December 2007 Volume 16, No. 11
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Physicist is New York Times APS NEWS War Correspondent A Publication of the American Physical Society • www.aps.org/publications/apsnews see page 5
Fellows by the Bay The Big Easy Hosts 2008 March Meeting The 2008 APS March Meet- ics sing-along, and a High Conditional Quantum Evolu- ing will be held March 10-14 School Teachers’ Day on Tues- tion; and Ethics Education. in New Orleans, Louisiana. It day, March 11, which will be The 5th APS Workshop on is the largest annual gathering held at LIGO-Livingston. Opportunities in Biological of professional physicists in In addition to the regular Physics, organized by the Di- the country. The scientific vision of Biological Phys- program will feature more ics, will be held on Sunday, than 90 invited sessions March 9. and 550 contributed ses- On Saturday, March 8 sions, at which approxi- and Sunday, March 9, the mately 7000 papers will Division of Polymer Phys- be presented, covering ics will host a special short the latest research in areas course: High-throughput represented by the APS Approaches to Polymer divisions of condensed Physics and Materials Sci- matter physics, materials ence. Photo by Darlene Logan physics, polymer phys- New Orleans is an excit- APS Fellows (l to r) Janice Button-Shafer (Berkeley), George Trilling (Berkeley), ics, chemical physics, ing city, and has achieved and Elliott Bloom (SLAC) enjoy the Bay Area Fellows reception that APS hosted biological physics, fluid significant recovery from at the Berkeley Faculty Club on October 16. Frances Hellman, Chair of the UC dynamics, laser science, hurricane Katrina. The Berkeley Physics Department, served as the local host. APS President-elect computational physics, French Quarter is thriving Arthur Bienenstock of Stanford chaired the program, which featured remarks by APS Executive Officer Judy Franz, Director of Education and Diversity Ted and atomic, molecular and the many fine restau- Hodapp, and Director of Public Affairs Michael Lubell. In addition, as the picture and optical physics. rants and shops are within indicates, there was plenty of time for the Fellows to enjoy the refreshments and Also taking part will be walking distance of most each other’s company. the APS topical groups on of the conference hotels. Instrument and Measure- The headquarters hotel is April Meeting Plenary Speakers Set ment Science, Magne- the New Orleans Marriott Eight of the nine plenary lec- University of Tennessee, “Science tism and its Applications, on Canal Street, just steps tures at the APS April Meeting in of Rare Isotopes: Connecting Nu- Shock Compression of away from the French St. Louis, Missouri, April 12-15, clei with the Universe” Condensed Matter, Sta- Quarter. A guide to attrac- 2008, have been confirmed. The Michael Peskin, SLAC, “Dark tistical and Nonlinear Physics, technical program, there will tions in New Orleans, compiled slate features many distinguished Matter in the Cosmos and in the and Quantum Information, as be eight half-day tutorials of- for APS by Jim McGuire, chair speakers on a broad range of top- Laboratory” well as the forums on Industrial fered on Sunday, March 9.The of the physics department at ics. They are: Michael Kramer, University and Applied Physics, Physics tutorial topics are: Basics of Tulane University, is available Bruce Remington LLNL, of Manchester, “The Double Pul- and Society, History of Phys- Density Functional Theory, online at the meeting website. “Probing Matter at the Extremes: sar: A Unique Gravity Lab” ics, International Physics, Edu- Static and Time-Dependent; This year small child care New Frontiers in High Energy Sara Seager, MIT, “Exoplan- cation, and Graduate Student Spintronics; Fundamentals of grants of $200 will be avail- Density Physics” ets: Interiors, Atmospheres, and the Affairs. Quantum Entanglement; Neu- able to assist meeting attendees Roger Blandford, Stanford, Search for Habitable Worlds” Special scheduled events tron and Synchrotron Scatter- bringing small children. The “Recent Developments in Plasma Robert Cahn, LBNL, “New include the annual prize and ing in Novel Materials; Will application form is available Astrophysics” Paths to Fundamental Physical award presentation, a one-day Carbon Replace Silicon? The on the meeting website. A par- Paul Chu, University of Hous- Law.” workshop on energy research Future of Graphitic Electronics; ent-child quiet room will also ton, “High Temperature Supercon- Information and registration for graduate students and post- Nanomagnetism: Manufacture, be available. ductivity 20 Years Later: Achieve- for the April Meeting is online at docs, a panel discussion with Physics, Devices, and Model- More info about the meet- ments, Promises and Challenges” http://www.aps.org/meetings/april/ APS journal editors, a students ing; Quantum Noise, Quantum ing: http://www.aps.org/meet- Witek Nazarewicz, ORNL/ index.cfm. lunch with the experts, a phys- Limited Measurements, and ings/march/index.cfm New Insights Into QGPs and Supernovae Highlight 2007 DNP Meeting Apker Recipients Study Galaxy Clusters, Nuclear physicists from around attempting to pass through it–both the world converged on Newport properties that standard QCD calcu- Entangled Photons News Virginia for the annual fall lations have not been able to explain meeting of the APS Division of satisfactorily. The LeRoy Apker Award is research on the dynamics of gal- The recipient in the non- Nuclear Physics (DNP), held Octo- To help resolve this issue, theo- given for outstanding research axy clusters in the Sloan Digital PhD category is Bryce Gadway ber 11-13. Among the highlights of retical physicists are turning to string accomplishments in physics by Sky Survey. He is currently a of Colgate University. In his the technical program were talks on theory (particularly the gauge-string an undergradu- senior-year research, the latest news from the Relativistic duality), which has revealed a deep ate. Two catego- conducted under the Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC), new in- connection between quantum gravity ries are recog- supervision of Kiko sights into nucleosynthesis gleaned and gauge theories similar to QCD, nized, one for an Galvez, he created from observations of metal-poor according to MIT’s Hong Liu. Along undergraduate at an ensemble of single stars, and the latest research on quark with several other speakers, he dis- an institution that photons entangled in gluon plasmas, including potential cussed examples where string theory grants the PhD, their polarization and insights to be gleaned from string techniques have been used to shed and the other for direction of momen- theory. light on existing data from RHIC, an undergradu- tum, and used them to Odd Coupling. Collisions and to make at least one prediction ate at an institu- test theories of nature of high-energy gold nuclei at that can be experimentally tested in tion that does not based on non-con- Brookhaven’s Relativistic Heavy the near future. grant the PhD. textual realism. The Ion Collider (RHIC) create explod- Princeton University’s Steven This year’s re- experimental results Photo by Shelly Johnston ing droplets of quark-gluon plasma Gubser has been finding interest- cipient in the ruled out realism or Bryce Gadway Matthew Becker (QGP), the stuff that filled the uni- ing comparisons between QCD and PhD category is non-contextuality, or verse microseconds after the Big string theory computations regard- Matthew Becker both. Gadway is now a Bang. However, the QGP turns out ing thermalization time, energy loss of the University of Michigan. graduate student at the University graduate student at Stony Brook to be close to an ideal liquid, and by heavy quarks, and the formation Working under Timothy McKay, of Chicago, pursuing his PhD in University, pursuing a PhD in also attenuates high-energy quarks DNP MEETING continued on page 7 he conducted his senior thesis astrophysics and cosmology. physics. 2 • December 2007 APS NEWS
Members in the Media This Month in Physics History December 1938: Discovery of Nuclear Fission “The award reminds us that Ashok Gadgil, Lawrence expert advice can influence Berkeley National Laborato- n December 1938, over Christmas vacation, with neutrons, found what appeared to be isotopes people and policy, that some- ry, on a plan in which wealthy Iphysicists Lise Meitner and Otto Frisch made a of barium among the decay products. They couldn’t times governments do listen to countries pay for clean energy startling discovery that would immediately revo- explain it, since it was thought that a tiny neutron reason and that the idea that rea- for poor countries in exchange lutionize nuclear physics and lead to the atomic couldn’t possibly cause the nucleus to crack in two son can guide human action is for carbon credits, Providence bomb. Trying to explain a puzzling finding made to produce much lighter elements. Hahn sent a let- very much alive, if not yet fully Journal, October 22, 2007 by nuclear chemist Otto Hahn in Berlin, Meitner ter to Meitner describing the puzzling finding. realized.” and Frisch realized that something previously Over the Christmas holiday, Meitner had a visit Michael Oppenheimer, Princ- “There’s a two-thirds chance thought impossible was actually happening: that a from her nephew, Otto Frisch, a physicist who eton University, on the Nobel there will be a disaster, and uranium nucleus had split in two. worked in Copenhagen at Niels Bohr’s institute. Lise Meitner was born in Vienna in 1878. She Mietner shared Hahn’s letter with Frisch. They peace prize, The New York that’s in the best scenario.” grew up in an intellectual family, and studied phys- knew that Hahn was a good chemist and had not Times, October 13, 2007 Steve Chu, Lawrence Berke- ics at the University of Vienna, receiving a doctor- made a mistake, but the results didn’t make sense. ley National Laboratory, on “It’s a sad thing to turn a sat- ate in 1906. As a woman, the only po- They went for a walk in the snow to global warming, The New York ellite off, but we had a lot of sition available to her at that time in talk about the matter, Frisch on skis, Times Magazine, October 21, great years.” Vienna was as a schoolteacher, so she Meitner keeping up on foot. They 2007 