June 2018 • Vol. 27, No. 6

STEM Inclusion Study A PUBLICATION OF THE AMERICAN PHYSICAL SOCIETY Surveys APS Members APS.ORG/APSNEWS Page 4

2018 APS General Election Members should watch for an email with voting instructions. Reporting on Research from the Physical Review Journals Those who are elected will begin their terms on January 1, By Jessica Thomas 2019. Information on voting, and the candidates’ full state- ments and biographical information, are available at go.aps. This July 14th, while France journal, but instead exists as a sepa- their papers for other experts, using admires fireworks for its national rate online publication. And all the specialized language to concisely org/aps-vote-2018 holiday, the editors of Physics articles in it are free-to-read, with convey their results. But would you will open a bottle of champagne no journal subscription required. know the meaning of “charmoni- Vice President (maybe two) and celebrate the pub- umlike structure” if you weren’t lication turning 10. While younger a particle physicist or “valley Sylvester James Gates, Jr. Edward (Rocky) Kolb than most of the journals in the degeneracy” if you didn’t study Brown University University of Chicago Physical Review collection—which semiconductors? Even if you had celebrates its 125th birthday this an encyclopedic mind, digesting year—Physics has covered a lot of the more than 300 papers per week ground and is now much valued by published in the Physical Review the physics community. journals would be a tall order. Like the “front half” of many Why Physics? That was the Physics therefore serves as a fil- print journals, Physics highlights question David Voss, the founding ter, offering one or two new stories newsworthy papers—in this case, editor of Physics (now editor of per day on papers our editors think from the Physical Review—pro- APS News), asked in his first edi- the community will want to know viding context for results that torial. The answer then and now about. Our storytellers are experts, would otherwise be obvious only remains the same: to help physicists journalists, and Physics staff writ- Voting will run from July 2 until August 10. to specialists. The difference is that keep up with the field as a whole. ELECTIONELECTION continued continued on on page page 6 6 Physics doesn’t live inside any one Researchers understandably write JOURNALS continued on page 6

Getting a Running Start in Physics Physicists for Human Rights By Leah Poffenberger By Amanda Babcock Kuchimanchi was able to con- firm that not only were the flood In February 2016, Karna Morey 2018 APS April Meeting, levels issued by the authorities was a high school sophomore at Columbus, OH—This year’s APS incorrect, but they were off by track practice when his coach Andrei Sakharov Prize was pre- a full three meters. This meant brought him an article about a new sented during the April Meeting disaster for tens of thousands of physics discovery: the first detec- Awards Ceremony on Sunday, tion of gravitational waves by the April 15th. The honor is awarded people, driving them from their Laser Interferometer Gravitational- every two years to one or more homes. Even worse, the incor- Wave Observatory (LIGO). Now scientists in recognition of their rect levels would leave many a senior at the prestigious North leadership and achievements in without the right to rehabilitation Carolina School of Science and advocating for human rights. This funding provided by the govern- Mathematics (NCSSM), Morey is year’s award showcased two indi- ment. Bridging this disconnect contributing to gravitational wave viduals whose work has spanned between the government and the Karna Morey Ravi Kuchimanchi research himself. decades: Ravi Kuchimanchi and local people would become the At the 2018 APS April Meeting, prediction is crucial for future Narges Mohammadi. basis for Kuchimanchi’s work Morey presented his work on pre- detections: theoretical models Kuchimanchi was in attendance with the Association for India’s dicting the type of gravitational become templates that possible at the awards ceremony. However, Development (AID). waves that will be measured by gravitational–wave events can be Mohammadi is currently impris- Kuchimanchi founded AID the future Laser Interferometer compared to. Morey’s improved oned in Iran. Nayereh Tohidi while a grad student at the Space Antenna (LISA). The modeling technique could contrib- accepted the award on her behalf. University of Maryland. “We had work was done in collaboration ute to LISA’s detections of gravi- Tohidi is a professor of gender and a learning attitude,” Kuchimanchi with Zach Nasipak and Charles tational waves caused by extreme women’s studies and director of said. And the learning curve was Evans at the University of North mass ratio inspirals—a phenom- Middle Eastern and Islamic stud- steep. “We thought that either Carolina-Chapel Hill, and Jonathan enon where two black holes, one ies at California State University, AID would exponentially grow, Bennett at NCSSM. “As part of much bigger than the other, orbit Northridge. in which case we would spend all my research, I looked into making around one another, sending out Both Kuchimanchi and Tohidi our lives on it. Or it would expo- potential modifications that will gravitational waves. spoke in a session Monday morn- nentially decay, in which case further the accuracy of the existing These waves aren’t detected by ing. Tohidi read an open letter from we wouldn’t have to put in much Narges Mohammadi models,” said Morey. “Compared LIGO on Earth, but LISA, which Mohammadi that she translated effort,” he said. “As it turns out, it the importance of finding time for to the previous models [ours] actu- will be constructed in space and from Persian. exponentially grew.” both. When not working for caste ally performed a lot better than we scheduled for launch in 2034, may A river in India In the twenty-seven years since parity in India, he is conducting thought it would.” be able to spot them. To gain the At the beginning of Ravi its founding, the organization research on parity in physics. This kind of gravitational wave Kuchimanchi’s work in human has grown to at least 800 volun- MOREY continued on page 4 Kuchimanchi shows deep rights is the story of a river in India. teers and more than 100 projects compassion for the people he is In the summer of 2000, after com- organized by 36 chapters across working to help. One case he high- pleting his postdoc, Kuchimanchi the United States. The work has lighted is the ongoing agrarian cri- volunteered with Save Narmada, a absorbed most of Kuchimanchi’s sis in India. “In the past 10 years, movement to protect the villages of life. He says he is unable to focus 150,000 farmers have committed the Narmada valley from imminent on both human rights work and suicide in India.” He described flooding caused by nearby dam con- physics research at the same time. crippling debt from loans taken struction. The villagers said the flood The concentration required of out to buy pesticides, fertilizer, waters would affect many more peo- physics makes any other consid- ple than the government predicted. eration difficult, but he emphasizes RIGHTS continued on page 7

