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November 2001Volume 10, No. 10

A Publication of The American Physical Society http://www.aps.org/apsnews

NEWS

The Back PageUnity of Physics in Action:Voices from Around the World8

Members of the APS have cho-sen Helen Quinn of the StanfordLinear Accelerator Center to be theSociety’s next vice president. Quinnis the fourth woman to be electedto the presidential line in theSociety’s 102-year history, follow-ing C.S. Wu of Columbia Universityin 1975, Mildred Dresselhaus ofMIT in 1984, and current APS VicePresident Myriam Sarachik (CityCollege of New York), who will as-sume the role of president-electnext year when William Brinkman

APS Teacher Prep ProgramGets Full Funding From NSF

The National Science Foundation hasawarded a five-year, $5.76 million grant to theAPS, in partnership with the American Associa-tion of Physics Teachers (AAPT) and the AmericanInstitute of Physics (AIP), to create a nationwideinitiative known as the Physics Teacher EducationCoalition (PhysTEC). In addition, the Fund forthe Improvement of Postsecondary Education(FIPSE) in the US Department of Educationawarded a three-year, $498,456, grant to en-hance the evaluation, induction, and dissemination components of thePhysTEC program. The fledgling program is aimed at improving thescience preparation and teaching skills of future secondary and elemen-tary teachers and establishing a mentor program for new teachers.

Over the last 20 years, national reports on the state of education in the UShave decried the inadequate preparation and lack of competency of newscience teachers at all levels K-12, according to Fredrick Stein, Director ofEducation at APS and PhysTEC’s principal investigator. The reports citedinadequate understanding of science content, and the lack of student-cen-tered, inquiry-based approaches in science classrooms. While there has beensome improvement over the last decade, “many of our high school physicscourses are still modeled after college courses that are not inquiry-based anddo not develop good conceptual understanding,” says Stein. “And as indi-cated by low enrollment figures, [such courses] do not interest many of ourstudents. The overwhelming need for inservice teacher enhancement

APS Members Elect Helen Quinnas Society’s Next Vice President

of Bell Labs/Lucent Technologiesbecomes president. Quinn will as-sume the APS presidency in 2004,following Brinkman and Sarachik,who will be president in 2003.

In other election results, SusanSeestrom of Los Alamos NationalLaboratory will become chair-electof the APS Nominating Committee,which will be chaired by Susan Cop-persmith (University of Chicago) in2002. The Nominating Committeeselects the slate of candidates inthe annual general elections, and

See ELECTION on page 5

its choices are then voted on bythe APS membership. Elected asnew general councillors wereFrances Houle of IBM’s AlmadenResearch Center and GeraldMahan of the University of Tennes-see. T. Maurice Rice of the SwissFederal Institute of Technology waselected to the new position of in-ternational councillor.

“I appreciate and accept thetrust my colleagues have placed inme,” Quinn said of her election. “Ilook forward to the challenge ofhelping provide good leadership tothe APS over the next four years.”A native of Melbourne, Australia,Quinn completed her PhD in phys-ics in 1967 at Stanford and hasbeen a permanent staff member ofthe Stanford Linear AcceleratorCenter since 1979. She has madesignificant contributions to particlephysics theory, for which she hasreceived numerous honors.

Quinn devotes significant pro-fessional time to education work.She was the founding President of

See PHYSTEC on page 3

VICE PRESIDENTHelen Quinn

CHAIR-ELECT OF THENOMINATING COMMITTEE

Susan Seestrom

INTERNATIONALCOUNCILLORT. Maurice Rice

GENERAL COUNCILLORFrances Houle

GENERAL COUNCILLORGerald Mahan

NewlyElected

APS Officials

This Monthin PhysicsHistoryRoentgen’sDiscovery ofX-Rays

Has the US State Departmentbeen giving Chinese citizens an es-pecially difficult time obtainingstudent and exchange visitor visasto come to the United States in thepast year or two?

This question has elicited strongdebate, with some members of theacademic and research community,especially in physics, feeling undersiege at what they perceive to bean unfair and arbitrary crackdownon students and scientists fromChina, and in some instances, fromother countries. They say thiscrackdown has harmed scientificinquiry and damaged graduate pro-grams, particularly those in physics,around the country.

But the State Department un-equivocally denies charges of anycrackdown or change in policy as“simply not true,” citing figures thatshow steady increases over the pastseveral years in the number ofpeople from China coming to theUS under student and exchangevisitor visa categories. These figuresshow steady increases in the num-ber of “F1” student visas issued topeople from China each year sincefiscal 1998, including a nearly 10percent jump from fiscal 2000 tofiscal 2001 (ending September 30).The State Department also says that

APS News Survey Tracks ChineseStudent Visa ProblemsBy Richard M. Todaro

the refusal rate for Chinese studentvisa applicants was markedly lowerin fiscal 2000 than in the prior twofiscal years. (Refusal rates for fiscal2001 were not provided.)

Helping to set the dimensions ofthe problem are the results of a sur-vey, conducted this September bythe APS, of the heads of the 254PhD- and Masters-granting phys-ics graduate programs in the UnitedStates. Among the respondents, 54percent said they have encounteredsudden and unusual problems get-ting visas for Chinese citizens orother foreign nationals enteringtheir programs, while 46 percentsaid they did not.

While the survey found thatChinese students seeking visas forthe 2001-2002 academic year ex-

perienced difficulties at a rate al-most four times that of otherforeign nationals, this rate was thesame as the State Department’s stu-dent visa applicant refusal rate forall Chinese citizens in both fiscal1998 and 1999. This indicate littlehad changed in the past three yearsexcept the perception of a prob-lem.

Clouding the picture are thehorrific events of September 11,2001, which have abruptly anddramatically changed the politicalagenda and put any proposedchanges in student visa categorieson ice for some time to come.

The issue has generated in-creasing controversy andconfusion in the past year. News

See SURVEY on page 6

©2001 Paul Dlugokencky (aDailyCartoon.com) for APS News

APS Education DirectorFred Stein

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The seven finalists in the competition for the 2002 Apker Award for under-graduate research met in Washington on September 10 for interviews with theselection committee. The finalists are divided into two groups, those from PhD-granting institutions, and those from institutions that do not grant PhD’s in physics.The committee will recommend two recipients for approval by the APS ExecutiveBoard, and the results will be announced in next month’s APS News.

All the finalists received plaques recognizing their achievement and checks for$2,000. They are, left to right, Till Rosenband (MIT), Laurie Sibbach (MoravianCollege), Michael Seifert (Swarthmore College), Charis Quay Huei Li (MountHolyoke College), Kathryn Todd (Caltech), Albert Torr-Jong Wang (University ofRochester), and Robert E. Wagner (Illinois State University).

Apker Finalists Meet in Washington

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2 November 2001 NEWS

APS News (ISSN: 1058-8132) is published 11Xyearly, monthly, except the August/Septemberissue, by the American Physical Society, OnePhysics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740-3844,(301) 209-3200. It contains news of the Societyand of its Divisions, Topical Groups, Sectionsand Forums; advance information on meetingsof the Society; and reports to the Society by itscommittees and task forces, as well as opinions.

Letters to the editor are welcomed from themembership. Letters must be signed and shouldinclude an address and daytime telephone number.The APS reserves the right to select and to edit forlength or clarity. All correspondence regarding APS

News should be directed to: Editor, APS News, OnePhysics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20749-3844, E-mail:letters@aps.org.

Subscriptions: APS News is an on-membershippublication delivered by Periodical Mail. Membersresiding abroad may receive airfreight delivery for afee of $15. Nonmembers: Subscription rates are:domestic $105; Canada, Mexico, Central and SouthAmerica, and Caribbean $105; Air Freight Europe,Asia, Africa and Oceania $120.

Subscription orders, renewals and addresschanges should be addressed as follows: For APSMembers—Membership Department, American

Physical Society, One Physics Ellipse, College Park,MD 20740-3844, membership@aps.org.

For Nonmembers—Circulation and FulfillmentDivision, American Institute of Physics, Suite 1NO1,2 Huntington Quadrangle, Melville, NY 11747-4502. Allow at least 6 weeks advance notice. Foraddress changes, please send both the old and newaddresses, and, if possible, include a mailing labelfrom a recent issue. Requests from subscribers formissing issues will be honored without charge onlyif received within 6 months of the issue’s actual dateof publication. Periodical Postage Paid at CollegePark, MD and at additional mailing offices.Postmaster: Send address changes to APS News,Membership Department, American Physical Society,One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740-3844.

APS COUNCIL 2001PresidentGeorge H. Trilling*, Lawrence Berkeley National LaboratoryPresident-ElectWilliam F. Brinkman*, Bell Labs-Lucent TechnologiesVice-PresidentMyriam P. Sarachik*, City College of New York - CUNYExecutive OfficerJudy R. Franz*, University of Alabama, Huntsville (on leave)

TreasurerThomas McIlrath*, University of Maryland (emeritus)Editor-in-ChiefMartin Blume*, Brookhaven National Laboratory(emeritus)Past-PresidentJames Langer*, University of California, Santa Barbara

General CouncillorsJonathan A. Bagger, Beverly Berger, Philip Bucksbaum*,L. Craig Davis, Stuart Freedman, Leon Lederman*,Cynthia McIntyre, Margaret Murnane, Cherry AnnMurray, Roberto Peccei, Philip Phillips, Helen Quinn*,Jin-Joo Song, James Trefil

Chair, Nominating CommitteeCurtis G. Callan, Jr.

