Barry C. Barish
California Institute of Technology
Vice President
Biographical Summary
Dr. Barish earned his BA in 1957 and Ph.D.in 1963 in physics from the University of California, Berkeley. He came to Caltech in 1963 as part of a new experimental effort in particle physics using frontier particle accelerators at the national laboratories. Among Dr.Barish's noteworthy experiments were those performed at Fermilab using high-energy neutrino collisions to reveal the quark substructure of the nucleon. These experiments were among the first to observe the weak neutral current, a linchpin of the electroweak unification theories of Glashow, Salam, and Weinberg.
In the 1980s, Barish initiated an ambitious international effort to build a sophisticated underground detector (MACRO) in Italy in the promising and emerging field of particle astrophysics. Results from MACRO provided the best limits on the density of Grand Unified magnetic monopoles in the universe, ruling it out as a major contributor to the dark matter. The experiment also provided key evidence for atmospheric neutrino oscillations, helping to establish that neutrinos have mass.
Barish became Principal Investigator of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) project in 1994 and served as Director of the LIGO Laboratory from 1997 to 2005. LIGO has recently completed a one year long data run at design sensitivity and is presently in the midst of analyzing that data for gravitational wave signals. The experiment has already set the best limits on most candidate sources at levels that are becoming astrophysically interesting. The interferometry technique works very well and a major upgrade is now underway to improve the sensitivity by more than an order of magnitude.
Barry C. Barish is presently the Director of the Global Design Effort for the International Linear Collider (ILC) and Linde Professor of Physics, Emeritus at the California Institute of Technology. The ILC is the highest priority future project for particle physics worldwide, as it promises to complement the Large Hadron Collider at CERN in exploring the TeV energy scale. This ambitious effort is being uniquely coordinated worldwide, representing a major step in international collaborations going from conception to design to implementation for large scale projects in physics.
In October 2002, Dr. Barish was nominated to the National Science Board; the 24-member board that oversees the National Science Foundation (NSF) and advises the President and the Congress on policy issues related to science, engineering, and education. He is a fellow of the American Physical Society and has received the Klopsteg Award from the American Association of Physics Teachers. Barish is an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the National Academy of Sciences. He has received honorary doctorates from the University of Bologna and the University of Florida.
Candidate's Statement
I joined the American Physical Society as a student in Berkeley, giving me my first introduction to the broader community of physicists and to the national organization that represents our field. I delivered my first ever papers at APS meetings and have always considered the APS to be the central organizational structure for my profession, as well as for me personally. As a result, through the years I have gladly served on various APS committees, including the Publications Oversight Committee, the Panel on Pubic Affairs and the APS Council. Nevertheless, I readily admit that I have gotten much more from the APS than I have given back to it. The myriad of ways that the APS provides for practicing physicists may sometimes be taken for granted. However, with just a little reflection, it is clear how much it takes care of our professional needs (journals, meetings, etc), as well as represents our profession in government and to the public.
What are the issues that I feel face the APS and how could I contribute if elected? Clearly, a very central issue is the erosion of support for physics research. We all understand the importance of a great country being at the forefront of basic science and the various ways our work impacts society. Many of us have been actively working over the past few years, epitomized by the “Gathering Storm” report, to make the case for increasing support for the physical sciences in the U.S. Just when we thought we had won that battle, we have suffered a major set back in the FY08 Omnibus Bill. As a result, we must redouble our efforts, in order to get us back on track to be able to push the frontiers of our science, develop new technologies, pursue international cooperation and train the next generation of scientists.
I have a special interest in international collaboration in physics, having been involved in large scale collaborative work for many years. Such collaborations are good for science and have proven to be a powerful way to bring nations together on a working level. During the Soviet era, some such contacts helped penetrate the barriers between our nations, and today, we are similarly enabling third world scientists to participate in leading science through open publications, scientific exchanges, free access to large facilities, etc. Physics is leading the way in forging internationalization and large scale international projects are becoming more and more common. It is crucial that we take into account cultural and political differences in establishing such collaborations and that we learn how we can make commitments that are firm and meaningful.
Finally, our field is not just limited by financial and technical resources, but also be our ability to broadly attract the best and brightest into physics. It is obvious that to truly accomplish that goal, we must do much better at attracting women and minorities into physics careers. In my opinion, increasing their participation in our field must be one of our highest priorities. In order to make physics a profession that is truly possible and attractive for all talented individuals, we must take concerted pro-active measures on many levels. I believe the APS can help lead the way.
