October 2016 • Vol. 25, No. 9 A PUBLICATION OF THE AMERICAN PHYSICAL SOCIETY Physicists Who Blog APS.ORG/APSNEWS Page 3 Promoting Physics Innovation and Entrepreneurship Education: the PIPELINE Program First Palestine Advanced Physics School By Crystal Bailey, APS Careers various PIE activities at member By Rachel Gaal Program Manager institutions during each academic The Arab American University year of the three-year grant, revis- APS is proud to announce a new in Jenin (AAUJ) recently hosted ing approaches (or where appro- NSF-funded project, PIPELINE, the 5th Palestinian Conference on priate, “swapping” them between to promote innovation and entre- Modern Trends in Mathematics institutions) during each iteration, Scientists for Palestine preneurship education in phys- and Physics (PCMTMP-V), and finally documenting and dis- ics at the undergraduate level. which is one of the main scien- seminating the developed curricu- This project will combine efforts lum. PIPELINE will also develop tific events in Palestine. Over of six institutions — Loyola research tools for investigating two hundred students from the University Maryland, Rochester the link between PIE experiences Palestinian Territories and abroad Institute of Technology, William and student and faculty attitudes gathered over three days to dis- and Mary, The George Washington about innovation and entrepre- cuss advances in theoretical and University, the University of neurship; these tools can be used applied mathematics and physics. Colorado Denver, and Wright State by physics departments at other The keynote speakers — Jonathan University — to develop and dis- institutions for gauging, monitor- Ellis of King’s College London and seminate new curricular and co- ing, and improving institutional Charles Doering of the University curricular approaches to physics of Michigan — gave plenary talks; Students attending the Palestine Advanced Physics School at the Arab- change around PIE. Throughout American University in Jenin. innovation and entrepreneurship the project’s lifespan, findings and Ellis spoke on the physics beyond (PIE) education. This project will materials will be broadly shared the standard model, and Doering This year, the PCMTMP-V was 30 graduate students from a number also advance our understanding with the physics community at on the 100-year history of the accompanied by another notable of universities in Palestine for three of how these practices affect stu- APS and AAPT meetings, in APS mathematics behind Rayleigh- event at AAUJ — in fact, the days of instruction. Created by a dent and faculty attitudes towards News and other publications, as Bénard convection. Other invited first of its kind in the Palestinian newly founded international group, innovation and entrepreneurship well as on the new project website speakers and attendees presented Territories. The first Palestinian Scientists for Palestine, and co- in physics. go.aps.org/2d7AqtL their research to round out the Advanced Physics School preceded funded by CERN and the Sharing PIPELINE will implement PIPELINE continued on page 4 conference. the conference, attracting around PALESTINE continued on page 6 2016 LeRoy Apker Award Recipients physics.aps.org Research News: Editors’ Choice By Rachel Gaal with topology-dependent molecu- A Monthly Recap of Papers Selected by the Editors Two young physicists have lar compaction and elongation” won the 2016 APS LeRoy Apker appeared in Soft Matter, published by the Royal Society of Chemistry. On the Edge of “Acoustic Award for exceptional undergradu- ate research: Stephanie Gorczyca of She was recently accepted into Graphene” the University of California, Researchers in China have the University of San Diego, and Nick Rivera of the Massachusetts Los Angeles and University of crafted the acoustic equivalent Nature Physics Institute of Technology (MIT). California, San Francisco Doctor of a topological insulator (TI) of Dental Surgery/Ph.D. programs, that exhibits the quantum spin Gorczyca and Rivera will receive their awards at the where she hopes to Hall effect for sound. This is the continue her research. hallmark of TI behavior in which March Meeting 2017 in New Orleans. The APS Working under the waves cannot propagate through supervision of Marin the bulk of the material but only at Council approved the finalists in mid-Sep- Soljacic, Rivera is the material’s edges. He et al. have a joint Department constructed a newer, more robust tember, following the LeRoy Apker Award of Energy / MIT experimental setup compared to Selection Meeting in School of Science previous studies. As described July 2016. fellow. Currently a in Nature Physics (doi:10.1038/ Adjacent metal rods of two different radii create an acoustic topological The research