Warren Moos, Johns Hop- went to Berlin in 1907 in search of stopped at a tree stump to do some kins University, on the end of research opportunities. Meitner was calculations. Meitner suggested they “We are looking at trying to the FUSE mission, Baltimore shy, but soon became a friend and view the nucleus like a liquid drop, Sun, October 19, 2007 change something that has been collaborator of chemist Otto Hahn. following a model that had been pro- static for a long time. It would In 1912 the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute posed earlier by the Russian physi- “People have been working be naive to think it will happen for chemistry was established, and cist George Gamow and then further on nanoelectronics for many overnight.” she obtained a position there. During promoted by Bohr. Frisch, who was years, and there have been ad- Carl Wieman, University World War I Meitner volunteered as better at visualizing things, drew dia- vances at the device level on of British Columbia, on get- an x-ray nurse in the Austrian army. grams showing how after being hit switches and wires. This work ting professors to change their Upon returning to Berlin she was Lise Meitner with a neutron, the uranium nucleus takes a step towards showing teaching style from lecturing to made head of a physics section at the might, like a water drop, become elon- nanoelectronics in systems.” actively engaging the students, KWI, where she did research in nuclear physics. gated, then start to pinch in the middle, and finally Peter Burke, UC Irvine, on The Globe and Mail, October After the neutron was discovered 1932, scien- split into two drops. a radio built from carbon nano- 30, 2007 tists realized that it would make a good probe of After the split, the two drops would be driven tubes, Wired, October 17, 2007 the atomic nucleus. In 1934 Enrico Fermi bom- apart by their mutual electric repulsion at high en- “We certainly have seen com- barded uranium with neutrons, producing what he ergy, about 200 MeV, Frisch and Meitner figured. thought were the first elements heavier than ura- Where would the energy come from? Meitner “He has failed us in the worst ets that have had a brightening nium. Most scientists thought that hitting a large determined that the two daughter nuclei together possible way. It is a sad and re- period, a burst of some level, nucleus like uranium with a neutron could only would be less massive than the original uranium volting way to end a remarkable sometimes quite dramatic, but induce small changes in the number of neutrons nucleus by about one-fifth the mass of a proton, career.” nothing a million fold. So that’s or protons. However, one chemist, Ida Noddack, which, when plugged into Einstein’s famous for- Henry Kelly, Federation of got everybody’s attention.” pointed out that Fermi hadn’t ruled out the possi- mula, E=mc2, works out to 200 MeV. Everything American Scientists, on racist John Radzilowicz, Carnegie bility that in his reactions, the uranium might actu- fit. remarks made by James Watson, Science Center, on comet Hol- ally have broken up into lighter elements, though Frisch left Sweden after Christmas dinner. Hav- Newsday, October 18, 2007 mes, which recently brightened she didn’t propose any theoretical basis for how ing made the initial breakthrough, he and Meitner inexplicably, Pittsburgh Post that could happen. Her paper was largely ignored, collaborated by long-distance telephone. Frisch “When we get to the basics Gazette, October 30, 2007 and no one, not even Noddack herself, followed up talked briefly with Bohr, who then carried the news of why things happen, only then on the idea. of the discovery of fission to America, where it met can we get to the next level. They “A good fastball that drops Following Fermi’s work, Meitner and Hahn, with immediate interest. (students) are the ones who are 18 inches before crossing the along with chemist Fritz Strassmann, also began Meitner and Frisch sent their paper to Nature going to be doing that.” plate [at Fenway] will drop 22 bombarding uranium and other elements with neu- in January. Frisch named the new nuclear process Nandini Trivedi, Ohio State inches at Coors.” trons and identifying the series of decay products. “fission” after learning that the term “binary fis- University, on demonstrations Alan Nathan, University of Hahn carried out the careful chemical analysis; sion” was used by biologists to describe cell divi- for children at a physics festi- Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Meitner, the physicist, explained the nuclear pro- sion. Hahn and Strassmann published their finding val, Columbus Dispatch, Octo- on the effect of high altitude on cesses involved. separately, and did not acknowledge Meitner’s role ber 21, 2007 the World Series games played Meitner, who had Jewish ancestry, worked at in the discovery. the KWI until July 1938, when she was forced to Scientists quickly recognized that if the fission “I tell students they’re lucky. in Denver, Boston Globe, Octo- ber 27, 2007 flee from the Nazis. Her research was her whole reaction also emitted enough secondary neutrons, They’re getting in at the right life, and she had tried to hang on to her position as a chain reaction could potentially occur, releas- time–it’s right before we see long as possible, but when it became clear that she ing enormous amounts of energy. Many scientists “It literally is like tomogra- something.” would be in danger, she left hastily, with just two joined the efforts to produce an atomic bomb, but phy in the medical sense. You Rana Adhikari, Caltech, on small suitcases. She took a position in Stockholm Meitner wanted no part of that work, and was later can image big things–like 100- the LIGO gravitational wave at the Nobel Institute for Physics, but she had few greatly saddened by the fact that her discovery had search, Wired, October 22, meter-sized things–with a cou- resources for her research there, and felt unwel- led to such destructive weapons. She did continue 2007 ple of months’ worth of data.” come and isolated. She kept up her correspondence her research on nuclear reactions, and contributed Roy Schwitters, University of with Hahn, and continued to advise him about their to the construction of Sweden’s first nuclear re- “We could use it as a way to Texas, on his idea of using muon joint research. actor. Hahn won the Nobel Prize in chemistry in reduce our carbon emissions. detectors to image chambers hid- In December 1938, Hahn and Strassmann, con- 1944, but Meitner was never recognized for her This is not charity; this is self- den under Mayan temples, Dis- tinuing their experiments bombarding uranium important role in the discovery of fission. interest.” covery News, October 31, 2007
Series II, Vol. 16, No. 11 For Nonmembers–Circulation and Fulfillment Division, Editor-in-Chief (Plasma), Scott Milner (Polymer Physics), Paul Wolf December 2007 American Institute of Physics, Suite 1NO1, 2 Huntington Gene Sprouse*, Stony Brook University (on leave) (Ohio Section) , Heather Galloway (Texas Section) APS NEWS © 2007 The American Physical Society Quadrangle, Melville, NY 11747-4502. Allow at least Past-President 6 weeks advance notice. For address changes, please John J. Hopfield*, Princeton University ADVISORS send both the old and new addresses, and, if possible, General Councillors Representatives from Other Societies Coden: ANWSEN ISSN: 1058-8132 include a mailing label from a recent issue. Requests Robert Austin, Christina Back, Elizabeth Beise, Wendell Fred Dylla, AIP; Harvey Leff, AAPT from subscribers for missing issues will be honored Hill, Evelyn Hu*, Ann Orel*, Arthur Ramirez, Richart Editor•...... Alan Chodos without charge only if received within 6 months of the Slusher*, International Advisors Contributing Editor ...... Jennifer Ouellette issue’s actual date of publication. Periodical Postage Paid International Councillor Francisco Ramos Gómez, Mexican Physical Society Staff Writer...... Ernie Tretkoff at College Park, MD and at additional mailing offices. Albrecht Wagner Louis Marchildon, Canadian Association of Physicists Art Director and Special Publications Manager...... Kerry G. Johnson Postmaster: Send address changes to APS News, Mem- Chair, Nominating Committee Design and Production...... Nancy Bennett-Karasik bership Department, American Physical Society, One Margaret Murnane Staff Representatives Forefronts Editor...... Craig Davis Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740-3844. Chair, Panel on Public Affairs Alan Chodos, Associate Executive Officer; Amy Flatten Proofreader...... Edward Lee Robert Eisenstein Director of International Affairs; Ted Hodapp, Director APS News (ISSN: 1058-8132) is published 11X yearly, ed to: Editor, APS News, One Physics Ellipse, College APS COUNCIL 2007 Division, Forum and Section Councillors of Education and Diversity; Michael Lubell, Director, monthly, except the August/September issue, by the Park, MD 20740-3844, E-mail: [email protected]. President Charles Dermer (Astrophysics), P. Julienne (Atomic, Public Affairs; Dan Kulp, Editorial Director; Christine American Physical Society, One Physics Ellipse, Col- Leo P. Kadanoff*, University of Chicago Molecular & Optical Physics) Robert Eisenberg (Bio- Giaccone, Director, Journal Operations; Michael lege Park, MD 20740-3844, (301) 209-3200. It con- Subscriptions: APS News is an on-membership publi- President-Elect logical), Charles S. Parmenter (Chemical), Richard M. Stephens, Controller and Assistant Treasurer tains news of the Society and of its Divisions,Topical cation delivered by Periodical Mail. Members residing Arthur Bienenstock*, Stanford University Martin (Computational), Moses H. Chan (Condensed Groups, Sections and Forums; advance information on abroad may receive airfreight delivery for a fee of $15. Vice-President Matter Physics), James Brasseur (Fluid Dynamics), Peter Administrator for Governing Committees meetings of the Society; and reports to the Society by its Nonmembers: Subscription rates are available at http:// Cherry Murray*, Lawrence Livermore National Labora- Zimmerman* (Forum on Education), Roger Stuewer Ken Cole committees and task forces, as well as opinions. librarians.aps.org/institutional.html. tory (Forum on History of Physics), Patricia Mooney* Executive Officer (Forum on Industrial and Applied Physics), David Ernst Letters to the editor are welcomed from the member- Subscription orders, renewals and address changes Judy R. Franz*, University of Alabama, Huntsville (Forum on International Physics), Philip “Bo” Ham- * Members of the APS Executive Board ship. Letters must be signed and should include an ad- should be addressed as follows: For APS Members– (on leave) mer* (Forum on Physics and Society), Steven Rolston dress and daytime telephone number. The APS reserves Membership Department, American Physical Society, Treasurer (Laser Science), Leonard Feldman* (Materials), Akif the right to select and to edit for length or clarity. All One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740-3844, Joseph Serene*, Georgetown University (emeritus) Balantekin (Nuclear), John Jaros* (Particles & Fields), correspondence regarding APS News should be direct- [email protected]. Ronald Ruth (Physics of Beams), David Hammer APS NEWS December 2007 • 3
