News and Announcements

The Physicists Coalition for Nuclear Threat Reduction

The current world arsenal of nuclear weapons consists of more than 9,000 warheads distributed among nine nations, with the majority held by Russia and the US. With the reduction in arms control treaties and new technological development, a new nuclear arms race is emerging. To help counter this increasing danger, the APS, through its Innovation Fund, has established the Physicists Coalition for Nuclear Threat Reduction. The aim of the Coalition is to build a national network of physicists who, as citizen-scientists, would be interested in advocating for feasible steps to reduce the nuclear danger. Advocacy is coordinated by the APS Office of Government Affairs. To engage and update physicists on the nuclear weapons danger, a team of experts in nuclear arms is presenting colloquia at physics departments in universities and other institutions to provide an overview of the issue and discuss the Coalition. To obtain information on or join the Coalition, visit the website physicistscoalition.org.

They invite applications for their Fellowship program:

The Physicists Coalition for Nuclear Threat Reduction, an initiative based at Princeton University’s Program on Science and Global Security and supported by the American Physical Society (APS), seeks to mobilize a national network of physicists interested in being informed advocates to policymakers and to the public on the nuclear weapon threat and opportunities for its reduction.

To support this effort, the Coalition invites applications for its Next-Generation Fellowship, which aims to make more diverse and strengthen participation of graduate students, postdocs and early-career physicists and engineers in advancing nuclear weapons threat reduction.

To strengthen diversity and the inclusion of many viewpoints in the nuclear weapons policy field, the Coalition encourages applicants of every gender, race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation and socioeconomic background. There will be up to four Fellows for 2020-2021.

The one-year Coalition Fellowship offers Fellows opportunities including:

1. Partnering with a senior expert to give two talks on nuclear threat reduction at university physics departments, professional meetings, or a national laboratory
2. Partnering with a senior expert on research and writing of a policy memo on a current nuclear weapons policy issue, which could be the basis for an article in the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists or similar publication
3. Training [1-2 days] in Washington DC or online in policy communication, advocacy, and scientist-community partnership building with APS and other non-governmental groups
4. Two trips [1-2 days each] to Washington DC for advocacy and outreach to Congress
5. Networking opportunities with key nuclear arms control policy and science advocacy groups
6. Participation in a 4-day Princeton Summer School on Science and Global Security

New forum-proposed APS Fellows

Shelly M. Lesher University of Wisconsin - La Crosse

For advocating on behalf of the essential role of physics insociety, and for demonstrating the importance of physics education for all students.

Alexander Glaser Princeton University

For major contributions to advancing the scientific and technical basis for nuclear arms control, nonproliferation, and disarmament verification.

Andrea Favalli Los Alamos National Laboratory

For outstanding application of the methods and underlying science of nuclear physics to the crucial issues of nuclear safeguards and security.

Andrea Palounek Los Alamos National Laboratory

For extensive work on the application of physics to national security in space, advocating on behalf of women and minority students in physics, and for unflagging efforts in launching the Four Corners Section of the American Physical Society.

Michael H. Moloney American Institute for Physics

For exceptional contributions to physics research enterprise and science policy as overseer of studies conducted by the National Academies of Science boards on Space, and Physics and Astronomy, and by the National Materials Advisory Board; and for visionary leadership as CEO of the American Institute of Physics.

Richard Wiener Research Corporation for Science Advancement

For leadership on creating Scialog, a unique and highly effective platform for networking early-career scientists and seeding high risk interdisciplinary research to make advances in fundamental science with the long-term goal of solving important global challenges.

