... To the shores THE CALIFORNIA TECH of Tripoli [Volume LXXXVII, Number 12 Pasadena, California Friday, January 10, 1986 Martin Award Luther King Amnon Yariv Remembered Honored by by William Lucy Monday, January 20th marks the first official observance of Mar­ tin Luther King Day by the federal American government. Banks, schools and public offices will be closed in more than 40 states, and millions of Americans will enjoy an extra Optical Society day off. Before then, it's worth­ while to take a minute to reflect on what this new holiday is all about. The highest award of the Op­ On Martin Luther King Day we tical Society of America, for over­ are honoring an American who re­ all distinction in optics, is being jected violence in all its forms, who given to Amnon Yariv, who, in ad­ fashioned non-violence into a po­ dition to' being an OSA fellow, is tent weapon in the nation's never­ also the Thomas G. Meyers Pro­ ending struggle for peace and fessor of Electrical Engineering social justice. and Applied Physics at Caltech. Trade unionists, and particular­ His research spans 25 years and in­ ly members of the American cludes pioneering work in Federation of State, County and modelocking behavior in lasers, MUnicipal Employees, have special quantum mechanical noise theory, cause to honor Dr. King's memory. The Best COInet Yet and phase conjugate optics. In 1968 he was in Memphis, Ten­ The 1986 Frederic Ives Medal nessee to put his moral strength on !he !D0st deta~led photowaph yet of Halley's Comet has been obtained by JPL astronomer Eleanor is being awarded to Yariv for his the line for AFSCME sanitation Helm wIth the 48-mch SchmIdt Telescope at Caltech's Palomar Observatory. The photo shows heretofore "numerous pioneering contribu­ workers who were struggling to unrevealed features of the comet's ion tail, the billowing stream of electrified gases, carbon monoxide, tions to lasers, optoelectronics, and achieve dignity as blacks, as and water vapor pushed out by the solar wind. The comet's other tail, called the dust tail, is pushed out phase conjugate optics," as well as workers, and as citizens. In Mem­ by the force of sunlight on the comet. for his textbooks for optical scien­ phis, non-violence was met with an ~ccording to R~y L. Newburn of JPL's International Halley Watch, the photo taken by Helin at 7:54 tists and engineers. assassin's bullet, but the spirit of PacIfic Standard TIme on December 13 shows for the first time the full range of features characteristic Established in 1929, the Ives Dr. King's non-violence of a well~developed CO + ion tail: These include tail rays, condensations, a kink, a general helical struc­ award consists ofa medal, a scroll, triumphed. ture (':"~Ich show~ only as a waVIness on the print) and perhaps a disconnection event. The print from and a $2,000 honorarium. The There are some who still see the ongInal 20-mInute exposure shows about 6 degrees of a tail more than 9 degrees in length. winner also gives the Ives Medal Dr. King as having been the leader When the photograph was taken, the comet was about 118 million kilometers (74 million miles) from Address at the Society's annual of a narrow cause, as haying been th~ earth, a~d about l~ million kilometers of tail showed on the photograph. Another photograph, taken meeting, which will be held Oct. the spokesman for a single group, wIth the 18-Inch SchmIdt Telescope at Palomar, revealed the full tail to be more than 25 million kilometers 19-24 in Seattle. but this sadly misreads his life. Dr. long. Yariv attended the University King's message wasn't "black." It o(California, Berkeley, receiving Was resolutely American. He had his B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees an unshakeable faith in basic in electrical engineering. Upon ~uman goodness, and with excep­ graduating in 1959, he went to tI~nal courage he preached the work for Bell Telephone for five SpIrit of love and reconciliation, Ingersoll on Venus years, then came to Caltech in preached his dream of racial and 1964. ~c.onomic justice in the belief that by Jim Bell were shaky [recall the KAL airline then decode the stream and share In addition to his work at IllJustice or oppression in any form, Every so often, either at 4:00 disaster]. the data with us and the French. Caltech, Yariv is chairman of the affecting anyone, is a threat to all. a.m. or some other similarly The U.S. role in the mission Previous missions to Venus, board and co-founder ofOrtel, Inc. For -a time, Dr. King epit­ ungodly hour, I put down what's was originally planned to be mainly by the Russians, involved in Alhambra, Calif. omized the civil rights movement. left of my homework assignment, minimal. Using