Many Disciplines Have Stake in APS Honors BCS, Joseph Henry in Historic Site Ceremonies
Underground Laboratory As part of its historic sites initiative, About 200 scientists gathered in the largest and deepest underground APS recently commemorated two Washington, DC November 2-4 to lab in the world, would make the US major achievements in physics in the discuss the next phases of the study a world leader in underground sci- US: the discovery of magnetic self- of a deep underground science labo- ence, speakers at the meeting said. ratory to be located in the abandoned DUSEL is still in the early plan- inductance by Joseph Henry in 1832, Homestake mine in South Dakota. ning stages. “Cost is an important and the formulation of the microscopic At an open session Friday after- issue,” said Jack Lightbody, deputy theory of superconductivity by John noon, scientists, representatives of assistant director of the mathematical Bardeen, Leon Cooper and J. Rob- government agencies, and govern- and physical sciences directorate of ert Schrieffer in 1956-1957. The site ment officials from South Dakota NSF. Reliable, responsible cost esti- of Henry’s discovery was the Albany described the process, the need for a mates will be crucial to the success Academy, a preparatory school for Deep Underground Science and En- of the project, he said. boys that was founded in 1813. The gineering Lab (DUSEL), the techni- Planning for DUSEL began after school is still in existence, and in the cal design, and scientific opportuni- the Homestake gold mine announced photo at left John Rigden, chair of ties DUSEL could provide. it was closing in 2000. “Never has the APS Historic Sites Committee, The site-independent study group the closing of a business caused so watches as Head of the School Caro- of DUSEL organized the workshop, much excitement in the scientific which was sponsored by the Uni- community,” said Joe Dehmer, direc- line B. Mason signs the APS register versity of California’s Institute for tor of the physics division of NSF. In of historic sites, part of the ceremony Nuclear and Particle Astrophysics the years since, several studies of the surrounding the plaque presentation. and Cosmology. The November 3-4 prospects for a deep underground lab After leaving Albany Academy, Henry sessions also received support from have been conducted. After a compe- became a professor at Princeton, and NSF. tition between several potential sites, later the first secretary of theS mithso- With space to go as deep as 8000 NSF announced on July 10 the se- nian Institution in Washington. feet, DUSEL would be well shielded lection of the Homestake mine near from cosmic ray backgrounds, mak- Lead, South Dakota, as the site for Bardeen, Cooper and Schrieffer did ing it useful for a variety of physics DUSEL. The team, headed by Kevin their work at the University of Illinois experiments. The lab would also Lesko of UC Berkeley, was chosen at Urbana-Champaign. APS President provide significant research oppor- to lead the design effort. They will re- Leo Kadanoff (right) presents the his- tunities in biology, geosciences, and ceive $15 million over 3 years for the engineering, as well as a strong edu- technical design of the laboratory. toric sites plaque to UIUC Chancellor cation and outreach component. The NSF has not yet commit- Richard Herman. The presentation The site-independent study group, ted funds for facility construction or was part of a celebration of the 50th an- which included hundreds of scien- development of the first suite of ex- niversary of BCS theory, held at UIUC tists from various disciplines, rec- periments. A rough timetable would in October. The plaque reads, “In this ommended strong support for deep have the earliest construction start in building, the home of the University of underground science, a cross agency FY11, with construction expected to Illinois’ Physics Department from 1909 deep science initiative, and construc- take seven or eight years. The proj- to 1959, John Bardeen, Leon Cooper, tion of a deep underground lab. The ect would cost about $500 million and J. Robert Schrieffer created the study group mapped out some of the for the initial phase, split evenly be- ‘BCS’ theory of superconductivity, a compelling scientific questions that tween facility and experiments. DU- great achievement of theoretical phys- could be studied deep underground. SEL must go through an approval ics, in 1956-1957. For their work, they “Deep underground science and en- process that could take years before gineering represents a new frontier,” it can be built. “It’s not a done deal,” were awarded the 1972 Nobel Prize in said Bernard Sadoulet of UC Berke- said Dehmer. Physics.” ley, one of the leaders of the study Governor Mike Rounds of South group. Dakota said that his state was enthu- Smashing Eggs in the Name of Science An underground laboratory siastic about hosting the deep under- By Erika Gebel would help answer several important ground lab. “I have 780,000 people questions in particle physics, nucle- in my state. They are nearly unani- Ed. Note: Each year APS found out my reporter status, they nian physics with gadgets, which, ar physics, and astrophysics, such mous in their support of this project” sponsors two mass media fellows were eager to talk with me, often on the day I visited, included a as: What is the dark matter? What said Rounds. Rounds was especially as part of a program run by the interrupting each other in an effort two-story long spring, a weight, happened to the antimatter that was excited about the lab’s outreach and AAAS. Typically graduate stu- to fill my ear. This was not an un- and an egg. The object of this present at the big bang? Are protons education opportunities, saying that dents in physics or a related field, usual reaction to the presence of a game was to demonstrate one’s unstable? What can neutrinos tell us? he believed it would spark children’s they spend eight weeks over the reporter in the world of science; I mastery of physics through deter- How did the universe evolve? interest in science. summer working for a mass media had already noticed how scientists mining to what displacement the A quiet environment shielded South Dakota has appropriated outlet, learning how to commu- are often excited to talk about their spring-attached weight should be from cosmic rays is crucial to de- $19.9 million for the underground nicate science to the public. Last raised such that it would just kiss tecting elusive objects such as dark lab, which is a lot of money for South month APS Media Fellow Merek an egg placed on the ground be- matter and neutrinos as well as rare Dakota, said Rounds. “We believe in Siu wrote about his experiences; neath it. Once I painted that image nuclear processes such as proton de- it. We want to see it move forward,” this month it’s Erika Gebel’s turn. for my readers, I hoped I could get cay and neutrinoless double beta de- he said. She spent the summer at the Phila- them to continue reading in order cay. Trying to observe dark matter at In addition to the funds from the delphia Inquirer and is now com- to learn the fate of the unsuspect- ground level would be like trying to state of South Dakota, philanthropist pleting her PhD in biophysics at ing egg. In the meantime, I was listen to music in the middle of Man- S. Denny Sanford has committed $70 The Johns Hopkins University. going to tell them about physics hattan, said Hitoshi Murayama of million to the Sanford Underground Surrounded by a medley of “modeling”. UC Berkeley. “We have to go where Science and Engineering Laboratory. physics teachers–young, old, fe- Providing entertainment was a it’s quiet,” he said. In response to a The Sanford lab, at 4850 feet below male, male, four-eyed, two-eyed–I common strategy I employed to question about the odds of DUSEL ground, will serve as the first phase sat in the back of a classroom that keep readers interested in science. detecting dark matter, Murayama of DUSEL, and should be open for was strangely alive amongst the research, especially with someone For a story I wrote about proteins, said, “My gut feeling is it’s pretty science late next year. DUSEL will empty July halls of Ridley High who can act as their translator and, entropy, and drug design, I likened high.” develop deeper levels. School. Occasionally one of the perhaps, champion. the motion of proteins to a mating In addition to the scientific pros- Currently the mine is flooded up throng would shoot me a curious A science writer is essentially dance. People love to hear about pects, DUSEL would provide a great to a depth of 5000 feet. The water glance. I was an interloper. Catch- an interpreter, but also an educator health too, and that translates into education and outreach opportunity, level is still rising, and the water will ing up being impossible, it prob- and entertainer. It’s quite a balanc- stories about pharmaceuticals. In said Murayama. “This kind of sci- have to be pumped out before the ably seemed like I had no business ing act, but one I found I am quite addition to explaining the basics ence would open up young minds to deeper levels of the site can be used showing up in the middle of an apt for. With the physics education of the research, I was careful to new ideas,” he said. as a science and engineering