Centennial Meeting A P S N E W S Alert OCTOBER 1998 THE AMERICAN PHYSICAL SOCIETY VOLUME 7, NO. 9 APS News[Try the enhanced APS News-online: [http://www.aps.org/apsnews] APS Centennial 55 March 20-26, 1999 Months to Go www.aps.org/centennial Once Every Hundred Years t’s a birthday party! In 1999, we will celebrate the I100th anniversary of the founding of the American Physical Society. Physicists worldwide and especially APS members are invited to Atlanta next 20-26 March to celebrate the accomplishments of physics in the 20th century and to look ahead to the challenges and accelerating change that will greet us in the next 100 years and beyond. Now is the time to begin preparing your abstract and make plans for Atlanta. You won’t want to miss it, and we hope you will consider bringing your spouse, companion or children along to enjoy the broad range of activities that will make up the APS Centennial celebration. This special issue of APS News will give an overview of the Centennial events in Atlanta and cover related projects and activities that will take place throughout 1999. All the information you need right now is in this issue and in the enclosed APS Meeting Announcements. Keep an eye on http://www.aps.org/centennial/ in the coming months for further details and See you in Atlanta!

developments. Photo courtesy of the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau; Kevin C. Rose

Inside Special Centennial Events CENTENNIAL n addition to the plethora of The purpose of the exhibit is to en- Unit Exhibits ...... 2 Almost all of the APS units, as well as three I distinguished special invited guests, in- gage and inspire young people, to excite •Nobel Discoveries Exhibit— standing committees, are developing topical cluding President Bill Clinton and Vice them about physics and to surprise them Exploring Nature, Saving Lives, exhibits for the APS Centennial Meeting. President Al Gore (pending confirmation) with the ways it has impact on daily life. Driving Technology The Historical BAPS ...... 3 and assorted Nobel Laureates in physics, The Nobel exhibit is being designed to •Gala Reception at Fernbank Some surprising facts gleaned from the last the APS Centennial Meeting will feature travel to science centers and science mu- century of the BAPS archives. Museum of Natural History numerous special events, many aimed at seums across the country after the • A Century of Physics Timeline A Century of Physics ...... 3 1955-1965: Connections drawing the general public as well as APS Centennial Meeting. The exhibit will illus- Wallchart and Historical Exhibits members in attendance. trate how Nobel discoveries have probed Plenary Speakers ...... 3 (page 3) the fundamental mysteries of our world Special Publications...... 3 •Alumni Reunions for more than Physics in the 20th Century, Special Edition of Nobel Laureate Luncheon/ and, through the use of interactive com- Forty University and Laboratory Reviews of Modern Physics, A Century of Phys- Exhibit ponents, allow visitors to see in a hands-on, Departments ics, the APS timeline wall chart. A special invited Nobel Laureate Lun- contemporary way exactly how these dis- • International Reception and Banquet cheon (Saturday, March 20, 1999) will coveries have improved our lives. (page 5) NEWS include over 50 Nobel laureates as well as • Presidential Science Advisors Panel World’s Top Science Students Gathered in Dallas for 1998 ISEF ...... 6 outstanding high school teachers from Alumni Reunions Discussion—Past and Present More than $2 million in scholarships and across the country and students from More than 40 physics departments • Physics Festival —Unit Exhibits • prizes were awarded to some of the world’s throughout the state of Georgia. The stu- from educational institutions and laborato- Physics Demonstrations • Public brightest high school science and engineering dents and teachers will have an opportunity ries throughout the U.S. will be organizing students at the 1998 Intel International Sci- Lectures and Star Appearances • ence and Engineering Fair (ISEF), some of to interact with the Nobel laureates in alumni receptions and reunions for Tues- Physics-related Photography which were sponsored by the APS and AAPT. physics and chemistry. Of particular inter- day evening, March 23, 1999, in Exhibits (page 5) APS Awards Scholarships to Minority est is an invitation to Vice President Gore conjunction with the centennial meeting. • Special Invited Guests and Speakers Undergrads ...... 6 to give an address at the luncheon. The •International Science Symposia The APS has awarded corporate-sponsored scholarships for the 1998-1999 academic year luncheon is designed to be the preamble Fernbank Museum Gala (page 5) to 30 minority students who are majoring, or to the public opening of the “Nobel Dis- International, U.S. and Atlanta dignitar- •Centennial Plenary Sessions plan to major, in physics coveries Exhibit: Exploring Nature, Saving ies, including Nobel laureates and science (page 3) Bill Phillips To Be Honored at DLS’ Lives, Driving Technology” immediately teachers in attendance, will be special • Centennial Unit Symposia (page 2) ILS-XIV ...... 5 William D. Phillips of the National Institute of following the luncheon. Both of these guests at a gala event and reception to be •Special Centennial Publications Standards and Technology (NIST) in events are expected to draw significant held on the evening of March 21, 1999 at (page 3) Gaithersburg, Maryland, has won the 1998 media attention. (continued on page 5) Arthur L. Schawlow Prize in Laser Science.

OPINION Combating “Science Anxiety in the Classroom ...... 4 CRITICAL CENTENNIAL MEETING DEADLINES Art Hobson shares six useful suggestions for helping students overcome their aversion to ABSTRACTS physics. Usual March Program Topics Early Registration Deadline 1/15/99 Letters ...... 4 (Including CCP ‘99) 11/13/98 (To be eligible for the lowest registration fees) Zero Gravity ...... 5 Announcing the finalists in the contest to sug- Housing Deadline 2/20/99 gest physics slogans for tee-shirts, bumper Usual April Program Topics stickers and coffee mugs (Including Sherwood) 12/04/98

Announcements ...... 7 The Back Page ...... 8 See Enclosed APS Meeting Announcements for complete Gerald Wheeler shares the adventures of a Centennial Meeting Abstract and Registration Information scientist in TV Land. APS News October 1998 APS Units Sponsor Centennial Exhibits

lmost all of the APS units, as well as Gallery of Fluid Motion: pictorial displays American Physical Society A three standing committees, are obtained from physical or numerical ex- developing topical exhibits on subjects periments which are intriguing, novel or of concern to their respective charters revealing of intricate physical mecha- for the upcoming APS Centennial nisms. Meeting in Atlanta, Georgia. A listing of the displays planned at this time, with a Division of High Polymer Physics brief description, is below. The exhibit will combine a poster- board backdrop highlighting the historical Division of Astrophysics use of physics in the field of polymer One strongly visual display will link science with interactive computers to the contributions of astrophysics to other educate users about a variety of poly- disciplines. A second exhibit will include mer characteristics and uses. interactive displays of astronomical im- ages via computer terminals. Division of Laser Science The exhibit will include demonstra- Division of Biological Physics tions highlighting laser history and Slide shows will feature the varied ap- applications at the forefront of science, plications of nonlinear dynamics, with the medicine, fiber optic communications, main focus on biological applications. and education. Computers will be available for interac- tive participation. Division of Nuclear Physics The theme of the exhibit is the role Division of Chemical Physics of the nucleus as the center of the atom One display will feature magnetic reso- and the heart of all matter around us. The nance imaging (MRI) accompanied by a exhibit will focus on the current major user-friendly Web site. A second display scientific thrusts, selected applications will explore combustion chemistry. and education.