Chair, Panel on Public AffairsWilliam R. Frazer

Division, Forum and Section CouncillorsSteven Holt* (Astrophysics), Harold Metcalf (Atomic,Molecular & Optical), Robert Eisenberg (Biological Physics),Sylvia Ceyer (Chemical), E. Dan Dahlberg* ArthurHebard*, Allen Goldman (Condensed Matter Physics),Steve White (Computational), Jerry Gollub* (FluidDynamics), Peter Zimmerman (Forum on Education), Gloria

Lubkin* (Forum on History of Physics), Stuart Wolf(Forum on Industrial and Applied Physics), Ed Gerjuoy(Forum on Physics and Society), Carl Lineberger (LaserScience), G. Slade Cargill, III (Materials), John D.Walecka (Nuclear), Sally Dawson, Peter Meyers(Particles & Fields), Alexander Chao (Physics ofBeams), Richard Hazeltine (Plasma), Timothy P.Lodge (Polymer), Kannan Jagannathan, (NewEngland), Joe Hamilton (Southeastern)* Members of the APS Executive Board

ADVISORSRepresentatives from Other SocietiesJohn Hubisz, AAPT; Marc Brodsky, AIP

International AdvisorsGordon Drake, Canadian Association of Physicists,Dr. Gerardo C. Puente, Mexican Physical Society

Staff RepresentativesAlan Chodos, Associate Executive Officer; Irving Lerch,Director of International Affairs; Fredrick Stein, Directorof Education and Outreach; Robert L. Park, Director,Public Information; Michael Lubell, Director, PublicAffairs; Stanley Brown, Editorial Director; CharlesMuller, Director, Journal Operations; Robert Kelly,Director of Journal Information Systems; MichaelStephens, Controller and Assistant Treasurer

NEWSCoden: ANWSEN ISSN: 1058-8132

Series II, Vol. 10, No. 10November 2001

©2001 The American Physical Society

Editor ............................................................................................................ Alan ChodosAssociate Editor ....................................................................................... Jennifer OuelletteSpecial Publications Manager ..................................................... Elizabeth Buchan-HigginsDesign and Production .................................................................................. Alicia ChangProofreaders ......................................................... Ken Cole, Edward Lee and Sue Otwell

One of the earliest photographic plates from Roentgen’s experimentswas a film of his wife, Bertha's hand with a ring, produced on Friday,November 8, 1895.P

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Few scientific breakthroughshave had as immediate an impactas Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen’s dis-covery of X-rays, a momentousevent that instantly revolutionizedthe fields of physics and medicine.The X-ray emerged from the labo-ratory and into widespread usein a startlingly brief leap: within ayear of Roentgen’s announcementof his discovery, the applicationof X-rays to diagnosis and therapywas an established part of the medi-cal profession.

Roentgen’s scientific career wasone beset with difficulties. As a stu-dent in Holland, he was expelledfrom the Utrecht Technical Schoolfor a prank committed by anotherstudent. His lack of a diploma ini-tially prevented him from obtaininga position at the University ofWürzburg even after he receivedhis doctorate, although he eventu-ally was accepted. His experimentsat Würzburg focused on light phe-nomena and other emissionsgenerated by discharging electricalcurrent in so-called “Crookestubes,” glass bulbs with positive andnegative electrodes, evacuated ofair, which display a fluorescent glowwhen a high voltage current ispassed through it. He was particu-larly interested in cathode rays andin assessing their range outside ofcharged tubes.

On November 8, 1895, Roent-gen noticed that when he shieldedthe tube with heavy black card-board, the green fluorescent lightcaused a platinobarium screen ninefeet at away to glow — too far awayto be reacting to the cathode raysas he understood them. He deter-mined the fluorescence was causedby invisible rays originating from theCrookes tube he was using to study

cathode rays (later recognized aselectrons), which penetrated theopaque black paper wrappedaround the tube. Further experi-ments revealed that this new type ofray was capable of passing throughmost substances, including the soft tis-sues of the body, but left bones andmetals visible. One of his earliest pho-tographic plates from his experimentswas a film of his wife Bertha’s hand,with her wedding ring clearly visible.

To test his observations and en-hance his scientific data, Roentgenplunged into seven weeks of meticu-lous planned and executedexperiments. On December 28, he sub-mitted his first “provisional”communication, “On a New Kind ofRays,” in the Proceedings of theWürzburg Physico-Medical Society. InJanuary 1896 he made his first publicpresentation before the same society,following his lecture with a demon-stration: he made a plate of the handof an attending anatomist, who pro-posed the new discovery be named“Roentgen’s Rays.”

The news spread rapidly through-out the world. Thomas Edison wasamong those eager to perfectRoentgen’s discovery, developing ahandheld fluoroscope, although hefailed to make a commercial “X-raylamp” for domestic use. The appa-ratus for producing X-rays was soonwidely available, and studios openedto take “bone portraits,” further fu-eling public interest and imagination.Poems about X-rays appeared inpopular journals, and the metaphori-cal use of the rays popped up in politicalcartoons, short stories, and advertis-ing. Detectives touted the use ofRoentgen devices in following unfaith-ful spouses, and lead underwear wasmanufactured to foil attempts at peek-ing with “X-ray glasses.”

As frivolous as such reactions mayseem, the medical community quicklyrecognized the importance ofRoentgen’s discovery. By February1896, X-rays were finding their first clini-cal use in the US in Dartmouth, MA,when Edwin Brant Frost produced aplate of a patient’s Colles fracture forhis brother, a local doctor. Soon at-tempts were made to insert metal rodsor inject radio-opaque substances togive clear pictures of organs and

vessels, with mixed results. The firstangiography, moving-pictureX-rays, and military radiology, wereperformed in early 1896.

In addition to the diagnosticpowers of X-rays, some experimen-talists began applying the rays totreating disease. Since the early 19th

century, electrotherapy had provedpopular for the temporary relief ofreal and imagined pains. The sameapparatus could generate X-rays.In January 1896, only a few daysafter the announcement ofRoentgen’s work, a Chicagoelectrotherapist named EmilGrubbe irradiated a woman with arecurrent cancer of the breast, andby the end of the year, several re-searchers had noted the palliativeeffects of the rays on cancers. Oth-ers found remarkable results in thetreatment of surface lesions andskin problems while others investi-gated the possible bacterial actionof the rays. X-rays even found cos-metic uses in depilatory clinics setup in the US and France.

Roentgen was awarded the firstNobel Prize in physics in 1901 forhis discovery. When asked what histhoughts were at the moment ofdiscovery, he replied, true to form,“I didn’t think, I investigated.” To-day, Roentgen is widely recognizedas a brilliant experimentalist whonever sought honors or financialprofits for his research. He rejecteda title that would have given himentry into the German nobility, anddonated his Nobel Prize money tohis university. While he accepted thehonorary degree of doctor of medi-cine offered to him by his ownuniversity, he never took out anypatents on X-rays, to ensure thatthe world could freely benefit fromhis work. His altruism came at con-siderable personal cost: at the timeof his death in 1923, Roentgen wasnearly bankrupt from the inflationfollowing World War I.

‘’This primitive organism forms amaterial with unique optical proper-ties. Here, nature teaches us a lessonin how to solve a very complex tech-nological problem.’’

—Joanna Aizenberg, Bell Laborato-ries, on a strange starfish with a many-lensedeye, Boston Globe, 8/23/01

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“It’s achieved an intellectual criti-cal mass and it’s in a drop-deadgorgeous place. The smartest peoplein the world come here.”

—David Bishop, Bell Laboratories,on the advantages of the Aspen Centerfor Physics, NY Times, 8/28/01

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“We’re doing this wrong.”—Paul Ginsparg, Cornell Univer-

sity, on what inspired him to invent thee-print archive, NY Times, 8/28/01

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“It has lived up to all our hopes,giving us front-row seats to phenom-ena light years away—exoticcelestial objects, matter falling intoblack holes, and stellar explosions.”

—Martin Weisskopf, NASA, Hunts-ville, Alabama, on the Chandra X-rayObservatory, ABC News.com., 9/6/01

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“There’s always been that naggingdoubt.”

—Fulvio Melia, University of Ari-zona, about whether there is a black holeat the center of our galaxy, NewScientist.com, 9/6/01

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“About 60 percent of these de-vices are used for brain research.Physicians inject glucose labeled witha radioactive chemical in the patient’sbody. The brain burns glucose, sothe glucose goes to where the brainis working, and since the glucoseproduces radiation, the PET scancan image it. So it is a powerful wayto look inside the brain.”

—John A. McIntyre, Texas A&M,on the PET scan, UPI, 9/25/01

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“Some of the dust raised by the‘reading wars’ has been settled. Butthe real solution lies in winning thehearts and minds of teachers.”

—Donald N. Langenberg , Univer-sity of Maryland, on the controversy overhow to teach students to read, LA Times,9/17/01

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“I eat oatmeal at least twice aweek, not always for breakfast, youknow what I mean? I did go throughmy neon-orange macaroni andcheese phase. Put cheese in quotesbecause I don’t know what the hell itwas. No one should eat lab chemi-cals for a year. I even went for the

off-brand that was 25 cents a box.But that was in graduate school. Ihaven’t done it since.”

—Brian Moeckly, San Francisco, onthe diet of single people, Detroit FreePress, 9/18/01

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“You can’t think of security as justa screening device. It’s a system—infact, a system of systems. You haveto optimize the way the whole thingworks.”

—Thomas Hartwick, Snohomish,Washington, on airport screening pro-cedures, LA Times, 9/23/01

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“If you have all the bad studentsin one group they don’t learn.”

—Ezequiel Albano, Institute of Ap-plied and Theoretical PhysicalChemistry, La Plata, Argentina, on thepredictions of a model of atoms used todescribe classroom behavior, New Sci-entist, 9/22/01

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“It’s always possible that thesenew structures will improve our un-derstanding and lead to otheradvances.”

—Ken Kihlstrom, Westmont College,on a proposed new type of high tem-perature superconductor, InformationWeek, 9/24/01

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“We’re trying to run the mostcomplex problems in the world.”

—David Nowak, Livermore Na-tional Laboratory, on his lab’sAccelerated Strategic Computing Initia-tive, Cox News Service, 9/24/01

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“There was some serendipity inmaking this discovery, [because] wewere actually trying to understandthe wetting and spreading proper-ties of lead on copper for solderingand brazing applications. Our origi-nal goal was to get a moremicroscopic view of what is goingon during wetting and spreading ofsolder, but this just jumped out atus.”

—Norm Bartelt, Sandia NationalLaboratory, on how metal films makethe transition from droplets to organizedstructures, Electronic Engineering Times,9/24/01

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“This is one of the many nonlin-ear methods known to producequantum states of light. You take oneblue photon, annihilate it in the crys-tal, and it generates two near-infraredphotons.”

