Path: santra!tut!draken!kth!mcvax!uunet!cs.utexas.edu!rutgers!iuvax!pur-ee!pur-phy!piner From: piner@pur-phy (Richard Piner) Newsgroups: sci.physics Subject: Reintroduction of "What's New" Message-ID: <2311@pur-phy> Date: 11 Jun 89 06:10:40 GMT Organization: Purdue Univ. Phys Dept, W.Lafayette, IN Lines: 120 With the hot debate on "cold fusion", many new readers have started reading sci.physics. So, it is time to once again reintroduce "What's New". Those who read it last time can hit "n" now. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Starting in July, '84, the American Physical Society began an experimental program called "What's New". The Society post electronic news from Washington each week. This news is received by subscribers such as myself via telenet. I have ask for and received permission from the Society to post this news to USENET. The following is the body of the letter introducing "What's New": ---- Welcome to our experiment, "What's New". When the American Physical Society took the step of opening a Washington Office, it was not to "lobby for physics." Individual physicists have never been noticeably timid about making their views known. It was felt, however, that physicists could make their case more effectively if they had current information on physics-related events in Washington. The Office of Public Affairs therefore sees a major part of its role as keeping the members of APS informed. One way of doing this has been to work closely with Physics Today Washington Editor Irwin Goodwin, with whom we share offices. Physics Today, however is a monthly publication and the time frame for Washington events is often shorter than this. We have therefore decided to experiment with a weekly electronic bulletin. We are anxious to have your reactions on the content and format, and above all, on the usefulness of such a bulletin. ---- As the letter says, most of the news is political in nature. Given that most physics is funded by the government, this should not be surprising. I am posting this news to sci.physics so the readers can sort of look over the shoulders of physicist. Those of us who do physics for a living are affected greatly by the actions of the US government. This includes everyone from universities, to national labs, to private labs. Indeed, what goes on in Washington effects physics world wide. This is even more true today than it was in 1984. Physics is very much an international effort. US government policy, such as export restrictions on information, effect physicists world wide. Because of this, I am giving these articles world wide distribution. By the way, the same logic applies to other governments around the world. Anyone with news about what other governments are doing, from China to Germany to USSR, please post. I used to think that if any of these articles spark debate, then we might want to do our debating in talk.politics. However, the signal to noise ratio in that group is rapidly approaching zero. These issues would be lost in the noise in that group. Since the volume in sci.physics is relatively low, and since most issues of "What's New" have not sparked debate, I think the best thing to do is to continue posting "What's New" here, for now at least. If the volume should increase at some later date, then we may want to split sci.physics into two groups. One group for physics/science and another for physics/social. In the case of physics/social, I'm thinking of things like grad school programs, politics, achievement awards, etc. I want to thank everyone who has sent me comments over the past few years. By and large, the vast majority of comments have been positive. If anyone has any comments pro or con about posting of "What's New" please feel free to send them to me via e-mail. Please remember, I'm just the gateway. I have no control over Bob's postings. I would never seek to edit them. I'm just passing on what is basicly an internal APS communication. For reference, I will include the author's name and address at the bottom. If you have constructive comments about the content or form of "What's New", you may send them to Bob. To answer some questions about the "reporting" in these articles, Bob, like most other officers of APS, is a part time volunteer of sorts. His real job is at the University of Maryland. The goal of "What's New" is to get information out to APS members quickly. So, the contents of these articles should be taken with that grain of salt. As for a "liberal bias" in Bob's postings, well yes, that may be so. But for the most part, Bob is fairly representative of the APS membership. No one person speaks for APS. The only official position of APS on anything is that taken in the by-laws and some of the reports issued by the APS. For us, these document are kind of the party line. But Bob's views are generaly along the same lines. Of particular note on this issue, APS does have a strong commitment to the free flow of scientific information. It's our life's blood. Remember, "publish or perish". But it goes beyond this, it is generaly accepted in the scientific community, that free exchange of information is vital to good science. Period. Hence, any government action to restrict the flow of information is viewed in a negative light. Finally, if you really want to keep up on the latest news in physics, both scientific and human, you should subscribe to Physics Today. The best way to do this is to join APS or SPS. (American Physical Society or Society of Physics Students) Students get a price break, and you don't have to be a physicist to join. Many APS members are engineers. If there is an interest, I can post membership application information. Those who are students out there, I strongly urge you to track down your local SPS chapter and sign up. Well, I hope that answered everyone's questions. Sorry this was such a long post. Richard Piner Purdue Physics Dept. West Lafayette, IN 47907 piner@maxwell.physics.purdue.edu The address of the author is: Robert Park The American Physical Society 2000 Florida Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20009