Division of Condensed Matter Division of Physics of Beams Physics The exhibit will feature joint displays Photos courtesy of (from left to right): Contemporary Physics Education Project, ISIS, Epping Australia; Observatory, Anglo-Australian of Pittsburg; University National Laboratory; Brookhaven Townes; Charles Appleton Laboratory; Rutherford of Edinburgh. University Tuffy, and P. AIP Niels Bohr Library; The display will consist of a series of with laboratories active in the use and Cover of the Centennial Meeting Program sent to all APS members in September. posters describing the history of the construction of accelerator systems for many different sub-areas of condensed nuclear and high energy physics, and for matter physics. synchrotron radiation. be interactive with active plasmas and Forum on Physics and Society interactive computer kiosks, with a Division of Computational Physics Division of Particles and Fields The display will feature a retrospective large graphic plasmas display provid- of the unit’s activities over the last 25 years, The display will feature a series of live The display will present an introduc- ing a backdrop for the interactive highlighting its role in fostering debates, demonstrations of computational phys- tion to elementary particle physics using components. ics, using a work station and/or the three computers running “A Particle Ad- publishing, short courses, and awards on Immersadisk (3-D interactive). A poster venture,” as well as a demonstration of Topical Group on Precision public policy topics with considerable on the impact of physics on computing the existence of particles using an opti- Measurement and Fundamental physics content. will also be produced. cal spark chamber. Constants Forum on History of Physics The display will feature the new val- Division of Fluid Dynamics Division of Plasma Physics The display will present a series of ues of the fundamental constants with Einstein posters originally produced in The display will present the 1998 win- Three displays are planned: plasmas, graphical display material, as well as a 1979 for the 100th anniversary of Einstein’s ning entries for the division’s annual kiosks and a backdrop. Two areas will demonstration of the on-line WWW da- birth, in conjunction with the exhibit from tabase on fundamental constants. the Forum on Education. Topical Group on Gravitation Committee on the International APS COUNCIL 1998 The display will highlight gravita- Freedom of Science President tional waves in general, focusing on Andrew M. Sessler*, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory The exhibit will present an illustrated APS News LIGO and LISA, as well as provide a President-Elect history of CIFS activities in the past, as well Coden: ANWSEN ISSN: 1058-8132 Jerome Friedman*, Massachusetts Institute of Technology strong historical component dating Series II, Vol. 7, No. 9 October 1998 Vice-President as inform the public of current cases, in- © 1998 The American Physical Society James S. Langer*, University of California, Santa Barbara back to Einstein’s formulation of Gen- Executive Officer cluding an Internet connection with links Judy R. Franz*, University of Alabama, Huntsville (on leave) eral Relativity in 1915. Editor: Barrett H. Ripin Treasurer to relevant human rights sites. Newswriter: Jennifer Ouellette Thomas McIlrath*, University of Maryland (on leave) Statistical and Nonlinear Physics Production: Elizabeth Buchan-Higgins Editor-in-Chief Committee on the Status of Martin Blume*, Brookhaven National Laboratory Topical Group Alicia Y. Chang Past-President Women in Physics Coordinator: Amy Halsted D. Allan Bromley*, Yale University The exhibit will feature a poster of The exhibit will feature a display of APS News (ISSN: 1058-8132) is published 11X yearly, General Councillors photographs of the many great physi- Daniel Auerbach, Beverly Berger, Virginia Brown*, Jennifer “Women Doing Physics”, complemented monthly, except the August/September issue, by The Ameri- cists in the field of statistical and can Physical Society, One Physics Ellipse, College Park, Cohen, Charles Duke*, S. James Gates, Donald Hamann*, Wil- by access to the UCLA Web site, “Contri- MD 20740-3844, (301) 209-3200. It contains news of the liam Happer*, Cynthia McIntyre, Roberto Peccei, Paul Peercy, nonlinear physicists, along with pho- Society and of its Divisions, Topical Groups, Sections and Helen Quinn, Susan Seestrom*, Virginia Trimble, Ronald butions of Women to 20th Century Forums; advance information on meetings of the Society; Walsworth, Sau Lan Wu tographs illustrating nonlinear and reports to the Society by its committees and task Physics.” Chair, Nominating Committee forces, as well as opinions. phenomena. Wick C. Haxton Committee on Minorities Letters to the editor are welcomed from the membership. Chair, Panel on Public Affairs Instrument and Measurement Letters must be signed and should include an address and Ruth H. Howes The display will focus on Bouchet daytime telephone number. The APS reserves the right to Science Topical Group select and to edit for length or clarity. All correspondence Division and Forum Councillors Award winners as well as a pamphlet list- The presentation will reflect the uni- regarding APS News should be directed to: Editor, APS News, Steven Holt (Astrophysics), Eric Heller, Gordon Dunn (Atomic, ing all minority fellows of the APS. One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20749-3844, E-mail: Molecular and Optical), Robert Callender (Biological), Stephen versal importance of measurement in [email protected]. Leone (Chemical), Joe D. Thompson, David Aspnes*, Arthur Hebard, Zachary Fisk (Condensed Matter), Warren Pickett (Com- a wide range of topics, incorporating putational), Guenter Ahlers* (Fluid Dynamics), James Wynne Southeastern Section Subscriptions: APS News is an on-membership publication (Forum on Education), Gloria Lubkin (Forum on History of Phys- three fundamental themes: the history delivered by Periodical Mail. Members residing abroad may ics), Matt Richter (Forum on Industrial & Applied Physics), The exhibit is entitled “Large Physics receive airfreight delivery for a fee of $20. Nonmembers: Myriam Sarachik (Forum on International Physics), Dietrich of instrumentation, its role in enabling Subscription rates are: domestic $160; Canada, Mexico, Cen- Facilities in the Southeast,” and will present Schroeer (Forum on Physics and Society), Andrew Lovinger tral and South America, and Caribbean $180; Air Freight discovery, and its beneficial impact on (High Polymer), Daniel Grischkowsky (Laser Science), Howard Europe, Asia, Africa and Oceania $210. a 28-foot poster highlighting several ma- Birnbaum (Materials), John Schiffer, John D. Walecka (Nuclear), human welfare. Henry Frisch, George Trilling* (Particles and Fields), Robert jor institutions of the region. Subscription orders, renewals and address changes Siemann (Physics of Beams), Roy Gould, William Kruer (Plasma) should be addressed as follows: For APS Members—Mem- Forum on Education bership Department, The American Physical Society, One *Members of APS Council Executive Board Ohio Section Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740-3844, The exhibit will focus on three ar- The exhibit will focus on early physics in [email protected]. For Nonmembers—Circulation ADVISORS eas: how physics demonstrations and and Fulfillment Division, American Institute of Physics, the state of Ohio, emphasizing physics teach- 500 Sunnyside Blvd., Woodbury, NY 11797. Allow at least Sectional Representatives laboratory equipment have been used 6 weeks advance notice. For address changes, please send TBA, New England; William Standish, New York; Perry P. Yaney, ing apparatus and featuring a small-scale both the old and new addresses, and, if possible, include a Ohio; Joseph Hamilton, Southeastern; Stephen Baker, Texas to teach introductory physics; a display mailing label from a recent issue. Requests from subscrib- model of the Michelson interferometer. ers for missing issues will be honored without charge only Representatives from Other Societies of introductory textbooks over the last if received within 6 months of the issue’s actual date of Thomas O’Kuma, AAPT; Marc Brodsky, AIP century; and a display of computer- publication. Staff Representatives Four Corners Section Barrett Ripin, Associate Executive Officer; Irving Lerch, Director assisted learning. Periodical Postage Paid at College Park, MD and at additional of International Affairs; Ramon Lupez, Director of Education and The exhibit will be a joint effort with mailing offices. Postmaster: Send address changes to APS Outreach; Robert L. Park, Director, Public Information; Michael Forum on Industrial and Applied News, Membership Department, The American Physical So- Lubell, Director, Public Affairs; Stanley Brown, Administrative institutions in the region, including New ciety, One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740-3844. Editor; Michael Stephens, Controller and Assistant Treasurer Physics Mexico State University, Los Alamos Na- This exhibit will focus on the use of tional Laboratory, and the National physics in industry. Renewable Energy Laboratory. 