In Brief

New House Science Committee Ranking Minority Member
Rep. Ralph Hall (D-Texas) has been named by the House Democratic Caucus to replace the late George Brown as Ranking Minority Member on the House Science Committee. Brown died in July from complications following heart surgery this past spring. "It is an honor to follow [Brown] as Ranking Democrat on the Science Committee," Hall said of his appointment, "and I look forward to continuing the good work that he has done to promote scientific research and discovery for the benefit of all Americans." Hall has served on the Science Committee for all of his 10 terms in the House, and chaired the Science Committee's Space Subcommittee during the 102nd and 103rd sessions of Congress. He has been a strong supporter of the International Space Station and has commented that "the space station is what has kept me in Congress," according to Congressional Quarterly. [Item courtesy of Audrey Leath, AIP Public Information.]

New Web Service for Science Writers
The American Institute of Physics (AIP) and its member societies have established a Website where the full texts of prominent articles from physics journals can be obtained. The service, entitled Physics News Select Articles, is free of charge and intended as a resource for science writers, and will be accessible only with a password. According to Philip Schewe of AIP's Public Information Division, many of the posted articles will be related to items appearing in Physics News Update, AIP's weekly summary of interesting physics-based research, and APS Physical Review Focus, the new online publication. Articles will be culled from prominent journals such as Physical Review Letters and Applied Physics Letters.

Anthony Johnson Elected VP of the Optical Society
Anthony M. Johnson, an APS Fellow and distinguished professor of physics at the New Jersey Institute of Technology, has been elected vice president of the Optical Society of America (OSA), it was announced in September. He will assume office in January 2000 and become OSA president in 2002. A native of Brooklyn, New York, Johnson received his PhD in physics from the City College of New York in 1981, conducting his thesis research at AT&T Bell Laboratories. He spent the next 14 years at Bell Labs, leaving in 1995 to join the faculty of NJIT. Johnson's APS involvement includes service on the APS Council and Executive Board, the Laser Science Topical Group, the Committee on Fellowship, and the Committee on Minorities in Physics. In 1996 he was awarded the APS Edward A. Bouchet Award, intended to recognize outstanding physics contributions by a minority physicist.