car- Ph.D. candidate in nphys3867), their TI is composed Stephanie Gorczyca insulator through which sound waves propagate without resistance caused ried out by Gorczyca MIT’s Department of macroscopic stainless-steel by defects. in the Physics and of Physics, he com- rods arranged in air to mimic the Proton Radius Puzzle Widens the collaboration used precision Biophysics Department pleted his undergrad honeycomb structure of graphene. The deuterium nucleus — made laser spectroscopy to determine at the University of research with the MIT Within a constant lattice structure, up of one proton and one neutron the deuterium nuclear radius to be San Diego investi- Photonics and Modern the radii of the rods, which are — appears to have the same “size 2.12 femtometers, which is signifi- gated crowding effects Electromagnetics analogous to atom radii, are varied problem” as the proton does. In cantly (7.5σ) smaller than previous on the diffusion and Group. He is the lead to create different regions with an 2010, researchers studying an estimates based on spectroscopy conformation of DNA author on a recently interface that behaves like a TI. By exotic form of hydrogen reported of “nonexotic” atoms, as well as molecules. Under the published article in launching sound waves through the an unexpectedly small value for electron scattering. The cause of supervision of Rae M. Science reporting on material, the researchers observed the proton radius. Now that same this size discrepancy — as well as Robertson-Anderson, Nick Rivera this work, “Shrinking that the waves propagated via the group, the CREMA collaboration, that for the proton radius — has she manipulated sizes, shapes, light to allow for- edge states along the interface. has performed a similar study with not yet been deciphered, but one and concentrations of crowding bidden transitions on the atomic They then carried out experiments exotic deuterium, in which a muon tantalizing possibility is a new molecules in solutions embedded scale,” which lies at the intersec- to demonstrate the topologically takes the place of the atom’s usual fundamental force acting between with ring or linear DNA. Gorczyca tion of nanophotonics and quan- protected nature of such states: electron. The larger mass of the muons and protons. showed that both shapes of DNA tum electrodynamics. Rivera and the acoustic waves were unaf- muon means the muonic orbitals Digging Out the Qubits molecules undergo topology-driven his collaborators showed theoreti- cally that spontaneous emission of fected even when certain defects overlap with the nucleus much Although quantum computers conformational changes to facili- photons can become the dominant were introduced at the interface, more than the normal electronic made from qubits (short for quan- tate movement through the high- transition in an excited system. By like cavities (missing rods), lattice orbitals do. This greater overlap tum bits) are thought to be the viscosity environments. The work using plasmonic excitations associ- disorder, and bends. This acoustic makes certain atomic transitions in ultimate code crackers, the ability uncovered a possible mechanism ated with the 2D material graphene, TI could serve as a model system muonic deuterium extremely sensi- to use and apply qubits is limited within DNA that inhibits movement the researchers showed that sponta- to study topological phenomena tive to the radius of the deuterium by their lifespan (that is, how long in various biological processes. without the complications of con- nucleus. As reported in Science “Universal scaling of crowding- neous emission can be controlled, ventional solid-state TIs. (DOI: 10.1126/science.aaf2468), RESEARCH continued on page 7 induced DNA mobility is coupled APKER continued on page 6 Revised 10/11/2016 2 • October 2016 This Month in Physics History “Debbie was a role model for physicist Percy Paul, who grew up me – a hero. … The talks she gave in the English River First Nation in October 19, 1955: Discovery of the Antiproton Announced were a model of clarity. … She was northwest Saskatchewan, thestar- so famous, but still someone you phoenix.com, September 15, 2016. cientists in the early 20th century assumed that could talk to very easily.” a particle’s energy must always be a positive Ana Maria Rey, University “The more I started taking S number. That changed in 1928, when Paul Dirac of Colorado Boulder and JILA, courses at the university, the more formulated an equation to describe the behavior of on the passing of Deborah Jin, I realized that I don't really like relativistic electrons in electric and magnetic fields. CU Boulder Today, September math. Computer science is boring. He suggested that antiparticles could exist as well 22, 2016. And everything