2 October 1998 APS News The Historical BAPS by Danita Boonchaisri, APS Meetings Department A Century of Physics oused on a low, two-shelf bookcase in the fourth floor conference room of 1955-1965: Connections H the American Physical Society is a collection of inconspicuous green books. by Hans Christian von Baeyer They occupy relatively little space and are mostly ignored by the people who use the conference room. They appear to be no more than decoration, adding y mid-century the new physics was color to the otherwise plain wooden shelves. beginning to spread out into a wide range of However within the pages of these archived volumes of the Bulletin of The applications.B Its scope extended vertically, as it American Physical Society (BAPS) is an enormous amount of scientific, political, were, from the unimaginably small interior of the cultural and historical information. Selecting several volumes at random can nucleus up to the incomprehensibly vast stretches uncover such interesting and enlightening facts as these: of the universe. At the same time, physics also had • The first meeting of the Society was held in Fayerweather Hall, Columbia a powerful horizontal impact on other branches of University, New York City, on Saturday, May 20, 1899. At this meeting, the science, often by way of novel instrumentation, and motion was approved to formally organize the Physical Society with the follow- on technology. ing bylaws: that the election of members be by the Council; that there be four For biology, physical methods brought about regular meetings annually; that the annual fee be five dollars; and that a regular spectacular results. The discovery of the double helix bulletin be published. of the DNA molecule, revealed by X-ray images of • The November 30-December 1, 1923 meeting in Chicago, Illinois con- crystallized DNA, triggered a revolution in genetics. tained 47 abstracts. The keynote address was given by Niels Bohr on “The Henceforth the mechanisms of heredity could be Quantum Theory of Atoms with Several Electrons.” Yalow of Benjamin Photo courtsey understood in tangible, material terms, and eventually Rosalyn Sussman Yalow • The annual dues for APS fellows in 1924 were $12; member dues were $9. even manipulated. Medicine acquired an important • The registration fee for the 1936 annual meeting in Atlantic City, New technique when Rosalyn Sussman Yalow, an American nuclear physicist, invented Jersey, was $1. a way to use radioactivity for detecting minute amounts of a huge variety of materials, • Among the six Honorary Members of the APS in February 1937 were Niels ranging from nicotine to viruses, in the human body. Though its name twists the Bohr, Albert Einstein, and Max Planck. tongue, her method, called radioimmunoassay, relies on a simple principle. If you • Published seven times per count six red-eyed fruit flies in a jar, and you know that the incidence of red eyes year, the subscription rate for is one in a thousand, you conclude that there are 6000 flies in the jar — without BAPS in 1937 was $5 per year; the tedium of counting them. Radioimmunoassay counts molecules rather than $1 each for single copies. This flies, and tags them by radioactivity rather than eye color. rate remained unchanged for 31 Chemistry gained a valuable diagnostic tool with nuclear magnetic resonance. years, until 1968, when the sub- Radar research had led to instruments that can identify nuclei by the way they scription fee was raised to $12 absorb microwaves. For chemists, whose usual province is the electron cloud of per year and $2 for back issues. the atom, this descent to the nucleus opened new opportunities. Nuclear magnetic • In November 1943, the resonance itself would later develop into magnetic resonance imaging, with a staff of the APS and AIP eagerly name chosen purposely to avoid the word nuclear. Geology also adopted an awaited the opening of their instrument based on 20th century physics. The SQUID (Superconducting Quantum new offices on East 45th Street Interference Device) which relies on a peculiar quantum effect discovered in 1962, in New York City, in a “stately can detect otherwise imperceptible changes in magnetic fields induced by the and commodious building, for- presence of mineral deposits. merly a private house of a In these and countless other ways physics began to stimulate research in its magnificence now rare.” The sister sciences. The most influential achievements of the 1950’s, however, were purchase price was $70,000, the invention of the laser and the development of computers based on integrated and the grand opening was circuits. Both of these devices, which are direct applications of quantum mechanics, planned for January 1944, “if would transform science and spawn entire industries devoted to new technologies. the exceptional obstacles of war- time [could] be overcome.” Editor’s Note: A CENTURY OF PHYSICS, a dramatic illustrated timeline wallchart • “The Physics of the Solid of over a hundred entries on eleven large posters is intended for high schools and State” was the theme of the colleges. Each poster covers about a decade and is introduced by a thumbnail 1947 meeting in Montreal, essay to provide a glimpse of the historical and scientific context of the time. A Canada. The largest percentage Century of Physics will be on display at the Atlanta Centennial Meeting in March. of contributed papers was dedi- cated to solid state physics, with In the November issue, APS News will feature the seventh introductory essay: 1965- another large percentage per- 1975: Closing the Circle. taining to nuclear physics BAPS: Volume 1, Number 1, 1890. research. • A banquet ticket at the 1951 annual meeting cost $5. The after-dinner speaker was J. Robert Oppenheimer. Centennial Publications • Due to member pressure in 1968, the council voted on a recommendation As part of the APS centennial’s lasting legacy, the APS is developing three to move the 1970 annual meeting from Chicago to protest events that oc- special publications in honor of the event: curred during the Democratic National Convention that year. While agreed Physics in the 20th Century. Produced jointly with the American Institute of to be well-motivated, the motion was defeated because it requested “a Physics, this will be a lavishly illustrated coffee table book intended for the gen- political protest in an area not related to physics.” eral public. With text by well-known Washington Post science writer Curt Suplee • The rate for a single room at New York City’s Hilton Hotel for the and more than 200 illustrations, it will be available at the Centennial Meeting at 1969 Joint Meeting was $16. But you could get a single room at the YMCA a reduced, pre-publication price. for only $3.50 a night. Special Edition of Reviews of Modern Physics. A special issue of Re- • At the 1971 business meeting of the APS in New York, two important views of Modern Physics will commemorate the APS Centennial, with approximately motions were passed. One called for a public plea to the U.S. President not 50 articles by distinguished physicists covering a wide range of areas of contem- to use nuclear weapons or devices in the Vietnam War, and recommended porary physics, as well as a section on historical perspectives. It will be distributed that APS members not engage in research activities that directly contrib- without extra cost to all subscribers to RMP, and also will be published as a hard- uted to the commission of war crimes in Vietnam. The second charged APS cover book by Springer-Verlag. members “with the duty of racial and sexual integration of their institu- tions” to help overcome the overwhelmingly white male dominance in the A Century of Physics. The APS has commissioned the production of a timeline physics community. wallchart entitled “A Century of Physics,” consisting of eleven 40” by 26” panels. • An abstract in the program for the 1984 Joint APS/AAPT meeting in Each is dedicated to approximately one decade of the 20th century, describing San Antonio, Texas noted that microcomputers “were just beginning to be many of the main developments and contributions of physics with accompanying used to gather and store data” in undergraduate physics labs. photographs. APS News has been featuring the introductory essay from each As we pause during the APS Centennial Celebration to consider the con- such panel in every issue until the Centennial Meeting itself (see above for this tributions that physics has made to society, we should also consider the month’s installment). The timeline wallchart will be distributed free of charge to effect that society has had on the evolution of physics. all high school science and college physics departments, and will be available for Consider the closing of Henry Rowland’s presidential address, delivered purchase by individual APS members at the Centennial Meeting. at the second APS meeting on October 28, 1899: “Let us hold our heads high with a pure conscience while we seek the truth, and may the APS do Plenary Speakers its share now and in generations yet to come in trying to unravel the great problem of the constitution and laws of the universe.” Dr. Rowland’s words As reported in the August/September issue of APS News, The following word- are as pivotal today as they were 100 years ago. renowned scientists will present plenary lectures at the upcoming APS Centennial Additional highlights of the history of the APS, BAPS, and its research Meeting, 20-26 March 1999, in Atlanta, Georgia: journals will be displayed in an exhibit at the Centennial Meeting in March. Joel Birnbaum • Mary Good • Martin Klein Stop by and browse through 100 years of world history — with a scientific Richard Smalley • Harold Varmus • Steven Weinberg twist.

