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June 1995 (Volume 4, Number 6)

News

STM Advances, Data Storage Mark 1995 March Meeting
More than 5200 physicists converged on the San Jose Convention Center in California the Society's annual March Meeting. Technical highlights included sessions on the latest advances in STM technology, the future of data storage, and electric battery-powered vehicles.

New Technologies, Materials Pave Way for Electric Vehicles
An efficient, commercially viable model for an electric, battery-powered vehicle may soon be a reality, and physics is playing an important role in its development.

Better Probes of Molecular Structure Now Possible with MRFMs and Micro-STMs
Researchers at IBM's Almaden Research Center have developed a new technique for three-dimensional imaging of atoms and molecules, which can see below the surface of materials and distinguish between different types of atoms, and may eventually enable scientists to see a single electron or nucleus.

Researchers Explore Alternatives for Future Data Storage
Continued progress in the density of data stored on magnetic hard disks depends upon improved recording media, and scientists continue to explore possible alternate methods, such as holographic systems.

Corporate Leaders Explore Role of Physicists in Industry
Major changes have occurred in the industrial research environment over the past decade, and the new career opportunities for physicists now require different skills and knowledge.

Trio Takes Aim Against Spread of Pseudo-Science
Magician and self-proclaimed "investigator of unusual claims" James Randi kicked off a Wednesday afternoon session that took a pseudo-serious look at so-called "alternative science", along with Hal Lewis and Robert Park, who pens the weekly electronic newsletter "What's New".

Human Testing Begins on CHAOS-Control Technique
Physicists and other researchers are developing ways to describe human heartbeats mathematically, with the ultimate goal of intelligently altering heart rhythms electrically to treat cardiac disorders.

New Modeling Technique Simulates Full Range of Molecular Detail
Researchers from Los Alamos National Laboratory and Stanford University have developed a promising new approach for computer modeling of the structure and behavior of molecules using standard workstations.

University of Michigan Experiment Explores Avalanche Behavior in Vortices
Physicists at the University of Michigan have produced direct, experimental evidence showing that magnetic field lines called vortices that pass through a superconductor form avalanches similar to grains of sand in a collapsing sandpile.

Job Market Grows Bleaker
Unemployment among young Ph.D. physicists has hit its highest point ever and the situation isn't likely to improve in the next three years, according to Roman Czujko, director of the Education and Employment Statistics Division of the American Institute of Physics.

Rahman Prize To Be Awarded
Two physicists will receive the 1995 Annesur Rahman Prize during Physics Computing '95, the annual meeting of the APS Division of Computational Physics

APS To Discontinue BITNET Service
As of June 30, 1995, the APS will no longer be part of the BITNET network.

Opinion

APS Views
APS Membership Manager Mary Pat Paris describes the fledgling "Member-Get-A-Member" campaign.

Letters
April Factoid Contained Negative Message for Non-U.S. Physicists -- Why Not a Free Enterprise Mechanism To Support Research? -- Graduate "Birth Control" Alone Won't Solve the Job Problem

The Back Page
Mass Destruction Terrorism No Longer Just Theoretical

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Editor: Barrett H. Ripin