Centennial: Special Events

Centennial Publications

In addition to the plethora of distinguished special invited guests, including President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore (pending confirmation) and assorted Nobel Laureates in physics, the APS Centennial Meeting will feature numerous special events, many aimed at drawing the general public as well as APS members in attendance.

Nobel Laureate Luncheon/Exhibit
A special invited Nobel Laureate Luncheon (Saturday, March 20, 1999) will include over 50 Nobel laureates as well as outstanding high school teachers from across the country and students from throughout the state of Georgia. The students and teachers will have an opportunity to interact with the Nobel laureates in physics and chemistry. Of particular interest is an invitation to Vice President Gore to give an address at the luncheon. The luncheon is designed to be the preamble to the public opening of the "Nobel Discoveries Exhibit: Exploring Nature, Saving Lives, Driving Technology" immediately following the luncheon. Both of these events are expected to draw significant media attention.

The purpose of the exhibit is to engage and inspire young people, to excite them about physics and to surprise them with the ways it has impact on daily life. The Nobel exhibit is being designed to travel to science centers and science museums across the country after the Centennial Meeting. The exhibit will illustrate how Nobel discoveries have probed the fundamental mysteries of our world and, through the use of interactive components, allow visitors to see in a hands-on, contemporary way exactly how these discoveries have improved our lives.

Alumni Reunions
More than 40 physics departments from educational institutions and laboratories throughout the U.S. will be organizing alumni receptions and reunions for Tuesday evening, March 23, 1999, in conjunction with the centennial meeting.

Fernbank Museum Gala
International, U.S. and Atlanta dignitaries, including Nobel laureates and science teachers in attendance, will be special guests at a gala event and reception to be held on the evening of March 21, 1999 at the Fernbank Museum of Natural History. Expected to attract as many as 2,000 participants, the evening will also include continuous showings of the IMAX film "Cosmic Voyage," as well as a multimedia presentation celebrating the achievements of physics, and physics-related entertainers.

Physics Festival
A community-wide Physics Festival is in development for Atlanta for the week prior and the week during the Centennial Celebration and Meeting. Activities throughout the academic and public community in Atlanta will include Popular Physics Topic lectures both at the Georgia World Congress Center (GWCC) and in venues around the city. These general interest talks will focus on topics more easily accessible to students and the public, such as the Physics of Dance, Physics of the Rainbow, and Physics of Sports. A 21st Century Dialogue series will be held in larger auditoriums and theatres in Atlanta and will feature some very interesting and well-known speakers.

A number of exhibits are planned including the Nobel Discoveries Exhibit, an APS History and Journal Exhibit, A Century of Physics timeline wallchart, APS Unit Exhibits, as well as exhibits of funding agencies and an expanded commercial exhibit show at the GWCC. In addition, art and photography in science will be featured in area galleries. Several on-campus activities arranged by colleges and universities in the region such as a Conference on Communication of Science to the Public at Emory University and a symposium on "Fractals and Chaos" at Georgia Tech are scheduled. Finally, several science education outreach groups will perform physics demonstrations and programs in Centennial Park and in other locations around Atlanta.

International Banquet and Symposium
A special banquet is being organized to celebrate the international nature of physics, and to honor representatives attending the Centennial meeting. In addition, a symposium on international science will feature the following distinguished speakers and topics:

• Predhiman Kaw, Institute for Plasma Research, Gujarat, India, "International Energy Research: Sources, Consumption and Alternatives"
  
• Luciano Maiani, director general, CERN, "International Cooperation at CERN"
  
• Jan S. Nilsson, Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation, "The International Unions and Other Institutions Promoting International Scientific Collaboration"
  
• Tadahiro Sekimoto, chairman, NEC Corporation, "Telecommunications and Physics"
  
• Cylon Goncalves da Silva, director general, Brazilian Association of Synchrotron Light Source Technology, "International Cooperation in Latin America"