“Any serious discussion of the changing climate must begin by acknowledging not only the scientific certainties but also the uncertainties, especially in projecting the future. Recognizing those limits, rather than ignoring them, will lead to a more sober and ultimately more productive discussion of climate change and climate policies. To do otherwise is a great disservice to climate science itself.”
Steven Koonin, New York University, The Wall Street Journal, September 19, 2014.

“[T]hey made the creative decision that they wanted to have the science right.”
David Saltzberg, University of California, Los Angeles, on his work as the science consultant on the TV show “The Big Bang Theory,” The Washington Post, September 22, 2014.

“[N]othing is intrinsically wrong with applying scientific language metaphorically to human experience. Metaphors are valuable when our experiences are enigmatic or difficult to capture, when existing words don’t fit the situation at hand. Even the incorrect use of technical terms can meaningfully express what we intuit but cannot otherwise say.”
Alfred Goldhaber, Stony Brook University, on using science metaphors in common conversation, The New York Times, September 28, 2014.

“Unbelievable.”
Isamu Akasaki, Meijo University, on learning that he was one of the Nobel Prize winners for inventing the blue LED, The New York Times, October 7, 2014.

“We’re always tugging and pulling.… Nobody is smart enough to know all this.”
Nick Holonyak Jr., University of Illinois, on the decision of the Nobel Committee for Physics to honor researchers for the creation of blue LEDs, but not the researchers who created the first red and green LEDs that laid the groundwork, The New York Times, October 7, 2014.

“We use these individual molecules as tiny light sources now, on structures inside cells.… They’re like little beacons, or flashlights. And we use the light from those molecules to tell us where the structure is, in precise detail.”
William Moerner, Stanford University, on his work that won this year’s Chemistry Nobel Prize, Los Angeles Times, October 8, 2014.

“Sure, there is always competition…and we hope to be there first, using the 30-meter telescope before any others.”
Ed Stone, Caltech, on building the Thirty Meter Telescope, Los Angeles Times, October 7, 2014.

“We’re like the mainstream enough to benefit from their superior physics, but we’re different enough to address the economic issues facing fusion in general.… Not too alternative, not too mainstream. Maybe it’s just right.”
Derek Sutherland, University of Washington, on securing funding for new fusion research, NBCNews.com, October 10, 2014.

“What we noticed was that when the snake’s ascending effectively...the material behind it was in a nice solid state. And when we applied the changes to the robot, we found a similar feature of the interaction, such that the material didn’t flow much.”
Daniel Goldman, Georgia Institute of Technology, on designing a robot based on how snakes move, BBCNews.com, October 10, 2014.

“We have a worst-case scenario, and you don’t even want to know.… We could have widespread epidemics in other countries, maybe the Far East. That would be like a bad science fiction movie.”
Alessandro Vespignani, Northeastern University, on his computer modeling of the spread of Ebola, Bloomberg News, October 16, 2014.

“I, as a matter of principle, do not take pledges because it drives so much of the gridlock.”
Bill Foster, U.S. House of Representatives, running for reelection in Illinois, The Chicago Tribune, October 18, 2014.

©1995 - 2024, AMERICAN PHYSICAL SOCIETY
APS encourages the redistribution of the materials included in this newspaper provided that attribution to the source is noted and the materials are not truncated or changed.

Editor: David Voss
Staff Science Writer: Michael Lucibella
Art Director and Special Publications Manager: Kerry G. Johnson
Publication Designer and Production: Nancy Bennett-Karasik

November 2014 (Volume 23, Number 10)

APS News Home

Issue Table of Contents

APS News Archives

Contact APS News Editor


Articles in this Issue
Fusion Research Runs into Turbulence
2014 Nobel Prizes for Advances in LEDs and Microscopy
Retrial Granted to Jailed Iranian Physicist
APS to Study Sexual and Gender Diversity Issues in Physics
APS Celebrates New and Current Fellows in the Boston Area
Letters to the Editor
The Back Page
Profiles In Versatility
Members in the Media
This Month in Physics History
Diversity Corner
Inside the Beltway