labora- intensive three week workshop on story, I was going to have to wear tie the findings directly into drugs Around the world, there is a grow- tory. “modeling” pedagogy. all these hats. Physics in itself is and disease. If journalists are to ing interest in underground science Jose Alonso has recently been Soon, my contact announced difficult for many to grasp and in- compete with television, radio, and an increasing demand for un- selected as the head of Sanford lab. my intentions and the skeptical deed the mere mention of it will and the internet, we need to paint derground labs. “Underground labs Alonso is a physicist who retired in inquisitiveness turned to enthu- send some into a shivering cold pictures, tell stories, and provide around the world are already produc- 2002 from Lawrence Berkeley Na- siastic acceptance. I was from sweat. I had to ease my readers visual representations to enhance ing exciting science opportunities,” tional Laboratory, where he was in- the Philadelphia Inquirer, where into the story with something any- the enjoyment and understanding said Art MacDonald of Queens Uni- volved with developing and manag- I was spending the summer as one could enjoy and that required of our readers. This is what I tried versity, Canada. Underground labs in ing the Bevelac project, a large accel- AAAS mass media fellow gen- little physics know-how to under- to do for every story and that strat- other countries are open to US scien- erator facility. He also served on the erously supported by APS, and stand–smashing eggs. egy managed to get the “intimi- tists, but they are already largely sub- management team for the Spallation writing a story on the “modeling” An integral part of the work- dating” topic of physics onto the scribed. DUSEL, which would be LABORATORY continued on page 7 methodology. Once the teachers shop involved exploring Newto- Inquirer’s front page—twice. 4 • December 2007 APS NEWS Letters
Not with a Bang, but a Whisper The Lighter Side of Science 2007 Ig Nobel Awards Isn’t the metaphor “whispering Wilson in 1964, for which they The 2007 Ig Nobel Prizes, versity, USA, and Enrique Cerda many ways it causes problems for cosmos” a more accurate and aes- received the Nobel Prize in 1978. honoring achievements that first Villablanca of Universidad de anyone who tries to put things into thetic description than “big bang” Fred Hoyle’s continuous make people LAUGH, and then Santiago de Chile, for studying alphabetical order. for the very cool microwave back- creation or steady state theory make them THINK, were award- how sheets become wrinkled. PEACE PRIZE ground radiation the permeates cannot explain the microwave ed at Harvard University’s historic BIOLOGY PRIZE The Air Force Wright Labora- the entire universe?” background radiation or cosmic Sanders Theatre in October before Prof. Dr. Johanna E.M.H. van In 1949, astronomer Fred tory, Dayton, Ohio, USA, for in- whisper, which has cooled from 1200 spectators. The event was Bronswijk of Eindhoven Universi- Hoyle coined the term big bang stigating research & development the expansion of a hot “primeval produced by the science humor ty of Technology, The Netherlands, to deride Belgian priest George on a chemical weapon–the so- atom”. Yet the term big bang per- magazine Annals of Improbable for doing a census of all the mites, Lemaître’s prediction that the uni- called “gay bomb”–that will make sists. Big bang makes no physical Research (AIR), and co-sponsored insects, spiders, pseudoscorpions, verse had originated from the ex- enemy soldiers become sexually sense, as there was no matter (or by the Harvard-Radcliffe Science crustaceans, bacteria, algae, ferns pansion of a hot “primeval atom” irresistible to each other. space) needed to carry the sound Fiction Association and the Har- and fungi with whom we share our in space-time. Lemaître had based NUTRITION PRIZE that Hoyle’s term implies. The big vard-Radcliffe Society of Physics beds each night. this on Einstein’s equations of Brian Wansink of Cornell Uni- bang is a hypothesis. There was no Students, and the Harvard Com- CHEMISTRY PRIZE general relativity. Hoyle referred versity, for exploring the seem- one there to observe it! Other hy- puter Society. Mayu Yamamoto of the Inter- to Lemaître’s “primeval atom” ingly boundless appetites of hu- potheses may be discovered that The event was broadcast live national Medical Center of Japan, sarcastically as “this big bang man beings, by feeding them with can predict the observed Whisper- on the Internet, and can be seen in for developing a way to extract idea” during a program broadcast a self-refilling, bottomless bowl of ing Cosmos as well as the nature recorded form at
From Physicist to War Correspondent: Mr. Glanz Goes to Baghdad By Alaina G. Levine Stop the presses. The new Bagh- the lab], the guy said ‘can you read fallen. “I was rushing by the edito- Pulitzer Prize. of science. dad Bureau Chief of The New York a circuit diagram?’ and I lied said rial pod in the science section and the Glanz’s experience from Ground “The language of science is so Times is a physicist. ‘yeah, of course.’ And I sort of real- deputy science editor was handing Zero gave him his first understanding universal it allows you to make this Jim Glanz, who received his PhD ized I had been spending all my life out assignments from her desk,” he of how his physics background gave immediate connection with someone from Princeton’s Astrophysical Sci- around stuff like this him a certain “street who otherwise might seem com- ences Department with a concentra- and I turned out to be credibility” in report- pletely different from you,” Glanz tion on “all kinds of funky waves,” as very good at that kind ing and speaking with says, “and I used that again and again he says it, has worked for the Times of thing. Eventually sources. and again to gain interviews and get since 1999 when he was hired as a I became passionate “I wrote about the insights into people and to get help science writer. He filed stories about about physics too and I cleanup which in- with stories.” the engineering and scientific issues changed my major.” volved engineers and I Glanz concedes that he misses the pertaining to the fall of the World Soon “physics be- spoke their language,” day-to-day action of being in phys- Trade Center, which he and a col- came the center of he says. “It wasn’t just ics, and refers to himself as a “former league compiled into a book, and in my world…it kind of a way of understand- physicist.” He compares the lament 2004 he became a war correspon- gained momentum and ing what they did, it he experiences of not being a “prac- dent. He has since been reporting all of a sudden I had was also a way of get- ticing physicist” to that of an ampu- from Baghdad every few months. a scholarship to go to ting them to talk to us. tee: “It’s sort of a lost limb thing–they His tenure as Bureau Chief began Princeton and I took There were all these say if your hand gets chopped off you officially this summer and will likely it,” he says. Photo by Robert Nickelsberg reporters clamoring for feel pain in your pinky every now last at least a year. But he never Jim Glanz (right) interviews the Iranian ambassador to Iraq, Hassan their attention, [and] and again and I do feel that pain.” His decision to take the position, stopped writing, and Kazemi Qumi, in the Iranian Embassy in Baghdad we had a big advantage But he has an advantage. Glanz “at the center of the world’s biggest in fact envisioned because we were out opines that being a journalist is “not story,” was a no-brainer. “Once you combining physics and writing in his recollects. “She just looked at me as ahead knowledge-wise…We came that different from when I was a get in the middle of a story like this… career, perhaps in the vein of Stephen I went by and said ‘structure.’ That off as some of the most knowledge- physicist. At some basic levels you you want to see how it all comes out, Jay Gould, who remained in the acad- meant I was supposed to do a low able reporters down there. We had want to say the best thing is grap- how the story in effect ends,” he ex- emy while authoring essays. This profile story on how the skyscrap- our ducks in a row and we constantly pling with reality, learning about it plains. “I was asked to be Bureau was not to be, says Glanz, because, ers were put together because these got access and tips on stories.” and being able to write about it to Chief, I thought it over and I realized “I really wasn’t a genius [at physics], planes had hit them.” This entrée into story scoops con- some kind of public. I love all aspects I wanted to continue reporting the but you have to be really, really smart But when the towers fell and it tinues today in Iraq. “It’s been a real of it. I love the reporting, I love the story and accepted the job.” to have a lot of fun at physics. Other- became a very high profile story on boost for me because…I have a natu- writing, I love the fact that…there’s As Bureau Chief, he will concen- wise, it gets tunneled into the narrow what made the towers come down, ral connection to all the engineers reality that you’re using as material trate on administrative, security, and specialties and I don’t really like that. Glanz started going to Ground Zero who were left here,” Glanz describes. for that whole process, which for me editorial issues. Glanz is responsible And at the same time I tend to really to investigate. He teamed up with a As he interacts with Iraqi engineers, is a very visceral kind of thing and for the hiring of Iraqi staff, financial focus hard on things and that never Times metro reporter and together he is seen as someone who can speak one I can’t imagine living without.” concerns such as salaries and ex- really worked well when I tried to they wrote 200 articles on the science a language more important than Ara- Copyright, 2007, Alaina G. penses, and of course, getting juicy divide my time between physics and of the site. They were finalists for the bic or English, that is, the language Levine. stories. writing.” “You have to try and stay ahead of So upon graduation, although he Gonzalez Labors in the “Trenches” of Cancer Treatment Research the news and make sure your folks are was offered a job with Lawrence Medical physics is not a well- radiation therapy