—Daniel Gauthier, Duke Univer-sity, on how to use quantumentanglement to focus light more nar-rowly, NY Times, 9/20/01

November 2001 3NEWS

Physicists in the “Engines of Tomorrow”By Craig Davis and Jim Tsang

Editor’s Note: This is the second in anew series exploring the health of the phys-ics profession. The first article appeared asThe Back Page in last month’s issue. Otherarticles, by other authors, will appear incoming months.

When one of the authors was look-ing for a permanent job at the end ofhis post-doctoral appointment, hemainly interviewed industries. A promi-nent professor observed, “You’re goodenough to get an academic job,” im-plying that somehow he would besettling for less. No doubt this view isstill held by some people today: the ul-timate career for physics PhDs worththeir salt is at a university, or perhaps anational lab.

In the past a position in an indus-trial research laboratory frequently didnot differ that much from one in aca-demic environment. Today, however,even the most prestigious industriallaboratories have changed. Whilephysicists may still perform researchfundamental to technology, increas-ingly industry expects them to beengaged in the business. Physicists arecalled upon to be involved in customersatisfaction, finance, and marketing.They work in teams comprised of sci-entists from other disciplines, engineers,and non-technical people. They may

find themselves on a long journey thattakes one of their scientific papers intoa commercial product, which can besimultaneously educational, amusing,appalling, tedious, and exciting. Thespecial qualities of physicists that allowthem to get to the bottom of a problemor to understand technology broadlyoften mean that they lead teams ormanage R&D departments.

In his provocative essay “Find theHidden Physicist” (September, 1997issue of The Industrial Physicist), JohnRigden noted that 1/3 of physics PhDseventually go into industry, and that anastounding 63% of baccalaureates en-tering the job market take industrialjobs. Their employers call many of thesepeople engineers, rather than physi-cists. They are “hidden” behind amisnomer, which diminishes the rec-ognition of the physics contributions.He called upon industry to identifyphysicists properly and for the aca-demic community to think of industrialphysicists as their colleagues. Much toits credit, the APS recognized the sig-nificance of this major portion of itsmembership as the job market weak-ened in the 1990s. The creation of theAPS Forum on Industrial and AppliedPhysics and its subsequent growth is asign of this change.

Some say the 21st century will be-long to the biologists. Thus, thephysics profession potentially facesa new crisis: no longer being the pre-miere science and the attendantreduction of its slice of the researchfunding pie. Although it is foolish toassume that physics will lose its lus-ter indefinitely, it is equally risky tothink that the profession will remainhealthy without change. There is anopportunity for the APS and thephysics community to embrace fullythe value of industrial and appliedphysics, not only for the health ofthe profession, but also for the ben-efit of society.

What should the academic worldknow about industrial physicists? Manyphysicists in industry have jobs withtitles that fail to mention physics. Howdo they obtain such jobs? Many arehired directly into such positions, es-pecially at the bachelors level. Others,especially PhDs, begin in research, of-ten doing work related to their thesisor post-doc. The activities of theserather fundamental researchers evolveover time into applied work, develop-ment, and even into business-orientedprojects. In today’s world, few will re-main in fundamental researchthroughout their careers. At the veryminimum, they must understand theimpact of their work on their compa-nies and appreciate the problems theiremployers face. Besides talking to theirformer classmates, professors, andother colleagues at APS meetings, theylearn to talk to new communities. These

include engineers designing, manufac-turing and testing products, and salespeople who see how existing productsare being used in the field and the prob-lems that customers are looking forsolutions to. Often they find pressingneeds for what they know or can learn.

Should physics education andtraining be changed to reflect theneeds of industry? Perhaps. Thereare a number of innovative pro-grams, such as the entrepreneurialphysics program at Case WesternReserve University. Our guess is thatmany of these programs will flour-ish and contribute valuable technicaltalent for industry. However, evenwith no changes in the traditionaleducation of physicists, without al-tering the curriculum, there are somesimple actions that university depart-ments can take. Summer internshipsfor students are extremely valuable.Internships give students a chanceto see what industry is like, providecontacts and opportunities to net-work, and give students theopportunity to prove themselves topotential employers. MIT, for ex-ample, is making internships inindustry or national laboratories partof their graduate program.

Likewise, professors should con-sider spending part of theirsabbatical leaves in industry. Thereis a new APS Industrial Faculty Fel-lowship Program, which promises tobe useful as well. Such experiencesprovide interesting new researchprojects and open up possibilities for

future collaborations and for placingstudents and graduates. Obviously, in-dustry benefits considerably fromhaving students and faculty as visitorsin research labs, R&D activities, andbusiness groups. Industrial speakerprograms (AIP, FIAP) provide physicistswho can speak to students, as well asfaculty, about life in industry. Our ex-periences suggest that students greatlyappreciate the information and insight.The most important point, however, issimply to keep an open mind aboutthe many alternatives a physics gradu-ate can pursue.

One can debate whether physicsis a field of scholarship or a profes-sion. For us, it is both. We believethe latter aspect is essential for thecontinued health of the physicscommunity. Public support for phys-ics research is usually based on thepromise of future applications andcontributions to economic growthor on an appeal to national pride,not necessarily on scholarship. Thegreat successes of biology in gainingfederal support derive directly fromthe benefits to human health and theeradication of disease. Regardingphysics as a profession in additionto a scholarly pursuit recognizes theusefulness of physicists and the im-pact of the science on society.

Craig Davis is Manager of the Phys-ics Department, Ford ResearchLaboratory.

James C. Tsang is a member of theresearch staff at the IBM T. J. WatsonResearch Center.

PhysTEC, from page 1

programs in physics at the most basiclevel points to the failure of programsin our colleges and universities to pre-pare students adequately for teaching.”

Based on the concept that teachers“teach as they were taught,” PhysTECwas proposed in 1999 as an effectivemechanism to greatly increase the roleof physics departments, in collabora-tion with education departmentsnationwide, to radically improve thescience preparation of teachers (seeAPS News, October 2000). “PhysTECinverts the strategy of university-basedprojects involving all science depart-ments, to that of a nationally recognizedcoalition within a single discipline,aimed at a large number of collegesand universities that are linked throughthe professional societies,” says Stein.“This project also builds upon the manyyears of research and work within thephysics community involving teacherpreparation.”

The program incorporates exem-plary components of pastNSF-supported projects that haveproven successful in making long-termchanges in teacher preparation. Theseinclude a teacher-in-residence pro-gram, providing for local K-12 scienceteachers to assist faculty with bothteam-teaching and course revisions, aswell as a long-term, active collabora-tion among the physics and educationdepartments and the local school com-munity. It also calls for the redesign ofcontent for elementary and second-

ary science courses with an emphasison inquiry-based, hands-on ap-proaches to teaching and learning.

PhysTEC’s efforts will kick off im-mediately with an initial set of sixprimary institutions that share a strongcommitment to revising their teacherpreparation program, including that ofelementary and secondary scienceteachers, according to Stein. The sixinitial institutions, selected after a se-ries of nationwide site visits by Steinand his collaborators at AAPT and AIP,are Ball State University, Oregon StateUniversity, University of Arizona, Uni-versity of Arkansas, Western MichiganUniversity, and Xavier University ofLouisiana. “The NSF grant allows us toprovide these institutions with the sup-port and technical assistance necessaryto undertake this pioneering task,” says

Stein. “Now we hope to translate thatinto better-prepared science teacherswho are committed to student-cen-tered, inquiry-based, hands-onapproaches to teaching from the mo-ment they hit the classroom.”

Stein admits that several obstaclesstill exist to the success of PhysTEC,most notably enticing faculty membersat research universities to turn theircreativity toward improving teaching,as well as persuading physics depart-ments and schools of education tocommunicate and work together. Yetin both cases, says Stein, “The directinvolvement of the key physics profes-sional societies can play a major role inproducing positive, lasting changes inthe way universities interact with un-dergraduate students and thus, theirprospective teachers.”

Participating PhysTEC Institutions members (from l to r): Al Rosenthal, Western MichiganUniversity; Elia Eschenazi & Stephen Rodrigue, Xavier; David Grosnick, Ball State; James Lilly,Xavier; Ruth Howes, Ball State; Henri Jansen, Oregon State; Marcia Fetters, Western MichiganUniversity; Gay Stewart & Caroline Beller, U of Arkansas; Ken Krane, Oregon State. Notshown: Charles Payne, Ball State; Ingrid Novodvorsky & James McCullen, U of Arizona.

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Editor’s Note: With this article, APSNews begins an occasional series on thevarious standing committees of theAmerican Physical Society.

Of the 17 standing committees –including nine operating committeesand eight public affairs and outreachcommittees – that exist through thebylaws of the American Physical So-ciety, one in particular stands out forits unusual name: the Committee onCommittees, also known by its ab-breviation, the COC.

The unusual name of this 10-per-son committee reflects the uniquerole it has, which is to find and rec-ommend qualified people to serveon many of the other 16 committeesof the Society.

The COC is not to be confused withthe Nominating Committee, whose re-sponsibility is to prepare a slate ofcandidates for senior leadership posi-tions, including some member-electedones.

“While the duties of the COC over-lap somewhat with the NominatingCommittee, it basically provides theAPS President with names of people toserve on various committees of thesociety,” Ken Cole, the administratorof governing committees, says. “Be-cause of its nominating-like function,it is a very important committee, asit determines the make-up of the im-portant committees of the Society.”

Committee on Committees Findsthe Talent That Keeps APS Running

Zachary Fiskof Florida State,the current COCchair, echoedthose sentiments.

“In some sense,it sounds crazy tohave a Committeeon Committees,but when you look at it, the job israther important,” said Fisk. “Thecommittees of the APS serve a veryimportant function (and) the Com-mittee on Committees is where theselections are made… who getschosen is very important. It makesa lot of difference.”

Fisk said the COC consists ofelected members of Council whorepresent the diversity of fieldswithin the Society and who “havesome basis for trying to make ap-propriate suggestions” for suitablecandidates to occupy the slots ofthe other standing committees.