Revised 06/15/18 2 • June 2018

Spotlight on Development This Month in Physics History Mini-grants Make Room for June 30, 1908: The Tunguska Event New Ideas in Outreach n the morning of June 30, 1908, the sparse Hiroshima, Japan, after the detonation of a nuclear By Leah Poffenberger present the results of their projects Opopulace—mostly indigenous Evenki natives bomb in 1945, and scientists have estimated the For many people, engagement at the APS March Meeting to share and Russian settlers—in a remote region of Siberia Tunguska event released the energy equivalent of with physics ends when they walk what worked—and what didn’t— saw a bright column of light streak across the sky. about 185 such bombs. Further away, trees had out of a high school or college which can help future outreach Ten minutes later, there was a flash of light and a fallen away from the center of the blast in a radial physics classroom. But a science- endeavors. burst of sound, accompanied by a powerful shock pattern. literate public is important to Funds for the mini-grant pro- wave strong enough to break windows hundreds Over three successive expeditions, Kulik noted informed decision-making in an gram jointly come from the of miles away. A farmer named Sergei Semenov several small “pothole” bogs that he assumed were increasingly technological world. National Science Foundation (NSF) was one of the few eyewitnesses to the entire meteorite craters, but when he finally drained one Each year, APS awards its and APS and are awarded based event while having breakfast of the bogs (dubbed the “Suslov Public Outreach and Informing the on project proposals. However, the just 40 miles from the epicenter. crater”), an old stump at the bot- Public Grants, often called mini- 2018 mini-grants may be some of “Suddenly the sky appeared like tom proved it could not be such a grants, to fund projects aimed at the last: NSF funding is running out it was split in two, high above crater. His team also took several engaging all ages, from kinder- and won’t be renewed for this pro- the forest, the whole northern aerial photographs; although the garteners to senior citizens. These gram. In the coming months, APS sky appeared to be completely negatives were destroyed in 1975 Wikimedia Commons Wikimedia selected innovative, original, and will be looking for ways to replace covered with blazing fire,” he (part of a Soviet initiative to get sometimes experimental projects external funding and continue recalled. “At that moment, I felt rid of hazardous nitrate film), the can receive up to $10,000 to kick- supporting innovative outreach a great wave of heat as if my prints were carefully preserved start public outreach campaigns to efforts. (For information about shirt had caught fire.” Then there for future study. educate—and often amaze—their ways you can help, please contact was loud bang and a “mighty The local natives attributed the audiences. Irene I. Lukoff, APS Director of crash,” and Semenov found blast to Agda, the god of thun- Since its conception in 2011, Development: [email protected] or himself thrown several feet from der, to punish the Evenki tribe the public outreach grants pro- 301-209-3224.) his chair. for their internal disputes. They gram has supported a wide variety Projects are selected for funding The impact showed up on proclaimed the blast site a sacred of projects, from physics videos by APS Head of Public Outreach multiple seismometers around space and guarded it zealously to museum exhibits to a physics- Rebecca Thompson and the APS the world, in some places mea- from outsiders—one reason it Leonid Kulik based escape game (which involved Committee on Informing the suring as strong as 5.0 on the took nearly two decades before locking willing participants in a fic- Public, a group of public outreach Richter scale. For several the first scientific expeditions tional laboratory and where they and engagement experts from a days after, the night skies arrived. Scientists have nar- used physics-based clues to win variety of backgrounds and insti- glowed over Asia and rowed the likely candidates the game and escape). Each group tutions. This year, eight proposals Europe. In the U.S., both the down to two possibilities that receives a grant is required to GRANTS continued on page 7 Smithsonian Astrophysical over the ensuing decades. Observatory and the Mount Some scientists con- Wilson Observatory mea- Commons Wikimedia cluded the object that sured a sharp decrease in exploded in the atmosphere atmospheric transparency was a comet (possibly the that lasted for months, Comet Encke). This notion because of all the suspended was first proposed in 1930 by dust particles in the air after British astronomer F. J. W. Fallen trees mark the site of the Tunguska the blast. asteroid impact Whipple—a hypothesis sup- While the spectacular ported in part by the glowing event certainly garnered its share of media cover- skies observed after the blast. The dust and particles age, particularly by Russian newspapers, it would that caused the glow could have been debris from be more than a decade before the first scientific the disintegrated comet’s tail. A 2010 expedition expedition succeeded in analyzing the blast site. studied the Tunguska site using ground-penetrating Russian mineralogist Leonid Kulik led a team to the radar and found evidence that a huge piece of ice Small muon detectors will allow visitors to Letchworth State Park in New Podkamennaya Tunguska River basin in 1921. He formed the Suslov crater, in keeping with the comet York to learn about cosmic rays. The program was funded by APS outreach was conducting a survey for the Soviet Academy hypothesis. Critics of this idea argue that a comet mini-grants. These detectors were originally designed by CosmicWatch. of Sciences, and heard the many local accounts of traveling through the atmosphere at such a shallow the explosion. Believing it had been caused by a trajectory would have disintegrated well before it giant meteorite, he convinced the Soviet govern- entered the lower atmosphere. Comet proponents ment to fund an expedition to the region to possibly have countered that it could have been an extinct salvage any meteoric iron. But the harsh conditions comet, with a stony mantle that enabled it to remain Education and Diversity of the Siberian wilderness foiled his team’s efforts intact until it reached the lower atmosphere. to reach the blast area. Today there is strong consensus that the body Update Kulik’s team made the arduous journey to causing the Tunguska event was most likely an Tunguska in 1927, hiring local Evenki hunters to asteroid-like object, a theory bolstered in 2001 2019 PhysTEC Conference. Save the date! guide them to the impact site. He was surprised, by a study showing an 83% probability (based upon arrival, to see that there was no impact crater. on orbital modeling of the atmospheric trajecto- The conference will be on Saturday, March 2 - Sunday, March 3, 2019 at However, a five-mile swath of trees was scorched, ries of the Tunguska object) that the object came the Westin Boston Waterfront Hotel in Boston, MA. For more on the event, all their branches blown off, yet still stand- from the asteroid belt and followed an asteroid- check the website, which will be updated as information becomes avail- ing upright. A similar phenomenon occurred in able: phystec.org/conferences/2019/ TUNGUSKA continued on page 4