Candidates for the Forum upcoming election:

Jennifer Dailey, Candidate for “Member at Large”

Biography

Dr. Jen Dailey is an early-career interdisciplinary scientist currently working as a national security analyst at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. She marks the APS 2011 March Meeting as the beginning of her career in physics, where she presented her undergraduate research on carbon nanotube-based biosensors. Nearly a decade later, her career has spanned physics, biomedical, and chemical laboratories, elementary school and university science classrooms, and the Senate Congressional buildings in our nation’s capital. Her early work in medical diagnostics foreshadowed a commitment to bring together diverse stakeholders to tackle real-world problems. After receiving her B.A. in physics from the University of Pennsylvania in 2012, she completed a Post-Baccalaureate Intramural Research Traineeship in immunology at the National Eye Institute at the National Institutes of Health. She received a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship to complete her Ph.D. in materials science at Johns Hopkins University, working across the campus to bring engineering solutions to public health problems. While a graduate student, she was involved in mentoring elementary and high school students, and she developed an evidence-based curriculum for non-science major undergraduate students to learn materials science through interactive lessons in “the Science of Chocolate”. After receiving her Ph.D., she served as the 2018 APS Congressional Science Policy Fellow, where she worked on health and science policy issues for Senator Ben Cardin. This experience demonstrated the enormous importance of having scientists involved throughout the policy process, even on issues not directly tied to traditional physics problems. Since completing her Congressional Fellowship, she has served on the APS Physics Policy Committee and the selection committee for future APS Congressional Fellows. She has authored or co-authored 15 publications, receiving over 450 citations to date.

Statement

As a 2018 APS Congressional Science Policy Fellow, I saw firsthand the importance of integrating strong scientific voices into governmental policy and action. Thanks to this experience, I have an even firmer belief that the Forum on Physics and Society (FPS) has an important position in contributing to continuing policy discussions on issues like nuclear weapons and climate change. In the wake of COVID-19, the FPS has the potential to help fill a gap by interfacing more broadly with the public, and especially with students who are seeking learning communities to help grow as scientists. As a Member-at-Large, I would focus on bringing opportunities for community building to those undergraduate and graduate students who are facing difficulties in learning, researching, and networking due to COVID-19. In a year full of policy upheaval, it is more important than ever to embrace opportunities that allow for a broader array of diverse voices from different backgrounds and careers levels to contribute to our ongoing discussions. I would also be interested in what kinds of public outreach we could help facilitate, for example by offering our expertise in development of curricula to augment virtual learning for middle and high school science classrooms in order to introduce important concepts like climate change. Thank you for considering me for the Member-at-Large position.

Tara Drodzenko, candidate for Member at Large.

Biography

Tara is Acting Executive Director at the Outrider Foundation where she focuses on public education and advocacy on nuclear weapons. Tara has 15 years of experience in the National Security field. Before joining Outrider she worked at the U.S. Treasury Department and oversaw more than 20 of the U.S. government's economic sanctions programs, including portions of the Iran and North Korea sanctions. Prior to working at the Treasury Department, she oversaw counterterrorism sanctions at the U.S. State Department. Also while at the State Department, Tara spent several years working on Missile Defense and Arms Control issues, including representing the U.S. at the Senior Group on Proliferation at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

Tara earned a Ph.D. in physics from the University of California at Los Angeles. An accomplished speaker and writer, Tara serves as a guest lecturer in university classrooms and as a guest on podcasts and radio. She’s has been quoted in the Seattle Times, the Houston Chronicle, the Verge, Gizmodo, and Mashable. Her op-eds have appeared in Inkstick Media, the Baltimore Sun, and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Statement of Interest

As a physicist who has spent her entire career at the intersection of science and policy, I am thoroughly convinced of the need for physicists to engage on a broad range of societal issues. In my view, the engagement is necessary not just because physicists may have some sway or add an important voice to a societal debate, but it is just as important that the physics community also be impacted as a result of the interaction. One important example of society impacting APS is the Black Lives Matter Movement and the calls in recent years to dismantle structural and institutional racism. In direct response to this societal movement, APS has launched a new forum on diversity and inclusion. As a Member-at-Large of the Forum on Physics and Society, I would encourage APS to continue to find areas of mutual impact at the interface of society and physics.