Judy Franz, the Executive Of-ficer of the APS and a senioradvisor to the COC, said the entireorganization benefits from the roleit plays.

“When COC selects new com-mittee members with expertise,drive, and commitment, all otherAPS committees profit as does theAPS as a whole,” Franz said.

—Richard M. Todaro

Zachary Fisk

Jim TsangCraig Davis

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/APS

4 November 2001 NEWS

LETTERSWhy Is a Home Run Like a Higgs Boson?

Or, What’s a Meta For?By Judy Jackson

Everyone agrees that scientistsneed to do a better job of commu-nicating what they do and why itmatters. It is a rare science policyspeech that fails to exhort scien-tists to communicate more oftenand effectively. “The scientists havedone badly in terms of communi-cating with Congress and keepingCongress and the public in-formed—in an explainableway—about what they’re doingand why it is important,” said Con-gressman Vern Ehlers (R-MI)recently. Ehlers is a member of theHouse Science Committee and oneof two physicists in Congress.

Physicists above all others, saythose both outside and within thefield, are failing to get their mes-sage across. The clear implicationis that the physical sciences wouldnot be experiencing their currentfunding troubles if they would sim-ply improve at explaining whatthey’re up to. Many cite the Super-conducting Super Collider as a casein point. Never mind the gazillion-dollar cost overruns, this line ofthinking goes, if physicists had onlydone a better job of talking up theSSC, we would be smashing pro-tons under Waxahachie today.

Biology is easy to sell. Puttingaside the benefits of medical re-search, it seems obvious that it’s agood idea to study living things:we’re alive, aren’t we? Cosmologyand astrophysics have a similar ad-vantage: perhaps it’s in humangenes, a relic of our nomadichunter-gatherer days of gazingheavenward for guidance while wewandered in the wild, but for somereason, everybody loves to look atthe stars. The geologists have dino-saurs, one of the branding successstories of all time. Chemistry’s im-

More on Alternate TheoriesI have some additional information regarding “An alternate

theory of perpetual motion” (Zero Gravity, APS News, October2000), some of which was explained by Julian Griffiths in the Au-gust/September 2001 issue. The buttered cat theory did indeedoriginate with a magazine contest. He had no way of knowingthis. No versions of the emails I have seen have properly acknowl-edged the source of this ingenious theory. But I recalled readingthe article in OMNI magazine in the July 1993 issue (Vol. 15, No.9, p. 96). The true originator of the theory is also the winner ofthe contest: John Frazee of Kingston, New York.

Further curiosity led me to the November 1992 issue of OMNI,which first announced the competition. It should not come as asurprise to most readers that the inspiration for the contest wasThe Journal of Irreproducible Results. Some of the theories of therunners-up and honorable mentions are quite amusing.Jason C. VerleyAlbuquerque, NM

Editors’ Note: The other theories were amusing indeed. Our favorites:Clothes dryers produce a tunnel effect that throws socks into an

alternate universe. Scientists should use this effect to dispose of nuclearwaste: just put chunks of it into socks and set the timer for 40 minutes.(Thaddeus P. Rosen, Bakersfield, CA)

If an infinite number of rednecks, riding in an infinite number ofpickup trucks, fire an infinite number of shotgun rounds at an infinitenumber of highway signs, they will eventually produce all the world’sgreat literary works in Braille. (John A. Banker, Show Low, AZ)

When subjected to extreme feminine heat and pressure, male hydro-carbons will often produce a diamond. (R.E. Swap, Fairview, UT)

In the spirit of the original OMNI competition, we invite our readersto submit their own alternate scientific theories: Editor, APS News, OnePhysics Ellipse, College Park, MD, 20740, letters@aps.org.

No PluralsIn the August/September issue, which only reached these dis-

tant shores towards the end of September, one of your readerspoints out that there is no such thing as a “degree Kelvin”. Theunit named after Lord Kelvin is simply 1 kelvin = 1 K. He thengoes on to claim that the correct way to specify the temperatureof the uniform background is 2.73 kelvins. But an internationalsystem of units obviously cannot be based on the grammar rulesof one particular language. Therefore, one does not add s’es tomake plurals of SI units. The background temperature is thus 2.73kelvin = 2.73 K.Arne ReitanArendal, Norway

age has a certain down side, butthe chemists surely have one of thegreat tag lines of the ages. “Betterliving through quantum mechan-ics” just doesn’t have the same ringto it.

Physics, by contrast, is a hardsell, because from the point of viewof general comprehension, whenphysics left the realm of the visibleat the end of the 19th century, itentered the world of the abstract.For all practical purposes, to thoseoutside its own rarefied precincts,physics left reality behind and be-came an abstraction.

Of course, quantum mechanicsand relativity have as much to dowith solid reality around us as doesthe structure of DNA or the fossilof a dinosaur. And quarks are ev-ery bit as real as viruses or stars.Nevertheless, to the average by-stander they don’t seem as real. Theyseem less like things you can touchand see, and more like... math. Andas anyone who has tried will tellyou, if science is a tough sell, mathis impossible.

So physicists did what they hadto do when faced with the problemof communicating the abstract to amath-challenged world: theyturned to metaphor. From the“football field with the nuclear peaat the 50-yard line and the elec-trons in the stands” to the bowlingball top quark and Campbell’sCream of Primordial Soup, thesearch was on for the metaphorsthat would bring physics back fromincomprehensible equations to un-derstandable—and fundable—life.

It’s a never-ending search. A re-cent spate of news storiesprompted by the CERN-Fermilabrivalry for discovery of the HiggsBoson turned up many old favor-

ites, as well as some interesting newexamples. Predictably, a particle ac-celerator, or “atom smasher,” iscompared to “a giant racetrack,”or “the world’s largest microscope”or a “time machine” reproducingthe Big Bang. The Higgs is “molas-ses-like goo,” “cold molasses,” or“subatomic molasses.” Particle de-tectors look like “spaceships” or“rockets on their sides,” or in onememorable case, “a shoppingmall.” Particle collisions produce a“spray like shrapnel” yielding “azoo of particles,” or a “smashedwatch” that physicists must reas-semble from the scrambled springsand gears.

A recent Chicago Tribune storyyielded this delectable home-grown image of how physicistsdetect what comes out of a high-energy particle collision: “It’s likestanding on the corner of WavelandAvenue and watching a Sammy Sosahome run ball come sailing out ofWrigley Field.” The particles then“fall back into their low-energy stateand become invisible again, just asSosa’s ball is quickly whisked awayby a souvenir hunter.”

One story compared physiciststo wild geese, migrating to the high-energy physics lab with the highestenergy. Another evoked CERN sci-entists as hungry souls with theirnoses pressed to the restaurantwindow while Fermilab experi-menters sit down to dinner inside,presumably to a feast of roast bo-son under glass. And “a basicprejudice of the universe for mat-ter over anti-matter” does as gooda job as any of explaining thatpeskily difficult concept, CP viola-tion.

Feelings run high on the subjectof just which metaphors work bestfor conveying the essence of fron-tier physics. For example, amongparticle physicists, partisans of theaccelerator-as-giant-microscopeschool froth at the mere mention ofaccelerator-as-recreator-of-Big Bang,while Big Bang adherents smile pa-tronizingly at the microscopists. Attimes, it can feel like metaphor war-fare. Maybe it’s a physicist’s need toreduce the complex world to a set ofmathematical laws that makes it hardto accept that both of these meta-phors work sometimes, neitherworks every time, and that occasion-ally they even work together.

My 9th grade English teacher usedan example of metaphor that hasstuck with me for 40 years: “The truthis a hard deer to hunt.” Physics is allabout the hard hunt for truth, andthe search for words and images toconvey the excitement of the chase,and why it matters to us and to soci-ety, is almost as hard. We’re nevergoing to find the single perfect for-mula for explaining it. But with aglorious mix of metaphors—stars,home runs, microscopes, or shop-ping malls—we’ll all die trying.Metaphorically, of course.

Judy Jackson is director of Fermilab’sOffice of Public Affairs. This article isreprinted from the Forum on Educationnewsletter.

Secrets of Clichés UncoveredScience writers are nearing a breakthrough, perhaps a major break-

through, in their age-old quest to unlock the secrets, even the ultimatesecrets, of cliché-free prose, researchers reported yesterday.

Using cutting-edge, state-of-the-art, high-tech, and other dash-ladenmethodologies, the science journalists sifted obscure clues to reach theirtentative conclusions. “This is statistically significant,” one senior researchsaid. “It is an important step forward,” said another. “This is science inaction,” they agreed.

The research was reported in Science magazine, a prestigious journal,and also in Nature, a leading British journal. Other researchers welcomedthe report, but were cautious. They called for more research. Sciencewriters covered all the (usual) bases, quoting John Pike of the Federationof American Scientists, climatologist Stephen Schneider of Stanford Uni-versity, bioethicist Arthur Caplan, live astronomer Steve Maran, deadastronomer Carl Sagan, outspoken physicist Robert Park, and neo-Ludditeanti-technology gadfly Jeremy Rifkin. Stephen Jay Gould would have addedclass, but was unavailable for comment.

Clichés are a window into the past, even if they are red-shifted like thewhistle on a passing train that changes pitch when it goes by, an analogythat itself is a window into the past. They offer a glimpse of the future, too.They add to the growing evidence of the cataclysm that may have killedthe dinosaurs. Debate is sure to continue. And while the latest results donot offer a cure, they point the way to better understanding of the under-lying basic cellular causes to the ancient affliction. “We may never knowall the answers, but this is an important piece of the puzzle,” said every-body.

