Volume 25, Number 3 July 1996NEWS
A total of 224 ballots were received this year, continuing a two- year decline in membership participation. The newly-elected officers are William Colglazier as Vice Chair, and J.D. Garcia and Duncan Moore as new Executive Committee members. The complete list of Forum officers for 1996-7 is as follows:
Chair, Edward Gerjuoy Chair-Elect, John Ahearne Vice-Chair, William Colglazier Past Chair, Alvin M. Saperstein Secretary/Treasurer, Michael Sobel Forum Councillor, Dietrich Schroeer Executive Committee, Gerald Epstein, Marc Sher, Laurie Fathe, Daniel M. Kammen, J.D. Garcia, Duncan Moore
After nine years of superb service, Art Hobson has stepped down as Editor of Physics and Society. Trying to full his shoes will be a staff of five: Al Saperstein Editor , Art Hobson Reviews Editor, Jeffrey Marque News Editor, Marc Sher Electronic Media Editor , Lee Sorrell Articles Editor. We hope to continue exploring, via fruitful discussions, the fractal boundary between "physics" and "society," and trust that Forum members will value, support, and contribute to these continuing endeavors--to the benefit of our profession, our society(s), and ourselves, as individuals. We urge all readers to consider writing--articles, commentary, news items, reviews--for this, your journal.
As you know, the backbone of our Forum is the newsletter, Physics and Society, which is mailed to you every quarter. We would like to offer you the option of getting an additional copy of the newsletter electronically. This is NOT a replacement of the hard copy that you now receive, but is additional--you will still receive the hard copy. In a year or so, we will be asking those who do receive an electronic version if they still wish to receive the hard copy. If the electronic version is working well, and they don't really need the hard copy, then they will have the option of giving it up. Since 80% of the Forum's budget is printing and mailing, this could result in a substantial savings. Again-- giving up the hard copy will always be an option only, those who wish to receive both the electronic and hard copy versions will be able to do so indefinitely. There are three options that we are offering, you may choose more than one. Note: those with easy Web access are strongly urged to consider option 3. 1. We will e-mail you an encoded PostScript version of the newsletter. This can be decoded and sent to a printer, or viewed on the screen. The printed document will look identical to the hard copy, and PostScript is the method used by the Los Alamos preprint archives. If this option is chosen, detailed instructions on how to decode the file will be sent. To choose this option, send a message to: majordomo@physics.wm.edu. In the body of the message type: subscribe fps_ps. 2. We will e-mail you a PDF (Adobe Acrobat) version of the newsletter. Using an Adobe reader (available free of charge-- we'll send instructions on getting it if you choose this option), you can display a precise copy of the hard copy version on your screen, print it, etc. This format is used now by the online version of Phys. Rev. Letters. To choose this option, send a message to: majordome@physics.wm.edu. In the body of the message type: subscribe fps_pdf. 3. We will email you the Table of Contents of each issue just after it is put onto the Web, and will give you the Web address. From that address, you can read the newsletter on your screen, or download either PostScript or PDF versions. The advantage of this method is that each issue will have many links to previous issues, available govt. reports, etc. and these can be reached via the Web. To choose this option, send a message to: majordome@physics.wm.edu. In the body of the message type: subscribe fps_contents Thank you. If you have any questions, send a message to: sher@cebaf.gov. Marc Sher
This fall, the members of the Forum on Physics and Society will select their Vice- chair and two members-at-large of the Executive Committee. Please send your nominations for these offices to Dietrich Schroeer at schroeer@physics.unc.edu. The Vice-chair is third in line for chair. After one year, Vice-chair moves to Chair-elect, and after one more year to Chair. There are six members-at-large of the Executive Committee. They have a 3-year terms, and two are elected each year.
The Forum Award recognizes outstanding accomplishment in promoting public understanding of issues at the interface of physics and society. It honors those who have effectively promoted and strengthened public understanding of the results and methods of science, the relation of physics to society, and important science/society issues. The Leo Szilard Award recognizes outstanding accomplishments by physicists in promoting the use of physics for the benefit of society in such areas as the environment, arms control, and science policy. It honors those who have made remarkable and constructive application of science in the public interest. Please submit your nominations for the Szilard and Forum Awards to Nina Byers at UCLA: byers@physics.ucla.edu; phone 310-825-3588.
If you wish to nominate someone from the Physics & Society Forum to be an APS Fellow, contact Bill Colglazier by phone, e-mail, or snail- mail as follows:
William Colglazier, Executive Director Office of Congressional & Government Affairs National Academy of Sciences 2101 Constitution Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20418 Phone: 202-334-3000 e-mail: bcolglaz@nas.edu
Nina Byers, a particle physicist at UCLA, is involved in a project to create a Website concerning contributions of women to physics. The project is now in an information gathering stage, and Nina wants any help that YOU can give to her. The address of the website is http://www.physics.ucla.edu/~cwp, and be sure to click on the Status Report when you visit the site. You can also access her e-mail box via the site, or phone her at 310-825-3588.
Contact John Ahearne (ahearne@sigmaxi.org; pnone 919-549-4691) with any ideas that you have for Physics and Society Forum invited paper sessions at APS meetings. The vitality of our Forum depends on our effective communication and viability within the physics community...and the 90's certainly haven't been skimpy in terms of supplying us with issues to discuss! So, expand the subject areas of invited paper offerings at APS meetings by contacting John.
armd@physics.wm.edu |