Series II, Vol. 27, No. 6 June 2018 APS COUNCIL OF REPRESENTATIVES 2018 General Councilors ternational Physics), Pushpa Bhat* (Forum on Physics © 2018 American Physical Society Gail McLaughlin*, Bonnie Fleming, Andrea Liu*, and Society), Beverly Berger* (Gravitational Physics), President Vivian Incera Nicholas Bigelow* (Laser Science), Samuel Bader Roger W. Falcone*, University of California, Berkeley/ (Materials), Akif “Baha” Balantekin (Nuclear Phys- Editor...... David Voss LBNL International Councilors ics), Elizabeth Simmons (Particles & Fields), Thomas Eliezer Rabinovici, Johanna Stachel, Marta Losada*, Roser (Physics of Beams), Cary Forest (Plasma Phys- Staff Science Writer...... Leah Poffenberger President-Elect Ahmadou Wagué ics), Murugappan Muthukumar (Polymer Physics), Contributing Correspondent ...... Alaina G. Levine David J. 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All cor- (Forum on Education), Julia Gonski, (Forum on Grad- respondence regarding APS News should be directed to: Coden: ANWSEN ISSN: 1058-8132 Corporate Secretary uate Student Affairs), Virginia Trimble (Forum on His- Editor, APS News, One Physics Ellipse, College Park, Ken Cole, APS tory of Physics), John Rumble* (Forum on Industrial MD 20740-3844, Email: [email protected]. and Applied Physics), Emanuela Barzi (Forum on In- June 2018 • 3 Physicist Pinpoints Urban Gunfire News from the APS Office of By Katherine Kornei gunfire occurs, ShotSpotter alerts Robert Showen remembers local first responders like police. Government Affairs working in Menlo Park, a tony ShotSpotter’s acoustic data can city in California adjacent to East also reveal more than just a shoot- On Capitol Hill, Students Extol Palo Alto, the murder capital of er’s position. Roughly half of all Value of APS Bridge Program the nation in the 1990s. It was gunfire events consist of multiple then that the space physicist real- shots, says Showen, in which case By Tawanda Johnson Members of Congress and their ized his acoustics work at Stanford ShotSpotter’s sensors can compute both the velocity of the shooter and In 2009, Brian Zamarripa staff were delighted to hear how Research Institute might have util- the direction he or she is moving. Roman found himself facing dif- the Bridge Program had positively ity far beyond academia. “I thought The police can use this informa- ficult times. After discovering his impacted the students’ lives. “They we could tell the police where gun- tion to decide how many vehicles passion for physics as a high school all were very receptive and inter- fire occurred just using our knowl- to send to the scene, which can help junior, his father suddenly passed ested in hearing our stories,” said edge of the propagation of acoustic keep officers safe. away, leaving Zamarripa Roman Zamarripa Roman. Added Francis waves,” he says. ShotSpotter’s sensors were to help his mother raise his three Slakey, chief government affairs In 1996, Showen founded Robert Showen siblings while attending college at officer for APS, “It’s important for ShotSpotter to do just that. After first installed in Redwood City, Kruger National Park to hone in the University of Texas at El Paso. Congress to hear these students’ getting permission from a city’s California. Today, the technol- on gunshots fired by rhinocerous “I had to work at Burger King stories and see how lives are trans- government, the company installs ogy can be found in over 80 cities poachers. Rhinos are killed for and sell used car parts to help formed by a program supported by breadbox-sized acoustic sensors across the United States and several their horns, which are prized in make ends meet for my family,” the National Science Foundation.” on buildings on telephone poles to sites overseas. In 2016, the com- traditional Chinese medicine. One he recalled of his struggle. “I In Comstock’s case, she was so record sound. When a noise resem- pany analyzed over 70,000 inci- night, the system picked up two was in an engineering program engaged during the meeting that bling gunfire is picked up, the sig- dents of gunfire. The data reveal shots. Using the accurate location and ended up with a D in the first she delayed the start of another nal is sent to ShotSpotter’s review an alarming trend: citizens report of the gunfire, local officials found design course. I switched my major meeting on her schedule to spend center in Newark, California, where roughly only 20% of the gunfire a set of tracks that led them to the to physics and excelled and went in more time talking to the students. acoustic experts analyze the noise. picked up by ShotSpotter sensors. poachers. search of a Ph.D. But when gradua- She also snapped a picture with the Based on differences in the timing People become accustomed to gun- One of ShotSpotter’s ongoing tion came around, I was distracted. students and posted it on Twitter. of the signal recorded by different shots, says Showen. It’s this accep- technological challenges in urban I had missed the deadlines to apply Since its inception, a primary sensors, the ShotSpotter system can tance of violence that Showen and settings is that buildings can both for the [Graduate Record Exam] goal of the Bridge Program has pinpoint the location of the gunfire his team are trying to combat. block and refract sound waves, says and for graduate schools.” been to increase the numbers of with a precision of better than 25 Showen and his colleagues have Showen. It’d be useful to get three- Zamarripa Roman and two other physics Ph.D.s awarded to under- meters. This technique is known as also used ShotSpotter technology dimensional maps of cities to train students who participate in the APS represented minority students each multi-lateration, although it’s more to curb illegal poaching. In 2012, a our detection algorithm, he says. Bridge Program (APS-BP) recently year by 30 (the number needed to commonly referred to as triangula- team installed a dozen ShotSpotter The author is a freelance sci- shared their inspiring stories with make the fraction of physics Ph.D.s tion. Less than a minute after the acoustic sensors in South Africa’s ence writer in Portland, Oregon. members of Congress on Capitol awarded to underrepresented Hill. They met with Rep. Barbara minorities equal to the fraction Comstock (VA-10th), Rep. Joaquin of bachelors degrees awarded to Castro (TX-20th), and Sen. Todd underrepresented minorities.) AI Makes Inroads in Physics Young of Indiana, and visited other “During the past six years, the program has placed more than 150 congressional offices as well. By Sophia Chen Part of the APS education and students into supportive gradu- 2018 APS April Meeting, diversity activities since 2012, ate programs. In 2017 alone, 46 Columbus, Ohio — These days, the Bridge Program is an effort students were placed into gradu- artificial intelligence (AI) drives to increase the number of phys- ate programs,” said Erika Brown, many aspects of our lives. It pow- ics Ph.D.s awarded to underrepre- APS-BP manager. “A number of ers Google and Facebook, and it’s sented minority students, including our students have been awarded even found a foothold in medicine African Americans, Hispanic competitive fellowships through to help doctors make diagnoses. Americans, and Native Americans. their institutions and various gov- But despite its budding ubiquity APS aims to achieve this goal by ernment funding agencies. Several everywhere else, AI has been a hard creating sustainable transition pro- have even published first-author sell in physics. grams and a national network of papers in the top journals of their Take Eliu Huerta of the doctoral-granting institutions to respective fields, and of science as University of Illinois at Urbana- support and mentor students and a whole.” Champaign, for example, who is enable them to successfully com- Brown added, “Our student retention rate ranges between 80% part of the Laser Interferometer Each layer of a deep neural network recognizes increasingly complex fea- plete Ph.D. programs. tures in images (from left to right). Researchers are using similar systems and 85%, which is higher than the Gravitational-Wave Observatory Qualified applicants are students to analyze physics data. Adapted by Brian Nord from Lee, Grosse, Ranganath, and (LIGO) collaboration. It took who either missed the deadlines national average for physics Ph.D. Ng/Stanford University Huerta about a year to convince for applying to graduate school or programs (about 60%). We are so the rest of the collaboration that AI [AI] when you see the benefits it wave candidates using algorithms were rejected from every program pleased with the success of our stu- could speed up LIGO’s analysis of brings,” says Rohan Bhandari, a that match detector signals to to which they applied but showed dents, and are thrilled by the pros- gravitational wave candidates “It graduate student at the University hundreds of thousands of “tem- promise for acceptance. In both pect of our first Ph.D.s graduating was a journey,” he told APS News. of California, Santa Barbara who plates”—simulated signals of black cases, the program enables students in the next year.” This February, Huerta and his has developed a deep neural net- hole or neutron star collisions. to retake coursework or gain valu- Zamarripa Roman’s life took a graduate student, Daniel George, work for analyzing Large Hadron These algorithms offer a trade- able research experience to become turn for the better after he applied published a paper on their AI-based Collider (LHC) data. off: You’re more likely to detect a better prepared for physics Ph.D. to the APS-BP and was accepted at analysis pipeline. Nord’s group is using AI to dis- gravitational wave if you compare programs. CAPITOL HILL continued on page 5 “People do a bit of naysaying cover gravitational lenses, mas- the signal to as many templates as without asking questions,” says sive celestial objects—such as possible, but more templates take Brian Nord of Fermilab, who is part galaxies—whose gravity bends longer to process. More powerful of a team that has used deep neu- light. These objects leave signa- computers could do a better job ral networks, an AI technique, to ture distortions in telescope images managing high numbers of tem- identify new astronomical objects that AI can help quickly identify. plates, but LIGO is already using in telescope data. AI algorithms Understanding those distortions supercomputers—it’s hard to get demonstrate huge leaps in compu- could help answer questions about much more computational power. tational efficiency, but physicists dark matter, dark energy, and the “[The community] is really desper- are wary of using them, he says, expansion of the universe. ate to reduce the number of tem- because their fundamental mecha- Neural networks alleviate the plates they use,” says Huerta. nisms are still largely unclear. tedium of conventional techniques So Huerta and George devel- “The skepticism is healthy,” used in the hunt for gravitational oped a processing pipeline using a says Nord. “But I think there’s dis- lenses: Just a few years ago, “[we] neural network that could identify missal that comes with the skepti- sat in front of our screens, and a signal more quickly with less cism. I would love for people to looked with our eyes through many, computational power. Instead of ask questions, hard ones. But some- many hundreds of square degrees,” comparing signals to templates times … people just say, ‘I don’t said Nord at a press conference on in real time, the neural network believe you.’” AI in physics research. learns the entire library of tem- At the 2018 APS April Meeting, Huerta and George have devel- plates beforehand. “You only several physicists armed with tangi- oped a deep neural network to need to do the training once,” says ble results, including Nord, Huerta, speed up LIGO’s signal identifica- George. They found that the neural L-R: Dylan Smith, U.S. Rep. Barbara Comstock (VA-10th), Michelle Lollie network-based method was thou- and Brian Zamarripa Roman were all smiles as they discussed the positive and George, made the case for AI tion process. For its first discover- impact of the APS Bridge Program. in physics. “It’s harder to dismiss ies, LIGO identified gravitational AI continued on page 5 4 • June 2018