allows doctors to covering the right topics at any given Livermore National Laboratory in known field, but it’s an extremely shape the beam more precisely, so time,” he states. “You’re moving the the laser physics program, he accept- important one, says medical physi- the beam hits only tumor cells and pieces around on the board quite a bit ed a much lower paying position at cist Albin Gonzalez. As chief medi- avoids harming healthy tissue. “And and at the same time you have to be R & D Magazine as a staff writer on cal physicist at the Firelands Cancer all this improvement has been done a reporter and file stories and still be the biotechnology and environmental Center in Sandusky, Ohio, Gonzalez by physicists. Physicists have been productive in that respect.” issues beats. “I just felt that was a bet- works with a team that is responsible the champions of bringing a lot of Glanz loves being a journalist. ter way for me to go and I’ve never for patient treatment and safety. Ev- new technology,” says Gonzalez. But don’t get him wrong. He enjoys looked back,” Glanz says. ery day, Gonzalez applies his knowl- Like many medical physicists, physics as well, and has since high He stayed at R & D for a few edge of physics, biology, medicine, Gonzalez has a PhD in physics. Orig- stantly learning new technology. school. However, his foray into phys- years, wrote a book on soil science and computer technology to give pa- inally from Panama, Gonzalez came “We are actually implementing new ics was driven, ironically, by financial and got a job with Science Magazine. tients the best possible treatment. to the United States to pursue an ad- technology to do new types of treat- necessity. As an undergraduate at the And in 1999, after he broke the story Gonzalez works with high-tech vanced degree in physics at Vander- ments,” he says. Physicists have been University of Iowa, “I thought I was about the existence of dark energy machines, commercial versions of bilt University in Nashville, Tennes- responsible for many of the improve- going to major in journalism, and to and its relationship to the accelerated the same type of accelerators used in see. While searching for a topic for ments in cancer treatment, Gonzalez tell you the truth I was broke and I expansion of the Universe, he was cutting-edge science. His clinic re- his PhD thesis, he happened to find says. For instance, just a few years walked into the physics lab to get a offered a coveted science reporter cently moved to a new building and a research group that was working in ago, people who had some types of job,” he recalls. Because he had been slot at The New York Times. The les- bought two new linear accelerators medical physics. That subject caught cancer were treated with large beams around radio stations with his DJ and son: trump the Times and you may “with all the bells and whistles,” he his interest, and he decided to join the of radiation that damaged healthy sportscaster father, “I was more fa- just come out ahead. says. group. He soon realized he wanted to cells. But now, a new type of treat- miliar than I even realized with basic On September 11, Glanz got to With the rapid improvement in ment called intensity modulated GONZALEZ continued on page 7 electronics, so when I walked [into the office before either tower had cancer treatment, Gonzalez is con- GEC Conference Features Latest Research on Plasma Phenomena and Processes Carbon nanowalls, space plas- namics, among other topics. technique to synthesize CNWs ions for thermonuclear fusion it a challenge to create plasmas ma propulsion, and applying cold Building Carbon Nanowalls. with a wide range of morpholo- and electrodeless space plasma at temperatures cool enough not plasmas to facilitate wound heal- Carbon nanowalls (CNWs) are gies and structures, some with propulsion. Previous known to damage surfaces, but this can ing were among the highlights of two-dimensional nanosctruc- excellent characteristics for mechanisms used electrostatic now be done fairly easily. Cold the annual Gaseous Electronics tures made of layers of graphene, building new functional devices (ES) waves, which only accel- plasmas are proving useful as a Conference, held October 2-5 in with much potential as an ideal (such as biodevices), including erate ions with initial velocities means of sterilizing heat-sensi- Arlington, Virginia. The meet- material for catalyst support for good electron field emission and above a certain threshold. This tive medical tools, and decon- ing’s focus is on basic phenom- fuel cells and gas storage, thanks water repellency of the surface new mechanism involves pairs of taminating surfaces, particularly ena and plasma processes in par- to their high surface-to-volume area. Exposing the surface to a beating ES waves, and is capable skin wounds. This has already tially ionized gases, and on the ratios. One graphene sheet could plasma makes it hydrophilic. of accelerating ions with small been demonstrated in vivo, ac- theory and measurement of basic potentially demonstrate high Accelerating Ions for Plas- initial velocities, thereby offer- cording to Eva Stoffels of Eind- atomic and molecular collision electron mobility and large sus- ma Propulsion. Edgar Choueiri ing a more effective way to cou- hoven University of Technology, processes. There are also ses- tainable current, thereby enabling of Princeton university reported ple energy to plasmas. Choueiri who has developed a “cold plas- sions devoted to related applica- various kinds of electric devices on a recently discovered mecha- believes this fundamental insight ma needle.” This is a specially tions, including plasma process- using this material. Masaru Hori nism for ion acceleration that can be applied to develop novel designed plasma source with a ing of materials, gas lasers, ion of Nagoya University reported on appears to occur naturally in plasma propulsion concepts. low-power discharge below the sources, gas discharge lamps, a novel plasma enhanced chemi- Earth’s ionosphere, and holds Cold Plasmas Heal Wounds. threshold of tissue damage. diagnostics, and plasma aerody- cal vapor deposition (PECVD) promise as a means of energizing Ten years ago, scientists found GEC continued on page 6 Focus on
Focus on
6 • December 2007 APS NEWS
Determined Leadership ocus on
Featured Topical Group: GSNP The topical group on statistical statistical physics, is now relevant to and nonlinear physics (GSNP) brings a very broad set of disciplines. It is together people studying widely di- also very important in biology,” says verse phenomena, from earthquakes Marchetti. and bird flocking to traditional non- The field has its roots in equi- linear systems and chaos. librium statistical physics, but has Work in statistical and nonlinear evolved to encompass and empha- physics overlaps naturally with fluid size nonequilibrium and dynamical dynamics, computational physics, phenomena. It is a field in rapid evo- biological physics, condensed matter lution, with a constantly changing physics, and polymer physics. focus. “For a long time physicists “It’s a very interdisciplinary have focused on systems at or near group. GSNP includes researchers thermal equilibrium. Equilibrium working on a wide spectrum of non- statistical mechanics is an old and linear and nonequilibrium problems well developed subject, although that span many disciplines, from bi- many open questions remain,” says ology to earth science,” says GSNP Marchetti. On the other hand, the chair Cristina Marchetti of Syracuse majority of phenomena in nature are Photo by Ken Cole University. “One of the goals of the not in equilibrium, Marchetti points The governing board of the American Institute of Physics met in College Park, MD on November 2. As the largest FocusGroup hason been to strengthen Topic and out. This is clearly always Groups the case in member society of AIP, APS has seven members on the board, including APS President Leo Kadanoff. Here Kadanoff highlight the connections between biology. (right) meets with AIP Executive Director and CEO H. Frederick Dylla for some high-level discussion. theseTopic disparate fields and topics.” The membership Groups of GSNP has Many GSNP members work in grown steadily in recent years. Most GEC continued from page 5 areas of nonlinear dynamical sys- of the GSNP activities take place at The plasma needle does not cryoetching process as a faster land, College Park, described his Focustems and chaos, on including chaotic Topic the March Meeting, where everyGroups cause fatal cell injury and al- and cleaner alternative. A major recent collaborative work aimed behavior that arises in nonlinear pen- year GSNP sponsors many Focus lows for precise and localized challenge is achieving precise at improving our understanding dulums, turbulent fluid flow, and pat- Sessions and Invited Symposia, often cell removal, as well as bacterial control of the formation of the and control of plasma-surface tern formation. Some of these areas in conjunction with other units. Al- disinfection. Stoffels reported wafer’s passivation layer. He and interactions with advanced poly- of study have a very natural overlap though most of the GSNP members that the plasma does not necro- his GREMI colleagues have de- mers for nanoscale patterning of with fluid dynamics, says Marchetti. attend the March Meeting, there is tize the cells, has clear antimi- veloped an improved cryoetch- materials. In addition to classical chaotic sys- also significant GSNP representation crobrial effects, and stimulates ing process using SF6 and O2 as According to Koichi Sasaki tems, some GSNP members now at the annual DFD November meet- fibroblast cells towards faster basic gases that form an SiOxFy of Nagoya University’s Plasma study quantum chaos. ing. Each year GSNP recommends attachment and proliferation. passivation layer in an inductive- Nanotechnology Research Cen- Other GSNP members are work- several APS Fellows to Council for Concerns remain about potential ly-coupled plasma (ICP) reactor ter, laser-aided plasma diagnos- ing on complex materials, or soft election. cytotoxicity, but Stoffels’ recent- at very low temperatures. tics offers a powerful tool for condensed matter. This area includes GSNP also sponsors two other ly completed in vitro studies on Despite the widespread use