zachary Levine, Susan Seestrom, meetings of the Society; and reports to the Society by its com- Ronald Walsworth cially in communicating technical fellowship year, he is extending his job mittees and task forces, as well as opinions. issues to the public. “I think I’d make search to encompass as broad a range Chair, Nominating Committee Martin Blume Letters to the editor are welcomed from the membership. Letters a much better teacher now, because of options as possible. must be signed and should include an address and daytime tele- Chair, Panel on Public Affairs I’ve learned how to boil things down He is investigating opportunities in phone number. The APS reserves the right to select and to edit David Hafemeister for length or clarity. All correspondence regarding APS News should to their essentials,” he said, admitting computer consulating, as well as other be directed to: Editor, APS News, One Physics Ellipse, College Division and Forum Councillors that like many physicists, he usually positions on the Hill, although for the Park, MD 20749-3844, email: [email protected]. Frank C. Jones (Astrophysics), Joseph Dehmer, Gordon Dunn (Atomic, Molecular and Optical), TBA (Biological), Stephen Leone tried to give too much detail when latter he will not begin searching in Subscriptions: APS News is an on-membership publication de- (Chemical), Joe D. Thompson, David Aspnes, Lu J. Sham, Allen livered by Periodical Mail. Members residing abroad may receive Goldman (Condensed ), David Anderson (Computational), dealing with the public. “Now I realize earnest until after the Presidential elec- airfreight delivery for a fee of $20. Nonmembers: Subscription Guenter Ahlers (Fluid Dynamics), James J. Wynne (Forum on that the important thing is to give tion in November. rates are: domestic $130; Canada, Mexico, Central and South Education), Albert Wattenberg (Forum on History of Physics), America, and Caribbean $145; Air Freight Europe, Asia, Africa Ernest Henley (Forum on International Physics), Dietrich Schroeer people a feeling and appreciation for Aylesworth received his Ph.D. in and Oceania $170. (Forum on Physics and Society), Andrew Lovinger (High Poly- mer), Daniel Grischkowsky (Laser Science), Howard Birnbaum the issue without bogging them down physics from the University of Nebraska (Materials), John Schiffer, Peter Paul (Nuclear), Henry Frisch, Subscription orders, renewals and address changes should with details, because most people don’t in 1989, specializing in the magnetic and (Particles and Fields), Hermann Grunder (Phys- be addressed as follows: For APS Members—Membership De- ics of Beams), Roy Gould, William Kruer (Plasma) have time for the details.” structural properties of magnetic thin partment, The American Physical Society, One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740-3844, [email protected]. For Non- Still, Aylesworth was no stranger to films and multilayers. He spent two years members—Circulation and Fulfillment Division, American In- ADVISORS stitute of Physics, 500 Sunnyside Blvd., Woodbury, NY 11797. politics and science-related social is- as a postdoctoral associate at the Naval Sectional Representatives Allow at least 6 weeks advance notice. For address changes, John Pribram, New England; Peter Lesser, New York; Perry P. Yaney, sues prior to his fellowship year. His Research Laboratory and then worked please send both the old and new addresses, and, if possible, include a mailing label from a recent issue. Requests from sub- Ohio; Joseph Hamilton, Southeastern; Stephen Baker, Texas concern over the tight job market for as a technical assistant/paralegal for an scribers for missing issues will be honored without charge only Representatives from Other Societies young scientists led him to found an attorney in Cambridge, Massachusetts, if received within 6 months of the issue’s actual date of publi- Howard Voss, AAPT; Marc Brodsky, AIP cation. electronic bulletin board in May 1990 before founding YSN and becoming a Staff Representatives Periodical Postage Paid at College Park, MD and at additional Barrett Ripin, Associate Executive Officer; Irving Lerch, Director of called the Young Scientists Network Congressional Fellow. He was elected mailing offices. Postmaster: Send address changes to APS News, International Affairs; Robert L. Park, Director, Public Informa- (YSN). It now has a readership of over to the APS Council in 1993 after a suc- Membership Department, The American Physical Society, One tion; Michael Lubell, Director, Public Affairs; Stanley Brown, Ad- Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740-3844. ministrative Editor; Reid Terwilliger, Director of Editorial Office 2,000 from many branches of science. cessful write-in campaign placed him on Services; Michael Stephens, Controller and Assistant Treasurer Aylesworth received the 1996 APS Forum the ballot, along with fellow YSN mem- on Physics & Society Award in recogni- ber Zachary Levine. 2 November 1996 APS News 1997 March Meeting: Large & Small, Old & New IN BRIEF he 1997 APS March Meeting will be searchers, combine to make the gar- Theld March 17-21 1997, in Kansas gantuan March Meeting a major • The APS New England Section held its annual fall meeting October 18-19 City, Missouri. This year will see the addi- attraction to physicists and one of the at the University of Vermont in Burlington. Two plenary sessions on bio- tion of two new topical groups to what is most exciting events of the APS year. physics featured lectures on optical tweezers and molecular motors in presumably the world’s largest physics A tentative list of invited speakers is muscle, detecting the motion of living cells, and the separation of white meeting. The Topical Group on Magne- available on the APS home page (http:/ from red blood cells in a microfabricated lattice. The session on tism and its Applications and the Topical /www.aps.org) in the March Meeting nanostructures included talks on quantum-dot molecules and semicon- Group on Statistical and Nonlinear Physics announcement. This year there will be ductor nanocrystallites, while single-electron devices and a proposed Mott were established at the May 1996 meeting almost 100 invited symposia and over transition field effect transistor were the topics at the quantum devices of the APS Council, and will join the usual 550 invited speakers. Last year, contrib- plenary session. Friday evening’s banquet featured a keynote address by suspects in arranging symposia and con- uted submissions totaled 4,350 papers Robert K. Adair of Yale University on the limits of the biological effects of tributed paper sessions. and the Society anticipates an even electromagnetic fields. In contrast to the small and newly higher number this year. formed units, the Division of Con- Once again, in an effort to cut down • The APS New York State Section held its annual fall meeting October 11- densed Matter Physics, which on the number of parallel session cre- 12 at , featuring its 75th Topical Symposium on the represents the largest portion of the ated by the meeting’s increasing subject of space science. These symposia are aimed at a general interest meeting’s presentations, will be 50 popularity, DCMP poster sessions will level and intended to be tutorial in nature for non-specialists. Thirteen years old in 1997. Originally established be highlighted on Monday and Tues- lectures were given by leading researchers in space science, on such as the Division of Solid State Physics day evening. Submitting for poster topics as: solar neutrinos, the existence of habitable extrasolar planets, in 1947 (its name was changed in 1978), presentation guarantees a speaker’s results from NASA’s Galileo mission to Jupiter, comets and asteroids, the it has the largest membership of any presentation will be on one of the first complexities of massive star formation, an update on the LIGO experi- unit of the APS. two days of the meeting. Please see ment, the cosmic microwave background, and halo microlensing in The addition of the two new topical the announcement in APS Meeting News galaxies. Friday evening’s banquet featured a keynote address by re- groups to the lineup at the March Meet- for further information. nowned astronomer Carl Sagan, who gave his reflections on the field of ing augments the steady growth of the Due to the success of the electronic astrophysics and space science in general. meeting since the “Woodstock of Phys- abstract submission process, the com- ics” in New York 10 years ago, which plete program will be available to the • The APS Division of Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics unveiled its featured the presentation of spectacu- membership much earlier than it was AMO Physics Handbook at its meeting in Ann Arbor, Michigan in May. lar new results in the area of in the paper universe. Look for the 1997 Published by the American Institute of Physics (AIP) and nearly four high-temperature . March Meeting program to be posted years in the making, the project was intended to provide the key ideas, This can also be seen, for example, in on the APS home page by 15 January techniques and results of AMO physics in a concise and authoritative the fact that the Forum on Industrial 1997, fully two months before the meet- manner, and in a style that is accessible to people new to the field and to and Applied Physics (also very well- ing. This will enable attendees to create workers in related fields such as engineering, chemistry and materials represented at the March Meeting) is their own schedule in advance and take science, according to editor Gordon F. Drake, University of Windsor, the second largest APS unit, even advantage of reduced airfare by book- Canada. The nearly 1,100 pages are organized into 88 chapters covering though it was founded only two years ing their flights earlier. mathematical methods, atoms, molecules, scattering theory, scattering ago. Furthermore, growth in the mem- Tutorials will be given on Sunday, prior experiment, quantum optics, and applications, together with extensive bership of the Materials Physics Topical to the first day of the meeting, at the Kan- references as a guide to the literature. There is also a CD-ROM version Group, established in 1984, led to its sas City Convention Center. These half-day with full search capabilities. Copies may be ordered directly from the AIP becoming a become a Division in 1990. short courses are designed to give the at- Order Department, P.O. Box 20, Williston, VT 05495-0020, or by calling 1- These contrasts of newly emerging tendees practical applications of a diverse 800-809-2247; Fax: 1-800-864-7626. The cost is approximately $104. areas of study with more established set of tools, technology and theory. The areas of research, of large groups and cost is $75 per course, and $25 for stu- • Many physics postdocs do not consider themselves “underemployed,” small groups of colleagues, of industry dents. (See article in November 1996 APS unless their appointments extend beyond three years, according to a and academia, of students and re- Meeting News.) new report from the American Institute of Physics Education and Em- ployment Statistics Division. Within six months of graduation, 63 percent of all U.S. physics Ph.Ds in 1994 held postdoctoral appointments. Ap- AIP Offers New Web Site for History of proximately 30 percent of fourth-year postdocs classified themselves as Physics and Astronomy “underemployed”; the figure is less than 5 percent for first-year postdocs. (The 213 postdocs who responded to the AIP survey were left to define site featuring the history of physics • An introduction to the Emilio Segre the term “underemployment” for themselves). But postdocs at all stages A and allied sciences is now Visual Archives, including a sample of responded that their physics education is being put to good use: over 95 available on the Internet’s World Wide photographs—some of them enliv- percent of first year postdocs and 80 percent of the fourth-year postdocs Web, mounted by the AIP Center for ened with quotes or vignettes—and responded that they consider their current jobs “professionally challeng- History of Physics. The address (URL) forms that can be submitted to request ing.” For more information, and a free copy of the report, contact Raymond is http://www.aip.org/history. copies of pictures. Chu of AIP, [email protected], (301) 209-3069. Use of the Web was originated by • A variety of Web links to other sites physicists but is spreading explosively useful to anyone interested in the among the general population. The most history of physics and allied sciences the Visual Archives. Under develop- but including more recent accessions), eager users are young people with an such as astronomy, geophysics and ment is a major search engine to the Library’s catalog of books, and— interest in technology and the future — optics. There are sites for societies, support on-line access to abstracts of not least—the entire International exactly the sort of people who should organizations, exhibits, institutional all the Library’s archival holdings (pub- Catalog of Sources for History of Phys- be exposed to the real story of science histories, and so forth. lished in the 1994 Guide to the Archival ics and Allied Sciences. as a human enterprise, according to • Pages for the Friends of the Center Collections in the Niels Bohr Library, Spencer Weart, the Center’s director. “The for History of Physics, including Web is an outstanding new way to ad- “plaques” honoring past donors, and vance public understanding of the information on programs such as the physical sciences and their relationship donation of bookplates to honor or (Continued from page 1) to society, and the AIP Center has moved memorialize colleagues. Highlight 1996 DPF Meeting aggressively to take advantage of the • The AIP History of Physics Newslet- opportunity,” he said. ter with information on current work, perimental tool for disentangling the substantially increased the range of Users entering the site will find a bibliography of books and articles, decays of particles which decay pre- new particle searches, although none number of options: reports of new archival deposits in dominantly into quarks from the large have yet been found. • Pages about the Center for History the field, photographs, etc. QCD backgrounds. Sunday evening featured a special of Physics with information on the • A featured Web exhibit: “Einstein: Im- The LEP electron-positron collider plenary session celebrating 100 years programs and services, for example age and Impact,” using photographs, also significantly increased the energy of particle physics. SLAC’s Martin Perl grants-in-aid and advice on oral his- quotes, and text to present highlights of at which it operates in 1996, from about reflected on the discovery and subse- tory interviewing. Albert Einstein’s life. By the end of the 135 GeV at the beginning of the year quent impact of the tau lepton on the • Information on the Niels Bohr Li- year this will be expanded to a major to 162 GeV mid-year. This increase re- field, and Robert Wilson of Cornell brary, including general descriptions site including over 80 photographs and sulted in the first experimental University compared the dreams of of the holdings, a sample of finding 70,000 words of text. observation of pairs of W bosons, as Fermilab with the present-day reality. aids to archival materials and ab- Besides expanding the Einstein ex- well as permitting the extension of Robert Sachs of the University of Chi- stracts of oral history interviews in hibit, during the coming year Center searches for new particles. A sixfold in- cago closed the session with a review the Library’s collections, and infor- staff will mount a number of additional crease in data samples produced by the of the conception and birth of the DPF mation on how to get access to the finding aids to collections and hun- Tevatron experiments this year has also itself. materials (in person, mail or email). dreds of additional photographs from

3 APS News November 1996 OPINION