In terms of specific topics where I could bring some level of expertise to the Forum, I have spent much of my career working on national security issues. I am committed to education, advocacy, and finding solutions for the twin existential challenges of both nuclear war and climate change. Along the same vein, I believe that APS could continue to have an impact on the issue of military spending. At this crucial moment in time, faced with a global pandemic, racial injustice at home, and the potential for catastrophic climate change, the U.S. military budget is not just ill-advised, it is immoral. As Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Budgets are moral documents.” We make our priorities clear by what we spend our money on. And, the U.S. spends smore on its military than the next eight countries combined—four of whom are our Allies. Given the breadth of challenges humanity faces, it would be prudent to reallocate some U.S. defense spending and to expand the concept of security beyond mere military might. As a Member-at-Large, I would encourage the Forum to examine how nuclear weapons, climate change, and military spending intersect with our notions of security. I would also want to help the Forum examine how it might effect change as well as be changed at the intersection of physics and society. Dr. Jen Dailey is an early-career interdisciplinary scientist currently working as a national security analyst at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. She marks the APS 2011 March Meeting as the beginning of her career in physics, where she presented her undergraduate research on carbon nanotube-based biosensors. Nearly a decade later, her career has spanned physics, biomedical, and chemical laboratories, elementary school and university science classrooms, and the Senate Congressional buildings in our nation’s capital. Her early work in medical diagnostics foreshadowed a commitment to bring together diverse stakeholders to tackle real-world problems. After receiving her B.A. in physics from the University of Pennsylvania in 2012, she completed a Post-Baccalaureate Intramural Research Traineeship in immunology at the National Eye Institute at the National Institutes of Health. She received a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship to complete her Ph.D. in materials science at Johns Hopkins University, working across the campus to bring engineering solutions to public health problems. While a graduate student, she was involved in mentoring elementary and high school students, and she developed an evidence-based curriculum for non-science major undergraduate students to learn materials science through interactive lessons in “the Science of Chocolate”. After receiving her Ph.D., she served as the 2018 APS Congressional Science Policy Fellow, where she worked on health and science policy issues for Senator Ben Cardin. This experience demonstrated the enormous importance of having scientists involved throughout the policy process, even on issues not directly tied to traditional physics problems. Since completing her Congressional Fellowship, she has served on the APS Physics Policy Committee and the selection committee for future APS Congressional Fellows. She has authored or co-authored 15 publications, receiving over 450 citations to date.

Robert Semper, candidate for Member at Large

Biography

Rob Semper joined the Exploratorium in 1977. Over the years he has had a career developing exhibits and exhibitions onsite and worldwide, creating teacher education programs, producing publications, films, online media and communication programs, expanding the informal science education field and leading major initiatives including the recent relocation of the institution to Pier 15/17. Currently as Chief Science Officer, Rob provides strategy and oversight to the science and science education work of the Exploratorium and represents the Exploratorium to the broader world of science, science centers, and STEM education. As Senior Director of Educator Engagement, Rob is also responsible for developing and leading the institutional strategy for educator learning programs. Rob is the author of many journal articles and invited papers and conference talks, and he has been Principal Investigator on over 50 federally and privately funded projects that include developing new online and media resources, experiments using technology to enhance the museum visitor experience, and programs for teachers and museum educators. In 2018, Rob was selected as a member of the Federal STEM Education Advisory Panel, which meets twice a year to evaluate and offer guidance on the federal government’s strategic plan for STEM education. Awards include APS Fellow 2019; AAAS Fellow, 2006; and the NSTA 2006 Faraday Science Communicator Award. Before joining the Exploratorium, Rob taught physics and conducted solid state, elementary particle and nuclear physics research. He received his PhD in solid-state physics from the Johns Hopkins University in 1973.