exploring reactive plasmas, as many important systems, such as un- activities at the March Meeting. The long-term cellular damage were of plasma-based etching to well as for monitoring the op- derstanding granular media, liquid first is the “Gallery of Images” mod- produce device features with crystals, colloids, cells, the collective eled after a similar exhibition started “satisfying,” paving the way eration of conditions of plasma behavior of bacteria, and the study of years ago by DFD. GSNP members for clinical applications such as precisely controlled nanoscale processing tools in factories to earthquakes and crack propagation. are invited to submit a poster or disinfecting wounds and dental dimensions, surprisingly little achieve efficient mass produc- Self-assembly and self-organization video that provides some striking, cavities. is known about the interaction tion. He discussed two examples play key roles in many of these sys- yet informative display of work in Pattern Recognition. Deep of the plasma with the organic of laser-aided precise diagnos- tems. the area of statistical or nonlinear etching of silicon is used widely molecules arranged in the sur- tics for lab experiments, as well Yet another class of problems physics. Such images arise from ex- to build MEMs and other mi- face pattern, not to mention the as a new method for monitoring that has caught the attention of sta- periments or from numerical studies, croelectronics components, but chemical, morphological and reactive plasmas. The latter is tistical physicists lately is the study and can be strikingly beautiful while Remi Dussart of the Université topographic changes induced by based on diode laser absorption of networks. Examples of networks carrying critical scientific informa- d’Orléans’ GREMI program these interactions. Gottlieb Oeh- spectroscopy, enabling low cost, include the internet, cell signaling tion. For example, drops splashing is interested in developing the rlein of the University of Mary- maintenance-free operation. networks, and power grid networks. on surfaces create fascinating images “There are ideas and mathematical when caught by a high speed cam- techniques that can address ques- era. The entries are displayed at the tions that are relevant to all these sys- March Meeting, and winning entries tems,” says Marchetti. are published in the journal Chaos. These seemingly disparate topics Examples from recent contests in- actually have a lot in common, says clude visual representations of the Marchetti. “What unifies them are community structure in the U.S. the common ideas that are often used House of Representatives, the crowd It’s the Emotion, Stupid! to study them,” she says. Principal synchrony on the London Millen- by Michael S. Lubell, APS Director of Public Affairs among those are the notions of scal- nium Bridge, and the edge of chaos ing and universality. The concept of in pipe flow. Starting next year there “Enough, already,” Laura whis- Laura said, with her usual refresh- Rove had it figured out perfectly, universality, which has been around will also be a cash prize for the win- pered in my ear, can’t you see peo- ing bit of vernacular. “People years ago, well before brain-scan for some time, has its roots in the ning entry. ple’s eyes are glazing over.” I have don’t spend their time 24-7 think- technology gave the principle any study of phase transitions and criti- The second GSNP-sponsored to admit, it shut me up pretty fast. ing with their brains; they mostly scientific gravitas: cal phenomena that occur in systems activity at the March Meeting is an Later, on the way home from react with their emotions. You It’s no accident that George W. composed of many interacting units. award for the best graduate student the dinner party, she picked up physicists just don’t get it.” Bush used terrorism as the win- At certain characteristic parameter talk in the field. GSNP members where she had left off. “Physics, She had it right, at least if you ning strategy in the 2004 election values, these systems exhibit coop- are invited to submit nominations of no matter how fascinating you believe the results of recent neuro- or that his father used the Willie erative behavior and undergo a phase students for the award, and a num- may find it, bores most people to psychological brain-scan experi- Horton ad to destroy Michael Du- change. Near this phase transition, ber of students are selected to give death. It’s not that they can’t un- ments–which ironically have used kakis in 1988. Or that two decades the system is universal in that the be- a presentation in a special session at derstand what you’re saying–you the tools physicists helped to cre- earlier, Lyndon Johnson ever so havior of the system at large scales the March Meeting, with a cash prize are, after all, a very good teacher. ate. And it pretty much explains briefly used the granddaddy of does not depend on the microscopic awarded for the best presentation. But it’s too cerebral.” why science rarely gets even a fear-mongering negative ads–a physics. Consequently, many seem- The Group also has a deep inter- “Too cerebral, what’s so cere- nanosecond’s worth of attention mushroom cloud over a field of ingly disparate systems involving est in education. Last year, GSNP bral about the greenhouse gas ef- during any political campaign, daisies–to torpedo Barry Goldwa- the onset of collective or emergent and the Forum on Education jointly fect or renewable energy? Al Gore the 2008 marathon thus far fitting ter’s White House campaign ship behavior, can be characterized using held a symposium on the teaching of just got the Nobel Peace Prize and neatly into the customary mold. in 1964. these concepts and techniques. non-equilibrium statistical physics, an Oscar for his movie, Inconve- As Drew Westen, a well-known The flip-side of fear, love, also As physics itself has become a subject that is not systematically nient Truth,” I replied, perspira- Emory University psychologist, works wonders. Bill Clinton “felt more interdisciplinary, interest in taught in graduate schools. tion beads of irritability beginning notes in his recent book, The Po- everybody’s pain” in 1992 and, statistical and nonlinear physics has With nearly 900 members, GSNP, to show on my brow. litical Brain – The Role of Emo- despite being tainted by more grown. “The field has really explod- which was formed in 1998, is now “He didn’t win them for sci- tion in Deciding the Fate of a Na- than whiffs of scandalous sexual ed because statistical physics, partic- one of the largest of the APS topical ence. He won them by scaring the tion (Public Affairs Books, New adventures and comparative inex- ularly what we call nonequilibrium groups. living @&#$ out of his audience,” York, 2007), Republican guru Karl BELTWAY continued on page 7 APS NEWS December 2007 • 7 ANNOUNCEMENTS DNP MEETING continued from page 1 Now Appearing in RMP: of sonic booms. The string theory lapse mechanism. In addition, a new APS CONGRESSIONAL Recently Posted Reviews computations hinge on dynamics of class of energetic supernovae, called and Colloquia black horizons in a fifth dimension, “hypernovae,” has been discovered. SCIENCE FELLOWSHIP but Gubser argues that while such “As a result, the study of the super- You will find the following in the 2008-2009 online edition of horizons “may appear fanciful, they nova mechanism has assumed a far Reviews of Modern Physics at in fact provide very practical and di- wider portfolio and a greater rich- http://rmp.aps.org rect tools for computing dynamical ness than ever in the past,” he said. Fermi-liquid instabilities properties of analogs of the QGP.” THE AMERICAN PHYSICAL SOCIETY is currently accepting It will require a synergistic interplay at magnetic quantum phase There are a few string theory predic- applications for the Congressional Science Fellowship Program. between nuclear physics and sophis- Fellows serve one year on the staff of a senator, representative or transitions tions that are quite close to experi- ticated numerical simulation to shed congressional committee. They are afforded an opportunity to learn Hilbert v. Löhneysen, mentally favored values, although he further light on this phemoenon. the legislative process and explore science policy issues from the Achim Rosch, Matthias Vojta, cautions that there are still significant and Peter Wölfle The Future of Nuclear Theory. lawmakers’ perspective. In turn, Fellows have the opportunity to barriers to making those predictions lend scientific and technical expertise to public policy issues. Nuclear theory has reinvented itself more precise. QUALIFICATIONS include a PhD or equivalent in physics or a Fermi-liquid theory, which Elemental Matters. According in the last 10 years, creating new closely related field, a strong interest in science and technology describes in particular the to NSCL’s Fernando Montes, re- paradigms for matter under extreme policy and, ideally, some experience in applying scientific knowl- state of electrons at low tem- peratures, is one of the central cent observations of the abundances conditions, and developing better edge toward the solution of societal problems. Fellows are required methods for investigating the struc- to be US citizens and members of the APS. pillars of modern condensed- of metal-poor stars suggest that an matter physics. Instabilities ture and interaction of hadrons in TERM OF APPOINTMENT is one year, beginning in September additional mechanism besides the of 2008 with participation in a two-week orientation sponsored by of the Fermi-liquid state are known r-process is responsible for few-and many-body systems. The AAAS. Fellows have considerable choice in congressional assign- therefore of fundamental inter- the production of material within a renaissance is far from over, accord- ments. est, in addition to leading to specific region (nucleosynthesis). He ing to David Kaplan of the Institute A STIPEND is offered in addition to an allowance for relocation, very remarkable observable finds that mixing the r-process pat- for Nuclear Theory, who cited the in-service travel, and health insurance premiums. properties. In this article the authors discuss one way for tern found in such stars with a light advent of petascale computing as APPLICATION should consist of a letter