APS VIEWS LETTERS The APS: A Bird’s Eye View by Amy Halsted We Shouldn’t Have to Choose Between Effectiveness & Honesty I was sadly amused by a curious juxta- When I started working for the APS nine years ago, The sentence following Schneider’s position in the August/September 1996 I had no idea of the opportunities that I would en- idea of a double ethical bind states, issue of APS News. On page 4, we find counter. At the time I needed a job, and the position “Each of us has to decide what the right the full test of the APS Council’s 1991 at APS met my criteria. I came to the interview with balance is between being effective and “Guidelines for Professional Conduct,” some trepidation, and was quizzed by four physicists simultaneously. After being honest.” We scientists should all whereas on page 5 we are confronted surviving that trial, my writing was tested. They gave me material describing be obliged to Schneider for allowing with Stephen Schneider’s self-righteous the research of an APS prizewinner, from which I drafted a brief speech that us, poor things, to choose between the reaffirmation of what he calls a “double the President might deliver when he presented the prize. The prizewinner’s two — but there are not alternatives to ethical bind.” work involved something called “ballooning formalism.” I wondered what I being honest, either as scientists or re- Schneider correctly protests that Julian was getting into. Fortunately I possessed the right combination of skills and spectable human beings. Simon has misquoted him by mistakenly experiences, and the APS hired me. One final remark: Schneider let it ascribing to him the statement that “sci- Not long after, I found myself sitting in committee meetings, trying to take min- be understood that his ethical stan- entists should consider stretching the utes while 10 or so of you discussed unfamiliar people, facilities, situations, and dards are governed by his concern truth.” However, when Schneider repeats fields of endeavor. The acronyms nearly drove me mad: ICTP, CSWP, PRD, ORNL, about the future of humanity and his the correct version of his 1989 Discover BAPS, DCMP, CIFS, NIST, POPA, RMP, DAMOP, OSTP, IAEA, APL, LANL, NSF, but desire “to see the world a better place.” magazine interview, one sees that, apart soon I was the one spelling them out to others. It took longer to discern the differ- Many of us who have lived in at least from a crude overstatement, the misquo- ence between APS and AIP, but finally I began to grasp that as well. part of the period from 1930 to 1990 tation factually covered Schneider’s At one early meeting, my attention strayed and I looked down the table at in Europe (or certain other parts of the thoughts. For indeed, in that interview one of the members. His concentration had also lapsed, and I watched him world, for that matter) are fed up with he says that in order to achieve broad holding a clear plastic cup half-full of water, tipping and rotating it slowly self-appointed saviors of man’s future media coverage, “we have to offer up before his eyes and watching the surface remain level as the water assumed and their concomitant relative ethics. scary scenarios… and make little men- the changing shape of its container. At that moment I began to understand tion of any doubts we might have.” Are Paul Roman the nature of physicists. I got accustomed to people cracking physics jokes these ethics compatible with what we Ludenhausen, Germany that I didn’t always get. I wasn’t surprised anymore to see a committee mem- read on page 4? ber absently covering a page with odd looking figures and calculations. I learned that physicists weren’t like most people I knew. Two-Year College Faculty Members Are Forgotten by APS And I learned more than that. I quickly realized that I was receiving an education on the job. My work with the Committee on the International There are 604 public four-year institu- who had taken these teaching positions Freedom of Scientists introduced me to the compelling, frustrating, confus- tions of higher education in this country simply did not renew their APS mem- ing, and occasionally thrilling field of human rights. I attended a reception that enroll nearly 6 million students (in- berships after awhile. I can only guess for Andrei Sakharov when he came to New York, and I was fortunate enough cluding graduate students). However, what precipitated such a decision, but to work with both Yuri Orlov and Fang Lizhi. Staffing the Committee on 1,021 public two-year colleges (TYCs) what first comes to mind is a feeling of Membership (then the Committee on Opportunities) taught me about the enroll more than 5 million students, or utter isolation at a TYC, combined with physics community, and how statistics are gathered and interpreted. That about 48 percent of all public college often experienced put-downs, deroga- committee met once at Fermilab, and we were given an unforgettable VIP students, according to 1995 data col- tory remarks, or outright contempt tour. Working with the Committee on Applications in Physics increased my lected by the Chronicle of Higher demonstrated by other segments of the understanding of the concerns and culture of American industry. The Com- Education. APS membership. The Physics Teacher mittee on International Scientific Affairs introduced me to global issues. Its The percentage of students enrolled study found that 74 percent of TYC deliberations were among the hardest for me to follow, and also among the in public TYCs is increasing steadily, for physics faculty experienced direct most rewarding as I slowly acquired a rudimentary knowledge of interna- obvious reasons. Average tuition and negative comments from colleagues at tional interactions in physics. fees are only about $1,114 per year, com- four-year colleges and universities, and The off-line time with committee members was equally enlightening. I pared with $2,543 per year for public 92 percent experienced indirect nega- got bolder about asking for explanations of confusing issues that had been four-year institutions. Furthermore, an tive comments. In addition, 20 percent discussed during the meetings, and always found the members willing to engineering undergraduate makes a said that they felt anger caused by this clarify. I heard rich anecdotes about famous and revered scientists, and some- choice between taking a physics course lack of respect. times those august individuals were there at the dinner table, charming or at a university, where a professor would I think this reflects very badly on bedeviling their colleagues and me. lecture in front of a crowd of some 200 the mindset of the APS membership. It Around this time, I began to develop my own theories about physicists students, or taking the same course at a is not only evidence of a self-serving and what makes them the way they are. I thought about why so many TYC where the class size is typically attitude, but an unwise one as well. outspoken dissidents in other countries are physicists and how dearly some about 20 students. After all, the APS is trying very hard to of them have paid for speaking out. It seemed to me that physics is about a I was therefore surprised to discover raise the general public awareness of love of truth, rigorously proven and scrupulously reported, no matter what that in 1994, only 0.8 percent of APS the relevance of science, and to pro- the consequences. I also observed an unusual happiness and contentment members identified themselves as two- mote the standing of physics and in the physics community, and found that most physicists are pretty good year college employees. Of these, most physicists in society. And yet the APS company. I concluded that there is no reason on earth to become a physicist were teaching faculty. According to a alienates and frustrates its own mem- except for the love of physics, and people who love what they are doing 1995 survey published in The Physics bers, who are at the front line of that tend to be happy. Count me in that group. Teacher (vol. 33, 1995, pages 85-90), the struggle for the hearts and minds of Taking advantage of the tuition reimbursement that APS offers, I started work on average size of full-time physics faculty future decision makers, to the point that a masters in public administration in 1991. Many of the assignments required me to at TYCs was 1.6; about 96 percent of such members allow their APS mem- study my employer, and my appreciation of APS grew again. In particular, I started to physics faculty have at least a master’s berships to lapse. understand the complexity and enormity of the work of the Treasurer’s department, degree, and about 8 percent have com- The times for research funding are and what Harry Lustig has accomplished for the APS. pleted their Ph.Ds. tough, and one would expect a stron- Prior to my employment at APS, I had suffered the vagaries of several small These data raise several questions. ger emphasis to be placed on businesses in New York. Relieved by the apparent stability of the APS, I remem- The job market for physics Ph.Ds is educational issues. Yet it seems that the ber telling my father