—Charles Petit, U.S. News and World ReportReprinted with permission.

zero gravity

MEETING BRIEFSTexas Section, October 4-6, 2001

The APS Texas section held its annual fall meeting in Octoberat Texas Christian University in Forth Worth, TX, jointly with thecorresponding sections of the American Association of PhysicsTeachers and the Society of Physics Students. The program fea-tured several plenary speakers focusing on topics of generalinterest, including the Society’s own Robert Park, “speaking aboutwhatever he likes”; Ronald Walsworth of the Harvard-Smithsonian Astrophysics Observatory on the real story behind“stopping light”; Neal Lane, former science advisor to PresidentClinton and now at Rice University; and 2000 Nobel LaureateJack Kilby of Texas Instruments. Friday evening’s banquet speakerwas Nowell Donovan, a professor of geology at TCU, who de-scribed the unique meteorite collection housed at TCU and theplans for a Smithsonian Institution facility to study them. Therewere also invited sessions on applied physics and materials sci-ence and quantum thermodynamics, as well as special interestsections on chemical physics, physics jobs in industry, and theuse of WEB-CT in classes. In addition, the AAPT offered severalworkshops for teachers.

Ohio Section, October 19-20, 2001The APS Ohio Section held its annual fall meeting in October at

Columbus State Community College in Columbus, OH. The meetingprogram featured a plenary session on novel techniques in physicspedagogy, summarized by an impressive list of speakers who havemade significant contributions to the field of physics education.Wolfgang Christian of Davidson College described a new approachto authoring interactive curricular material, while Mano Singham ofCase Western Reserve University described the challenges of trans-forming education research into classroom practice. Robert Lopezof the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology spoke on applying sym-bolic computing to methods of mathematical physics. And DavidVernier of Vernier Software and Technology presented his favoritephysics demonstrations over the past 20 years.

November 2001 5NEWS

Early next year, the APS will close aseven-year chapter in the Society’s on-going efforts in education reform whenthe Teacher-Scientist Alliance Institutes(TSAI) program concludes. TSAI is acomprehensive initiative designed topromote the systemic reform of K-8science education from the traditional,lecture-oriented methodology to ahands-on, inquiry-centered approach.The program has provided institutes,workshops, and other support for edu-cators and scientists throughout thecountry, all of which have been free of

TSAI Program Winds Up Successful Seven-Year Runcharge to participants.

“In the last ten years, a broad con-sensus has developed in the U.S. as towhat science education should be. Inmeeting the goals of the new consen-sus, the APS believes that theinvolvement of scientists is of greatvalue, even essential,” says Ted Schultz,assistant director for education and di-rector of the TSAI program. “Forexample, the differences between read-ing about science and doing science,and the increase in demands the lattermakes on teachers, instructional ma-

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terials, and school systems, are pro-found.”

The TSAI program was formed toget scientists and other technical pro-fessionals involved in support ofhands-on, inquiry-centered scienceeducation programs in their localschool districts. It was established in1995 by Ramon Lopez, then directorof the APS Education and OutreachDepartment, initially with funds fromthe APS/AAPT Campaign for Physicsand later with an NSF grant to supportits continued efforts. Initially aimed atthe reform of elementary school sci-ence education, the program waseventually expanded to include middleschools.

Since its inception, a principal as-pect of the program has been theannual Lead Scientist Institutes(LSIs), five-day events held in Wash-ington, DC, to prepare participantsto support the science educationprograms in their areas. These insti-tutes have provided an intensiveintroduction to the basic issues ofscience education reform. Applicantsare usually accepted in teams of twoor three from school districts alreadyinvolved in systemic reform, teamscomprising scientists, engineers orother technical professionals with ademonstrated commitment to im-proving science education, as wellas one or sometimes two educatorsto help integrate scientists into re-form efforts.

In addition, TSAI has conductedRegional Leadership Institutes inNew England, the Southeast, SanDiego, and Texas, as well as a three-day version in Atlanta in 1999, aspart of the APS Centennial celebra-tion. At the request of individualschool districts, TSAI-trained scien-tists have also helped conductone-day workshops to recruit otherscientists to the education reform ef-forts underway, or half-dayworkshops for leaders in the localeducation and business communi-ties and parents. “The aim is to try toconvey the value and excitement of

a hands-on, inquiry-centered scienceprogram,” saysSchultz. “By all indica-tions, these workshopshave been very effec-tive in building bothcommunity and ad-m i n i s t r a t i v eunderstanding, enthu-siasm, and support.”

A 2000 report by theInstitute for LearningInnovation, based in An-napolis, MD, evaluatedthe impact of the TSAIprogram to date, andfound that the partici-pants surveyed wereoverwhelmingly compli-mentary andappreciative of theprogram’s impact intheir districts, believing they had madesubstantial progress in their reform ef-forts. While recognizing that muchwork remained to be done, the reportnoted, “The scope of change advocatedby TSAI is broad and systemic. Real sus-tainable change takes time and overthe last four years, TSAI has plantedimportant and thriving science educa-tion reform seeds,” despite having tooperate in a turbulent and ever-chang-ing education environment.

However, the report noted thatsome teams have struggled with waysto make the most effective use of sci-entists, and expressed concern thatwithout on-going support, fledglinginitiatives may die out in many districts.Nevertheless, TSAI’s additional goal, ofspawning second-generation institutes,has been met in North Carolina. There,state science-education leaders whoreceived their first training at TSAI’sSoutheast Leadership Institute inClemson, SC, or at a subsequent LeadScientist Institute in Washington, havenow conducted the first three of a se-ries of annual institutes intended toreach all school districts in the state.

Schultz, who has written an ar-ticle on this subject, admits that

“there are serious challenges in get-ting scientists and educators tobridge the culture gap between themand work closely together,” and theresults have been varied (see http://www.aps.org/units/ fed/sum-mer2001/schultz.html). Oftenscientists are interested in becom-ing involved, but lack support fromthe school districts, which do not al-ways know how to integrate theparticipation of scientists. Ideally, thegoal is to achieve a large number ofscientists who are moderately in-volved. “Even if their contribution isonly two or three days per year, sci-entists and engineers can add someunique elements, such as their by-now instinctive understanding ofinquiry and their knowledge of sci-entific content in their field, to anyreform effort, particularly to the pro-fessional development of teachers,”says Schultz. Nevertheless, he believes,the greatest value of the TSAI programultimately lies in the relatively smallnumber of scientists who have becomeextremely involved and committed tosystemic reform of science education,scientists who become real leaders oftheir local programs.

Ted Schultz, right, makes a point to Wolf Berger at one ofthe TSA Institutes.

the non-profit ContemporaryPhysics Education Project whichproduces wall-charts and othermaterials for high school and col-lege physics teachers. She alsomanages SLAC’s education andoutreach programs. This experi-ence is reflected in her candidate’sstatement. “We all know the neces-sity of building on one another’sresearch, but too often go it alonewhen it comes to changes withinour departments or outreach to K-12 education,” she wrote. “Thesociety’s [education] activities helppromulgate successful innovationsand prevent replication of fail-ures.” Quinn also cited thecontinuing evolution towards elec-tronic publishing and outreach toCongress and the general public asmajor challenges facing the APS inher statement. “We must planwisely for the future, developingthe Society’s activities in responseto the needs of physics and ofphysicists, and at the same timemaintaining our fiscal health,” shesaid.

Seestrom was named Directorof the Physics Division at Los

Election, from page 1

Alamos National Laboratory in2000, having joined the scientificstaff in 1986. Her research hasbeen in nuclear physics, studyingnuclear structure with medium en-ergy probes and symmetryviolation using low energy neu-trons. She has most recently beeninvolved in development of novelsources of ultra-cold neutrons. Inher candidate’s statement,Seestrom set forth her belief that aprimary role for the APS is to be anadvocate for the importance of ba-sic science to our society, with acorresponding need for diversityin the society’s leadership. “Theevents of September 11th havecreated a great sense of fear anduncertainty around the world, andit will be important for the APS todemonstrate the relevance of phys-ics to challenging nationalproblems,” said Seestrom. “It willbe important that the leadershipof the society reflect the breadthof contributions that physicists aremaking, and the nominating com-mittee will be key in maintainingthe great breadth and depth theAPS is known for.”

Newly elected InternationalCouncillor Maurice Rice is a na-tive of Ireland and obtained a PhDfrom the University of Cambridgein 1964. During his fifteen yearsat Bell Labs he served terms ashead of the Theoretical Physicsand Surface Physics Depart-ments, assuming his presentposition as professor of physicsat the ETH Zurich in 1981. Rice’sresearch interests extend overmany fields in theoretical con-densed matter physics. In recentyears he has concentrated mainlyon the theory of strongly corre-lated electrons and its applicationto the microscopic theory of thehigh temperature superconduc-tors. In his candidate’s statement,Rice spoke of the continuing glo-balization of the APS, mostnotably in the number of foreignmanuscripts (70% of the total) sub-mitted to its journals each year, andpraised the Society’s decision tohave international representationon its Council. “I will try to fosterinternational collaborations to facecommon challenges, in particularthe consequences of increasing

globalization and the e-printrevolution,” he said.

Houle received her PhD fromthe California Institute of Tech-nology (1979) in Chemistry. In1980, after an appointment as anIBM postdoctoral fellow at the Uni-versity of California at Berkeley, shejoined the IBM Research Laboratory,now the IBM Almaden ResearchCenter. Her research is in the area ofphysics and chemistry of thermal andradiation-induction chemical modi-fication of surfaces and thin films.“The new world of multidisciplinary,team-oriented research at theboundaries of traditional disciplinesis tremendously exciting,” Houlewrote in her candidate’s statement,adding, “It is vital that the APSpromote and facilitate multi-in-vestigator, physics-relatedcollaborations throughout all itsprograms.” She said she is “mostpleased” to be elected to Coun-cil. “I have been an APS memberfor many years and am very ex-cited to have the opportunity toserve the Society.”

Mahan admits to some surpriseat the news of his election, consid-

ering the high qualifications of thefield of candidates. “I look forwardto working with the other boardmembers, many (of whom) arefriends,” he said. “I also encourageany member of the APS to contactme about their concerns, com-plaints, and suggestions forimprovements in the APS.” Mahanreceived his PhD in physics fromUniversity of California, Berkeley,in 1964, and 1984 held a joint ap-pointment as a professor in theDepartment of Physics and As-tronomy at the University ofTennessee, and as a DistinguishedScientist at Oak Ridge NationalLaboratory. He has recently be-come Distingished Professor ofPhysics at Penn State. “Physics re-search is changing rapidly anddiversifying, [with] many new fieldsof research starting, while old fieldsare becoming more interdiscipli-nary,” Mahan wrote in his candidate’sstatement, emphasizing his ownbroad experience in academia, in-dustry and governmentlaboratories. “It is the job of theAPS Council to adapt the organi-zation to these new directions.”

