Group Seeks to Spur Publications by Retired Physicists

Do retired physicists possess an untapped reserve of valuable knowledge that ought to be published? James Goff and Richard Strombotne of the Mid-Atlantic Senior Physicists Group (MASPG) think so, and they want to do something about it.

Under the headline "Unpublished Knowledge is Like a Library Burnt", Goff and Strombotne recently sent a questionnaire to MASPG members seeking to gauge their interest in preparing papers for electronic publication.

To help the effort along, beginning on July 1, the APS has established a reduced subscription rate of $100 for senior members, which allows them to select one current APS journal on-line and also gives them access to PROLA, the Physical Review On-line Archive that contains all APS research publications from 3 years ago back to their inception.

MASPG will offer its members guidance in using the APS electronic publication resources.

MASPG has about 130 members in and around the Washington, DC area. It holds monthly meetings at APS headquarters in College Park, MD, and organizes lectures and excursions for its members.

APS helped launch the group in 1997, and would be willing to give some assistance to similar efforts in other parts of the country if there is sufficient interest, according to APS Director of Membership Trish Lettieri.

For more information on MASPG or starting a similar group in your area, contact Trish Lettieri at lettieri@aps.org or 301-209-3272.