of intent of no more the Fermi-liquid state to break element primary process (LEPP) than two pages, a two-page resumé: with one additional page for providing even more opportunities down, namely, the system un- can explain these observations. He publications, and three letters of reference. Please see the APS for theorists to solve complex open website (http://www.aps.org/policy/fellowships/congressional.cfm) dergoing a quantum phase has used the LEPP abundance pat- questions in the field. for detailed information on materials required for applying and other transition, and difficulties in tern based on those observations to For instance, over the next de- information on the program. understanding the latter within explore the astrophysical conditions the framework of simple theo- cade, there will be a number of ex- ALL APPLICATION MATERIALS MUST BE that would create it. ries. perimental studies of neutrinos and SUBMITTED ONLINE BY JANUARY 15, 2008. . Physicists Why Stars Explode fundamental symmetries, and nu- continue to explore potential explo- clear theory will play a critical role sion mechanisms for core-collapse in interpreting those results and their Manhattan Project Session at the supernovae explosions, an area of implications for the “New Standard research that spans four decades. April 2008 APS Meeting While much progress has been made Model” of fundamental interactions. Michael Ramsey-Musolf of the in understanding the basic physics On Sunday, April 13, 2008 at 10:30 AM there will be a session University of Wisconsin-Madison and hydrodynamics, there is still no devoted to the Manhattan Project, particularly Los Alamos during truly satisfactory explanation. Ac- discussed a few of the biggest chal- the war years 1943-45. cording to Adam Burrows of the lenges for nuclear theory, including There will be two invited talks, by Val Fitch, who was a member of University of Arizona, an acoustic neutrino-less double beta-decay, the Special Engineering Detachment, U.S. Army, and Cynthia C. Kelly, who is President of the mechamism and one relying on electric dipole moments, and preci- Atomic Heritage Foundation, and Editor of the just-published book The Manhattan Project. magnetohydrodynamics jets are the sion measurements of neutrino prop- newest candidates for the core col- erties and electroweak processes. Los Alamos alumni of that period are invited to attend the session, and to participate in a panel discussion (space permitting) that will take place after the two invited talks. Those alumni whom GONZALEZ continued from page 5 do more than just academic research, family if they go home. Gonzalez we have not yet contacted are urged to email one of the session organizers: Ben Bederson, he wanted to directly affect patient explains the physics involved in the [email protected] or David C. Cassidy, [email protected], or write to Ben Beder- care by working in a clinical setting. treatment, and assures them that son, Physics Department, 4 Washington Pl., New York NY 10003. Contributed papers concern- Gonzalez has been doing that for from a radiation safety standpoint ing that period are also welcome. several years now, working “in the that they are quite safe. trenches” he says, at the Firelands Gonzalez likes the challenge of BELTWAY continued from page 5 Cancer Center. He is certified by the solving new problems every day. perience on the national stage, he in larger settings. That, analysts effectively taps into the emotions American Board of Radiology. Sometimes the technology is so new Gonzalez collaborates with a that it’s not known how best to use eased his way into 1600 Pennsyl- say, could pose problems for her of the American voter. Compe- team that includes the radiation on- it, and there is often trouble with vania Avenue. And in 1984 Ron- in the general election, where the tence will count heavily, as well, cologist, radiation therapists, and a the equipment. Gonzalez has to un- ald Reagan made everyone feel opportunity for personal contact but policy specifics, that have no dosimetrist, who calculates the dose derstand the principles of how the warm, and cozy with his campaign all but vanishes. emotional context, no matter the But former New York City of radiation for each patient. Gonza- treatments work so he can find and theme, “It’s Morning in America!” clarity of the communication, will and, despite a faltering economy, mayor Rudolph Giuilani, whom lez enjoys working with this group solve the problems. That’s where his have little to do with the outcome. he cruised to a second White many pundits had written off as of people. “It’s a wide environment,” physics training is useful. “I think Physicists may cringe at such House term. far too socially liberal to have he says. the most important thing is that as a a prediction. Good, unbiased sci- On a typical day, Gonzalez and physicist, you have problem-solving Westen, whose treatise has a decent shot at the Republican ence, after all, must be free from his coworkers must check patient skills,” he says. In the clinical set- made it onto the “hot” reading nomination, has used the 9-11 fear- emotional content. charts and review treatment plans. ting, it’s extremely important that list for anyone on the 2008 cam- factor to seize the front position Gonzalez must also check the equip- everything work correctly, because paign trail, notes that you can’t in a crowded GOP field of wan- But nowhere is it written that ef- ment. He describes a lot of his work people’s lives and health are at stake. reach people intellectually until nabes. The emotional connection fective communication of science as “quality assurance.” He uses de- “This is actually taking care of real you engage them emotionally. A he has successfully forged with a should not tap into the emotion of tectors to make measurements to people. You cannot put people in campaign (Gore in 2000 or Kerry sizable slice of voters, combined the listener. In fact, Westen’s stud- check that the machines are deliver- danger,” he says. 2004) based solely on ideas is a with Hillary Clinton’s unfavor- ies suggest it must. Whether the ing the right doses of radiation. He Gonzalez wishes people knew loser. Put an emotional wrapper able rating–46 percent in recent audience is policy makers, elected polling–probably explains why he also has to check several computers more about medical physics. “There around those ideas, though, and it officials, the general public, or can be a winner. is in a statistical dead heat with her that control the treatment, and make is a lot of need. There are a lot of students in the classroom, estab- sure all these computers are working jobs out there,” he says. Being able Hillary Clinton has opened up a in early national polling. lishing an emotional connection together properly. to help patients is one of the biggest significant lead on her Democratic November 4, 2008, is still a far is an essential precursor to com- Most of the time, Gonzalez does rewards of the job, he says. “We presidential primary opponents, way off, and the election dynam- not work directly with patients, but can make a real difference treating and she connects well with people ics will take many unexpected municating serious information. occasionally he is called upon to cancer patients. The more we know one-on-one, as I can personally turns, but if Westen is correct, the Lighting up the amygdala gets the talk with them. For instance, some about this disease and how to treat testify. But she has difficulty creat- next occupant of the White House rest of the human brain to pay at- patients receiving some types of ra- it safely, the better quality of life we ing an emotional bond with voters will likely be the person who most tention. diation therapy worry that they are can give these people.” radioactive and dangerous to their –Courtesy of PhysicsCentral LABORATORY continued from page 3 Visit APS News on the Web: Neutron Source at Oak Ridge Na- the next phases of the project, orga- tional Lab, and since his retirement nize the designs for the first suite of has been active in the development experiments, define needed research www.aps.org/publications/apsnews/ of the Large Hadron Collider. and development, explore education Over the November 3-4 weekend, and outreach possibilities, and dis- working groups from all the under- cuss coordination with existing labs ground disciplines met to focus on and funding agencies. 8 • December 2007 APS NEWS The Back Page
or the past three decades, we Ameri- as Lease Sale 181. Bringing this area into Fcans have debated the growing threat production, even with our insistence that it to our nation’s energy security and what Boosting America’s Energy Security Requires be done in an environmentally sound way, to do about it. Each year we hear the will not be easy. Some in the Senate are warnings. Each year we hear the same Multi-Front Effort, New Thinking working hard to block that effort. solutions suggested. Each year we hear We must realize that even as we develop the same objections. It’s as if the debate by Byron Dorgan alternative fuels and use our resources more has been on an endless loop. efficiently, the development of our own re- In all that time, only one thing sources is a safer and more sensible course changed. Our energy vulnerability grew than continuing our increasing and precari- much worse. ous dependence on other nations’ oil. The threat we face is not new. The OPEC oil embargos In 2006, U.S. payments abroad for oil were more than in the 1970’s were a major wake-up call to action. While the $250 billion, a third of our country’s $800 billion current ac- OPEC oil embargos spurred some changes, they have not count deficit. Between the summer of 2003 and the summer been enough. of 2006, world oil prices rose from roughly $25 per barrel to Now the threat to our energy security is much more dra- more than $78 per barrel. matic than it was in the 1970’s. Oil dependence, by the U.S. and our allies, reduces the le- We used to worry about oil embargos. Today the threat is verage of the world community in responding to threats from terrorism, and a red hot shooting war raging in the Middle oil-exporting nations. Emerging nations with substantial oil East, one of the most volatile regions of the world, and the resources have embraced economic inequality and autocracy, source for much of America’s petroleum. which spawns violence. Unlike in the Cold War, our increasing dependence on im- Today, the most prominent threat comes from Iran, whose ported oil and the need for access to secure energy resources nuclear ambitions could further destabilize the Persian Gulf play a central role in this new struggle. Yet, we still argue the and put terrifying new weapons into the hands of terrorists. same old policies. Congress must also get to work helping to develop the One side–as it has for thirty years and more–says the an- next generation of energy technologies. Let’s use America’s swer is conservation. The other–as it has for thirty years and innovative spirit! I am working to harness that innovation to more–says just as forcefully that the answer is to produce increase our energy security through my work on the Senate more energy here at home. Appropriations Committee. As the Chairman of the Energy Both are wrong. And both are right. Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND) and Water Appropriations Subcommittee, I’ve worked to They are wrong because there is no single answer. They provide funding to programs that seek to develop and dem- are right because more conservation and energy efficiency For decades, most Members of Congress deferred the onstrate a wide array of new energy technologies. and greater production of energy here at home are very im- decision making on fuel economy standards to the National The need to develop new energy technologies is not only portant parts of the solution. We need both. Highway Traffic and Safety Administration (NHTSA). Since urgent but long over-due. For that matter, we put gas in a As Chairman of the Senate’s Subcommittee on Energy, the mid 1980’s NHTSA has done little to to boost fuel effi- 2007 Ford the same way that we did in a 1927 Ford. It’s time and the Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water, ciency standards, and we’ve made little progress as a result. to think and act differently. that’s the path I’m working to pursue. It’s also the philosophy With all the technological marvels made to passenger vehi- I am proud to say that the Energy and Water Subcommit- at the heart of bipartisan legislation I have introduced, the Se- cles in 25 years–keyless entry, better cup holders, automatic tee, under my chairmanship, has funded the Department of curity and Fuel Efficiency Energy Act (SAFE) Energy Act. trunk openers–fuel economy has not increased. Energy’s energy programs–the programs seek to develop We simply cannot afford or risk another thirty years of Over the past two decades, automakers have made sub- new energy technologies–with $3.715 billion for the coming gridlock. stantial gains with respect to convenience, safety, power and year. That funding is $536 million above the President’s re- My plan is a comprehensive approach that recognizes performance. In the next two decades, we need to focus our quest. While the President often speaks about the importance there is no magical “single bullet” that will solve America’s incredible innovative efforts on improvements in fuel econ- of energy, we are following through with increased funding dependence on foreign oil. omy for all vehicles. Congress must now weigh in to take for that effort. Frankly, my plan advances certain policies many of us did a much more pro-active role in setting fuel economy stan- Specifically, our Subcommittee has provided $228 million not support as stand-alone proposals. Some of us actively op- dards. to develop hydrogen technologies, $244 million for biomass posed them in the past. But when they are part of a compre- Raising the automobile fuel efficiency standard to a fleet and renewable fuels, $230 million for vehicle technologies, hensive package that asks no single effort to carry the whole average of 35 miles per gallon in the United States by 2020 $168 million for electricity and transmission research, and load, they make sense. will, alone, save 2 to 2.5 million barrels of oil per day. $808 million for coal, oil, and natural gas research. The SAFE Energy bill relies on four cornerstone princi- Unlike the old CAFÉ standards, this new system will Funding for these important initiatives lays the ground- ples to reduce the use of oil in our economy: group vehicles into separate classifications based on their at- work for the goals we seek to achieve in our SAFE Energy 1.) Achievable, stepped increases in fuel efficiency of the tributes such as by weight, size and other features rather than legislation. By adequately funding our research and devel- transportation fleet; pitting different vehicles against each other. Also, medium opment programs, we will be able to take these technolo- 2.) Increased availability of alternative fuel sources and and heavy duty trucks have been brought into the system for gies and ideas into the marketplace. Automakers can use the infrastructure; the first time. advances we achieve to make more advanced, fuel efficient 3.) Expanded production of domestic oil and natural gas • Expanding the availability of renewable fuels–The Sen- vehicles. Companies will be able to produce the next genera- resources; and ate Energy bill also expanded the current renewable fuels tion of ethanol and biodiesel, especially cellulosic ethanol. 4.) Improved management of alliances to better secure standard (RFS) to 36 billion gallons by 2022. The original We will be able to use new technologies and ideas for the global oil supplies. renewable fuels standard in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 development of unconventional oil and gas resources. All of Are some of the provisions of our legislation controver- called for 7.5 billion gallons of renewable fuels like ethanol these investments contribute to greater energy security for sial? You bet. But our reliance on foreign oil is too danger- and others to be used in our fuel mix by 2012. Increasing the America. ous for Congress to continue to avoid taking up controversial RFS ensures that we will not only further use our expansive In short, if we are to strengthen America’s energy security issues. The only way we are going to break our dependence renewable resources from starch-based ethanol, but will also –and we must because the consequences of not acting to do and achieve energy security is to set robust, long-term goals increasingly look to cellulosic fuels in the future. that could be catastrophic–we must do many things. and work to achieve these goals through programs, incen- • Improved alliances on global energy supplies–The Sen- We must make better use of our own fossil and renewable tives, mandates, and increased investments. ate Energy bill also strongly encouraged strengthening our energy resources here at home. Since the introduction of the SAFE Energy Act, I have ties with other nations in order to increase cooperation and We must do more to increase our energy efficiency, espe- worked to ensure that any bipartisan legislation moving increase our energy security. Even as we seek to be more cially when it comes to automobile fuel economy standards. through the Senate incorporates these principles. energy independent, it is clear we will also need to work We must work with our allies to expand and strengthen the The Senate recently passed major energy legislation that through diplomatic alliances to reduce the risk of an interna- diplomatic infrastructure critical to avoiding policy disputes included significant progress toward meeting three of these tional energy crisis. that can disrupt energy supplies and in helping to resolve four principles. I am pleased with the progress we made in One area where we also must do more is domestic energy those disputes so they don’t disrupt our energy supplies. the the Energy bill. I remain committed to making further production. Our work to spur production of more renewable If we do all this, Americans and our economy will be less progress and to achieving all four goals of the SAFE Energy fuels is a big part of that effort. We need to produce more oil vulnerable. We can shift our military resources away from Act. and natural gas here at home. protecting the global oil system and begin committing more Here’s what the Senate has done so far this year: We can no longer simply watch OPEC ministers sit around resources to preserve the Planet Earth for future generations • Increased fuel efficiency standards: The most recent a table and decide how far to turn the spigot that feeds our ad- by protecting the environment. Senate Energy bill reforms the old corporate average fuel diction to foreign oil. One disruption in the global oil supply Our energy security problems are urgent and long-stand- economy, or CAFÉ, system and raises fuel efficiency stan- could put our economy flat on its back. ing. Continuing to think, act, and argue the same old debates dards for our nation’s passenger automobile fleet to 35 miles The SAFE Energy bill strongly encourages the production exactly the way we have for the past 30 years will take us no per gallon by 2020. of more oil and natural gas. We specifically recommend that where closer to solutions than in the past. Nearly four decades after the first OPEC oil embargo, more production of both could be developed in the Eastern It’s time to end the stalemate and act to make America’s America remains over 60 percent dependent on foreign oil, Gulf of Mexico and near Cuba. We also call for a further energy future a more secure one. including oil coming from some of the most troubled parts of inventory of resources in the Southeastern U.S. waters. US Senator Byron Dorgan, Democrat of North Dakota, the world. Because the transportation sector is where we use Our production opportunities are substantial in this area is Chair of the Indian Affairs Committee, Energy and Water 67 percent of the oil in our economy, this is the sector that and build upon the legislation Congress passed just a year ago Appropriations Subcommittee, Energy Subcommittee, and contributes most to energy insecurity. to allow exploration and production in the Gulf region known Interstate Commerce, Trade and Tourism Subcommittee. APS News welcomes and encourages letters and submissions from its members responding to these and other issues. Responses may be sent to: [email protected]