confidently, “The APS isn’t going to go anywhere!” Six shrinking, yet there exists an apparently physics community is not interested in years later the Society was moving to Maryland. In spring of 1993 I wrote my untapped reservoir of jobs at TYCs. A the diffusion of the knowledge of phys- M.A. thesis about the relocation and how the decision was reached. During conservative estimate shows that one ics. Graduate students who have that period I was also obliged to make my own choice about whether or not to should expect more than 100 openings “unhealthy” interests in quality educa- relocate. I was less critical of the Society’s decision-making process, which annually due to the attrition of existing tion rather than research are promptly seemed unusually disorganized and almost impulsive at the end, when I real- faculty only. One should expect that APS sent away to a college of education and ized how much it resembled my own lengthy and agonizing deliberations. would make the physics community never heard from again. Physics depart- My position in Maryland as administrator to Council and the Executive aware of these jobs and would encour- ments are generally not interested in Board affords me a bird’s eye view of the organization. My job is to help age recent Ph.Ds and postdocs to apply how future physics educators are be- record and chart the progress of the APS as it grows and makes changes, for these positions. Such a policy would ing prepared both on undergraduate studies the results, falters, heals itself, learns new tricks, and moves forward. certainly be compatible with the mission and graduate levels. They have no say Many staff members and even more volunteers find the APS as compelling of the APS to advance and diffuse the and no desire to have any say in shap- as I do, and share my faith in it. The Society captured me early on, and I’m knowledge of physics. Why, then, are ing the physics curricula in colleges of still buying what it’s selling. there only about 240 APS members education, and in fact have abdicated among the more than 2,400 physics fac- any responsibility for education of fu- Amy Halsted is Administrator of Operating Committees at the College Park, ulty at TYCs? ture physics teachers. As a result, few Maryland, APS Headquarters. My suspicion is that many physicists physicists are applying for positions at

4 November 1996 APS News OPINION Science for All Students by Laurie Fathe

his summer, two major reports were institutions that changes are needed, that time spent preparing a lecture is Treleased which address the current the NSF report cites Elaine Seymore and time taken away from research; admo- state of undergraduate science and Nancy Hewitt’s three-year study “Talk- nitions of elders to forget about math education, and the need for ing about Leaving” which found that teaching until one has tenure; funds changes in the current approach. These 90 percent of students transferring out available for travel to research meet- reports, From Analysis to Action from of math and science majors and 75 ings but not to develop teaching skills, the National Research Council, and percent who persisted in those majors and a virtual absence in many institu- Shaping the Future from the National described the quality of the teaching tions of informed discussion about Science Foundation, provide a contex- they experienced as poor. Undergradu- what makes for good teaching.” Any tual perspective for this dialog on ates seeking a positive experience in faculty member who has ever felt the science and math education, and science based on discovery in a sup- pressure to put students second will present concrete recommendations for portive environment are likely to be echo these sentiments. The recommen- addressing the problems they docu- disappointed by the current educa- dation that follows stresses that ment. The reports have somewhat tional system and its faculty. “Universities need to be more inclusive different perspectives and tones, with But faculty cannot be held solely in their definition of what constitutes with research, and that other forms of the NRC report being more succinct and responsible for the climate of science scholarship and teaching... ‘scholarship’ recognition also parallel those in re- providing a “how-to” manual, while the classrooms, or the low priority placed can and should encompass a much search. Professional societies are urged NSF report includes more detailed and on teaching and educational scholar- broader range of activities than those to “act as powerful forces for change harsher discussion of the existing situ- ship. While national leaders encourage now defined as essential for academic within the academic community” since ation. But overall they share many faculty to focus more on education, to success.” faculty often feel stronger ties to their common themes and recommenda- provide a high quality discovery-based It will not be trivial to implement discipline than to their local institutions. tions. classroom experience for all their stu- even the major recommendations of The reports fall short of challenging the There is little in the content of these dents, to develop innovative and these reports: “All students should have National Academy to select new fellows reports to surprise the informed and relevant curricula, and to incorporate access to supportive, excellent pro- based on educational achievement, or aware educator. The reports praise the more student-centered learning tech- grams in science, mathematics, suggesting that there be Presidential success of education for future scien- niques into their instruction, faculty engineering, and technology, and all Young Educator awards for promising tists, and point to the strong motivation respond with the realities of their situ- students should acquire literacy in these new teaching faculty, or proposing found in students working closely with ation. And the reality is that at most subjects by direct experience with the grants to allow faculty to buy out of faculty on research. The reports simi- colleges and universities, educational methods and process of inquiry”; “De- research so that they may concentrate larly decry the state of science and math innovation and scholarship are ignored partments and programs should define on their teaching, but these changes education for everyone else, from other or only minimally acknowledged, and their missions and establish explicit would be within the scope and the science students to pre-service teach- successful teaching is sometimes seen goals ... and be evaluated against those spirit of the recommendations. ers to humanities students. The NRC as a negative rather than a positive in a goals by fair assessments that are as The overriding question is whether report opens with a list of problems: faculty record; research and research rigorous as those applied for research”; or not there is sufficient will to accom- undergraduates do not receive enough publication are the accepted measures and “Institutions must promote a new plish the monumental task set forth by instruction in science and math; many of success. Bruce Alberts, President of balance and a new linkage between these reports. One can argue that be- classes stress “coverage” without en- the National Academy of Sciences, is teaching and research, so that teach- cause colleges and universities rely on gaging the students in the process of quoted on the irony of having the most ing is enlivened by investigation and the influx of research dollars, this is science; drop-out rates from science prestigious positions at many institu- research is defined more broadly, and what they reward, and if funding for majors are alarmingly high; students tion of higher education be those with so that faculty may be rewarded for educational activities were equivalent rarely get to share in the excitement of no teaching responsibilities. educational scholarship as well as for to that for research then there would investigation that engages the faculty; The NRC report, in addressing this other kinds of scholarship.” be a change in what these institutions future teachers are not encouraged in sad state of affairs, charitably states Bringing about the level of cultural reward. The money is indeed a neces- science and math programs; science “Considerable uncertainty surrounds change suggested here will take a co- sary condition