3 APS News October 1998 OPINION

Some Suggestions for Combating LETTERS “Science Anxiety” in the Classroom by Art Hobson Zero Tolerence for “Zero Gravity” The answer given to the second limerick listed in the Zero Gravity section of APS riscilla Auchincloss (The Back Page, APS News, May 1998) points out that much needs News in the Aug/Sept 1998 issue is arguably incorrect and libelous [Answer: Gwen P to be done and can be done to attract and retain more women in physics. I would like has forty-two boyfriends. 42-1=41. 41+3=44. 44/4=11. 11-1=10.]. A better answer, in to add some comments regarding that great majority of women who are, and will remain, my opinion, is that Gwen has only nine boyfriends, rather than 42. The key lies in non-scientists. There is much that physicists can do to encourage these women toward the interpretation of the words “Together give”, which I take to mean the operation greater understanding, confidence, and enthusiasm about physics. of addition of the two preceding phrases separated by the word “and”. Thus “one In presenting physics to nonscientists, it is imperative to recognize that most of them less” (9-1=8) “and three more divided by four” ((9+3)/4=3), “Together give” (8+3=11) have severe anxiety and fear of failure concerning science and math. This is an unfortunate “one more than ten” (11). I fear, though, that it is too late to save Gwen’s sullied fact of American culture, a self-perpetuating problem that begins in homes and grade schools reputation. when science-anxious parents and teachers communicate their own anxiety to children. Kevin Gahagan Science anxiety then accompanies these children to adulthood, when the cycle repeats. Los Alamos National Laboratory As the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and others have I note that in Item 5 of “Zero Gravity” in the July 1998 issue of APS News, the noted, science anxiety is especially significant for women. The AAAS report Science for All force that prevents an insect from going through normal matter is said to be the Americans notes that “Far from dismissing this anxiety as groundless, teachers should electrostatic repulsion between the charged particles making up the atoms in the assure students that they understand the problem and will work with them to over- two bodies. I have always thought that the electrostatic forces between the elec- come it. Teachers can....make sure that students have some sense of success..., and trons and nuclei of two atoms pretty much cancel one another out, and what is left they should de-emphasize getting all the right answers. Many students are fearful of lab is a very weak attractive force usually associated with the name of van der Waals. instruments. Girls in particular suffer from the mistaken notion that boys are naturally The fact that two atoms do not penetrate each other, I thought, was a consequence more adept at using tools. ...Because the scientific and engineering professions have of the Pauli principle: the electrons of one atom cannot get into the filled shells of been predominantly male and white, female and minority students could easily get the the other atom. But perhaps the laws of physics are different in “Zero Gravity” if so, impression that these fields are beyond them or are otherwise unsuited to them. This this should please NASA no end. debilitating perception—all too often reinforced by the environment outside the school— B.S.Chandrasekhar will persist unless teachers actively work to turn it around.”(Oxford University Press, Groebenzell, Germany New York, 1989 and 1990) This cycle needs to be broken all along the line: at home, in grade school, in middle school and high school, in college, and in adulthood. One such place is in high school Renormalization of Bloopers and college science courses for non-scientists. Here are six classroom suggestions, not I read the July Zero Gravity “Top Ten Star Trek Bloopers,” by Lawrence original with me, that have been successful in my large-enrollment liberal-arts physics Krauss, with some anxiety: Were the bloopers all supposed to have been in the course. show? To avoid ambiguity, I have included a second-order correction below in Make the course relevant to real human concerns. In my experience, women are which each blooper has been categorized either as “correct fiction” or “incor- especially interested in the human implications of science, implications for the environ- rect fiction”. Readers also may choose the category into which their other theories ment, for children, for a peaceful world, for Earth’s future. When physics is taught best might fall. within the social and cultural context of topics such as global warming, energy re- 1. In Space, No One Can Hear You Scream. Correct Fiction. Also, nothing sources, pseudoscience, and scientific methodology, students can appreciate its relevance to really “blows up” in space either: There isn’t any air to transmit pressure differ- their own lives. ences. Cite role models, such as Marie Curie, Irene Curie, Lise Meitner, Ida Noddack, and Susan 2. Faster Than A Speeding Phaser. Incorrect Fiction. Any such weapon must Solomon. Noddack’s first National Ozone Expedition in 1986 confirmed the Antarctic ozone be aimed; the aiming action might be observed and the beam thus avoided. “hole” and led to Solomon’s hypothesis, since confirmed, concerning the CFC-initiated chain Also, some of the initial beam might be observed at the target before the deadly of events by which ozone is destroyed. Another good candidate is Cecilia H. Payne, the part arrived, allowing the latter to be avoided. astrophysicist who, in her 1925 PhD dissertation, announced the revolutionary discovery that 3. If the Plot Isn’t Cracked, Maybe the Event Horizon Is. Incorrect Fiction. the stars are made primarily of hydrogen. An event horizon MIGHT not be smooth and symmetrical, allowing it to appear Keep it conceptual. As Paul Hewitt (see the instructor’s manual accompanying his text- “cracked.” book Conceptual Physics) and others have argued, non-scientists have little need for traditional 4. How Solid a Guy Is the Doctor? Correct Fiction. A hologram image can’t be problem-solving techniques, or the accompanying algebra. It is possible to make the course magnetically confined. However, a hologram might be so confined. Also, spin numerate (with graphs, powers of ten, probabilities, numerical estimates, etc.) but non- would allow uncharged particles to interact with a magnetic field (weakly). algebraic. Do not introduce technical terms unless and until they are really needed. Follow 5. To InterPhase or Not To InterPhase. Probably Correct Fiction, but seems Arnold Arons’s maxim: “idea first, name afterward.” Dispense with formulas, or state them to have a bug. only as proportionalities, or state them first in words and then perhaps with symbols— 6. Sweeping Out the Baby With the Bath Water. Same as 5: Sweeping the explaining that the symbols are merely abbreviations for words. baryons off the Enterprise might just leave it shinier (if not all were removed). Discuss science anxiety as well as fear of failure, fear of speaking up in class, and 7. How Cold is Cold? Correct Fiction: Can’t get to -295 degrees Celsius. fear of laboratory apparatus. Explain that these fears are often due to overbearing 8. I Have Seen the Light. Incorrect Fiction. Space IS filled with dust, as the siblings and parents, or parents and teachers who are themselves anxious about sci- astronauts servicing the Hubble found to their dismay. Also, dense enough en- ence or math. Your class should provide a supportive environment for all students to ergy might cavitate the vacuum enough to make the beam visible in all directions. work through such fears. Laboratories, in particular, offer lots of opportunity for one-on- 9. Astronomers Get Picky. Incorrect Fiction. Yes, a geosynchronously orbit- one help from an understanding instructor. Be sure your lab assistants understand this. ing vehicle would remain stationary relative to any point on the equator (ignoring Here is one revealing technique for discussing science anxiety: Ask your class, ver- secular corrections). However, seen in a perspective other than from a point bally, a simple problem such as “It’s 120 miles to Little Rock, and you drive there at 60 through a diameter of the planet and through the vehicle, the vehicle WOULD miles per hour. How long does it take?” Then immediately ask “What are you thinking appear to move against the planet’s surface. at this moment? Are you thinking about solving the problem, or are you thinking: Oh 10. Those Darned Neutrinos. Incorrect Fiction. For a vehicle by assumption no—it’s one of those horrible word problems?” For those many students whose first able to exceed the speed of neutrinos, passing a neutrino in flight would make reaction was anxiety, the trick will be to learn to relax while thinking about physics. A it RIGHT-handed. This is the “symmetry-breaking” referred to in theories that way to do this it to practice relaxation (breath deeply and relax) while studying phys- allow the neutrino to be massive (and thus be passed by a beam of light). ics, during practice examinations, during real examinations, etc. John Michael Williams Keep classes interactive and student-oriented. Call on students by name, even in Redwood City, CA large lectures, where you can at least learn the names of those who speak up in class. Toss out topics for brainstorming and discussion. The High Cost of Tenure Use peer instruction techniques. I give peer-assisted pop quizzes in which students The June 1998 Back Page “Keep Tenure: Fix the Problems” by Frank Franz is work in groups to answer a question posed to the class, but are then responsible for clear and obviously from an expert. However, has anybody considered the cost of their own written response. Pop quizzes should be for extra credit, so that students never the proposed annual reviews? Just to remove a few (1% ?) incompetent (or inad- lose points when they miss class or answer incorrectly. Questions should be sufficiently easy equate) tenured professors, 100% of them (and their staff) have to spend hours and that most groups will, perhaps with coaching, come up with the right answer. I also use peer- hours each year to pass such annual reviews if they are done properly. Just another assisted “workshop questions,” similar to pop quizzes but not handed in. It’s inspiring to see way to increase bureaucracy and with it overhead. a large classroom buzzing about physics. Eric Mazur (Peer Instruction, Prentice Hall: Upper M. Drosg Saddle River, NJ, 1997) and others show that all students respond positively to these group- University of Vienna learning techniques. My observations persuade me that women respond even more enthusiastically than men. Why God Never Got Tenure It’s important to work on both sides of the “physics gender gap.” We need more women I very much enjoyed the April 1998 Zero Gravity column but I have one very in physics, but we also need more women outside of physics. serious criticism: the title should be “Why God Never Got Tenure,” rather than a Art Hobson ([email protected]) has been teaching physics at the University of PhD. The criteria cited are not particularly pertinent to obtaining a doctorate, but are Arkansas since 1964 and is the author of a liberal-arts physics textbook Physics: Concepts among the reasons cited for denying tenure. and Connections (Prentice Hall). Art has also been very active in the Forum on Physics Leo Silber and Society. Brooklyn, NY