MOREY continued from page 1 Climate Check: Assessing the Environment in the Physics Workplace desired sensitivity in the right fre- This April Meeting was likely quency range, LISA will consist of the first of many for Morey as he By Leah Poffenberger three spacecraft, separated by 2.5 embarks on his physics career: million kilometers in a triangular He will attend the Massachusetts Promoting diversity in STEM formation. Institute of Technology in the fall fields is a hot topic, but some Morey gave a poised presenta- and wants to go to graduate school. physicists may still receive a cool tion at the APS April Meeting, but However, before grad school, reception in the workplace. That’s just over a year ago, he attended Morey also plans to spend a year the message of a new NSF-funded a conference on theoretical gravi- teaching math and science through survey of APS members released tational wave modeling and was the Peace Corps to share his love by researchers at the University of overwhelmed. “The people there of physics with others. “I’ve been Michigan and Temple University. talked about all these things that lucky to get the opportunities that The survey was conducted by the sounded really interesting, but they I’ve had so I think it’s important Survey Research Center at the ner with APS for this study,” says Black, and LGBTQ participants all were using words and equations for me to give back to the world,” University of Michigan’s Institute University of Michigan sociologist were more likely than men, whites, that seemed so complex I didn’t said Morey. “In life, I want to for Social Research. Erin Cech, who along with Temple and non-LGBTQ persons to agree think I could ever begin to under- combine my love for physics with As one part of a larger STEM University sociologist and science that they had to work harder than stand them,” recalled Morey. “It something that helps other people Inclusion Study, the survey was studies scholar Tom Waidzunas is their colleagues to be perceived as was intimidating, but at the same achieve their goals or find their designed to assess the current cli- one of the study’s principal inves- a legitimate professional. time it was incredibly intriguing.” passion.” And Morey already sees mate for traditionally marginalized tigators. “This partnership allows These survey questions were Rather than allow the com- the importance of passion in phys- groups in STEM by investigating us to send data back to participating constructed to measure systemic plexities of studying gravitational ics: He encourages other young the day-to-day experiences of a organizations, where the informa- differences in the experiences of waves, black holes, and the uni- researchers to seek out projects that representative sample of 1500 tion can have the most impact. It’s employees across demographic verse to scare him off or postpone “really makes you want to get out non-student members of APS. The also a sign APS is serious about groups when controlling for educa- his start in research, Morey dug of bed every day because you want results provide new insight into the supporting its diverse constituents.” tion level, experience, employment deep, voraciously reading text- to work on it,” because “physics progress that physics workplaces The STEM Inclusion Study sur- sector, and age. Such a design is books and published papers and research can be really, really hard.” have made towards being diverse vey included a variety of questions considered “the gold standard in working on his own projects. Morey credits his early entrance and inclusive. aimed at assessing three indicators understanding climate issues within That work paid off for Morey to physics research, and the success The full STEM Inclusion Study of climate: experience of inclusion professional occupations,” accord- at the April Meeting: he saw some he’s already achieved, to the sup- will analyze results from similar and marginalization; experience of ing to Cech. of the same people present again, port of his mentors, his school, and surveys of members of over a dozen professional devaluation or respect; Assessing these reports of work- and this time he understood almost his family and friends. “Whenever other STEM organizations, which and reports of fairness in one’s place experiences across groups is everything. “One of the coolest I have victories in my research, will provide insight into how cli- workplace. All analyses included a more accurate way to understand things as a high school student whether big or small, I think of mates differ among STEM fields. controls for education level, work climate than asking questions such that I’ve experienced is going from myself and those victories as the Once the survey phase of the proj- experience, age, employment sec- as “what is your experience as a knowing nothing to knowing some- result of standing on the shoulders ect is complete, participants can tor, and other demographic factors. woman in physics,” Cech noted. thing,” said Morey. “I’m very far of the giants around me,” said volunteer for in-depth interviews The first survey section ranged The third section of the survey from being even close to a lot of Morey, quoting Isaac Newton. “I’m with the research team. And in from questions about inclusion such analyzed reports of workplace the experts in my field, but it’s been incredibly thankful for all those the summer of 2019, the heads of as “I feel like I fit in with other fairness aggregated by job sector, incredibly rewarding to go from people and for APS for providing each participating organization will people at my workplace” to ques- measuring the proportion of respon- knowing nothing to knowing how me with this amazing opportunity meet to discuss the results of the tions about encounters with overt dents employed in each sector who beautiful and interesting the work to study physics and learn more overall survey and make plans for marginalizing behavior like “I was witness certain behaviors in their that’s being done in my field is.” about the world around me.” improving the climate in STEM harassed verbally or in writing in workplaces. Reports of witnessing for marginalized groups across all the last year.” Overall, feelings of unfair behavior in the workplace disciplines. inclusion were high and instances were generally low, but respondents In general, APS members rated of marginalization were low, but working in the university sector TUNGUSKA continued from page 2 their workplaces more positively women were significantly more were significantly more likely to like trajectory. A 2013 analysis February 15, 2013, in the Ural dis- than negatively. However, a con- likely to experience marginaliza- state they had seen poor behavior. of fragments taken from the site, trict of Russia, with a shock wave cerning trend exists: Women, tion and harassment on all mea- One striking statistic was the along with studies of resin from powerful enough to also shatter minorities, LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, sures. LGBTQ respondents were proportion of “respondents by trees in the impact area showing windows. Scientists determined bisexual, transgender, and queer) less likely than their non-LGBTQ sector who reported witnessing high levels of materials common that event was caused by an aster- individuals, and people with dis- peers to report feeling like they fit person(s) being treated differently to rocky asteroids, also supported oid spanning 17 to 20 meters in abilities reported encountering in with their colleagues; more likely due to gender in the last three the hypothesis that the object was diameter, with a mass of about negative day-to-day experiences to worry their mistakes were more years.” Across all employment an iron meteorite. As for the lack 11,000 tons. more than their colleagues who visible than mistakes of others; sectors, 33% witnessed differen- of a crater, the asteroid probably Further Reading: are men, white, non-LGBTQ, and and more likely to have heard co- tial treatment of a colleague due disintegrated from huge increases Baxter, J. and Atkins, T. The Fire Came without disability, respectively. For workers make negative comments to gender in the last three years. in pressure and temperature as it By: The Riddle of the Great Siberian Ex- all measures of the workplace envi- or jokes. When analyzed by sector, 35% of passed through the atmosphere, so plosion. New York: Doubleday, 1976. ronment, women were significantly The second part of the survey respondents working for univer- much so that no significant rem- Chaikin, A. 1984. Target: Tunguska. more likely than men to report neg- focused on whether physicists feel sities reported witnessing biased Sky & Telescope 67: 18-21. nants of the body survived. ative perceptions. that their professional expertise is treatment by gender—a statistically Steel, D. 2008. Tunguska at 100. Na- The results also send a signal devalued in their workplace, asking significant difference from the for- Perhaps the best evidence for ture 453: 1157-1159. the asteroid hypothesis comes from to academia: physicists working whether participants agreed with profit sector average of 25%. Verma, S. 2006. The Tunguska Fire- statements like “In my workplace, “Physics departments can have a similar, but smaller, explosion on ball. Cambridge: Icon Books Ltd. in for-profit companies reported a more positive climate for marginal- my work is respected,” “I am held climate issues due to cultural ized groups than physicists working to the same standards as others assumptions and cognitive biases in universities. for advancement,” and “I have to about what a physicist doing cut- “Perception does matter,” work harder than my colleagues to ting-edge research looks and acts says Monica Plisch, Director of be perceived as a legitimate profes- like,” says Cech. “In industry, Education and Diversity at APS. sional.” Again, results were mostly there’s often a broader variety of “Negative perceptions can affect positive: On average, respondents professional backgrounds working work—using brain bandwidth to felt respected in the workplace and together and more multifaceted worry can impact job-creativity and believed they were held to the same definitions of excellence, which impede innovation.” standards for success in the work- improves the climate for everyone.” Understanding the ways in place. Yet, women were less likely A copy of the results of the which a work climate may be than men to report that their profes- survey of APS members can be inhospitable to certain groups is sional expertise was respected in obtained at aps.org/apsnews, and an important step to facilitating their workplaces across all mea- more about the study is available change. “We are excited to part- sures. And women, Hispanic, Asian, at www.steminclusion.com