Carrying the Torch of Education Reform

Ted Schultz, who heads the APS TSAI program, first developedan interest in science education in the 1960s, early in his 32-yeartenure as a theoretical physicist at IBM’s Watson Research Center inYorktown Heights, NY. For two years, along with seven other IBMcolleagues, he taught truly abstract mathematics to third, fourth andfifth graders through a program originating in Berkeley, California. Inthe 1990s, now working in a largely administrative position at IBM,Schultz decided he wanted to do something more “socially rel-evant,” and immediately thought of science education. “At first, Ithought it would have to be mathematics again, because math-ematical worlds or systems can be constructed in which kids canmeaningfully learn to discover their properties. In science, theworld is already there and its complicated properties seemed toodifficult for kids to discover. Then I found out there was an entiremovement in science education to get kids to learn about the realworld by actually investigating it, by doing experiments, asking ques-tions and so on,” he said, “and I was sold.”

Schultz retired from IBM and found a position at the NationalScience Resources Center (NSRC), a joint enterprise of theSmithsonian Institute and the National Academy of Sciences basedin Washington, DC, where he met Ramon Lopez. When Schultz’sNSRC project ended, he moved half time to the National ResearchCouncil, researching the ways scientists have become involved inscience education, and half time to the APS to assist Lopez in theTSAI program. Later, Schultz joined the APS full-time and three yearslater, when Lopez left the APS, he took over the TSAI directorship.

Schultz had hoped to raise new funds to continue the TSAI pro-gram once the NSF grant funds ran out, but health problems haveintervened. One last leadership institute is planned for January 2002.“I may be quixotic, but I’m hoping to introduce this institute to anumber of other scientific societies, and to demonstrate its successes,so that the baton will be picked up and a program to involve scientistsin science education will continue and improve.”

Schultz and Lopez co-authored an article entitled “Two Revolu-tions in K-8 Science Education” in the September, 2001 issue ofPhysics Today.

6 November 2001 NEWS

articles have appeared in theChronicle of Higher Education and inthe New York Times, and an op-edpiece appeared recently in the WallStreet Journal.

According to the Times report,there is no question in China butthat the US Government hascracked down arbitrarily and un-fairly on Chinese students. It citednumerous multi-part series andangry editorials that have appearedin Chinese newspapers, whileinternet chat rooms have ventedagainst the handful of overworkedAmerican visa officers in one of fiveconsular offices around China whoissue thousands of visas each year.

In the US, colleges and universi-ties have complained to the StateDepartment, while a number ofphysics departments have con-tacted the APS detailing theirproblems in getting student and visi-tor exchange visas.

“Until about 1998, we never hada case where an F1 visa was de-nied. In fact, it never occurred tome that a student with an I-20 (adocument required of internationalstudents before a student visa canbe issued) would not get an F1 visa,”said Kurt Haller, the head of thephysics graduate program at theUniversity of Connecticut, Storrs.“One person was denied in 1999and couldn’t come and one wasdenied in 2000, but subsequentlyaccepted. This year, we acceptedseven Chinese students, but onlytwo received an F1 (and) five weredenied. That’s a big jump.”

At the University of Utah in SaltLake City, Heidi Frank deals withinternational student issues for thephysics department. She expresseda great deal of frustration becauseall ten of the Chinese students ac-cepted into the department wererejected on their first attempt.

Frank recounted how she ulti-mately was able to get seven of theten into the program through theintervention of Utah Sen. OrrinHatch, who sent letters on behalfof the students to the US embassyin Beijing. The other three have hadto defer their admissions to at leastSpring 2002, with no guarantee thatthey will get their visas then.

“I faxed petition letters to theembassy and consulates on behalfof the students. The embassy faxedback a very rude letter informingme that I had no right to send any-thing to the embassy,” Frank said.“Apparently, the embassy workers

forget that the taxes I pay to thegovernment pay their salaries.”

At Pittsburg State University, asmall school in rural southeasternKansas, physics department chairChuck Blatchley said difficultiesgetting Chinese and other interna-tional students, combined with adrop-off in enrollment by Ameri-can students, are jeopardizing thevery existence of his department’ssmall master’s program.

“We were down to one MS stu-dent two years ago. This year, weare back up to five, but none ofseveral applicants from Chinamade it into the country,” Blatchleysaid. “In our program review lastyear, we were asked to justify keep-ing the MS program running if wedid not have enough applicants tofill our three existing graduate as-sistantship positions.”

Blatchley’s program was put ona probationary status for threeyears even as stipends were in-creased somewhat to see if thelarger amount of money attractsmore students. If not, he said, theprogram will likely be disbanded.

But do cases like these genuinelyreflect a larger problem, or are theyrelatively isolated? The APS surveyof physics graduate programsaround the country had decidedlymixed results.

Of the 90 replies received – rep-resenting just over one-third of allthe physics graduate programs inthe United States – 49 said they hadencountered sudden and unusualproblems getting student visas forChinese or other foreign nationalsentering their program in the 2001-2002 academic year, while 41 saidthey had not.

The 49 programs that encoun-tered problems accepted 243Chinese citizens and 350 other for-eign nationals. Of these 243Chinese, 63, or 26, percent experi-enced at least one student visarefusal but ultimately secured theirvisas and arrived on time in the USinto their programs, while another49, or 20, percent were unable toget their student visas on time andhence were unable to start theirprograms. So overall, 112 Chinesecitizens, or 46 percent, had sometype of student visa difficulty.

By contrast, of the 350 otherforeign nationals, 24, or 7 percent,experienced at least one studentvisa refusal, but were ultimately suc-cessful in time for the start of theirprograms, while 27 or 8 percent

were unsuccessful and could notstart their programs. So overall, 51other foreign nationals, or 15 per-cent, had some type of student visadifficulty. Compared to other for-eign nationals,• A Chinese citizen was almost

four times as likely to have ex-perienced a student visaproblem he or she ultimatelyovercame in time for the startof the 2001-2002 academicyear.

• A Chinese citizen was two and ahalf times as likely to have expe-rienced a student visa problemhe or she could not overcomein time for the start of the 2001-2002 academic year.

• Overall, a Chinese citizen wasabout three times as likely tohave experienced some studentvisa problem for the currentacademic year.This 46 percent rate of refusal

for Chinese student visa applicantsseeking to enter US physics gradu-ate programs matches very closelywith the State Department’s own re-ported refusal rate for all Chinesestudent visa applicants for fiscal1998 and fiscal 1999. That rate“hovered between 45 and 47 per-cent” before dropping to 33percent in fiscal 2000, a fact that“hardly seems to indicate tougherstandards than in the past,” accord-ing to Chris Lamora, spokesman forthe State Department’s Bureau ofConsular Affairs.

Lamora also cites the large andsteady gains in the numbers of Fand J visas issued to Chinese citi-zens during this time. The numberof student “F1” visas issued inChina at one of five American con-

sular posts rose from 12,370 in fis-cal 1998 to 19,018 in fiscal 2001(less the last 18 days of Septem-ber), while the number of “J1”exchange visitor visas issued inChina rose from 5,737 to 6,079 inthe same period.

Lamora said that all of these fig-ures outweigh the anecdotalevidence. “The State Departmentdoes recognize and understandvisa applicants’ frustration whenthey fail to obtain student visas.However, the anecdotal ‘evidence’that somehow the process has be-come more difficult of late is simplynot supported by the facts. Therehave been absolutely no changesin the procedures or policies ourconsular officers abroad use to ac-cess Chinese citizens’ applicationsfor student visas,” Lamora said.

He also pointed out that the1952 law governing such visa is-sues requires consular officers toassume that the applicant intendsto migrate to the US. The famousSection 214-b of the Immigrationand Nationality Act requires visaapplicants to demonstrate an “in-tent to return” to their nativecountry, and if the consular officeris not satisfied, the officer is re-quired to reject the applicant.

Carl Shakin, who oversees thephysics graduate program atBrooklyn College, one of the fivemain campuses comprising the CityUniversity of New York system,criticized this aspect of the law asessentially arbitrary and subjective.

“They can use this argumentthat the (applicant) really seems tohave intentions of emigrating to theStates. They can always use thatargument. No one can really prove

otherwise,” Shakin said.Historically, the overwhelming

majority of Chinese citizens whohave come to the US on studentand other visas have ended upstaying in the country permanently.The State Department cites thisfact as evidence that it really doesnot make it tough for visa appli-cants. Others like Shakin see thisfact as a good thing for the coun-try.

“Chinese citizens work in theindustries like finance and infor-mation technology and are a majorasset to the country,” he said.

During an August meeting at theState Department between a groupof university admissions personnel,physics researchers, and APS staffmembers on one side and StateDepartment and Immigration andNaturalization Service officials onthe other, there was discussion ofways the student visa processcould be smoothed out. One pos-sible solution was the creation ofyet another visa category.

However, the events of Septem-ber 11, 2001 have ended the effortto create a new visa category, ac-cording to Irving Lerch, the APSDirector of International Affairs.“The ‘new visa’ issue is dead – forthe moment,” he said. “There arepeople in the [consular affairs] bu-reau who are sympathetic, but nowis not the time to press the case.”

Lerch said any initiative for avisa category would have to comefrom Congress and have the okayof the immigration service. “If Iwere to raise this issue again, itwould be directly with the Immi-gration and Naturalization Servicestaff,” he said.

Survey, from page 1

30

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ProblemsResolved In Time

ProblemsNot Resolved

Visa ProblemsOverall

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ChineseCitizens

OtherForeign Nationals

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(350)

(The survey did not take into account individuals who were accepted into more than one program and in optingfor one program, necessarily did not “arrive on time” for the other program, even though they may not haveexperienced any visa difficulties.)