Statement

Since it was founded in 1972, the Forum on Physics and Society has addressed many issues where physics and society intersect such as climate change, energy development, and nuclear arms. These discussions and debates have provided the opportunity for APS members to increase their own understanding of the state of affairs for these particular domains. Today we are faced with a situation where the role of science and even the very value of scientific thinking itself is called into question by members of our society. It is a good time for the physics community to examine the physics society interface more broadly and to discuss its position within the human enterprise as a whole. What is the role of physicists in their community and with the broad issues our society now faces? How can the value of evidence-based thinking connect with a public which seems also enamored with conspiracy theories and apparently anti science views? How does the practice of physics connect with other human experiences such as the practice of artists and humanists. These questions focus on addressing the very core of what it means to be a thinking physicist in society that may seem to be becoming more unscientific all the time.

I have spent over 40 years at the Exploratorium, an institution founded by a physicist, Frank Oppenheimer, who deeply believed in physics as a supremely humanistic endeavor. I have followed with great interest the development of FPS and its role in supporting physicists as they work beyond their academic field, something I have always found inspiring. Over this time my journey as a physicist has gone from working on public understanding of science to appreciating the two-way element of public communication about science to now trying to understand how to deal with the public’s apparent lack of appreciation of science in today’s culture. Based on this experience, I would suggest that there are a least three quite different topics (among many others I can imagine) that I think FPS might find worth exploring at the physics/society interface in the current critical context. First what is the relationship between the practice of scientists and artists, both creative professional explorers yet thought of so differently in our human society. Second, what do we know about the science of science communications and the features of the audience it tries to serve. Third, what can the role of physicists be in fostering transdisciplinary convergence research designed to meet societal needs. Each of these themes has been the focus of recent National Academy symposia and reports. But I am not sure that thinking about them has penetrated deeply into our community. A discussion in each of these areas with participation by experts inside as well as outside our field could serve to illuminate our connection with the broader community and help us understand what it means to be a physicist in our civil society today. I would like to become a Member-at-Large of the Forum of Physics and Society to foster these discussions.

Warren W. Buck, candidate for Member at Large

Biography

BS in Math, Morgan State University
MS in Experimental Plasma Physics, College of William & Mary
PhD in theoretical High Energy Nuclear Physics, College of William & Mary
Postdoc, Stony Brook
Research Scientist, Orsay
Professor of Physics Emeritus and Founding Chancellor Emeritus, University of Washington Bothell (UWB)
Adjunct Professor of Physics, University of Washington Seattle
Adjunct Professor of Physics, College of William & Mary
Special Advisor (to the President) for Equity in the 21st Century at William & Mary
Major catalyst in the creation and development of the PhD in Physics degree program at Hampton University
Major partner in the building of the Jefferson Lab
First recipient of the CEBAF User of the Year award
Founding Director of HUGS at CEBAF (Jlab)
Former Chair of the APS Committee on Education
Widely published and spoken with many visiting professorships and other honors APS Fellow and Life Member

Principal creator of a new physics BS degree program at UWB. In four years it grew from 4 graduates (in 2017) to 20 With 55 majors (jr and sr) this spring (2020). UWB chosen number 1 in this year’s CNBC category of best public university in the nation for its value.

Statement

Physicists have been and are doing a great job of producing good results in fundamental areas of physics that lead to discovery that add to our knowledge. My career has followed that traditional physics path; and I have also pursued university administration to better the options for students in all fields of study; particularly in STEM. While an administrator, it became critical that I speak and converse with the general public; be they elected officials, business executives, children, parents, or citizens of every kind. A necessary ingredient in selling the importance of building the organizations and certainly, a new campus for the University of Washington and learning how universities and businesses really work. One can imagine some of the challenges along the way that had to be negotiated; and there were challenges not foreseen that also had to be negotiated. Skills that are not taught in graduate school nor at the postdoc level. Even full professors do not have such skills. I was fortunate to learn many skills from great individuals who advised me. Today, it is a great opportunity to help advise and guide physicists in additional skills that can aid in a better understanding of just how things work. It is also an opportunity to connect the larger world community to the importance and benefits of sound scientific research and teaching; opening physicists to a broader audience that can sustain the discipline deeper and resiliently. Becoming comfortable with learning for life, not only physics, but also about how to speak and interact with all kinds of folks in all sorts of environments can be a valuable accept.