In the correction on p. 3 of the May 2018 APS News, the description of the 1988 Nobel Prize in Physics erroneously stated that “the only Fermilab laureate is Leon Lederman, for his work with Melvin Schwartz at the Correction University of Chicago.” In fact, the laureates were Leon Lederman, Melvin Schwartz, and Jack Steinberger "for the neutrino beam method and the demonstration of the doublet structure of the leptons through the discovery of the muon neutrino." As stated by the Nobel Foundation, “the experiment was planned when the three researchers were asso- ciated with Columbia University in New York, and carried out using the Alternating Gradient Synchrotron (AGS) at Brookhaven National Accelerator Laboratory on Long Island, USA.” We apologize for the error. June 2018 • 5 CAPITOL HILL continued from page 3 How Big Is the Proton, Really? the University of Central Florida a light in the life of Dylan Smith, (UCF) in 2015. After completing who endured a dark period after his By Sophia Chen called proton radius puzzle. the APS-BP there, he was accepted mother and father were diagnosed Following the 2010 measure- at UCF to work on his Ph.D. “The with serious health problems. 2018 APS April Meeting, Columbus, Ohio—In 2010, ment, several groups have deliv- mentorship through the Bridge Smith was a junior in high school ered some corroborating values, Program has been so valuable to when he learned of his mother’s Randolf Pohl’s team measured the size of the proton with the highest and some have reported conflicting me,” he said. “We are a commu- condition, and his father had to ones. In 2017, Pohl’s group used a nity, and I appreciate that so much. retire early on a lower pension. precision yet. But the result befud- dled them: the proton radius—or different setup to make a measure- I’m not alone. I have other students With the help of “a generous ment that also indicated a smaller who are like me in this program, amount of need-based financial more specifically, how far its posi- tive charge extends—came out to proton radius. But earlier this and we are making a difference aid and merit-based scholarships,” year, a group in France reported a by helping each other achieve Smith enrolled as a student at 0.84 fm, about 0.04 fm smaller than all prior measurements. The par- larger proton radius. Independent our goals.” Colgate University, but his experi- researchers have also re-analyzed After Zamarripa Roman finishes ence there wasn’t a bed of roses. ticle’s width seemed to have shrunk by 4 percent. experimental results to no avail. his Ph.D., he plans to pursue a post- “I bombed mechanics. I got a For example, a 2012 independent doctoral position, conduct physics C-,” he recalled. “It took a couple “It caught everybody off-guard,” says David Newell, who chairs the analysis of Pohl’s 2010 data agreed education research at the collegiate of years at Colgate to really fig- with Pohl’s prior numbers. “This proton measurement was the first level, and eventually get involved ure out what I needed to do to Committee on Data for Science proton radius puzzle is getting even to use muonic hydrogen—a proton with science policy. “Science pol- really succeed. I attended profes- and Technology (CODATA), the more puzzling,” said Pohl during a orbited by a muon, the electron’s icy will help me make a difference sors’ office hours, got tutored, and international group which publishes press conference at the meeting. heavier cousin—whereas prior with important research programs worked with the right people on the recommended values for fun- As with any puzzle, researchers experiments used regular hydro- that are funded by the federal gov- assignments.” damental physical constants every are excited about the prospect of gen. The discrepancy between the ernment,” he said. Although Smith’s GPA rose four years. new physics. “The discrepancy is two methods could hint at an error After realizing that a career in above a 3.0, he realized that it To this day, physicists do not very serious from a theory point of in quantum electrodynamics theory, finance was not for her, in 2009 might not be high enough for understand the source of this dis- view because we cannot explain which describes how these particles Michelle Lollie found herself graduate school, and he lacked crepancy. In a presentation at the it within the Standard Model,” interact. reading a published paper about the experience to be successful in April Meeting this year, Pohl, who says Krzysztof Pachucki, a theo- But it’s not clear what the error quantum teleportation. With her a graduate program. He remained works at the Johannes Gutenberg rist at the University of Warsaw could be, says Pachucki. The dis- attention captured by the paper, relentless in pursuing his goal, University Mainz, discussed recent in Poland. Pohl’s landmark 2010 she immediately knew she wanted but unfortunately was rejected experiments for resolving the so- PROTON continued on page 6 a career in physics. In 2012 she from every school he applied to. enrolled as an undergraduate in Offering a ray of hope, Beth Parks, AI continued from page 3 the Rose-Hulman Institute of his senior research adviser, sug- sands of times faster than template field, cosmology, is also expect- amazing thing about these cross- Technology, where she experienced gested Smith apply to the Bridge matching. ing a data deluge in the next few cutting technologies is that they a wake-up call in the form of aca- Program. Soon, says George, they will use years from current cameras—such apply so generally,” says Nord. demic rigor. As she remembered, He took her advice, and thanks the neural network to help LIGO, as the Dark Energy Survey—and “But that’s also the peril of them.” “It was the hardest four years of to the program, he was able to its European counterpart Virgo, and new tools, like the Large Synoptic One plausible peril, says Nord, is my life, but being at Rose-Hulman attend DePaul University from conventional telescopes collaborate Survey Telescope, which is cur- misuse of obscure or proprietary AI enabled me to build up both the September 2014 through June in real time. If LIGO or Virgo can rently under construction. algorithms by governments. Courts mathematical and psychological 2016. While there, he gained a identify and locate a gravitational Bhandari thinks that phys- in several U.S. jurisdictions are skills I needed to succeed in the better understanding of physics wave quickly, they can then advise ics applications could also help using AI to predict the risk of future physics field.” and improved his interpersonal telescopes to observe the same AI researchers understand how crime in bail and parole decisions, Next, Lollie applied to 12 grad- skills through his job as a teaching location. These gravitational wave the algorithms work. Right now, and according to a 2016 ProPublica uate schools and was rejected by assistant. detections can then be paired with experts can’t fully explain how the investigation, the predictions have all of them. She then applied to the “My time at DePaul also enabled the images made with conventional algorithms learn and extrapolate been biased against blacks com- Bridge Program and was accepted me to learn how to more effectively optical telescopes to provide rich patterns. You can, in principle, pared to whites. Police in Shenzhen, at Indiana University, where she and competitively apply to Ph.D. physical data about the event in write down the equations for the China, use AI-powered facial rec- established strong bonds with men- programs. I learned that establish- this new era of “multi-messenger” neural network’s operations. But ognition to publicly shame and tors and fellow participants. “When ing some sort of contact, either by astronomy. the operations contain so many fine jaywalkers. And University of you have academic insecurities, email or in person, months before AI can be applied to more than parameters that it’s difficult to Washington researchers have shown and you have struggled, you really application deadlines, was impor- astronomy: Researchers have also infer what each step is doing. “As how to use AI to make fake vid- need a good support system,” she tant,” recalled Smith. “Perhaps the begun to use AI to process particle physicists, we’re good at looking eos of President Obama speaking, advised. greatest thing that my two years collider data. Bhandari presented into black boxes,” says Bhandari. which indicates that the technology She went on to Louisiana State at DePaul afforded me was the his work on a deep neural network “Detectors are also sort of black could be used to create fraudulent University (LSU) for her Ph.D. opportunity to think about what I for analyzing complicated signals boxes. … How do you understand media for malicious purposes. Lollie gives a lot of credit to her really wanted to study and focus on known as jets produced in the LHC. a detector? You do systematic tests Nord started using AI in his mentor there, physics profes- within physics.” These signals are produced during to characterize it. Neural networks research partly because he was sor Jonathan Dowling, who has In 2016, Smith was accepted proton collisions, when constitu- can be treated in the same way.” worried about its potential for mis- “played a vital role” in her pursuit into a Ph.D. program at the ent quarks and gluons interact via And the black box is becoming use. He wanted to educate himself of a Ph.D. in physics. He served as University of Michigan, where the strong force. Bhandari’s neural greyer: “It has pieces I can pick on the technology in order to par- her adviser while she completed an he is working toward his career network helps to calculate the jet’s apart,” says Nord. Researchers ticipate in the policy conversation undergraduate research experience. goal. “I plan to become a medi- momentum, which is used to cali- have run tests on image recogni- around it. “If we’re not in the room Dowling was also instrumental in cal physicist,” he said. “I want brate the detector. tion neural networks, where they where the decisions are made, who helping Lollie land a fellowship to work in a hospital in radiation Fast data processing techniques have determined which parts of the is going to represent us?” he says. doing quantum optics research oncology. None of this would have will be even more necessary in algorithm are identifying hard and AI is already everywhere, says this fall. “I’m a woman of faith, been possible if it hadn’t been for the future, Bhandari pointed out, soft edges in pictures. Nord. It’s a powerful tool that can and I believe I was destined to Beth Parks letting me know about because they anticipate a massive Developments in AI for astro- help physicists with their research. study physics. I plan to work with the Bridge Program. It’s hard to increase in data from a proposed physics observations could easily And in return, maybe physicists can advanced quantum technologies for convey just how grateful I am, and upgrade of the LHC. “From 2010 to transfer to other applications, but help shape the technology for the defense research,” she said. how lucky I was for everything to 2017, we collected 230 petabytes of as Nord pushes for physicists to try good of society. The Bridge Program has been work out the way it did.” data, and it’s going to keep growing these algorithms, he also empha- The author is a freelance writer very quickly,” said Bhandari dur- sizes that the work comes with seri- in Tucson, Arizona. Read ing the press conference. Nord’s ous ethical responsibilities. “The APS NEWS

online Brian Nord

aps.org/apsnews Fermilab researchers taught a neural network to distinguish between gravitational lenses and other objects using images (above) as a training set. 6 • June 2018

