In Brief

Neal Lane Becomes New OSTP Director

Neal Lane, former Director of the National Science Foundation and Fellow of the APS, was named by President Clinton to be the new Science Advisor to the President and Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy. John Gibbons, also a Fellow of the APS, retired from this post in April.

Rita Colwell Confirmed as New NSF Director

The Senate confirmed Rita Colwell as director of the National Science Foundation. Colwell, who was most recently a Professor at the University of Maryland, has a Ph.D. in marine microbiology from the University of Washington.

Physics Today Celebrated its Golden Anniversary

Physics Today magazine celebrated its 50th anniversary in May with a special issue including winning entries from a contest which asked for a news report of an imagined research breakthrough of the future. The issue also included articles on the magazine's early beginnings, as well as selected short summaries of highlights of each decade.

Online Resource for Physical Sciences Established

The American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) has established an online Physical Sciences Resource Center (PSRC), an easy-to-use and innovative Web site providing resources and links for the entire spectrum of physical sciences. "We want the PSRC to be the first place physics educators look for teaching ideas," said AAPT Executive Officer Bernard Khoury. Educators can use the site for information and reviews of curriculum materials for all grade levels, ideas for demonstrations, examples of evaluation instruments, and articles and links about the latest approaches to science education. Topics range from acoustics to statistics and thermodynamics, to computers and technology. In addition to a searchable database of scientists who have volunteered to serve as resources for specific educational levels, the site also has a career center with links to career bulletin boards, job search engines, and internship and research opportunities.