for change, but not graduates are not appropriately pre- the vital matter of what institutional ordinated effort between all segments sufficient. There must be a true cultural pared to succeed in the workplace. value is attached to the different kinds of the scientific and educational com- shift in higher education, and in the But where the NRC report talks in of professional work. Faced with this munity; funding agencies, professional culture as a whole, to valuing teach- broad terms, the NSF report documents uncertainty, faculty members are apt to societies, and the government have a ing. Only then can we hope to achieve the current situation in startlingly frank stress the one activity for which rela- major role in this process. These play- the goals so clearly set before us. terms. The exclusionary and elitist at- tively clear objectives and rewards exist: ers can provide strong and visible Laurie Fathe is project manager for the, mosphere of science classes, research that results in peer-reviewed leadership in the area of undergradu- Los Angeles Collaborative for Teacher particularly physical science classes, is publications. Yet the distortions that ate science and math education and Excellence and on the physics faculty described in grisly detail, as is the ar- result from a single-minded attention insure that they implement appropri- of Occidental College in Los Angeles, rogant and disrespectful approach of to research divorced from teaching are ate rewards for this critical work. The California and is a former APS Con- some faculty. And if anecdotal evidence evident: buy out of teaching time in reports insist that educational activities gressional Fellow. is not sufficient to convince faculty and favor of research; a haunting sensation must be funded at levels commensurate

Letters (continued) TYCs; these jobs go by default to other considered by the APS to improve the actually be deficient in knowledge these institutions. candidates. Yet it is in a TYC setting standing of its members in two-year of physics, despite possessing (5) Finally, the APS should work to where a majority of state legislators are institutions: teacher’s certificates. remove bureaucratic barriers that exposed to science for the first and of- (1) Create and support a topical group (4) The distribution of funds for re- currently prevent faculty at a TYC ten last time, and where the battle for for physicists in two-year colleges, search vs. physics education from applying for research grants the public image of physics is fought. or more generally, physicists in should be reconsidered. For in- from DOE, NSF, the Research Cor- The graveness of the situation in education. stance, if the recently proposed poration, etc. After all, why should physics education is further com- (2) Generally, the APS should “Drell bump” for high energy a physicist with a long research pounded by regulations in several strengthen the emphasis placed on physics in the amount of $350 record and many publications be- states, enacted in the interest of edu- physics education; presently these million was instead applied to re- come automatically ineligible for cational lobbies. For example, a person issues are recognized as the do- vamp physics programs these grants at the moment he or with a Ph.D. or M.S. in physics may main of the American Association specifically in two-year public in- she accepts a faculty position at a not be legally qualified to teach phys- of Physics Teachers. stitutions, that would translate into two-year institution? Research pro- ics in a TYC or public high school, but (3) APS should work to remove bureau- an average of $350,000 per phys- posals are supposed to be a person with a degree in physics edu- cratic barriers that currently ics program. I am willing to risk a evaluated on merit, and any form cation from a college of education is prevent easy access for physicists prediction that suddenly physicists of “preventive censorship” should deemed to be qualified. This is a lu- with M.S. or Ph.D. degrees to jobs would become interested in these be abolished. nacy that should be very strongly in education at the TYC and high jobs, thus alleviating the crisis in Mikolaj Sawicki addressed and rectified by the APS. school levels. Current legislation the job market and simultaneously I would suggest the following re- favors individuals with degrees in boosting the quality of physics John A. Logan College medial steps that I hope will be physics education who may programs and physics faculty at Carterville, Illinois

5 APS News November 1996

Szilard, Schawlow Inducted into Inventor’s Physicists To Be Honored (Continued from page 2) Hall of Fame excited by forward Raman scattering. Physics Laboratory. His present re- Joshi received his Ph.D. in applied search focuses on the development of Two renowned physicists and long- Public Interest was established in 1974 physics from England’s Hull University fluid models for plasma turbulence and standing APS members were inducted by the APS Forum on Physics and So- in 1978 and held a postdoctoral posi- simulations of turbulent transport in into the National Inventors Hall of Fame ciety, to recognize outstanding tion at the National Research Council tokamaks and magnetic confinement in Akron, Ohio in September. The late accomplishments by physicists in pro- in Ottawa, Canada. He is currently a fusion experiments. was honored for the inven- moting the use of physics for the full professor in the E.E. department at tion of the . His benefit of society in such areas as the UCLA. Joshi has made fundamental 1996 Otto Laporte Award co-inventor, , had already environment, arms control and science contributions to the understanding of been inducted. Nobel laureate Arthur policy. The Arthur L. Schawlow Prize The Otto LaPorte Award was established extremely nonlinear optical effects in L. Schawlow was honored for his in- in Laser Science was established in 1991 in 1985 to honor important advances in plasmas including; parametric instabili- vention of the laser, together with by the NEC Corporation. It is intended fluid dynamics. ties, resonant self-focusing, frequency Charles Townes, who is also already a to recognize outstanding contributions upshifting by ionization fronts, and Donald Coles Hall of Fame member. to basic research that uses lasers to nonlinear coupling between electron- California Institute of Technology The APS has established awards in advance our knowledge of the funda- plasma waves. honor of each of these physicists. The mental physical properties of materials Citation: “For his contributions to fluid Leo Szilard Award for Physics in the and their interaction with light. dynamics through exquisite experiments on 1996 Simon Ramo Award turbulent boundary layers, Taylor-Couette Schrieffer and Garmire Named to Sponsored by TRW, Inc., and the Divi- flow, vortex rings, and turbulent wakes, and sion of Plasma Physics, the Ramo Award his insightful analysis of turbulence data. Committee on National Medal of Science was established in 1985. It is intended His research and teaching have inspired to provide recognition to exceptional several generations of students and In September, President Clinton an- with two other scientists for their study young scientists who have performed researchers throughout the world.” nounced his intent to appoint Dr. for the microscopic theory of supercon- original doctoral thesis work of outstand- Robert Schrieffer, APS president, and ductivity. He was awarded the National Coles received his undergraduate ing scientific quality and achievement in Dr. Elsa Garmire, APS Council and Ex- Medal of Science in 1984. He holds a education at the Universities of Michi- the area of plasma physics. ecutive Board member, to the B.S. from Massachusetts Institute of gan and Minnesota. He obtained his President’s Committee on the National Technology and a Ph.D. from the Uni- Michael Alan Beer M.S. and Ph.D. from the California In- Medal of Science. A highly prestigious versity of Illinois. stitute of Technology in 1948 and 1953, award, the National Medal of Science Garmire received her Ph.D. in phys- respectively. His main research inter- Citation: “For fundamental contributions was created to recognize individuals ics from the Massachusetts Institute of ests and research publications include to the development of simulations of who have made outstanding contribu- Technology