4 October 1998 APS News zero gravity

APS News T-Shirt/Bumper Sticker Slogan Contest Finalists

We received several hundred responses to our announcement of the T-Shirt/ submitted several pages of slogans, many of which we selected as runners-up in Bumper Sticker Slogan Contest in the April 1998 issue of APS News. Many, many addition to his finalist entry: submissions played on the familiar theme, “Physicists Do It.....” By far the most frequent entry was, Physicists Do It With Models versions of which were submit- God does not play dice with the universe. It’s more like whiffle ball ted by Damian Handzy, W. Yeung, Dirk Jan Bukman, and John Hornstein. However, frequency of citation is not the sole defining criteria for any given Meanwhile, Sir Denys Wilkinson of East Sussex, England, took a more literate ap- slogan’s success. Thus, we’ve selected a number of our personal favorites as final- proach, borrowing his submission from an undisputed master: ists, as well as some additional runners-up. Members are encouraged to review the selections below and vote for their favorites by email [[email protected]]. Winning “...we delight in physics...” entries will appear on assorted T-shirts, bumper stickers and coffee mugs that will W. Shakespeare, Macbeth II.iii be available for sale at the upcoming APS Centennial Meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, in March 1999. RUNNERS-UP Barrett Ripin Other entries along the “Physicists Do It...” lines included: Editor, APS News Physicists Do It.... FINALISTS with the least action (Devlin Gualtieri) Three of our selected finalists submitted slogans discretely (Steven Watanabe, Bryan Dorland, Caroline Ritz-Gold) requiring visual clues or graphics that play on popu- with a Big Bang {Damian Handzy) lar physics concepts. Eric Weeks of the University in Super-Positions (Todd Pittman) of Pennsylvania was the first to suggest a T-shirt with gravity (Roald Wangsness) with the caption, “Don’t Drink and Derive,” along with increasing entropy (John Hornstein) with accompanying graphics (see right) [Mike with chaotic motion (John Hornstein) Famiano submitted a similar entry without the quantum coherently (John Hornstein) graphics.] Eric Jones of Case Western Reserve Uni- with minimal coupling (Lewis Orphanos) versity suggested the following with momentum (James McGee) relatively well If this sticker is blue, you’re driving too fast. with uncertainty

And John Pierre of San Francisco, California, submitted a physicists’ alternative to Sex is the physics urge sublimated (Daniel Grupp) the popular “Darwin Fish” bumper sticker: Old physicists never die; they just accelerate to light speed! (Bill Martin) This car brakes for Schroedinger’s Cat (Devlin Gualtieri) John Edwards struck a humorous chord Maintain chirality: Pass on the left only (Devlin Gualtieri) with numerous APS staff members with the Conserve energy: Don’t be a joule thief (Joel Liebman) slogan, Conserve energy: Commute with a Hamiltonian (Enid Sichel) Flirt Ψs Matters! (Chris Paul) Harder— Gravity Gets Me Down (Seyffie Maleki) I’m a Excuse me while I collapse my wave function (Leonard Anderson) Physicist Know a Good Quantum Mechanic? (Loren Booda) Honk if you love phonons (Loren Booda) Maxwell’s Little Demon And finally, from the prolific Roger Johnson: Devlin Gualtieri of Allied Signal suggested the above as an apt slogan for a children’s I’m a physicist; I don’t need people skills tee-shirt for beleaguered parents. Roger Johnson of Los Alamos National Laboratory Pseudo Science Sucks Chirality is twisted Keeper of the hidden variables

Centennial Events (continued from page 1) Stop Physics Hooliganism: Physicists To-Do List: symmetry breaking develop grand unified theory the Fernbank Museum of Natural History. sities in the region such as a Conference collapsing state vectors find missing dark matter Expected to attract as many as 2,000 par- on Communication of Science to the Pub- degenerancy solve solar neutrino problem ticipants, the evening will also include lic at Emory University and a symposium chaos time travel continuous showings of the IMAX film on “Fractals and Chaos” at Georgia Tech turbulence find tachyons and magnetic “Cosmic Voyage,” as well as a multime- are scheduled. Finally, several science edu- monopoles dia presentation celebrating the cation outreach groups will perform change underwear achievements of physics, and physics- physics demonstrations and programs in related entertainers. Centennial Park and in other locations around Atlanta. Bill Phillips To Be Honored Physics Festival A community-wide Physics Festival is International Banquet and in development for Atlanta for the week Symposium at DLS’ ILS-XIV Conference prior and the week during the Centennial A special banquet is being organized illiam D. Phillips of the National Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1976. Celebration and Meeting. Activities to celebrate the international nature of WInstitute of Standards and After two years as a postdoctoral fellow at throughout the academic and public com- physics, and to honor representatives at- Technology (NIST) in Gaithersburg, MIT, he joined the staff of NIST (then munity in Atlanta will include Popular tending the Centennial meeting. In Maryland, will be awarded the 1998 APS known as the National Bureau of Standards) Physics Topic lectures both at the Geor- addition, a symposium on international Arthur L. Schawlow Prize in Laser Science in 1978. He is the leader of the Laser Cool- gia World Congress Center (GWCC) and science will feature the following distin- during the 19th annual Interdisciplinary ing and Trapping Group in the Atomic in venues around the city. These general guished speakers and topics: Laser Science (ILS) conference, in Physics Division of NIST’s Physics Labora- interest talks will focus on topics more • Predhiman Kaw, Institute for Plasma conjunction with the annual meeting of tory. easily accessible to students and the pub- Research, Gujarat, India, “International the Optical Society of America, to be held Phillips has received many awards and lic, such as the Physics of Dance, Physics Energy Research: Sources, Consumption 4-9 October 1998 in Baltimore, Maryland. honors, most recently the 1997 Nobel of the Rainbow, and Physics of Sports. A and Alternatives” Sponsored by the NEC Corporation, the Prize in Physics for his work in laser cool- 21st Century Dialogue series will be held • Luciano Maiani, director general, CERN, Schawlow prize is intended to recognize ing and trapping, which he shared with in larger auditoriums and theatres in At- “International Cooperation at CERN” outstanding contributions to basic research Steven Chu of Stanford University and lanta and will feature some very • Jan S. Nilsson, Knut and Alice Wallenberg that uses lasers to advance our knowledge Claude Cohen-Tannoudji of the Ecolé interesting and well-known speakers. Foundation, “The International Unions of the fundamental physical properties of Normale Superieure in France. The scien- A number of exhibits are planned in- and Other Institutions Promoting Inter- materials and their interaction with light. tists were recognized for their cluding the Nobel Discoveries Exhibit, an national Scientific Collaboration” Phillips was cited “For pioneering ex- development of methods to cool and trap APS History and Journal Exhibit, A Cen- • Tadahiro Sekimoto, chairman, NEC Cor- periments in laser cooling and trapping, atoms with laser light. With his laser set- tury of Physics timeline wallchart, APS Unit poration, “Telecommunications and including the first demonstrations of up, Phillips can create “optical lattices,” Exhibits, as well as exhibits of funding Physics” Zeeman cooling, the magnetic trapping crystal-like arrays of atoms held in place agencies and an expanded commercial ex- • Cylon Goncalves da Silva, director gen- of neutral atoms and the extension of la- by light waves. He is continuing his re- hibit show at the GWCC. In addition, art eral, Brazilian Association of Synchrotron ser cooling below the Doppler limit.” He search on ultra-cold atoms with spin-off and photography in science will be fea- Light Source Technology, “International received his BS in physics from Juniata applications for improved accuracy in tured in area galleries. Several on-campus Cooperation in Latin America” College in Huntington, Pennsylvania, in atomic clocks, and in the fabrication of activities arranged by colleges and univer- 1970 and his PhD from the Massachusetts nanostructures. 5 APS News October 1998 World’s Top Science Students Gathered in Dallas for 1998 ISEF