JOURNALS continued from page 1 ELECTION continued from page 1 ers, who are asked to explain a new result and why it matters. What Treasurer International Councilor were the researchers after? What special thing did they do to suc- Jim Hollenhorst Enge Wang ceed? What can the field do with Agilent Technologies Peking University and this result? Chinese Academy of Sciences This method of highlighting papers isn’t unique—journals like Science and Nature have been more than papers, and we want the We also leave room for results that doing it for decades. What gives publication to reflect the people, are simply fun, weird, or curious. Physics its own flavor is that the debates, and events behind the stories are culled from the Physical But in all cases, we ask the same reported research. Physics there- Review journals, which publish question: Will physicists appreciate fore regularly features interviews incredibly diverse research. There a tale about this paper even if they with physicists, news stories from are the big topics—like topologi- know nothing about the topic? conferences, and pieces about the cal phases, quantum computing, To that, one might ask: Is it Jim Baird Guowei He influence of physics in the arts, worth trying to explain the latest University of Alabama in Chinese Academy of and dark matter searches. But there and the publication will continue result from CERN to a condensed Huntsville Sciences are also surprising and quirky stud- ies, like physics models for finan- to grow in volume and diversity in matter physicist, or the observation cial markets, experiments that the coming years. of a new spin liquid to a cosmolo- yield laundry advice, tricks with A question we are often asked gist? We think so. At the end of Bose-Einstein condensates, or a is how we decide which papers the day, all physicists are trying to to cover. For ideas, credit largely “macroscopicity scale” that ranks understand how the world works, goes to the editors of the Physical a quantum superposition of cats reining it in with a little bit (or a Review journals who suggest as a 57. lot) of math. Sharing their discover- recently accepted papers and Physics has evolved since its ies—big or small—is a reminder of explain why the results matter. We launch. Initially, it featured only this unifying trait. complement these suggestions by expert commentaries known as As Physics editors, we’ve had keeping a close eye on the journals. Viewpoints or editor-written sum- front-row seats to many great Chair-Elect - Nominating We are also fortunate to have a General Councilor Committee maries called Synopses, plus longer findings over the last 10 years and review-style articles, or “Trends.” bank of international experts who we’re looking forward to more of Marcelle Soares-Santos Kevin McFarland In 2011, Physical Review Focus, give input—either from the review the same in the next decade. So, Brandeis University University of Rochester a pioneering website that had fea- process or from an email or phone thank you to all of the storytell- tured physics stories written by call—and help us make a decision. ers—the science writers, editors, journalists since 1998, was incor- Some results—such as the discov- porated into Physics as a section ery of a new atomic element and and, at last count, the nearly 800 called Focus. And in 2012 we used the first detection of gravitational scientists who have contributed our knowledge of interesting papers waves—are obvious choices. But their time to explaining research. to issue a weekly “tip sheet” of top science is usually more incremen- Jessica Thomas is the Editor of stories to journalists. tal, pushing forward in fits and Physics (physics.aps.org) Mining the pages of the Physical starts. So when considering a paper If you are interested in receiving Review journals has given us no we ask: what is the advance and the weekly Physics newsletter, go to end of great stories. But physics is how influential is it likely to be? “Email Alerts” on physics.aps.org. Robin Selinger Nora Berrah Kent State University University of Connecticut

PROTON continued from page 5 crepancy might vanish by introduc- or deuterium sample. As the elec- exquisite precision. “It’s really fun ing new particles, but the options trons approach, the protons deflect stuff,” says Pohl. “You learn some- are “very artificial,” he says. them and the amount of deflection thing new every day.” But this level It’s also possible that the dis- is related to the size of the proton. of detail also meant that it took crepancy is simply the result of Alternatively, they can also Pohl’s collaboration about ten years experimental error, according to measure the proton radius by pre- to deliver their 2010 measurement. Pohl. The strategy now is to make cisely measuring the energy levels CODATA’s most recent recom- more proton radius measurements, of the system through spectroscopy. mendation for the proton radius but with different techniques. This If they take this route, they have to value, which is an average of many Lead Editor, Physical Review A way, each measurement will not choose which energy transitions to prior experiments, did not incorpo- suffer from the same systematic study. Researchers have chosen a rate any of the smaller values in its The American Physical Society is conducting an international search uncertainties—and collectively, any variety of energy transitions that calculation. In November 2014, at for a new Lead Editor of Physical Review A. The Lead Editor will hint of new physics will be more involve different setups and data a meeting near Paris, with Pohl, provide intellectual leadership and vision for editorial standards and convincing. analysis techniques. Pachucki, and Newell among the policies, direct the journal, and lead its editorial board and staff of Researchers have a variety of In 2010, for example, Pohl’s attendees, the group decided not editors. techniques to choose from. First, group used a spectroscopic method: to include them. Ultimately, Pohl Physical Review A publishes important developments in the rapidly they need to decide which proton- by means of laser probes they mea- suggested that they not include the evolving areas of atomic, molecular, and optical (AMO) physics, containing specimen they want sured a gap between energy lev- aberrant values. He pointed out quantum information, and related fundamental concepts. to use for their measurement. els in muonic hydrogen called the that the primary application of the Generally, they need to use a sys- Lamb shift. The Lamb shift refers CODATA value is to study regular The ideal candidate will possess the following qualifications: current tem simple enough for theory to to a small difference between two hydrogen, and all discrepant radius involvement and stature in a field of research within the scope of model precisely. The simplest sys- states in hydrogen-like atoms values resulted from the muonic Physical Review A; prior editorial service with scholarly journals; tem is hydrogen, but they can also originally predicted to be of equal systems. management experience; ability to work effectively with authors, use its isotope deuterium, whose energy by early quantum mechanics But now that argument no lon- referees, editors, and the APS; advocacy, integrity, and wisdom to nucleus consists of an additional theory. This energy gap exists, in ger holds. In 2017, Pohl’s group lead the journal in responding to publication matters and issues neutron. Or, they can substitute part, because the electron behaves used regular hydrogen and also important to all communities served by the journal. a muon for the electron in these as a quantum “cloud” that extends measured the smaller proton radius. The Lead Editor may maintain his/her present appointment and systems. In addition to muonic even inside the atomic nucleus. CODATA will meet again in location while devoting about 20% of his/her time to this position. hydrogen, Pohl’s group has also “It literally means that an elec- France later this year to discuss The initial appointment is for a three-year term with renewal possible measured the proton via muonic tron orbiting a proton in hydrogen the next standardized value of the after review. Compensation is negotiable and dependent on estab- deuterium: a muon orbiting a spends some time inside the pro- proton radius, to be released in May lished time commitment. The desired starting date is 1 January 2019, deuteron. According to Pachucki, ton,” says Pohl. Because the size of 2019. “In my opinion, we cannot + but other arrangements can be made for outstanding candidates. singly ionized helium (He ) is a the energy gap depends on the size ignore the information in front of promising system because its the- of the proton, measurement of the us,” says Newell. He thinks they APS is an equal employment opportunity employer and encourages ory is relatively well-understood. Lamb shift yields the proton radius. need to incorporate the discrepancy applications from and nominations of women and minorities. Review “The theory for He+ is as accurate To achieve the precision neces- into their recommendation—which of applications will begin on 15 June 2018 and continue until a can- as for hydrogen,” he says. sary for this measurement, every will mean a less precise value didate is selected. Inquiries, nominations, and applications (cover Researchers also have to choose component of the experiment for the proton radius. “When we letter plus CV) should be sent to: Prof. Anthony Starace, Chair, PRA how they will measure the proton’s must be thoroughly understood. expand uncertainties it annoys the Search Committee, [email protected] radius. The two primary options are For example, any external elec- hell out of everybody, but it brings electron scattering or spectroscopy. tromagnetic fields might affect the attention to the problem,” he says. All applications and nominations will be treated with strict confidentiality. In a scattering experiment, elec- measurement, and the output of the The author is a freelance writer trons are beamed at the hydrogen lasers has to be characterized with in Tucson, Arizona. June 2018 • 7