and was recently named work on the dynamics of rotating flu- gyrofluid equations for studying tokamak tions to science and engineering. The dean of the Thayer School of Engineer- ids and on the properties of turbulent plasma turbulence, including a novel fluid President’s Committee on the National ing at Dartmouth College. She is also a flow, and he has made notable contri- model of trapped electrons that led to Medal of Science reviews nominations past president of the Optical Society of butions to the development of realistic comparisons with experiments.” and assists in deciding recipients of the America. Other nominees to the advanced experimental techniques and National Medal of Science. President’s Committee are Joan Beer received his Ph.D. in 1994 instrumentation. In 1985 he received Schrieffer holds the Eminent Scholar Argetsinger Steitz, a professor of bio- from Princeton University and is cur- the Dryden Medal from the Institute of chair with the State of Florida Univer- physics and biochemistry at Yale rently working at the Princeton Plasma Aeronautical Sciences. sity System. He is a professor of physics University who received the National at Florida State University and the Uni- Medal of Science in 1986; and Kenneth versity of Florida, and also serves as Arrow, a professor emeritus of econom- APS/AIP CONGRESSIONAL SCIENCE the chief scientist for the National High ics at Stanford University who received Magnetic Field Laboratory. Schrieffer the Nobel Memorial Prize in economic FELLOWSHIPS: 1997-1998 won the Nobel Prize in physics in 1972 science in 1972. The American Physical Society and The American Institute of Physics are cur- rently accepting applications for their 1997-1998 Congressional Science Fellowship Inside the Beltway (Continued from page 1) Programs. Fellows serve one year on the staff of a senator, representative, or con- surprisingly, its projected budget that reflect the current mood of the coun- gressional committee. They are afforded an opportunity to learn the legislative through 2002 reflects the political ham- try. When the mood changes, as it often process and explore science policy issues from the lawmakers’ perspective. In turn, mering it has been taking. But its does from one year to the next, budget Fellows may lend scientific and technical expertise to public policy issues. budget also reflects the low visibility priorities are quickly readjusted to meet QUALIFICATIONS include a Ph.D. in physics or a closely related field, a strong the agency has as a prime sponsor of voters’ altered views and expectations. interest in science and technology policy and, ideally, some experience in ap- scientific research. But the severely constrained out year plying scientific knowledge toward the solution of societal problems. Fellows Where the DOE stands in the scien- budgets released this year are likely to are required to be U.S. citizens and be members of APS or, for the AIP Fellow- tific pecking order became clear last stick, at least for a while and at least in ship, any of the AIP Member Societies. In exceptional cases, the Ph.D. requirement spring, when the Clinton Administra- the aggregate, if not in detail. Balanc- may be waived for applicants with compensating experience. tion released its budget priorities. To ing the budget by 2002 has become meet its stated commitment to basic the mantra of both political parties. And TERM OF APPOINTMENT for both fellowships is one year, beginning Septem- research, the White House identified with public trust in government still ber 1, 1997, with participation in a two-week orientation in Washington, organized agencies that it said should receive falling, woe unto any politician who by the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Choice of con- favored treatment in the federal bud- even hints at breaking this fiscal cov- gressional assignment is reserved to Fellows. get. The National Science Foundation enant, at least anytime soon. and the National Institutes of Health With Republicans pressing for higher A STIPEND of up to $45,000 is offered, in addition to allowances for relocation, made the cut, but the Department of defense spending and Democrats hold- in-service travel, and health insurance premiums. Energy didn’t. As a result, in the ing firm on entitlements, the civilian APPLICATIONS should consist of a letter of intent, a 2-page resume, and three Administration’s plans for the out years, discretionary budget — less than 17 per- letters of reference, accompanied by a cover sheet indicating: name, address, the DOE General Science budget, cent of all federal spending — is caught in phone, email, references, U.S. citizenship, Ph.D. status, society membership, covering high-energy and nuclear phys- an extraordinary vise. Barring any other and where you learned about the programs. All submissions should be on stan- ics, is projected to slip 20.7 percent, action, it must trimmed by almost one third, dard 8.5" x 11" paper, single-sided and unstapled, and should be sent directly to and the Energy Supply R&D budget, if a balanced budget is to be reached. the address below. Candidates should state in the letter why they are applying covering Basic Energy Sciences and While these political realities pose and briefly describe their public service experience. Letters of reference should Fusion Energy Science, suffers a 27.8 serious challenges, the threat to the sci- discuss not just the candidate’s competence as a physicist, but also the educa- percent plunge. The Republican plan entific enterprise has not yet reached tion, experience, and attributes which would particularly qualify the candidate shows about the same size cut for the crisis proportions. Recent surveys show to serve as a Fellow. Unless otherwise specified in the letter, the applicant will total of the two activities, but it allo- that science enjoys extremely high sup- be considered for both APS and AIP fellowships. cates it differently: 12.6 percent for port among the public. And on Capitol General Science and a whopping 38.0 Hill there is continuing good will for ALL APPLICATION MATERIALS MUST BE POSTMARKED BY percent for Energy Supply R&D. basic research among members of both JANUARY 15, 1997. The die has not yet been firmly cast, political parties. APS/AIP Congressional Science Fellowship Programs but the projections for science reflect But what lawmakers lack is a clear 529 14th Street, NW, Suite 1050 several political realities. They can be understanding of how the impending Washington, DC 20045 understood with little sophistication. budgetary decisions will affect the (202) 662-8700 • email: [email protected] Usually, out year budgets attract as much nation’s technological future. Econo- APS and AIP home pages: www.aps.org and www.aip.org attention in Washington as reports of a new mists and policy planners can provide pothole on Pennsylvania Avenue. After all, some of the answers. But in the end, it Please note that other physics-related Congressional Science fellowship pro- federal budgets are annual agreements, is the scientific community that will grams are run by The American Geophysical Union (contact Pat Azriel/ with no individual Congress considering have to deliver the message. If it fails 202-462-6900) and The Optical Society of America/The Materials Research Soci- itself bound by the fiscal plans laid out by to do so, the die will be cast, and the ety (OSA contact: Susan Reiss/202-223-8130; MRS contact: Gail Oare/412-367-3004). any of its predecessors. threatened crisis will become reality. Please contact these societies directly for information on their Fellowships. Budgets are also political documents Is this a call to arms? You bet it is! 6 November 1996 APS News ANNOUNCEMENTS

NOMINATIONS FOR PRIZES AND AWARDS The following prizes and awards will be bestowed at meetings of the Society in the coming year. Members are invited to nominate candidates to the respective committees charged with the privilege of recommending the recipient. A brief description of each prize and award is given below, along with the addresses of the selection committee chairs to whom nominations should be sent. Please refer to the APS Membership Directory, pages xxiii- xxxix, or the APS home page [http:// www.aps.org] under the Prize, Award and Fellowship button, for complete information regarding rules and eligibility requirements for individual prizes and awards.