he APS contributed to the more than Schaeffer of Fort Worth, Texas; and Ran- T$2 million in scholarships and prizes som Stephens of the University of Texas that were awarded to some of the world’s in Arlington. brightest high school students at the 1998 The first place APS/AAPT award of Intel International Science and Engineer- $1,000 went to Charina Terranova ing Fair (ISEF). ISEF was held 13-15 May Cameron of Horton District High School in Fort Worth, Texas. Each year, the Intel in Greenwich, Nova Scotia, Canada, for her ISEF brings together over 1,000 students development of a sonic bee detector. Sec- from all 50 states and 40 nations to com- ond place, and an award of $400, went to pete for scholarships, tuition grants, 16-year-old Karen Mendelson of Worces- internships, scientific field trips and the ter, MA, for her project entitled, “Noninvasive grand prize: a trip to attend the Nobel Prize Optical Method for Measuring Hemoglobin Ceremonies in Stockholm, Sweden. in a Fingertip.” A junior at Massachusetts Acad- Science Services, a non-profit organi- emy of Math and Sciences who plans to zation dedicated to advancing the pursue a career in medicine, Mendelson de- understanding and appreciation of science veloped a device that measures blood Photos courtsey of Intel Corporation First place APS/AAPT award winner Charina Cameron of Nova Scotia assembles her "Sonic among people of all ages through publi- hemoglobin quickly and painlessly, eliminat- Bee Detector" for the 1998 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair. cations and annual programs, founded the ing the risk of infection currently associated event in 1950. The organization describes with blood-handling. She believes the new Trip Award, along with Geoffrey Schmidt ISEF as “the Olympics, the World Cup and device could be used in blood donation cen- of Little Rock, Arkansas. Schmidt’s project, the World Series of science competition.” ters, rural- area physician offices, and third entitled “3-D computer graphics Visible- Although Intel and other corporate sponsors world countries. Surface Determination Using Heirarchical support most of the prizes awarded at the The third place award of $300 went to Beam Tree Clipping,” makes it possible fair, a large number of non-profit scientific Natalie Shaubie Lui of Saint Edward’s for computer graphics imaging software organizations and universities also participate School in Vero Beach, Florida, for her work to render larger, more complex 3-D mod- by sponsoring their own awards in specific on elucidating the mechanics of binary els in less time than with current disciplines, including the APS, the American systems. Three students also received applications available on the market. Chemical Society and the American Associa- honorable mentions: Jeremiah Daniel Mendelson and Schmidt were also hon- tion of Physics Teachers (AAPT). Brown of Covenant Christian Academy in ored with $5,000 awards for having the An active participant in the fair since 1985, Huntsville, Alabama, for his project, “Single highest score in their respective catego- the AAPT was joined this year for the first Element Anamorphic Lens for Correcting ries of physics and computer science, and time by the APS. The two societies jointly Laser Diodes”; Amul Dinesh Tevar of Schmidt received a $40,000 Intel Young sponsored three top prizes in physics, and Macomb High School in Illinois, for his Scientist Scholarship. As the top all-around three honorable mentions. In addition to the project, “Effect of Coachella Doping on competitors at the event, the two students monetary awards, all winners received a one- an YBa2Cu3O7-x Superconductor;” and Jus- will attend the Nobel Prize ceremonies in year AAPT membership, a one-year APS tin Ryan Traunero of Riverside High School Stockholm, Sweden in December. student membership, a certificate from both in Greeg, South Carolina, for his project, For a complete list of the awards pre- AAPT and APS, as well as an AAPT coffee “Potassium Sodium Tartrate Crystals as Pi- sented at the 1998 Intel International Karen Mendelson, a returning Intel ISEF mug and APS book bag. The 1998 judges ezoelectric Resonators.” Science and Engineering Fair, go to participant and second place APS/AAPT who volunteered to judge exhibits for the A 1997 recipient of a $40,000 Intel http://www.intel.com/education/isef. For winner, won a Pinnacle Award for her project, two societies were Andrew Cordell, Fort Wor- Young Scientist Scholarship for her project more information about the ISEF program "A Noninvasive Optical Method for Measuring thy Country Day School; William Graham, last year, Mendelson was one of the win- itself, see the Science Services Web site at Hemoglobin in a Fingertip." Last year, Karen Texas Christian University; Norman ners of this year’s Glenn T. Seaborg Nobel http://www.sciserv.org. went home with a $40,000 scholarship.

APS Awards 1998-1999 Scholarships to Minority Undergrads

he APS has awarded Campaign for (University of Chicago), and Michael Boss pleted his first year at Morehouse Col- as quantum interference and Einstein’s T Physics-sponsored scholarships for (Case Western University). lege, spent the summer of 1996 as an theory of relativity.” the 1998-1999 academic year to 30 Several new scholars have partici- intern at the Walter Reed Army Medical Many scholars cited the writings of minority students who are majoring, or pated in summer internships in Center, learning the basic methods of cell Stephen Hawking as an influence on their plan to major, in physics. Since its governmental, industrial or academic re- cultivation and laboratory procedure and desire to study physics, but their inter- inception in 1980, the scholarship search as a means of broadening their studying the effects of cyclosporin on ests range far beyond the purely scientific program has helped more than 225 science education. For example, Justin intracellular calcium. For the last two sum- and academic. Rollins has five years of minority students pursue physics Baca, a senior from Albuquerque, NM, mers, he has been a research assistant at martial arts training in karate, kung-fu and degrees. Each scholarship consists of with a strong interest in renewable en- the University of Pittsburgh, where he aiki- jujutsu. Guillen-Treadway is an ac- $2000, which may be renewed once, and ergy sources, interned at Sandia National learned to use Raman scattering tech- complished classical cellist who has which may be used for tuition, room and Laboratories, where he has assisted with niques to image the complex chemical received superior ratings in music com- board. the development of a proposal to con- bonds of polymer fibers. St. Paul senior petitions. An accomplished writer, Alicia “We are extremely proud of these struct a radiation sensor for landing and Marcus Rollins interned at 3M Company’s Wright, who lives in Bethesda, MD, re- scholars and look forward to watching orbiting craft for the 2001 Mars mission. Pharmaceuticals Division last summer. He cently wrote a detective story about a them evolve into productive scientists, He also developed a concept for a ra- is especially interested in the company’s young amateur detective who takes on as well as outstanding models for the diation shield for a nuclear reactor on recent development of the green laser the investigation of her brother’s murder next generation of young minority schol- Mars, and is currently helping build an under the spinoff company Imation, and for a creative writing project. She is also ars,” said Alexandro DeLozanne, Chair of experiment to study the effects of hopes to work for Imation full time fol- a member of women’s varsity basketball the APS Committee on Minorities. neutron radiation on bacteria. lowing graduation from college. and track teams, despite being diagnosed Out of nearly 100 applicants, 20 new Gary Dwork, a senior from By far the youngest new scholar is 15- with dermatomyositis, a disease involv- scholarships and 10 renewal applicants Smithtown, NY, is interning at year-old Carl Chan-Aldebol of Westford, MA, ing inflammation of the muscles, her were selected. The new scholars for Brookhaven National Laboratory this who was home-schooled for several years freshman year. 1998-1999 are Justin Baca, Andrew summer at the Alternating Gradient before being admitted to the prestigious The APS scholarship program operates Baughns, Jr., Eric Brown, Carl Chan- Synchrotron, working on alternative Massachusetts Academy of Math and Sci- under the auspices of the APS Committee Aldebol, Kelle Cruz, Edwin Diaz, Sasha theories of gravity to duplicate dark ence, a specialized school for high on Minorities, and is supported by funds Dos Santos, Gary Dwork, Marieke matter. His interest was piqued by a achieving math and science students. allocated from the APS Campaign for Phys- Guillen-Treadway, Philip Jones, Lexyne school lecture on electromagnetism by During his senior year, he was also en- ics. Scholarships are awarded to McNealy, Tami Meverden, Ryan Morfin, BNL physicist Michael Blaskiewicz, who rolled in college courses at Worcester African-American, Hispanic American or Monica O’Neill, Javier Rivera, Marcus subsequently hired him as an intern. Polytechnic Institute, and spent the sum- Native American students who are high Rollins, Felipe Salinas, Jose Sandoval, Chicago-based senior Marieke Guillen- mer of 1995 as a participant in the Young school seniors, college freshmen, or sopho- Hasani Wooten, and Alicia Wright. Stu- Treadway spent two weeks in the Scholars Program at MIT’s Haystack Ob- mores. The Selection Committee dents whose scholarships were renewed University of Illinois, Chicago’s Physics servatory — the youngest student ever especially encourages applications from for 1998-1999 are Danon Price (Emory Department, conducting her own re- admitted to the program. His project while students enrolled in institutions with his- University), Juan Nieto (Harvard Univer- search project measuring the thickness there involved an analysis of global warm- torically or predominantly Black, Hispanic, sity), Robert Villareal (Southwest Texas of thin films grown on various substrates ing, calculating the average annual increase or Native American enrollment. After be- State University), Jason Morrow (Harvard by graphing the reflectivity of laser light in temperature as measured at 28 stations ing selected, each scholar is matched with University), Edward Little (California In- reflected from their surfaces. “I learned in different climate regions around the an available scholarship, as well as an ac- stitute of Technology), Elvis Dieguez a great deal about optics and what it is world. Chan-Aldebol plans to major in ei- complished physicist to act as a mentor. (University of Miami), Taran Villoch (Ball really like to be engaged in research in a ther astrophysics or quantum physics, For applications for the 1999-2000 State University), Seth Guinals- laboratory,” she said of the experience. because “I am fascinated by concepts that competition, please contact Arlene Kupperman (MIT), Joanne Byers Hasani Omar Wooten, who just com- seem to contradict common sense, such Modeste at [email protected].

