FIAP Is Now Largest Forum; Elects First Slate of Officers

The fledgling APS Forum in Industrial and Applied Physics (FIAP) is up and running. Over 4,500 APS members have joined thus far, making it the largest forum and the second largest APS unit after the Division of Condensed Matter Physics. According to Xerox's Charles Duke, who chairs the APS Committee on Applications of Physics (CAP) that orchestrated the forum's startup, "FIAP must satisfy its customers: the members." Duke sees the forum as a vehicle for industrial and applied physicists to communicate with each other as well as with the APS membership at large.

"The response of the membership to this new forum has been overwhelming both in the numbers joining and in the large numbers expressing an interest in volunteering to help," said Barrie Ripin, APS FIAP Liaison Officer. "Obviously FIAP is filling a much needed outlet for the large fraction (about half) of APS members involved in applied and industrial physics."

The FIAP membership just elected its first slate of officers. Abbas Ourmazd of AT&T Bell Laboratories was elected Chair. Ourmazd played a pivotal role in the creation of the forum during his tenure as chair of CAP. Leonard Brillson of Xerox Webster Research Center, was elected Chair-elect. L. Craig Davis of the Ford Motor Company was elected Vice-chair. Harry Atwater, CalTech, is the new Secretary-Treasurer, and Matthew Richter of Hypervision is the FIAP representative on the APS Council. In addition, newly elected Members-at-large of the FIAP Executive Committee are Ray Baughman, Allied Signal; Margaret Weiler, Loral Infrared and Imaging Systems; Andrew Sessler, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory; David Fraser, Intel; Donald Sandstrom, Boeing; and Neville Connell, Xerox Palo Alto Research Center.

A number of forum-related activities are already well underway. FIAP's annual meeting will be held during the March Meeting. Several symposia are planned for that meeting, as well as the upcoming Joint APS/AAPT Spring Meeting in May. The second FIAP newsletter is about to appear. An Industrial Speakers List was compiled in collaboration with CAP and APS staff members, and the forum's fellowship committee is currently seeking nominations. FIAP is also concerned with the employment of physicists in industry and other industrial-academic issues.

More information about FIAP can be obtained on its WWW Home Page which can be accessed through the APS Home Page. Members interested in joining FIAP can do so by sending a message to: membership@aps.org.