RIGHTS continued from page 1 GRANTS continued from page 2 and seeds. The cost of maintain- made the cut. which drew in more than 40,000 ing their livelihood overtakes any Two of the selection commit- visitors with displays of the sci- profits gained, and more than 50% tee’s favorite proposals will take ence of light. of livelihoods in India depend on particle physics into places people Most other grant programs for agriculture. might not expect: state parks and outreach projects either give out AID’s work to support farmers libraries. One winning team will large sums of money—like NSF and their families, to teach organic take muon detectors to Letchworth grants for $1 million for established farming practices, and bring in State Park in New York, allow- programs—or small grants in the sustainable technology is only one ing visitors to learn about cosmic neighborhood of $1,000, designed among the many projects of the ray muons and discover how the to help pay for a project that’s get- organization. The goal of restoring number of muons reaching Earth ting the bulk of its funding else- caste parity remains at the forefront changes at different areas of the where or a small one-time event, of the organization. park. “State parks already have a like a public lecture. The APS mini- “We were connecting the privi- lot of science in them, like envi- leged class with the underprivi- grants cover a funding range in ronmental science or biology,” between these amounts to provide leged,” Kuchimanchi said. “If we says Thompson. “This project made that connection, something a space for new ideas to establish adds physics to the science that’s themselves and, hopefully, grow beautiful would emerge.” already there.” into larger programs. Behind the walls Another group will use their “We like to fund projects that On the northern end of Tehran, mini-grant funds to bring cloud haven’t been tried before, and at a wall runs the length of a street chambers—visually stunning par- this level of funding, we can be where casual passers-by go ticle detectors that allow onlook- experimental,” says Thompson. about their daily business. In one ers to spot particle interactions—to The APS Sakharov Prize was awarded to Narges Mohammadi, who is impris- “There’s freedom for projects to be place, a blue sign declares in both libraries. “We love doing things Persian and English: “Evin House oned in Iran. Nayereh Tohidi accepted the prize from 2018 APS President spectacular failures, but that allows Roger Falcone on behalf of Mohammadi. with libraries, since they’re already of Detention.” Behind this wall, a hub of learning,” says Thompson. us to figure out what might work on political prisoners: keeping sus- the honor you have bestowed on physicist Narges Mohammadi has “This project will bring physics next time.” pects in solitary confinement is a me and I will continue my efforts spent more than 1000 days. to an informal educational space Receiving a mini-grant from routine and prevalent procedure. until we achieve peace, tolerance The road to Mohammadi’s that doesn’t usually have much APS often provides an additional They confine a human being, alone, for plurality of views, and human imprisonment begins with two science.” boost to projects beyond the fund- to a tiny cell for an unlimited and rights.” arrests during her time as a gradu- Proposals for innovative public ing, notes Thompson. “Giving a ate student at Imam Khomeini indefinite period of time, in a small Taking action outreach projects come to the selec- project the APS stamp of approval International University. While space without light or proper air, Shelly Lesher, chair of the tion committee from many differ- helps to send a message that phys- studying physics, she founded the where there is no sound, smell or Committee on International ent groups, from national labs to ics outreach isn’t just something student organization “Illuminating movement.” The statement contin- Freedom of Scientists (CIFS), con- universities to independent science to do on the weekends,” says Student Group.” The student orga- ues to describe verbal and physical cluded the session, eliciting equal outreach groups—but applicants Thompson. “Even just putting nization worked to shed light on abuse, forced medications, sleep parts shock and inspiration. Shock, don’t have to be outreach experts together an application for the complex issues, including those of deprivation, and many other things because she detailed several active to get funds to try something grant can rally a department around human rights. to induce fear. cases of human rights violations, new. Students at the University of a project.” Mohammadi describes the During her time in Evin Prison, and inspiration because she evoked Waterloo were responsible for one For more on the outreach activi- motivation for starting her human Mohammadi’s health has been in hope by telling the audience how ties at APS, visit aps.org/programs/ rights work in her open letter. “I decline. Her imprisonment has been they could act. Reporting human popular and incredibly successful felt compelled to join the struggle punctuated by periodic releases for rights violations, hosting a scholar event called Light at the Museum outreach/ for freedom. What we experience treatment. Her most recent release at risk, and even just signing up for is a decades-old tyranny, that can- in October 2015 ended after just 17 the CIFS network of scientists are not tolerate freedom of speech and days when she was taken back into all places to start. thought. In the name of religion, custody against medical advice. An Staying informed topped the it restricts and punishes science, appeal for her release in September list. Lesher pointed the audience intellect, and even love. It labels 2016 resulted in the 16-year sen- in the direction of several websites, as a threat to national security and tence being upheld. including the CIFS website for toxic to society whatever is not Mohammadi writes, “I will not active cases. Additionally, report- compatible with its political and be silent in the face of human rights ing human rights violations of sci- economic interests. It considers violations. In order to institutional- entists further raises awareness. punishing unwelcome ideas as a ize human rights and achieve peace Universities can incorpo- positive thing." between the people and the state, rate human rights discussions 2018 History of Physics In 2003 Mohammadi joined the I shall endure my deprivation of into physics. Lesher pointed to Defenders of Human Rights Center freedom and rights, even though Kuchimanchi’s talk and how AID Essay Contest (DHRC), an organization founded separation from my children is was formed during his graduate he Forum for History of Physics (FHP) of the American by five lawyers, including Nobel nothing less than death for me.” school days as an example of how Physical Society is proud to announce the 2018 History of Peace Prize recipient Shirin Ebadi. At this point while reading, this could be done. Further, univer- T Physics Essay Contest. She later became the vice presi- Tohidi’s voice filled with emotion. sities can host scholars at risk. This dent and a spokeswoman of the She paused to steady herself before does not necessarily require huge The contest is designed to promote interest in the history of organization. In 2008 government continuing with Mohammadi’s let- resources; these scientists typically physics among those not, or not yet, professionally engaged in representatives raided the office of ter, “I am a woman and a mother, do not want permanent positions. the subject. Entries can address the work of individual physicists, the DHRC and officially shut down and with all my feminine and The goal is to take their skills back teams of physicists, physics discoveries, or other appropriate the organization. maternal sensibilities, I seek a to their home countries when they topics. Entries should be 1500-2000 words, and while scholarly In 2009, she was arrested a third world free from violence and injus- are able to return. should be accessible to a general scientific audience. time, ostensibly for her involve- tice, even if I have suffered injus- Perhaps the biggest takeaway ment with the DHRC. After just tice and violence tens of times.” from Lesher’s talk is simply to get The contest is intended for undergraduate and graduate a few days out on bail, she was Though Mohammadi is impris- involved. students, but open to anyone without a Ph.D. in either physics or arrested again and this time sen- oned, the news of her award “Physicists have always been history. Entries with multiple authors will not be accepted. Entries tenced to 14 years in prison. This reached her. As Tohidi and others involved in human rights work,” will be judged on originality, clarity, and potential to contribute to sentence would be reduced to 10 who know her point out, knowing Lesher said. “The need is great, the field. Previously published work, or excerpts thereof, will not years only to be increased to 16 she received the award has given greater than it’s been in years. And be accepted. The winning essay will be published as a Back years in May 2016. Mohammadi strength and provides you can be involved at any stage in Page in APS News, and its author will receive a cash award of From behind the walls of Evin a sense of solidarity. your career.” $1000, plus support for travel to an APS annual meeting to Prison, Mohammadi describes the “Sitting here in prison,” The author is the Science deliver a talk based on the essay. The judges may also treatment of political prisoners. She Mohammadi’s statement con- Writing Intern at APS in College designate one or more runners-up, with a cash award of $500 writes, “They use ‘white torture’ cludes, “I am deeply humbled by Park, Maryland. each. Entries will be judged by members of the FHP Executive Committee and are due by September 1, 2018. They should be submitted to [email protected], with “Essay Contest” in the subject News and commentary about line. Entrants should supply their names, institutional affiliations research from the APS journals (if any), mail and email addresses, and phone numbers. Winners will be announced by December 1, 2018.