6 October 1998 APS News Announcements

AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING DOCTORAL THESIS Physical Review Editorial Staff Changes RESEARCH IN ATOMIC, MOLECULAR OR OPTICAL PHYSICS New Editorial Board Members Appointed in Physical Sponsored by members and friends of the APS Division of Atomic, Molecular, and Review Letters Optical Physics. The following individuals were recently appointed or reappointed as members of the Editorial Board of Physical Review Letters: Purpose: To recognize doctoral thesis research of outstanding quality and achieve- Rolf Allenspach IBM Research Laboratory, Zurich ment in atomic, molecular or optical physics, and to encourage effective written and oral Ennio Arimondo Universita di Pisa Naftali Auerbach Tel-Aviv University presentation of research results. W. E. Bron University of California, Irvine M. Buttiker Universite de Geneve Nature: The award, which is given annually, consists of $1,000 and a certificate George Crabtree Argonne National Laboratory citing the contributions made by the recipient. The award will be presented at the APS Uriel Frisch Observatoire de la Cote d’Azur Centennial Meeting in Atlanta, Georgia in March 1999. Nominees must submit an ab- Rolf Heuer Centre Europeen de Recherches Nucleaires stract for presentation at the meeting. The selection committee will choose finalists who Kwang-Je Kim Argonne National Laboratory will be required to present their work orally in a special invited paper session devoted Paul Langacker University of Pennsylvania solely to such presentations. The selection committee will choose the recipient from Reinhard Schumacher Carnegie-Mellon University Stephen M. Shapiro Brookhaven National Laboratory among the finalists based on both oral presentation and the written material described David Stroud Ohio State University below. All finalists will receive a travel stipend of $500. Christopher Thompson University of North Carolina M. Wakatani Kyoto University Rules and Eligibility: Doctoral students at any university in the U.S. or abroad who Andrew Zangwill Georgia Institute of Technology passed their thesis defense for the Ph.D. in the disciplines of atomic, molecular or optical physics after October 30, 1996 are eligible for the award, except for those whose thesis advisors serve on the current selection committee. Any APS member may submit New Adjunct Associate Editor Appointed in Physical a nomination for this award. Review Letters Martin Blume, Editor-in-Chief of The American Physical Society, and Jack Sandweiss, The complete nomination package must be submitted by October 30, 1998 to the George Basbas, Stanley Brown, and Gene Wells, Editors of Physical Review Letters, chair of the selection committee: Prof. Hossein R Sadeghpour, Harvard-Smithsonian CFA, announce the recent appointment of M. Muthukumar (University of Massachusetts, 60 Garden St, Cambridge MA 02138, Phone (617) 495-7022, Fax (617) 496-7668, Email: Amherst) as an Adjunct Associate Editor of Physical Review Letters with responsibil- [email protected]. ity for papers in polymer and liquid crystal physics, colloids, and complex fluids.