Percentages of Students with Visa Problems

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The hundredth anniversary of Enrico Fermi’sbirth took place on September 29. The eventwas commemorated at Fermilab on the 28th,and at the University of Chicago (where Fermitaught and where he developed the firstnuclear reactor) on the 29th. Fermi wasPresident of the APS in 1953, the year beforehis death.

Shown here cutting the birthday cake afterFermilab’s centennial symposium are MildredDresselhaus of MIT (APS President in 1984)and Michael Witherell, Director of Fermilab.As a student, Dresselhaus took a course onquantum mechanics from Enrico Fermi at theUniversity of Chicago. At right is a picture ofFermi that appears on a recently issued stamp.It contains an amusingly heterodox formulafor the fine-structure constant in the upperleft.

Happy Birthday Enrico!

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November 2001 7NEWS

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Nine APS members were honoredwith prizes and awards at the fall meet-ings of three separate units. The 2001Arthur Schawlow Prize was presentedat the Interdisciplinary Laser ScienceConference in Long Beach, CA, Octo-ber 14-18. The ILS is the annualmeeting of the APS Division of LaserScience. At the APS Division of PlasmaPhysics meeting, also held in LongBeach, October 29-November 2, physi-cists were honored with the MaxwellPrize, the Excellence in Plasma PhysicsAward, and the award for Outstand-ing Doctoral Thesis in Plasma Physics.Finally, the Fluid Dynamics Prize andOtto Laporte Award will be presentedlater this month at the meeting of theAPS Division of Fluid Dynamics, No-vember 18-20, in San Diego, CA.ARTHUR SCHAWLOW PRIZE

David J. WinelandNational Institute of Standards

& TechnologyCitation: “For an extraordinary range

of pioneering studies combining trapped ionsand lasers.”

Wineland received his PhD in 1970from Harvard University and spent fiveyears as a postdoctoral fellow at theUniversity of Washington before join-ing what was then known as theNational Bureau of Standards as a staffscientist. His research interests are fo-cused on the laser cooling andspectroscopy of trapped ions with ap-plications to atomic clocks, coldplasmas, and fundamental tests; quan-tum state engineering with applicationsto quantum information processingand quantum-limited measurement.He has won numerous prizes andawards for his research over the years,including the 1990 APS Davisson-Germer Prize.

JAMES CLERK MAXWELLPRIZE

Roald SagdeevUniversity of Maryland

Citation: “For an unmatched set of con-tributions to modern plasma theoryincluding, collisionless shocks, stochastic

Physicists Honored at Fall Unit Meetingsmagnetic fields, ion temperature gradientinstabilities, quasi-linear theory, neoclassi-cal transport, and weak turbulence theory.”

Sagdeev is a Distinguished Univer-sity Professor of the University ofMaryland, College Park, and directorof the East West Space Science Centerin the Department of Physics. Aftergraduating from Moscow State Univer-sity in the 1950s, he became a memberof the controlled fusion team atKurchtov Institute of Atomic Energyin Moscow, where he was a drivingforce behind the development in ourunderstanding of nonlinear phenom-ena in rarefied plasmas. In 1961 hefounded the Plasma Theory Lab at theBudker Institute of Nuclear Physics inNovosibirsk, expanding the originalscope of his work on nonlinear plas-mas. And from 1973-1988 he wasdirector of Moscow’s Institute for SpaceResearch. He was also politically in-volved as an advisor to MikhailGorbachev on arms control and space,and in 1989 was elected to the USSRCongress of Peoples Deputies, togetherwith fellow physicist Andrei Sakharov.

EXCELLENCE IN PLASMAPHYSICS AWARD

Keith H. BurrellGeneral Atomics

Richard Joseph GroebnerGeneral AtomicsEdward Doyle

University of California,Los Angeles

Edmund J. SynakowskiPrinceton Plasma Physics

LaboratoryCitation: “For experiments that show

that sheared ExB flows can suppress turbu-lence and transport in tokamak plasmas,and that such flows can spontaneously ariseat the edge and in the core of tokamakplasmas.”

Burrell received his PhD fromCalTech in 1974 and has spent the last27 years at General Atomics workingon a variety of experimental and theo-retical topics in controlled fusionresearch. He is currently program

manager in the company’s Experimen-tal Science Division, overseeing fusionresearch work on the D-III-D tokamak.His primary research focus is on en-ergy and angular momentum transportin tokamak plasma, and he has helpeddevelop numerous diagnostics, includ-ing the highly successful chargeexchange recombination spectroscopytechnique.

Since obtaining his PhD from theUniversity of Wisconsin, Madison in1979, Groebner has been employedby General Atomics in San Diego, CA.A major focus of his research has beenthe development of diagnostic tech-niques, using charge exchangerecombination spectroscopy, for themeasurement of ion temperature andvelocity profiles. He implemented sucha system to study the boundary plasmaon the DIII-D tokamak and discoveredthat the edge radial electric field be-came more negative when the plasmamade a transition to an improved con-finement mode, called the H mode. Hehas helped foster H-mode research asleader of H-mode studies on DIII-D.

Doyle received his BE andMEngSc degrees in Electrical Engi-neering from the NationalUniversity of Ireland, UniversityCollege Cork in 1980 and 1982.From 1980 to 1985 he was a re-search associate at the UKAEACulham Laboratory, where he de-veloped a far-forward scatteringsystem for the TOSCA tokamak. In1985 he joined the research staffat UCLA, where he is currently asenior researcher in the ElectricalEngineering Dept. and Institute forPlasma Science and Technology. AtUCLA he has pursued applicationsof advanced Far Infra-Red and mm-wave diagnostic systems to improvefundamental understanding ofplasma turbulence and transport.In 1989 he joined the collabora-tive research team at the DIII-DNational Fusion Facility, San Di-ego to study turbulence changes

associated with the formation ofedge and internal transportbarriersssion effects.

Synakowski received his PhD inphysics from the University of Texas atAustin in 1988, having performed spec-troscopic studies of plasma impuritytransport on the TEXT tokamak. Sincethen he has been a member of the re-search staff at Princeton Plasma PhysicsLaboratory, where he is currentlydeputy program director of the Na-tional Spherical Torus Experiment. Hismost recent research efforts include afocus on bifurcating plasma systemsand studies of the effects of shearedplasma flows on transport and trans-port barried dynamics. He has recentlyextended this work to include joint re-search on the DIII-D tokamak atGeneral Atomics.

OUTSTANDING DOCTORALTHESIS IN PLASMA PHYSICS

AWARDKevin James Bowers

University of California, BerkeleyCitation: “For comprehensive and

insightful theories and simulations of elec-tron series resonant (ESR) diodes andESR surface-wave plasmas, whichshowed how distributed slow-wave ex-citation might produce large area plasmadischarges for processing and other ap-plications.”

Bowers graduated with highestdistinction from Purdue Universityin 1997 with a BS in electrical engi-neering. He received his PhD inelectrical engineering from theUniversity of California, Berkeley,earlier this year, with thesis workon high frequency plasma surfacewaves. Since then he has joinedAgere Systems (formerly the Lu-cent Bell Labs MicroelectronicsCorporation), where he has beeninvestigating mesoscopic andnanoscopic photonic devices andmanufacturing. His research inter-ests include electromagnetics,plasmas, quantum electronics, andscientific computing.

FLUID DYNAMICS PRIZEHoward Brenner

Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyCitation: “For his outstanding and sus-

tained research in physico-chemicalhydrodynamics, the quality of his mono-graphs and textbooks, and his long-standingservice to the fluid mechanics community.”

Born and raised in New York City,Brenner received his PhD in chemicalengineering from New York Universityin 1957. His 46-year career as a chemi-cal engineering faculty member hasincluded stints at NYU, Carnegie-Mellon University, the University ofRochester, and MIT, where he is cur-rently W.H. Dow Professor. Theco-author of three books on fluid dy-namics, his lifelong research interestsfocus on modeling particulate physico-chemical transport processes. Currentresearch efforts involve modelingchromatographic bio-particle sepa-ration processes in microfluidicdevices and, more fundamentally,quantifying the molecular and con-vective transport of volume.OTTO LAPORTE AWARD

John KimUniversity of California, Los Angeles

Citation: “For his pioneering work inthe development of direct numerical simu-lation as a tool in turbulence research,and for his important contributions tothe understanding of the physics and con-trol of turbulent boundary layers.”

Kim received his BS degree fromSeoul National University in Korea andearned an MS from Brown Universitybefore completing his PhD in mechani-cal engineering at Stanford Universityin 1978. Before joining UCLA, he con-ducted research in the areas oftransition and turbulence physics atNASA’s Ames Research Center, servingas chief of the Turbulence and Transi-tion Physics Branch. He is currentlyactive in investigating control strate-gies for turbulent boundary layers,using systems theoretic approaches.Since 1998 he has been the editor ofthe journal Physics of Fluids.

“Copenhagen,” the Tony-Award-winning play by Michael Fraynthat reenacts the 1941 visit ofWerner Heisenberg to Niels Bohr,is going on a nationwide tour withtwo separate companies: onetraveling to large cities, and theother focusing on performancesin smaller cities and college towns.The first performances kick off inSalt Lake City in mid-Novemberbefore moving to Los Angelesthrough the end of the year. Formore information about perfor-mance dates and location, seehttp://web.gc.cuny.edu/ashp/nml/artsci, and click on the“Copenhagen Symposium” link.

Science Meets the Arts inExploratorium’s Holiday Events

APS members in the Bay Area this holiday season are invited to participatein a special series of events at the Exploratorium Science Center in San Fran-cisco. Now in its third season, the Second Wednesdays Arts series combinesthe spirit of inquiry, interactivity, and experimentation that characterizes theExploratorium, with the innovative intensity of the Bay Area arts community.Curated around themes and investigations from self-propulsion to biotechnol-ogy, the series includes artists and curators from the Bay Area and beyond, indisciplines ranging from poetry and film, to installation art and music. All eventsare free with admission to the Exploratorium.

