December 2016 • Vol. 25, No. 11 The African School for Electronic Structure A PUBLICATION OF THE AMERICAN PHYSICAL SOCIETY Methods and Applications APS.ORG/APSNEWS Page 5 2017 April Meeting Prize and Award Speakers Institute for Advanced Study Named Joint By Rachel Gaal who has made an outstanding con- EPS-APS Historic Physics Site Together with exhibits, plenary tribution to physics and who has exceptional skills in lecturing to EPS-APSBy Rachel Gaal talks, and poster sessions at the IAS 2017 APS April Meeting (January diverse audiences. Martin J. Rees In 1930, the Institute for 28 - 31), over 200 invited speakers of the University of Cambridge was Advanced Study (IAS) was estab- will be sharing their latest research the 2017 honoree “for his contri- lished near the grounds of Princeton and career insights. Among the butions into the understanding of University to act as the “department distinguished guests are many of the universe and its high-energy store for the freedom of ideas.” the spring 2017 APS prize and contents.” He is also being recog- The original and often speculative award winners. nized for his skill as a science com- thinking that the Institute encour- “Each year, the American municator. Rees will be speaking aged over the years made it one Physical Society recognizes lead- on Sunday, January 29, during the of the world’s elite intellectual ing physicists through a variety session: “Prize Talks: Black Holes centers, supporting over 33 Nobel of prizes and awards,” said APS and Cosmic Explosions.” Laureates and scores of medalists President Homer Neal in a press Another award-winner, Carl M. and winners of prestigious awards. release announcing the awards. Bender of Washington University, This year, APS teamed up with “We are proud to honor a spec- received the 2017 Dannie the European Physical Society trum of recipients, including out- Heineman Prize for Mathematical (EPS) to recognize IAS for its piv- Physics. His publications in standing early-career researchers, otal involvement in the advance- (Left to right) EPS President Christophe Rossel, 2016 APS President Homer exceptional communicators and this field advanced the theory ment of theoretical physics, naming Neal, APS CEO Kate Kirby, and IAS Director Robbert Dijkgraaf educators, and accomplished theo- of Parity-Time (PT) Symmetry in IAS their inaugural joint historic Joint Historic Site for physics theoretical physics in the world, rists and experimentalists working quantum systems, and his work physics site in the U.S. in the United States,” said 2016 hosting physicists in all stages of in every major field of physics.” was cited for “inspiring gen- “We are very pleased to be part- APS president Homer Neal. “The their careers.” The Julius Edgar Lilienfeld erations of mathematical physi- nering with the European Physical Institute for Advanced Study has Among these physicists was Prize honors a single individual SPEAKERS continued on page 4 Society in selecting the first ever been one of the premier centers for SITE continued on page 5 Science in the Trump Administration physics.aps.org By Rachel Gaal handed in predicting the future of Research News: Editors’ Choice On Sunday night, November 14, research and development in the A Monthly Recap of Papers Selected by the Editors CBS broadcast an exclusive inter- coming years. “For all the professors, students, The Dynamics of Plunge- view with President-Elect Donald Diving Birds Trump to millions of American and teachers out there right now, I think you would have to mark this Some species of seabirds are homes. The one-on-one segment istock.com known for their unique hunting with correspondent Lesley Stahl as an ‘incomplete’ right now,” men- skills — diving headfirst at speeds featured an array of questions on tioned Bart Gordon, former chair- over 20 m/s, they then pack a punch various topics, which Trump had man of the House Committee on when hitting the waters below. no qualms about answering. Science and Technology. He was Sporting long, slender necks, it was “I want to focus on jobs, I want speaking to people involved in aca- a mystery how these birds could to focus on healthcare, and I want demia, private sector groups, gov- avoid injury during this endeavor. to focus on the border and immi- ernment, and biotech research, all As reported in the Proceedings of gration,” Trump said. “We want to participating live in the American the National Academy of Science, have a great immigration bill, and Association for the Advancement (doi: 10.1073/pnas.1608628113), I want to focus on all of these of Science (AAAS) webinar, S&T researchers have now identified other things that we’ve been talk- Policy and R&D Funding: A Post- ing about.” Election Analysis. the dynamics behind a seabird’s But in all of the discussions Gordon and three other pol- plunge-dive. Using