America's Deep either monitoring the planet The Optical Society of Under his leadership, the civil stare into my cold cup of Space Network of radio antennae photographically from orbit, or America, headquartered in rights movement led to greater ac­ chamomile, and wonder what I am worldwide, we would help track hurtling a projectile-like probe Washington, D.C., is a non-profit cess to public facilities, housing, doing at this school. In this week's two balloons, dropped four days through the atmosphere, hoping educational and scientific society employment, and participation at Watson Lecture,"Venus Explora­ apart from each other, into the up­ that it would survive the intense founded in 1916. It presently all levels of society for blacks and tion with the Soviets," Caltech Pro­ per atmosphere of Venus. We pressures and temperatures. The numbers more than 9,000 members other minorities. The protests and fessor Andrew Ingersoll helped would then supply this "raw bit idea of using balloons instead of and is an affiliate of the American other events he organized began a provide me with the answer once stream" to the Soviets. They would continned on page 3 Institute of Physics. trail that led to such landmarks as again: if you are into Planetary the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Science, Tech is where it's at. Voting Rights Act of 1965, the Fair Dr. Ingersoll recounted to the Housing Act of 1968, and the large audience at Beckman the Harlan Ellison to Speak Educational Amendments and the story of four days last June when scientists from the U.S., USSR, Equal Employment Opportunity superstition. A show such as "The ing preached by self-styled and France collaborated on an ex­ by Wesley Bondville Amendments of 1972. The Southern California Skep­ Twilight Zone," he believes, "can ministers up and down the cable­ Inspired by these examples, citing mission to probe the at­ tics and the Caltech Yare please be a very powerful weapon" against TV spectrum. "What you see on other disenfranchised groups have mosphere of Venus. His story, to present as their January speaker the "obscurantism and illogic" be- continned on page 5 struggled to secure their own presented in diary format [Dr. Ingersoll actually does keep a fair­ the award-winning author, essayist rights. Hispanics, Native and lecturer Harlan Ellison, who Americans, women, the aged, the ly extensive diary of his many will discuss "Writing Fantasy to poor and the handicapped: all have travels and scientific endeavors], challenged the prejudices and actually began in 1982, after, as he Promote Reality." Ellison is a noted science­ stereotypes that had deprived them described it, the "roller-coaster fiction and screenplay writer. His of full participation in our society. ride" of the Voyager and Pioneer missions to Jupiter and Saturn had books include Approaching Obli­ Certainly no other American vion and The Beast That Shouted more than Dr. King has so suc­ ended. He and several colleagues Love at the Heart of the World. cessfully wedded the American convinced NASA officials that the Among his award-winning stories political ideal of equality in the joint US-Soviet-French mission is "A Boy and His Dog," which was eyes ofthe state with our religious was worthwhile and obtained ap­ made into a (bad) movie. He wrote belief of equality. proval even though relations between the Soviets and Americans the script for several Star Trek continued on page 3 episodes, including "The City on the Edge of Forever." Ellison worked for a while as the creative consultant to the new ASCIT Nominations TV series "The Twilight Zone." (He recently quit over censorship Nominations for ASCIT presi­ Dean's office (102-31). Anyone problems.) According to one dent and treasurer will be opened who would like to know more newspaper interview, Ellison is next Wednesday, January 15, and about the positions of president or convinced that we are at a "par­ will close at 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, treasurer should contact Joy ticularly perilous time in our January 21. Nominations should be Watanabe (Ri 32) or Dave Bruning history," when science is under at­ (PaIl5). sent to Lisa Cummings care of the tack by the forces of fear and Noted Author Harlan Ellison. 2 THE CALIFORNIA TECH Friday, January 10, 1986- L _ OPINION---------] him that I share his unhappiness. students down from the conven­ their wisdom, maturity ofjudgment I will not go over each of the tional five to four or less. In spite' and conscientiousness have clear­ LETTERS factual errors in Mr. Keating's let­ ofthis, six students were chosen to ly equalled that of the faculty be members of the Committee. members of the Committee.