committee will choose the winner from Purpose: To recognize the humanitarian James Clerk Maxwell Prize Outstanding Doctoral Thesis among the finalists based on both oral aspect of physics and physicists. in Plasma Physics Award Sponsored by Maxwell Laboratories, Inc. presentation and the written material Nature: Recognition consists of the described below. All finalists will receive a Sponsored by General Atomic, Inc., and the Nicholson Medal and a certificate which Purpose: To recognize outstanding travel stipend of $250. contributions to the field of plasma physics. Division of Plasma Physics. includes the citation for which the recipient Purpose: To provide recognition to Rules and Eligibility: Doctoral students at any has been recognized. Nature: The prize consists of $5000, an university in the U.S. or abroad who passed allowance for travel to the Division of Plasma exceptional young scientists who have Rules and Eligibility: The medal is given to a performed original doctoral thesis work of their thesis defense for the Ph.D. in the physicist exhibiting extraordinary quality in Physics Annual Meeting where the prize will disciplines of atomic, molecular or optical be awarded, and a certificate citing the outstanding scientific quality and one of the following areas: (1) a physicist achievement in the area of plasma physics. physics after 19 November 1994 are eligible who, through teaching, research, or science- contribution made by the recipient. for the award, except for those whose thesis related activities, has implemented a vision Rules and Eligibility: The prize will be Nature: The award consists of $1500, a advisors serve on the current selection certificate, and an allowance for travel of up for improvement of the quality of life in our awarded to U.S. residents for work done committee. Any APS member may submit a society; (2) a physicist who has demonstrated to $500 to attend the annual meeting of the nomination for this award. primarily in the U.S. The prize shall be for a particularly giving and caring relationship outstanding contributions to the Division of Plasma Physics at which the award will be bestowed. The complete nomination package must be with students or colleagues, has produced advancement and diffusion of the knowledge submitted by 15 November 1996 to the chair of works of educational significance, or has of properties of highly ionized gases of Rules and Eligibility: Nominations will be the selection committee: Dr. Kenneth C. created special opportunities for students or natural or laboratory origin. This prize shall accepted for any doctoral student (present or Kulander, Lawrence Livermore National Lab, junior colleagues; or (3) a physicist who has ordinarily be awarded to one person, but a past) of a college or university in the U.S. or for PO Box 5508, Livermore, CA 94551; Tel: (510) been a leader in the promotion of prize may be shared among recipients when U.S. students abroad. The work to be considered 422-5400; Fax: (510) 422-9180; email: international human rights or peace, or in all recipients have contributed to the same must have been performed as part of the [email protected]. the promotion of international ties in science. accomplishments. requirement for a doctoral degree. Also, the Send name of proposed candidate and nominee must not have passed his final doctoral Nominations of candidates shall remain active supporting information by 1 March 1997 to: Dr. examination or started regular employment Nicholson Medal for Humani- for three years. Send name of proposed John M. Finn, Los Alamos National Lab, T15, more than one and half years before the tarian Service candidate and supporting information by 1 MS K717, PO Box 1663, Los Alamos, NM 87545; nomination deadline for the selection cycle in March 1997 to: Prof. Allen H. Boozer, Established in 1994 by the Division of Plasma Tel: (505) 667-8156; Fax: (505) 665-7150; email: which the nomination is to be considered. Each , Dept of Applied Physics and the Forum on Physics and Society, [email protected]. nominee will be considered in not more than Physics, 500 West 120th St, Rm 202, New and sponsored by friends of Dwight Nicholson. York, NY 10027; Tel: (212) 854-4785; Fax: two consecutive cycles. (212) 854-8257; email: [email protected]. Send name of proposed candidate and supporting information by 1 March 1997 to: APS Mass Media Fellowship Program - Summer 1997 Excellence in Plasma Physics Prof. Raymond Fonck, Dept of Nuclear Engineering, University of Wisconson, 1500 Research Award Engineering Drive, Madison, WI 53706; Tel: ▼ Deadline: 15 January 1997 Sponsored by Friends of the Division of (608) 263-7799; Fax: (608) 265-2364; email: Plasma Physics. [email protected]. NEW IN 1997! Purpose: To recognize a particular recent In affiliation with the popular AAAS program, APS will sponsor two ten-week outstanding achievement in plasma physics Award for Outstanding Doctoral fellowships for physics students to work full-time over the summer as reporters, research. Thesis Research in Atomic, researchers, and production assistants in mass media organizations nationwide. Nature: The award consists of $5000 to be Molecular or Optical Physics PURPOSE divided equally in the case of multiple Sponsored by members and friends of the APS The intent of the program is to improve public understanding and appreciation winners, and each recipient will receive a Division of Atomic, Molecular and Optical certificate to be presented at an award of science and technology and to sharpen the ability of the fellows to commu- Physics. ceremony at the Division of Plasma Physics nicate complex technical issues to non-specialists. Annual Meeting Banquet. Purpose: To recognize doctoral thesis research of outstanding quality and Rules and Eligibility: Nominations are open ELIGIBILITY achievement in atomic, molecular or optical Priority will be given to graduate students in physics, or a closely related field, to scientists of all nationalities, regardless of physics, and to encourage effective written the geographical site at which the work was although applications also will be considered from outstanding undergraduate and oral presentation of research results. done. The award may be awarded to a set and postdoctoral researchers. Applicants should possess outstanding written and of individuals as well as to individual Nature: The award, which is given annually, oral communication skills and a strong interest in learning about the media. scientists, as appropriate, to honor those who consists of $1,000 and a certificate citing the make essential contributions to the cited contributions made by the recipient. 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7 APS News November 1996 THE BACK PAGE An Alien Ate my Laundry: The Decline of Reason in the Age of Science by James C. Garland

he woman in the photograph held tinguish between fantasy and reality. mented science curriculum that skims Tout a tattered shirt. Behind her, the Science historian Gerald Holton over important concepts, overworked remains of her sheets and pillowcases (Harvard University) notes that more and under-educated science teachers, hung in disarray on a clothesline. Her than half of the American population too-large classes, textbooks that em- face was flushed with irritation. “AN today believes astrology is grounded phasize flashy graphics over substance, ALIEN ATE MY LAUNDRY!” the head- in scientific principles. More than half and perhaps most importantly, an en- line declared in huge block letters. It believes in the daily occurrence of demic failure to motivate students to was a simple statement of fact, but I miracles. Any New Age bookstore can stretch their brains and to take plea- wanted to see the evidence. I am, after provide abundant evidence of public sure in the rewards of clear-headed all, a scientist. interest in clairvoyants, faith healers, thinking. One doesn’t expect reasoned dis- astrologers, and parascientific notions A major study, Science for All Ameri- course while splashing around