simulations Some seabirds hunt for food by plunging into the water at high speed, yet with the president-elect, science icy experts, the AAAS Chief with a cone attached to a rod, they avoid neck injury. and science policy have come up Executive Officer Rush Holt and along with a salvaged seabird dive. According to their analysis, that the two distributions display rarely if at all. Chief Operating Officer Celeste carcass, Change et al. studied the the team determined that these a remarkably simple relation that As the media exploded this Rohlfing, along with David mechanisms of the fast dive and plunge-divers could keep up the holds for all observed galaxies. election with hot topics like Goldston, former chief of staff of identified the axial forces affecting daredevil acts without sustaining Since dark matter is the main com- immigration, health-care reform, the House Committee on Science, the skull and neck during the dive. injury, provided their speeds were ponent of these galaxies—and thus and tax spending, one topic in participated in the one-hour webi- These turned out to be primarily less than 80 m/s. the main determinant of galactic particular was missing from nar and answered questions from hydrodynamic drag on the skull Galaxy Rotation Links Dark rotation — the result implies that the stump speeches — science the audience. during water impact, and hydro- and Visible Matter the distribution of conventional and technology. ScienceInsider “This is a work in progress right static pressure on the neck, caused A newly derived universal law matter in the disk specifies the den- reported “almost no interaction” now and we’re going to have to by an air pocket created after the shows that the rotation of disk gal- sity profile of the surrounding dark between the science community follow it,” continued Gordon. The cone-shaped skull became fully axies is determined entirely by the matter halo. While it was expected and the campaign over the elec- policy group all agreed, and were submerged. This phase, which visible matter they contain, even if that more massive dark matter halos tion season, and researchers and eager to add their thoughts to the researchers called the “air cavity they are mostly filled with dark mat- host more massive galaxy disks, the analysts are now scrambling to fill discussion. phase,” showed that the bird’s neck ter. As reported in Physical Review tight correlation between the radial in the blanks. “[But] science and engineer- would be less affected by hydro- Letters, McGaugh et al. have inves- distribution of dark and visible mat- Scores of sources are attempting ing do not go away just because static pressure as the size of the tigated 153 disk galaxies spanning ter is surprising. Simulation work to predict whom Trump and his there is a change in administra- skull and the length of the neck four orders of magnitude in mass on galaxy formation will need to transition team will appoint to the tion,” asserted Rohlfing. “And with decreased, and the impact speed and three orders in density. Using assess if this result is compatible science-related leadership positions respect to some of the initiatives increased. In theory, the added available observations, the team with the standard cosmological in the federal government. With no started under President Obama, stability from the bird’s neck determined the rotational accelera- model or requires its substantial major statement on his campaign some … are reshaped, … some are muscles should reduce the likeli- tion as a function of radius, as well revision. page that explains his plans for sci- definitely ended, but … I would hood that the neck would buckle as the radial distribution of visible (For more, see the Viewpoint in ence, even the experts are empty- TRUMP continued on page 6 under increased drag during the matter, for each galaxy. They found RESEARCH continued on page 6 Revised 12/19/2016 2 • December 2016 Washington Dispatch This Month in Physics History From the APS Office of Public Affairs APS WASHINGTON OFFICE ACTIVITIES December 31, 1691: Death of Robert Boyle ne of the oldest and most venerated scientific spheres and used a vacuum pump — which he PANEL ON PUBLIC AFFAIRS Oassociations is the Royal Society of London, also invented — to pump out all the air, so that Recommendations on all APS statements up for review in 2016 were established in 1663. Its founding brought together the surrounding air pressure continued to hold the presented to the APS Council of Representatives and Board of Directors various groups of natural philosophers that met hemispheres tightly together. To demonstrate just at their November meetings. Statements 06.1, 06.2, 06.3, 01.1, 01.2, and regularly in London and Oxford, keen on explor- how strong that force was, von Guericke harnessed 91.5 will remain active statements of the Society.