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physics.aps.org TM 8 • June 2018

A Life in Teaching and Turbulence By Katepalli R. Sreenivasan

ote: This article is based on closing remarks delivered doesn’t connect, it does not exist. This comment certainly Nby the author at a conference celebrating his 70th birth- applies to turbulence, and it is by following this maxim day. The text has been edited for length and clarity. that we influence how others outside the field perceive the Most of you are younger than me—some, a lot younger. importance of our field. Thus: So perhaps you will not dismiss me entirely when I make a. Turbulence work must connect better with the rest of sci- three points on my own conduct. ence—physics, mathematics and modern technologies. • The first is that, for many years now, I have tried not to For instance, we may think that quantum mechanics has be the smartest person in the room. I admit that I may nothing to do with continuum fluids (and that would have tried to be so at one time, and may even have be mostly true), but many of its methods and concepts succeeded at various levels, but it became clear to me help us set forth our ideas in interconnected ways; as that I wasn’t learning much by being so. This change in an example, opening one’s mind to large-scale Bose- outlook was not hard to come by because it was becom- Einstein condensates will enable you to see a whole ing intrinsically truer as time advanced but it took some host of interesting problems in vortex dynamics and modest practice. My most ineffectual interactions have turbulence. In this respect, I am strongly in favor of a been those in which I was overtly aggressive. broader education for our graduate students, including, • The second is that some 25 years ago, I resolved that if as examples, physics, biology, statistical mechanics anyone wishes to talk to me about their careers or per- and artificial intelligence. Accommodating a few basic sonal lives, I would give them the most honest advice courses in a few of these subjects, instead of adding I can and support them in the best way possible. The another specialized course in fluid mechanics, is well lower in hierarchy they are, the more attention they worth the effort. I likewise think that we should publish deserve. I have said no to meetings with visiting vice occasionally in broader journals, instead of crowding chancellors and ambassadors if an undergraduate in towards one or two top journals in your narrow special- distress wanted to see me urgently. My criterion has ization, because the very task of explaining to a wider never been the perceived importance of the person in audience enlarges one’s perspective. question but her or his needs. Even if the problem vex- b. We should not fragment ourselves. One shouldn't think ing the person may be generic, it is special to her or Katepalli R. Sreenivasan that all those who work on problems other than one’s him—and I have tried to remember that as well as I can. own are wasting time and resources. Even if you are • Third, I have been fortunate that several opportunities Externally, people often ask questions like: Are you still a practically oriented person (as most of us are), you have come to me in my life—some of which include working on Kolmogorov scaling (or some other topic, such should show a certain amount of active generosity of higher positions than those I ended up holding. I have as convection or boundary layer transition)? You still can’t spirit towards those who seriously want to understand remained truthful to a personal system of making predict the pressure drop in a pipe? If I give you all the something different. It is true that there will never be choices by always asking two questions, (a) Is it worth resources needed, will you really be able to improve aircraft enough resources to do everything, and so we have to doing; and (b) am I the best person for doing it? The flight, gas turbine engines, energy distribution, weather pre- build some consensus on the most profitable directions, answer to (a) involves a value system built into oneself; diction, or climate change? (None of them is an imaginary but this does not come by one conversation in a meet- so perhaps you would come to a different conclusion question.) ing or a know-it-all stance of a self-selected few; it on what may be worthy. I have no quarrel with that, but The truth is that one cannot answer these questions glibly comes from a sense of mutual respect and generosity of urge you to contemplate quietly when you are faced with internalized responses: one cannot, for instance, sim- spirit that prevails in the background; it comes from an with choices and decide to pursue one actively. My own ply assert that “a mere 1% reduction in drag will save the environment that the established people have to create choices had no relation to the importance of the title of industries certain billions of dollars each year.” People who in order to ensure that new people with new ideas feel the job, or the money or prestige it brought, or even to ask such questions are usually serious and wish to know if secure and appreciated. This means that all of us must the inconvenience that the job caused me and—I am there are problems whose solution will produce a first order spend modest amounts of time in dialogues with each somewhat embarrassed to admit—even to my family. impact on some large-scale endeavor or a neighboring field. other instead of dismissing those with different views The answer to (b) requires an understanding of one’s It is true that most of these “outside” people are usually igno- off-handedly; this means that we have to listen to timid own strengths and weaknesses. This, in turn, requires rant of the progress that has been occurring in turbulence, but intelligent voices instead of succumbing to those few life-long introspection, which all of us should practice: but it is essentially our responsibility to communicate this who are habitually pushy or counting papers in journals It is equally unsatisfactory whether we oversell our progress to an intelligent outsider. It is only by changing the of high impact factor or be impressed by grant dollars strengths or understate them. way in which we function that we may hope to influence someone generates. Let me now say a few words about turbulence as a field this perception. c. I would like to say a few words about our reputation of research. I want to add a few comments on the dynamics It takes time to make visible progress in the field and as a tough community: many internal battles that were of how we, as a community, work together—or ought to it appears that every dozen or so years the same specific fought in the last fifty years have meant very little in work together—to make progress. I embed a few words of questions come up in another form. It is not that we are hindsight but have ruined interpersonal relationships and advice to the younger participants. running in circles without gaining anything along the way; diminished all those involved. This aggression occurs Turbulence consists of a number of fascinating problems we have obtained in these years a better understanding of really because some people think that we are all part of (and is not just one “unsolved problem in classical phys- some aspects due to new theories, better simulation tools or a zero-sum game. First of all, you should not accept this ics”). The precise problem on which each one of us works new experimental technology. Take the turbulent Rayleigh- premise; indeed, most successful people have never been depends on: Benard problem. So much has happened in the last twenty limited by this fallacy. Secondly, please give full credit • one’s natural and acquired tastes; years: new experimental results, powerful simulations, new to the guy that went before you; don’t make it sound • financial support one generates; diagnostics, new theoretical ideas, yet it looks to an outsider like you have reinvented the wheel. Cite other people’s • one’s own abilities and skills; that one is still working on the same old problem. We ought work in your talks; be generous towards their contri- • the extent to which one is willing to interact with and to learn better skills in presenting our work without being butions; don’t make it sound like only your research learn from others; defensive. area is the path to understanding; and don’t yield to the • one’s environment; etc. Another problem is that many communities who use temptation of diminishing others just because you get I will particularly make a few remarks on how to increase turbulence as part of their bread and butter work are indif- an opportunity to do so. the visibility of the field; each of us benefits if our chosen ferent to advances in turbulence. Atmospheric scientists I have no doubt that better days lie ahead for turbulence; field thrives. One set of my remarks deals with internal and astrophysicists, for example, get working answers from its importance alone ought to be an argument in favor but it dynamics of the community and the other concerns external certain approximations, that as turbulence experts, you will is never enough. I side with Hilbert’s optimism that extolled perception. swear on your Ph.D. theses are not even remotely logical; the notion that “We must know; we will know,” instead of Internally, we hear complaints that: (a) there isn’t enough climate scientists can’t even relate to the time scales that the pessimism of the famous Latin maxim that “We do not research money in turbulence; while there may be decent interest you; aircraft designers are quite content with elabo- know; we shall not know.” resources to remain productive at some level, sufficient rate computational fluid dynamics methods. If you want The author holds professorships in the Department of resources are not available if one wants to break new ground them to take you seriously, you have to take on the task of Physics as well as the Courant Institute of Mathematical (such as extending important parameter ranges by some convincing them that resources spent on you are useful to Sciences, and is the Eugene Kleiner Professor for Innovation orders of magnitude to settle a vexing question); (b) not them at some level. in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering enough positions exist for current graduate students and One characteristic of science is the seamless number at New York University. His research interests include fluid postdocs; (c) inadequate scientific recognition comes even of cross-relationships among its components. Connecting mechanics and turbulence, nonlinear and nonequilibrium phe- to those who have accomplished something substantial; (d) our facts with neighboring observations and theory is what nomena, cryogenic helium, and stellar physics. He is a Fellow the field is hard intellectually and tough in terms of how it makes it possible to understand them more deeply and inter- of the APS and winner of the APS Otto Laporte Memorial treats its young and old alike; and so forth. pret them more meaningfully; to a first approximation, if it Award and APS Dwight Nicholson Medal for Outreach.

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