Annual Report 1998

Ruth Howes, Chairman

Introduction

The American Physical Society's Panel on Public Affairs (POPA) recommends to the Executive Board and Council actions that use physics to support the making of sound public policy. POPA also considers policy issues that might impact the physics community.

POPA may initiate actions suggested by its members or other members of the APS, or it may act on issues referred to it by the Executive Board or Council. On some issues, POPA takes no action but watches developments closely so that the APS will be in a position to act if there is need. POPA works closely with the Washington Office.

Statements

POPA has proposed statements in three areas which are quoted below.

1. Advancement of Women in Science

Proposed resolution: APS Executive Board Resolution on the Advancement of Women in Science, Engineering, and Technology.

Professional organizations, universities, private industry and government research laboratories have made modest progress in attracting women to careers in science and engineering. Yet, the numbers remain disturbingly low. In physics, for example, women account for only 6.5 percent of the labor force and only 13 percent of new Ph.D.s.

For a number of years, the American Physical Society has championed programs that encourage more women to enter the science and engineering fields. In accordance with past policies, the Executive Board of the American Physical Society endorses the establishment of a Commission on the Advancement of Women in Science, Engineering and Technology proposed in the bill H.R. 3007, which will seek to identify barriers that might deter women from entering these fields.

Outcome: The statement was endorsed by the Executive Board in June, 1998. H.R. 3007 passed both the House and the Senate and was signed into law on October 14, 1998.

2. What is Science?

Proposed Statement: What is Science?
Science extends and enriches our lives, expands our imagination and liberates us from the bonds of ignorance and superstition. The American Physical Society wishes to affirm the precepts of modern science that are responsible for its success.

Science is the systematic enterprise of gathering knowledge about the world and organizing and condensing that knowledge into testable laws and theories.

The success and credibility of science is anchored in the willingness of scientists to:

1. Expose their ideas and results to independent testing and replication by other scientists. This requires the complete and open exchange of data, procedures and materials.
   
   
2. Abandon or modify accepted conclusions when confronted with more complete or reliable experimental evidence or a more compelling interpretation.

Adherence to these principles provides a mechanism for self-correction that is the foundation of the credibility of science.

Outcome: The statement was passed by the Executive Board on September 26, 1998 with the understanding that POPA would ask other scientific societies for comment before bringing the statement to Council for approval. Michael Lubell will bring the issue to a group of societies that has been active on budget issues, and the POPA Common Ground Subcommittee will take charge of more informal distribution of the statement to our sister societies.

3. Ballistic Missile Defense

Proposed Statement: The Council of the American Physical Society recommends a thorough investigation of the impact that countermeasures would have on the effectiveness of a national ballistic missile defense.

It would be premature for Congress to pass legislation requiring deployment of a national missile defense system or for the Administration to make a deployment decision before a study is carried out and the effectiveness of the system has been fully verified in flight tests against targets employing basic countermeasures.

Outcome: The statement was rejected by the Executive Board on September 26, 1998.

Presidential Letters and Statements

POPA helped to prepare letters for the signature of the President of the APS on the following topics:

• A letter to Dr. John Gibbons, Assistant to the President for Science and Technology on the acquisition of HEU by Institute Laue-Langevin
  
  
• A statement responding to the TIMSS results in physics
  
  
• A letter to Director of OMB Franklin Raines concerning GPRA
  
  
• A letter to various Indian and Pakistani physicists seeking to open channels of communication to improve scientific exchanges and to help defuse a potential arms race
  
  
• A letter to various members of Congress on the proposed intellectual property legislation which increased protection for databases (The bill passed without the database provisions of concern to the APS.)
  
  
• A letter to Representative Vern Ehlers expressing appreciation of his report, "Unlocking Our Future"

White Papers

The White Paper on Science, Technology and Economic Growth has been posted on the POPA home page.

POPA has accepted the report of the Ad Hoc Committee on Patriot Performance which will be published in Science and Global Security and authorized a link to the publication from its homepage.

Other Issues

A POPA subcommittee has been working on increasing the number of scientists with input into policy at the State Department. An exchange of letters has resulted along with some indication that the State Department is interested in moving in this direction. POPA has been following the activities of a group from the NAS and the AAAS interested in this issue.

POPA heard a report on Senator Domenici's interest in the future of nuclear fission for electric power generation and has formed a subcommittee to consider possible actions on this issue.

A subcommittee of POPA has proposed a joint activity by the APS, the AGU and the ACS on anthrogenic effects on global climate which is still in a formative stage.

A group of POPA members submitted responses to Representative Ehlers in response to his request to input on his report on science policy.

POPA continues to follow the implementation of the Government Performance and Results Act. Discussions were held with staff at OMB during which the staff and the APS representatives agreed that agencies supporting fundamental research should be viewed as brokers investing taxpayers money for the future with the expectation that some investments would have a high rate of return, some would represent a loss and most would provide a solid increase in the value of a portfolio. The APS representatives emphasized the importance of adequate risk-taking in science and of the training of future scientists to be able to recognize the value of basic science in developing marketable products.

POPA continues to follow discussions of the future of the National Labs with particular emphasis on the facilities which they provide to the scientific community at large.