New Associate Editor Appointed in Physical Review D Now Appearing in RMP... Martin Blume, Editor-in-Chief of The American Physical Society, and Erick Weinberg and Dennis Nordstrom, Editors of Physical Review D, announce the recent appoint- Reviews of Modern Physics is a quarterly journal featuring review ment of Jonathan Bagger (Johns Hopkins University) as Associate Editor of Physical articles and colloquia on a wide range of topics in physics. Titles Review D. and brief descriptions of the articles in the October 1998 issue are provided below. George Bertsch, Editor. Part I APS Membership Directory Errata Metal-insulator transitions During production of the 1998-99 APS Membership Directory, there were some Masatoshi Imada, Atsushi Fujimori, and Yoshinori Tokura review the theory and errors that went undetected until final copies were mailed to the membership. experimental phenomena of the metal-insulator transition, in which huge resis- Below is a listing of APS Fellows who should have an (*) asterisk, noting fellowship, tivity changes take place under the control of external parameters. The article in their Directory listing. Corrections have been made and the Online Membership describes the many outstanding examples among transition-metal materials. Directory is now accurate regarding fellowship. Our sincerest apologies for this oversight. Part II Additional corrections can be sent to [email protected] or given to a Mem- Solar fusion cross sections bership Representative at 301-209-3280. Inquiries regarding the login and password An important link in the puzzling deficit of solar neutrinos is the nuclear reaction for access to the Online Directory can be directed to the same. network responsible for their production. Eric G. Adelberger and collaborators Jeeva S Anandan Robert J Gould Edward H Poindexter review the present knowledge of the reaction rates, to assess their reliability and John N Bahcall Chris H Greene Hernan C Praddaude point out areas for improvement. Nicolaas Bloembergen H D Holmgren John M Richardson Maria-Ester Brandan Louis N Howard Rufus H Ritchie Proton-antiproton annihilation and meson spectroscopy with the Crys- John E Brolley Jr George J Igo Allen B Robbins Carter D Broyles Daniel E Kaplan Ivor Robinson tal Barrel A D Buckingham Mark B Ketchen Frank Scherb Claude Amsler reviews the physics learned from pp annihilation, as studied at David B Chang J G King George Schmidt the LEAR facility in CERN. Particularly noteworthy is the new information pro- Brian Joseph Cantwell Nicholas A Krall Johanna M H Levelt Sengers vided on meson spectroscopy. Francisco H Claro Richard H Kropschot William A Sibley Thomas Michael Cormier Behram Kursunoglu Rolf M Sinclair Ray R Crittenden Jerzy M Langer Charles V Stephenson Precision measurements with high-energy neutrino beams Janusz Dabrowski Ralph A Logan George Malcolm Stocks Janet M. Conrad, Michael H. Shaevitz, and Tim A. Bolton review high-energy Wilfried W Daehnick Bogdan C Maglich Alfred C Switendick neutrino scattering, a reaction that has provided unique information on parton J P Davidson Willem V R Malkus Eric D Thompson Sumner P Davis Dudley T F Marple William C Turner distributions in the nucleon, as well as providing tests of perturbative quantum J J de Swart Ronald L Martin Richard Palmer Van Duyne chromodynamics. Bryce S DeWitt Leonard F Mattheiss C J Waddington Dirck L Dimock Richard Lee Morse Andrew W Weiss Astrometry and geodesy with radio interferometry: experiments, mod- Thomas L Estle Robert F Mozley Zdzislaw Wilhelmi James E Felten Miguel Octavio Xi-De Xie els, results Peter Fong Murray Peshkin Ojars Sovers, John L. Fanselow, and Christopher Jacobs review radio interferom- etry with very long baseline detectors. The article emphasizes the challenges and achievements associated with the exquisite angular precision of the tech- nique. CAUGHT IN THE WEB Notable additions to the APS Web Server. Topological analysis of chaotic dynamical systems Robert Gilmore discusses the topological characteristics of the phase-space evo- The APS Web Server can be found at http://www.aps.org lution in chaotic dynamical systems, applying topological invariants to the analysis APS News Online latest edition • Newsletters Posted: DAMOP, of experimental data sets. APS Committees and Governance DCMP, DPF • 4 Corners Section Election Info Polymer solutions: A geometric introduction (colloquium) • POPA - Science, Technology, and • DAMOP Governance updated T. A. Witten describes dissolved polymers in geometric terms, showing how their Economic Growth Committee fractal behavior affects their dynamics. Report Meetings • Directory of Congressional • Centennial Meeting Abstract and Quasinormal-mode expansion for waves in open systems (colloquium) Fellows updated Registration E. S. C. Ching et al. describe the quasinormal-mode approach to open systems, • APS Contact List updated • DMP Focused Sessions for APS which allows one to carry over familiar methods that are used for closed systems. Units Centennial Meeting • Precision Measurement & Funda- • New York Section Fall Meeting If you would like to subscribe to the paper or online version of RMP, please mental Constants TG homepage • DNP, DPP, and DFD Annual Meetings contact the APS Membership Department at [email protected] or (301) 209- now available! 3280. • DPB homepage now on APS Centennial Webpage Server www.aps.org/centennial 7 APS News October 1998 THE BACK PAGE Adventures of a Scientist in TV Land by Gerald F. Wheeler Would you like to have your ers. In retrospect, I suppose he won. I re- the camera in a consulting and development own TV show? laxed and submitted to ideas that would role. I was now part of a very large profes- I had just finished my first television make any self-respecting physicist cringe. sional team with what seemed like limitless appearance — explaining energy con- We created some good teases, but I did resources, and I assumed that my team ex- cepts on a late-night talk show — when draw the line at gorillas. perience in nuclear physics would be good the show’s producer asked me that ques- My premiere aired on a spring Satur- training. I was wrong. On research teams, tion. As a traditional nuclear physicist, I day afternoon. I felt it was the best arguments are related to the substance of normally would have said no immediately: half-hour presentation on forces that I had the data, but we are all talking from the same any project this far from research must be ever done, and most of my colleagues world view. In television, we were all talking avoided. However, at the time, I was conceded that they also liked it. But one different languages. spending more and more time in the class- frank critic, a non-scientist, said, “You did One team decision sent a crew to inter- room and less and less with accelerators. a good job, your demos were clear, but view an engineer who used an infrared TV Although I harbored no secret hopes of who cares about forces?” I was flabber- system to measure heat losses in buildings. being “discovered,” the possibility of ex- gasted. Obviously, I thought, this critic just At the end of the rough cut of the final piece, panding the size of my classes from didn’t appreciate the importance of forces the interviewer turned to the engineer and hundreds to thousands was too good to in our understanding of nature. With each said, “So, hot things reflect hot colors and pass up. Without much thought about new show, my critic returned with the cold things reflect cold colors.” The engineer, same question: “Who cares?” It took quite probably nervous in front of the camera and whether I was good enough, whether I Gerald F. Wheeler had the time, or whether I could even a while for me to realize that most people completely unfamiliar with television’s pace, think of topics for the show, I said, “Sure.” don’t care, at least not in the way that sci- incorrectly said, “Right.” I immediately capitalize on the public’s general interest in This was the beginning of rich experi- entists care about these staples of physics. jumped up shouting, “Wrong!” The producer astronomy. I worked with a faculty member ences that taught me about television, and Ask a ten-year- old, “Would you like to argued that I was being picky. It was just from the film and television department to consequently about the differences be- talk about forces?” The response will prob- right for the piece since it concluded the seg- produce 12 short programs, called tween the worlds of television and science. ably be, “No thanks, but may it always be ment and visually cued the ending. “Skywatch,” that have been inserted into These differences are important to any- with you.” The producer was missing the point of existing regional programs. This series had one planning to exploit the TV medium In addition to misreading the public, I my argument. In science, one word, or one me highlighting the upcoming constellations. to get science to the public. also misread the medium of television. I result, can make something totally wrong. Since the constellations are relatively con- Science is our collective interpretation tried to change television to match science, This type of falsification, so central to the stant, this particular series has the unique of the entire universe. Our descriptions go rather than change my style to match tele- process of science, is nonexistent on televi- feature of having reruns that will remain cur- forward and backward in time and span vision. Television moves fast, and success sion. But television people demand rent years later. distances from the subnuclear to uncount- in front of the camera means moving at a excellence in a way that’s strange to scien- The most important insight I gained from able light years. Getting science on TV high pace. Scientists are trained to be cau- tists, and I was missing the point in his “Skywatch” is related to the role that televi- means presenting an unimaginably large tious, not to make quick, glib statements. argument. In deciding what is right or wrong sion can play in raising the scientific literacy variety of phenomena, many of which are When we write research articles, we care- in television, there is more debate, there are of the public. My relationship with television beyond the human experience. Television fully moderate our statements with more valid opinions, and there is more intu- had been rocky. After starting with a false offers options not found in the classroom. qualifications. On television, where the ition than is used in science. In television, it’s hope of its power to educate the public, I Its magic allows one to walk through 99 audience is the general public, things are the people; in science, it’s the data. The ex- recoiled to a feeling of powerlessness. I be- million miles of empty space, to travel at said more simply. But whenever we stray ecutive producer understood both languages, gan to believe that commercial television relativistic velocities, and to peer into the from the precise mathematical structure and she changed the piece so that an off- couldn’t be much help to science communi- core of an atom. However, the power of of physics, whenever we attempt to put camera narrator gave the correct explanation, cators. I lamented that the gap between television comes with some definite con- mathematical ideas into words, we repro- leaving the visual tone nearly untouched. scientists and the general public was too big straints. In the past two decades I’ve been duce the phenomena with less fidelity. On While my science colleagues didn’t for television to span: good television was involved in about a dozen science-on-tele- television, scientists are translators, and a quibble with me about the correctness of just inherently too superficial. vision projects, three of which, in hindsight, good translator must know both languages the science in “3-2-1 Contact,” some won- The “Skywatch” experience helped me turned out to have common messages for well. dered why we didn’t do more. Why, for realize that television can be part of a larger a scientist in TV land. Television’s fast delivery style plus the example, didn’t we explicitly talk about conduit for reaching the public. I became need to translate science results in a ten- Newton’s Laws of Motion? We didn’t because convinced that increasing the scientific literacy Sidewalk Science sion between two imperatives. There’s a the show had to capture the attention of of my audience is not a continuous process, complementary principle in modern phys- youngsters and hold it for the entire episode. but rather, a layered one. Television natu- The first thing I learned has followed ics that says there are certain pairs of It was inappropriate to do the same things rally lends itself as a springboard to other layers, me through all subsequent productions: quantities in the universe that seem to hold one would do in a classroom. I’m sure we or conduits, which strengthen, deepen and what a scientist calls interesting is worlds an investigator hostage. As he or she at- could have created situation comedy about expand the superficial layer initially presented. apart from what the general public calls tempts to know one of the pair better, action/reaction or centrifugal forces, but we Some of the developments in telecom- interesting. I learned this when I devel- the other becomes less and less know- didn’t, because at this level, children aren’t munications — videotext, interactive cable oped my own Saturday afternoon science able. There’s an analogous even aware of the idea of forces as they are television, and low-power broadcasting, to show for a local station, aimed at a young “complementary pair” in television called conceptualized in the physics world view. name a few — also hold exciting possibili- audience, called “Sidewalk Science”. My “Accuracy and Clarity.” We can make some- By looking at the motion of a roller coaster ties for new experiments. The number of first show was going to be on forces. I thing very clear as long as we don’t worry or a Frisbee, by talking about the actions of a “Skywatch” viewers is too small for a national made a list of all the cute demonstrations too much about accuracy. On the other football player or a figure skater, “3-2-1 Con- broadcast project, but it is manageable as a I could think of; gathered my ropes, hand, if we go for total accuracy, we make tact” provided the experiences that, while university or small community project. Which- springs, bathroom scales and other para- it unclear in this medium, because televi- seeming casual, were actually carefully filled ever way science-on-television projects phernalia; and made a rough draft of the sion demands minimal explanation. As with words like “friction,” “forces,” and “grav- evolve, the payoff in terms of the numbers script from my Physics 101 lecture notes. soon as one tries to get very accurate, clar- ity.” of viewers is mind-boggling to scientists. Then I arranged a meeting with the pro- ity slips beyond the viewer’s grasp. I left the premier season of Children’s “Skywatch” and “Sidewalk Science” had ducer to put on the final touches before Producing “Sidewalk Science” taught Television Workshop with a new sense of “classes” numbering in the thousands, while the taping session. me that my classroom and research ex- the importance of teams, of the value of dif- millions of children around the world see “3- His first question was, “What’s your perience were a necessary but by no ferent kinds of experts, and of the need to 2-1 Contact.” These numbers alone make tease?” A tease, I was told, is a short lead- means sufficient background for getting get those experts communicating. The sci- an investment of time, money and effort in in that entices the viewer to stay tuned science on television. I had to learn more entist has to have a limited veto power on a science on television a wise one. for exciting things to come. After a little about what interests the general public; I science show, but he or she should not have thought, I announced that I would stand had to change my presentation; and I had the freedom to control the whole produc- Gerald F. Wheeler is Executive Director in front of the camera and, in a very ex- to come to grips with the fact that I tion. “3-2-1 Contact” succeeded in creating with the National Science Teachers Associa- cited voice, say, “Today we are going to couldn’t be as accurate as I would have interesting and scientifically meaningful ex- tion in Arlington, Virginia. A nuclear experiment with forces!” The producer liked. periences for its viewers. This happened by physicist by training, he has long been ac- dismissed my suggestion as boring and carefully defining the boundary conditions tive in the production of more than 100 detailed his idea, which involved a gorilla 3-2-1 Contact of expertise. television programs dealing with science and playing tug-of-war with me. We had these A few years later, I joined Children’s Tele- technology. This article is adapted from battles each week. Each week I would tell Skywatch Wheeler’s chapter in Scientists and Journal- him about the inherent beauty of physics vision Workshop in the production of “3-2-1 Contact,” a series on science and technology My involvement with a production at a ists, published by the American Association and he would remind me that there would for the Advancement of Science in 1986. be no show if we didn’t interest the view- for young viewers. This time, I was behind university TV center grew from a desire to

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