A sampling of upcoming events:• The Mathematics of Pool. Demonstrating probability with the help

of a billiards table.• The Physics of Toys. Find out how your favorite toys work and make

your own in this fascinating workshop.• Holiday Iron Science Teacher Competition. A live event in which

science teachers have ten minutes to concoct a science activityfrom a “secret” ingredient that can be used in the classroom.

• Mathematica: A World of Numbers and Beyond. First created in1961 by the late Charles and Ray Eames, this classic exhibition isthe first major posthumous retrospective of their lifework.

• Numerous film programs showcasing some of the best science-related animated shorts and features of today.

For more information on these and other upcoming events, go tohttp://www.exploratorium.edu.

“Copenhagen”Hits the Road

Hans Bethe (right) picks up some acting tipsfrom Copenhagen director Michael Blakemore.

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usFELLOWSHIP PROGRAMS

APS/AIP CONGRESSIONAL SCIENCE FELLOWSHIPThe American Physical Society and the American Institute of Physics areaccepting applications for their 2002-2003 Congressional ScienceFellowship programs. Fellows serve one year on the staff of a Member ofCongress or congressional committee, learning the legislative processwhile lending scientific expertise to public policy issues. Applicationdeadline is January 15, 2002. For more information, visit:http://www.aip.org/pubinfo or http://www.aps.org/public_affairs/fellow/index.shtml

AIP STATE DEPARTMENT SCIENCE FELLOWSHIPThe American Institute of Physics (AIP) is now accepting appli-cations for the AIP State Department Science Fellowship. Thisfellowship program represents an opportunity for scientiststo make a unique and substantial contribution to thenation’s foreign policy. Each year, AIP sponsors onefellow to work in a bureau or office of the US StateDepartment, becoming actively and directly in-volved in the foreign policy process by providingmuch-needed scientific and technical expertise.Application deadline is November 1, 2001.For more information, visit: http://www.aip.org/mgr/sdf.html

Tell a friend, tell a colleague. New APS members canjoin for ½ off the Regular dues amount now throughFebruary 28, 2002. (Certain restrictions apply; seehttp://www.aps.org/memb/joinaps.html for details.)

APS Membership½ OFF!

8 November 2001 NEWS

APS News welcomes and encourages letters and submissions from its members responding to these and other issues. Responses may be sent to: letters@aps.org.

THE BACK PAGEUnity of Physics in Action: Voices from Around the World

The Deutsche PhysikalischeGesellschaft unreservedly con-demns the recent appallingterrorist attacks in the UnitedStates. They are attacks uponour whole civilization.

The Deutsche PhysikalischeGesellschaft assures The Ameri-can Physical Society and thewhole American people of itscomplete solidarity with themat this difficult time.

In memory of the victimsand with my deepest sympathyfor their families, I remain ingreat sadness,Dirk BastingPresident, DPG

We are sorry [about] whathas happened to your country.Please have our heartfelt sym-pathies.Santanu DattaSecretary, Indian PhysicsAssociation, CalcuttaChapter

All of us in the IndianPhysics Association are mostdistressed with the human trag-edies [that] have struck NewYork and Washington. Ourhearts go out in sympathy withthe innocent victims of theseacts of madness. We stand byyou in this hour of grief.C.L. BhatSecretary, Indian PhysicsAssociation

On behalf of the CubanPhysical Society, we would liketo transmit to you our sad feel-ings and human solidaritybecause of the tragic facts thatoccurred in New York City andWashington.Victor FajerPresident, Sociedad Cubanade Fisica

We are deeply in consterna-tion for the tragic and violentevents in the United States. Wehope that everybody and every-thing by the American PhysicalSociety is okay.Gerardo Contreras PuentePresident, SociedadMexicana de Fisica

With deepest shock we haveseen the totally senseless attackon humans and institutions inthe United States. Helpless asanyone in this situation, wewould like at least to share withall of you our deep sympathy.Scientific collaborations haveplayed for many years an im-portant role in fostering theunderstanding of humansacross borders. I hope this spiritwill finally win over fanaticism.Albrecht WagnerDirector, DESYGerman High Energy PhysicsLaboratory

I and my colleagues sympa-thize with you in your sorrowon the terrorism in New Yorkand Washington. We weresorry to hear of the death ofthe people in the United States.V.M. Matveev and V.V.MatveevState Research Institute ofPhysical ProblemsZelenograd, Moscow, Russia

It is with deepest sorrow thatwe learned of the tragedy whichhappened in the United States.I wish to extend to you my sin-cere sympathy, knowing thesorrow you must feel.Andrzej SlebarskiUniversity of Silesia, Poland

We hope very much that youare safe and mourn with all theunimaginably large losses. To-day we Germans are allAmericans.Eberhard HilfUniversity of Oldenburg,Germany

I was shocked to learn of therecent terrorist attacks in theUnited States. I share the con-cern with the people of theUnited States and express myheartfelt condolences to thedependents of the victims. I amvery sure such attacks by cow-ards will not stop the UnitedStates from its targeted missionsagainst global terrorism.K. Shadananan NairCochin University of Science& TechnologyKerala, India

We are shocked and sad-dened by the tragedy becauseof the terrorist attacks in theUnited States. All of us from theCentral American and Carib-bean Physical Society (SOCEAF)want to express our condo-lences to the families andfriends of the victims in thesetragic events. Please let us knowif we can be of any help in thisterrible situation.Leopoldo EsquivelPresident, SOCEAF

I send my sincere condo-lences to everybody in Americaon the terrorist attack.Mikhail KisselevUniversity of Wuerzburg,Germany

Please accept my condo-lences for the tragedy that hashit your great country.Taieb GasmiUniversidad Complutense deMadrid, Spain

I would like to express mycondolences to the Americanpeople at this dark and tragicmoment for the attack on thefree and democratic world. Thisis not only an attack on theUnited States, but an attack onthe civilized world. We standclose by you. Let me hope thatyou never forgive these mon-strous criminal suicideattackers.Vitaly GasparovInstitute of Solid StatePhysicsRussian Academy of Sciences

After the dramatic events oflast week, I would like to ex-press to all US people ourdeepest thoughts in these ter-rible moments. We Frenchpeople have a very special debtto you that began in 1945 whenyou came as liberators.

Be sure that we are with allof you.Thierry JolicoeurEcole Normale Supérieure,France

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The scientists of the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research at Dubna feeldeeply indignant at the unprecedented terrorist acts committed on Septem-ber 11 in New York, Washington, and Pittsburgh. In these tragic days we joinyou in your grief over the immense loss of human life and express our sincerecondolences to the families of the victims. We wish you, dear colleagues,and the entire US people all the courage to overcome the aftermaths ofthis tragedy. Please accept our profound sympathy. On behalf of the staffmembers of JINR and from all your true friends at Dubna...Vladimir Kadyshevsky, Alexey Sissakian, Tsvetan VylovRussia

May I, on behalf of the Institute of Physics, express deep sympathy toall American physicists for the tragic events of last week. These cataclys-mic occurrences still seem incredible and the trivializing of human life isso alien to us in the Western world. Here in London, we have suffered forthe past 30 years from terrorist activities, but none has been on the scaleof those on New York and Washington. We hear today of 250 Britonswho were victims in the World Trade Center, making this one of theworst ever peacetime tragedies for our country. It is also probable thatamongst the dead there will be physicists, who in increasing numbers inrecent years, with their mathematical and model building skills, haveadded an extra dimension to the financial world. I am confident, how-ever, that the American people with their resolve and determination willcontinue to progress in spite of the mental and physical scars which lastweek’s acts of terrorism have inflicted upon your country.Alun JonesInstitute of Physics, England

MEMOTO: Publications Staff of the American Physical Society, Ridge, NYFROM: Martin Blume, APS Editor in ChiefDATE: September 12, 2001

Yesterday’s terrible events will be in the forefront of our minds for a longtime to come. I believe that as we learn more about the toll of the tragedy, noneof us in our office will be spared some brush with death. Some of us will havelost close loved ones, and most, if not all, will know of friends, neighbors, orrelatives who have perished or who are badly injured. Our thoughts, hopes,wishes and prayers are with the survivors and with the families and friends ofthose who have died. Inevitably, we will be thinking as well of punishment forthose responsible. It is important that we not hold entire groups of peopleaccountable. The world of physics, of which we are an important part, is veryinternational in scope, and we have many friends and colleagues in all cornersof the world. Here in our own office we have many coworkers who havecome from faraway places, who are as horrified by what has happened as therest of us. Let us keep that in mind when the pursuit of the guilty becomesour paramount thought. One strong contribution that we can makehere to defeat the purposes of the terrorists is for us to carry out ourtasks as best we can. In that way, we will overcome their aim of completedisruption of our society. This will not be easy, but it should be our goal.

In shock and horror I followed the news of last Tuesday’s terror attack,together with many of our faculty and staff, as unspeakable events unfoldedin lower Manhattan, Washington, DC, and Pennsylvania. We share in thesuffering, the sadness, anger, and confusion of all Americans. Our thoughtsand prayers are especially with those of you who may now be confrontedwith the loss of a loved one. I pray that the burden of grief will not break yourspirit, and I trust that in a nation standing together hearts will be healed, madestrong enough to withstand, free to pursue dreams again. But any wordsseem lost like chaff in the wind in the face of a tragedy this vast. There is littleelse I can say except that my heart goes out to you.Juergen T. StockburgerUniversitaet Stuttgart, Germany

Editor’s Note: The entire country was deeply affected by the tragic events of September11, 2001, which claimed the lives of more than 6,000+ people. In the midst of suchhorror and loss, we were particularly gratified by the outpouring of support andconsolation received from our friends and colleagues in other countries. The samplingbelow represents but a small fraction of the encouraging notes received by various APSofficers and staff in the aftermath of the attacks. We reprint them here as a testamentto the universality of physics, whose community knows no national borders.

The Executive Board of The American Physical Society expressesits profound sorrow at the loss of so many innocent victims of terror-ism on September 11, and offers deep sympathy and condolences totheir family and friends. We mourn as well the deaths of members ofour own physics community. We grieve with our members and staffwho have lost loved ones, friends and colleagues.APS Executive BoardMotion Passed September 22, 2001