Frederick Lamb, Candidate for vice Chair

Biography

Fred Lamb is Research Professor of Physics, Brand and Monica Fortner Endowed Chair of Theoretical Astrophysics Emeritus, and core faculty member in the Program on Arms Control and Domestic & International Security (ACDIS) at the University of Illinois.

He has served on numerous National Academy and NASA astronomy and astrophysics committees, and played a leading role in the conception, design, development, and operation of NASA's highly successful Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer mission. He has been a leader in the High Energy Astrophysics Division of the American Astronomical Society and served as its chair in 1988–1989. He is currently a key member of NASA’s Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER) science team, which has made the first precise, simultaneous measurements of the mass and radius of a neutron star, and is expected to measure the masses and radii of several more.

He has also, for more than forty years, been involved in efforts to advance national and international security, carrying out research and informing students, the public, and decision makers about nuclear weapons, missile defenses, and national security issues, advocating for better programs and policies. In 1981 he initiated and co-developed an undergraduate course at Illinois titled “Nuclear Weapons, Nuclear War, and Arms Control”, which has been taught every year since and has now been taken by more than 3,000 students. During the 1980s he helped found, and later led, the Illinois Alliance to Prevent Nuclear War, which advocated measures to reduce the nuclear threat. He has been a leader in the University’s arms control program since 1982. He is a founding member of the recently formed APS-sponsored Physicists Coalition for Reducing the Nuclear Threat.

He served on the American Physical Society’s Panel on Public Affairs (POPA) in 2000-2002, and co-chaired the 2003 APS study of boost-phase missile defense. He is currently leading a new study of U.S. missile defense and national security sponsored by POPA. He has served as an expert consultant to a variety of Congressional committees and Executive Branch agencies, and has given nearly 100 lectures on nuclear weapons, missile defense, space policy, and the North Korean and Iranian nuclear and missile programs at national and international symposia, universities, and institutes.

He was elected to membership in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2005 and shared the 2005 Leo Szilard Award of the American Physical Society.

Fred received his bachelor's degree in physics from the California Institute of Technology in 1967 and his D.Phil. in theoretical physics from Oxford University in 1970. He joined the University of Illinois in 1972, becoming professor of physics in 1978 and also professor of astronomy in 1980.

Statement

The physics community, and the membership of the APS Forum on Physics and Society, face major challenges at the present moment. These include the response of the United States to the COVID-19 pandemic, the growing climate emergency, the increasing likelihood of a dangerous new spiral of the nuclear arms race, the need for renewable energy sources, the vital importance of increasing diversity, equity, and inclusion in science and our society generally, and a growing disregard of facts and the understanding provided by science. By virtue of their interests and focus, the Forum and its members are in a special position to play major, constructive roles in helping our nation meet these challenges. As a leader of the Forum, I will seek to increase understanding of these issues by members of the APS and the society at large, and to address these challenges through the activities and actions of the Forum, including the Forum-sponsored talks at APS meetings, articles in the Forum’s journal, and by working hard to include more young physicists, women, and other often under-represented physicists, both in the Forum sessions at APS meetings and in the other activities of the Forum. We live in an exciting time, a time when the Forum and its membership can have a crucial positive impact. I look forward to helping make this happen.

James Dickerson, Candidate for Vice Chair

Chief Scientists at Consumer Reports

Bio and Statement not available at this time

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These contributions have not been peer-refereed. They represent solely the view(s) of the author(s) and not necessarily the view of APS.