Panel on Public Affairs Reports
Commissioned by the APS Panel on Public Affairs (POPA), these reports present technical assessments of areas of interest, such as climate, energy, national security, and more, to the physics community and policy decision makers. POPA reports succinctly review and assess policy issues to provide advice and actionable recommendations to Congress and federal government agencies. External experts on each report's topic provide peer review, and an editor approved by the POPA steering committee manages the review process. All POPA reports are approved by the APS Council.
To learn more about the process for generating POPA reports, please contact the Government Affairs team.
POPA reports
This report considers a number of missile defense systems that have already been deployed, are currently being considered, or have been proposed to defend against nuclear-armed ICBMs.
This APS report on emphasizes that although atmospheric carbon dioxide removal technologies hold promise, they come at a cost.
This report describes how, for methane emission regulation to be most effective, it should specifically target the small portion of leaks that are major emitters.
This report focuses on the competing goals of reducing nuclear proliferation risk while maintaining intense controlled sources of neutrons for vital scientific and industrial work.
This report discusses the ways in which the United States faces persistent shortages of appropriately trained middle and high school STEM teachers in high-needs fields, particularly physics, chemistry, and computer science.
This report lays out the issues facing researchers who use liquid helium and the negative impact on U.S. innovation. There is no replacement for liquid helium, and its essential role in the US scientific enterprise has been documented in multiple reports and statements by many esteemed scientific organizations.
This assessment is to inform the scientific community on the technical aspects of removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. This assessment does not make specific policy recommendations.
This report discusses the ways in which, to meet our energy needs and reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, novel energy systems must be scaled from laboratory, to demonstration, to widespread deployment.
Science and technology will play a critical role in advancing the US plan to balance deterrence with downsizing the U.S. nuclear arsenal.
This report exclusively examines options for limiting proliferation risks.
Additional POPA publications
POPA has overseen a number of technical assessments and white papers on topics of relevance to the physics community. Unlike POPA reports, these products do not require approval by the APS Council.
They are available upon request. If interested, please contact the Government Affairs team.
Highlighted past POPA publications
The primary purpose of this report is to provide the Congress, U.S. government agencies and other institutions involved in nuclear forensics with a clear unclassified statement of the state of the art of nuclear forensics.
This report outlines how developing renewable resources presents a new set of technological challenges not previously faced by the grid.
To explore the challenges associated with reductions of non-strategic nuclear weapons, the Center for Strategic and International Studies and APS proposed a discussion of policy and technology options in the context of a hypothetical agreement between the U.S. and Russia.
Representatives from APS's Panel on Public Affairs and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Nuclear and Plasma Sciences Society performed a technical review of the DNDO Transformational and Applied Research Directorate research and development program.
This 2013 American Physical Society Panel on Public Affairs study discusses renewing licenses for operation of U.S. nuclear power plants beyond their current regulatory limit of 60 years.
Past POPA publications
- Nuclear Weapons in 21st Century U.S. National Security (2008)
- Readiness of the U.S. Nuclear Workforce for 21st Century Challenges (2008)
- Consolidated Interim Storage of Commercial Spent Nuclear Fuel (2007)
- Challenges of Electricity Storage Technologies (2007)
- The Moon-Mars Program (2004)
- The Modern PIT Facility (MPF) (2004)
- The Hydrogen Initiative (2004)
- Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicle Study (2003)
- The Current Energy Situation & Background Papers (1996)
- Background Paper in Support of the American Physical Society's Statement on Conservation of Helium (1996)
Related
APS’s Government Affairs reports examine physics and STEM policy issues, such as research security and open science.
APS reports provide compelling information and analysis on pressing policy issues, broaden participation in physics, examine physic's impact on the economy, and give an account of the organization's initiatives.
Join APS in our strategic, member-centric approach to advocacy that yields results that advance the physics community's policy needs and priorities.
Data on physics and related education levels earned by different demographic groups