Outreach and Community Service II

Advance and Diffuse the Knowledge of Physics

100 Years of the American Physical Society

Ramon Lopez, past APS director of education and outreach, with children. APS president, D. Allan Bromley, presenting the Unified Statement to US Senators, 1997. Inset - The Congressional Fellowship Program enables physicists to intern on Capitol Hill. George Soros (center) with Irving Lerch, APS director of international affairs, and Ernest Henley, 1992 APS president.

K-12 Education

The APS has led the way in improving K-12 science education. The Teacher Scientist Alliance Institute is a national program that brings scientist volunteers into school systems to develop hands-on, inquiry-based curricula. High School Teachers' Days are a feature of many APS meetings.

The Campaign for Physics recently raised $5 million dollars in support of educational programs.

Public Information

With the formation of the Panel on Public Affairs in 1975, APS had a vehicle to offer the physicists' view on matters of public concern, such as the viability of the Strategic Defense Initiative.

Activity was notched up significantly with the establishment of a Washington, DC, office in 1984. What's New, op-eds, and a mass-media fellowship program for physicists who want to become reporters are some of the ways that APS works to improve public awareness of the value of science.

Government Relations

Today APS has an active presence on Capitol Hill-in marked contrast to the Society's early disdain for politics. Lobbying for science is now valued.

In 1997, APS played a central role in forming a coalition of more than a hundred societies who issued a Unified Statement of Research. This led to legislation that calls for doubling the funding for scientific, medical, and engineering research.

International Relations

APS has continued to have an international outlook, helping and collaborating with scientists throughout the world.

Shortly after Nixon's visit to China, APS initiated a successful China Program, which trained postdocs in the US in the mid-1980s.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, APS helped hundreds of Soviet scientists continue their research. Funded by donations from international financier, George Soros and others, the program led to the creation of the International Science Foundation.