in the of energy halos, mystical pyramids, and cans, commissioned by the American shallow waters of supermarket tabloids. extrasensory perception. Association for the Advancement of But even so, I was unprepared for the There is a vast perceptual gap be- Science and published in 1992 by Ox- “scientific proof” of this amazing extra- tween the illusions and the reality of ford University Press, summarized the terrestrial encounter. What evidence was science. To most persons living in our recommendations of distinguished pan- considered sufficiently plausible by the country, science and the technology it els of more than 400 individuals for editors to warrant front-page coverage? spawns have become virtually indistin- improving national science literacy. Blurry snapshots of the outer space visi- guishable from magic. Science has These recommendations hold as their tor taken by a next door neighbor? come to be seen as so powerful that basic premise the idea that less is more: cal world, we easily fall prey to huck- Scorch marks left on the lady’s lawn by one need not even acknowledge the that American schools should narrow sters, charlatans and those who promise an interplanetary space drive? existence of laws of nature. If we are their scope, illuminating key principles easy solutions to complex problems. Square holes. Our lady’s laundry not yet able to travel into the future, or and ideas and habits of mind, that the We abrogate our social responsibility had been drying on the line, and when reverse the aging process, or make cultivation of the intellect requires more to self-styled experts. We waste our dol- she came to collect it, she found her ourselves invisible, it is just a matter of of laser beam’s focus and less of a lars — and sometimes our lives — on sheets and pillowcases riddled with extra research to make all these miracles floodlight’s sweep. It is a sensible useless medicines. We allow our po- bite-sized square holes. How did she come to pass. In effect, science has agenda. litical leaders to embark on costly, know it was a space alien who had become intertwined with magic, and However, that the solutions are ill-fated schemes cooked up by special assaulted her clothesline? Well, obvi- like the traditional magic of sorcerers known does not make the problems interest groups. We ignore real dangers ously no earthly creature had a square and witch doctors, “science magic” un- less daunting. One does not easily kick- to our planet because we cannot un- mouth. But what about those tiny dermines the ability of its believers to start into a motion a decentralized derstand the warnings. scraps of cloth scattered about the yard? distinguish the real from the fantastic. educational network of 80,000 schools The power to understand is our most Couldn’t the kid across the street have To some extent we have been vic- and 50 million pupils. The problem will precious possession. The power resides done the deed with a pair of scissors? timized by our own successes. The not be solved if it is only the educators partly in our genes, evolved over the Not a chance. To her mind, the scraps pace of scientific and technological and scientists who wave their arms in millennia by the random forces of natu- of cloth merely signified that our outer- advance in this century has been so despair. The mandate to reform on such ral selection. But the power is also part space visitor had not found his earthly rapid that society seems almost to reel a grand scale requires broad national of our intellectual heritage, a gift be- snack to his liking and had upchucked under a siege of new products and pro- resolve. The greatest obstacle may be stowed upon us by Aristotle, Galileo, it all over the back yard. cesses. Almost everyone has at times to persuade a society in which science Descartes, Einstein and thousands of Looking at her picture, I couldn’t felt overwhelmed by novelty, by a illiteracy is endemic that something is other women and men throughout the escape the conclusion that this woman sense that the texture of life has grown actually wrong. How does one con- centuries who have sought to elicit lived in a strange universe of UFOs, too complicated for our own good. This vince a person who has not learned to order from the confusion of their uni- energy- focusing crystals and psychic feeling is aggravated by a popular cul- read of the value of books? verse. mind readers. In her world, a laundry- ture whose unapologetic enthusiasm The case for science literacy is often Today we reap the benefits of their eating extraterrestrial seemed as natural for science magic reinforces the idea framed in the context of workplace labors. But as citizens of history’s most as a supermarket laser scanner. Why that the world is governed by mystical needs. The familiar argument is that privileged society, we ultimately hold did she find it so difficult to differenti- forces. success in a competitive international this gift in trust, to be passed on to our ate between the real and the unreal? The entertainment industry spends arena requires a steady supply of skilled children so that they will not only share In primitive cultures, human beings hundreds of millions of dollars yearly scientists, engineers and technicians, in our prosperity, but will experience live and die at the mercy of familiar promoting warp drives, matter trans- and that our schools are not doing their full humanity. Our ancestors have but unexplained forces — weather, porters, parallel universes, robots made enough to meet this demand. I don’t made is possible for us to understand disease, natural disasters — and in this of liquid metal, and time travel. I worry find this argument persuasive. Our sci- the complexities of our world, to ap- context unexplained phenomena tend about the cumulative impact of such entists are acknowledged to be among preciate the delicate beauty of the laws to be attributed to deities or spirits. The entertainment on people too unsophis- the best in the world, and if our engi- of nature and the elegant symmetries underlying concept behind magic is ticated to understand they are not neers and technical people are not of the heavens. We owe it to them and that supernatural powers can be in- watching a plausible vision of futuris- quite so highly acclaimed, they are still to the generations who will follow us voked selectively by certain individuals tic technology, but merely a fanciful the envy of most nations. to preserve this fragile heritage. to suspend the laws of nature. pastiche of misconceptions based on My concern lies not with the tip of One would think that the need for the present-day words of science. the scientific iceberg, but with the sub- James C. Garland is the president of magic would be diminished in the sci- There is no question that our schools merged 90 percent. I fear we may have Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Note: entific age. Today, we understand the fail to provide the needed counterbal- seriously underestimated the conse- Portions of text drawn from addresses forces that control the weather, how ance. The reasons are well-known: a quences for our culture of a given by the author to the Kit-Kat Club viruses are spread, and how crops methodology that emphasizes scientifically illiterate population. of Columbus, Ohio and the Faculty grow. With such a secure base of memorization of facts and labels, a frag- Lacking an understanding of the physi- Assembly of Miami University. knowledge, couldn’t we reasonably assume that human beings might no longer turn to magic to explain the unknown? I believe the opposite is true: that in response to science, our culture is turn- ing to magic and superstition as a way of bringing order into a world that seems increasingly mysterious. I further believe that this embrace of the irratio- nal is not a harmless indulgence of the imagination, but a growing deteriora- tion in the ability of the general populace to think critically and to dis-

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