Home | Publications | APS News | December 2012 (Volume 21, Number 11)

December 2012 (Volume 21, Number 11)

December 2012 (Volume 21, Number 11)Entire Issue

News

March Meeting Heads for Crab Country
This year’s March Meeting will be held at the Baltimore Convention Center from March 18 through the 22

New APS Award to Recognize Advanced Lab Instruction
The new Jonathan F. Reichert and Barbara Wolff-Reichert award will honor the work of people who teach advanced undergraduate physics labs

Student Petition Pleads for Rational Congressional Action
Thousands of students have called on Congress to put aside partisan fighting to save science from the fiscal cliff

Communication Breakdown Played Role in Scientists’ Convictions
The conviction of six geologists in Italy for manslaughter following the devastating 2009 earthquake sent tremors throughout the scientific community

APS Partners with New System to Create Unique Identifiers
APS is helping to launch a new system to uniquely identify authors and contributors to its journals

Double Whammy Doesn’t Derail APS Plasma Physics Meeting
Despite Hurricane Sandy and federal travel restrictions, the 54th annual Plasma Physics meeting was held successfully

Foster Victory Adds 2nd Physicist to Congress
Bill Foster (D-IL) will return to the Senate in January, doubling the number of physicists in the halls of Congress

New APS Online Store Sells Items with a Physics Theme
APS’s new online store lets physics fans purchase fun physics toys, posters and apparel

Matching Funds Bring Bouchet Endowment Campaign Closer to the Finish Line
APS’s fundraising efforts to fully endow the Edward A. Bouchet award are nearing their goal

Four Departments Gain Distinction in Improving Physics Education
Four departments from across the country received APS’s award for improving physics education.

Opinion

Letters to the Editor
Famous Experiment Can be Misinterpreted • Treat Science More Like Carpentry and Less Like Magic

The Back Page
Inquiry Science rocks: Or does it?

Departments

Members in the Media
As quoted in other publications...

This Month in Physics History
December 18, 1926: Gilbert Lewis coins “photon” in letter to Nature

Washington Dispatch
A bimonthly update from the APS Office of Public Affairs

Zero Gravity: The Lighter Side of Science
The Academia Rat Race

International News
Russian-American Scientist Association

Focus on APS Sections
California Section Has Strong Focus on Students

Apker Awards Go To Dovzhenko, Yoder

new apker photo

This year's Apker Award recipients, pictured at left, are: Yuliya Dovzhenko of Princeton University, and Theodore J. Yoder of Franklin and Marshall College.
Larger Image and More Information

Having Fun With Physics

Physics Fun sm Photo by Ken Cole/APS

This fall in Orlando, the Society of Physics Students held its quadrennial "PhysCon" congress, bringing together undergraduates from all over the country.
Larger Image and More Information

Early-Career Task Force Gets Underway

Early Career Task Force sm Photo by Halleh B. Balch

There are several task forces currently working to implement the APS Strategic Plan. Among them is the Task Force on Early-Career Physicists, which held its first meeting on October 15 at APS headquarters in College Park, Maryland.
Larger Image and More Information

Plaque Recognizes U. of Minnesota
Photo by Alex Schumann

On October 29, as part of the APS Historic Sites Initiative, APS President-elect Michael Turner presented a plaque honoring the Tate Laboratory at the University of Minnesota.
Larger Image and More Information

Having Their Cake...
Having their cake... sm
Photo by Michael Lucibella/APS

Andrew Seacord enjoy a bite of cake at the 15th anniversary celebration of the APS Mid-Atlantic Senior Physicists Group.
Larger Image and More Information