APS News

July 1996 (Volume 5, Number 7)

News

Highlights from Indianapolis: Trapped Francium, Energy Alternatives, Age of the Universe, Gender Gap
Approximately 1400 physicists assembled in Indianapolis, Indiana 2-5 May for the 1996 Joint Spring Meeting of the APS and AAPT.
 
Scientists Trap Rarest Element - Francium
Researchers at SUNY-Stony Brook have successfully trapped the world's rarest naturally occuring element, setting the stage for high-precision tabletop measurements on how the weak nuclear force manifests itself at the atomic level.
 
APS E-print Server Running
The APS is developing a World Wide Web-based system for members and other physicists to post preprints and to browse those already publicly available.
 
Technological Advances May Revolutionize Medical Imaging
New advances in medical imaging technologies could significantly revolutionize existing clinical practices by enabling non-invasive and low-radiation alternatives for diagnostic purposes.
 
Two New APS Topical Groups
At its May meeting, the APS Council and Executive Board approved the establishment of two new topical groups.
 
Fighting the Gender Gap:Standardized Tests Are Poor Indicators of Ability in Physics
Women and under-represented minorities typically score significantly lower than men on the standardized tests designed to predict performance in undergraduate and graduate physics and math courses.
 
Over 100 New Isotopes Discovered with Novel Fission Method
Scientists have produced over 100 new neutron-rich isotopes for elemebets between vanadium and rubidium at the GSI Laboratory in Darmstadt, Germany.
 
Particle Beam Processing Industrial Applications
There is burgeoning interest in the development of particle beam processing techniques for commercial applications, including electron beam processing and curing, UV FEL processing, and crystallography.
 
APS Council Approves Three Statements on Energy Issues
The APS Council approved three statements on energy-related issues at its meeting in May.
 
Science Policy, Black Holes and BEC Featured at Plenary Session
APS Past President C. Kumar N. Patel delivered his retiring presidential address during a special plenary session, followed by lectures by Lilienfeld Prizewinner Kip Throne and Carl Wieman, on black holes and Bose-Einstein condensation, respectively.
 
New Cluster Data Puts Universe at 13 Billion Years
New measurements of globular star clusters support age estimates of at least 13 billion years.
 
Stockpile Stewardship, Non-Proliferation Policies Pose Challenges to Nuclear Weapons Labs
Nuclear weapons scientists in the U.S. face a unique technical challenge in supporting national policy objectives.
 
Energy Alternatives Vital To Meet Future Demands
The world population will have to increasingly rely on all forms of energy to meet future energy demands.
 
Multimedia Review
AIP's Ben Stein reviews the CD-ROM versions of Stephen Hawkings' A Brief History of Time and Larry Gonick's Cartoon Guide to Physics.
 
General Election Preview: Members To Choose New Leadership for 1997
APS members will electi a vice-president, chair-elect of the Nominating Committee and four general councillors during the 1996 General Election.
 
In Brief
The APS Lars Onsager Prize will now be awarded annually; physicist and human rights activist Liu Gang fled the People's Republic of China and arrived in the U.S. on May 1st, 1996; and the APS New England and New York State sections held their annual spring meetings in April.
 
Now Appearing in RMP....
Brief summaries of the contents of the July 1996 issue.

Opinion

Letters
Foreign Students Do Impact Job Market
 
APS Views
Katharine B. Gebbie, chair of the APS Committee on the Status of Women in physics, explains why the Society should encourage women to enter the field.
 
The Back Page
Globalization of Technology Poses Challenges for Policymakers
 
Cartoon
Einstein's Seventh Grade Teacher

Departments

Historical Factoid
Wilhelm C. Roentgen

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Editor: Barrett H. Ripin