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What's New in 1998
February 12, 1999
The Physics Survey Overview Committee has been formed under the leadership of Thomas Appelquist of Yale University. The Overview will be the final volume of Physics in a New Era, which surveys the entire field.
November 30, 1998
BPA News for December 1998 is now available. The BPA publishes this biennial newsletter to provide information about its activities. Featured articles in this issue include:
- Condensed-Matter and Materials Physics (CMMP). A committee chaired by Venkatesh Narayanamurti has completed this volume of the survey Physics in a New Era. The study makes a number of recommendations aimed at strengthening the field.
- Solid State Sciences Committee Forum. The SSSC plans to hold another in its series of forums on February 16-17, 1999 in Washington, DC. The 1999 Forum will feature the condensed-matter and materials report. A complete program can be found in BPA News along with a registration form. Pre-register now at a reduced rate. The Forum program and the registration form are also available in HTML format.
- Novel Quantum Phenomena. CMMP Committee member Steven Girvin describes the new quantum phenomena discovered in investigations of high-temperature superconductivity.
- Nuclear Physics. A committee chaired by John Schiffer has completed this volume of the physics survey, which describes the forefronts of the field and the outlook for the future.
- The Helium Reserve Committee will conduct a helium-users workshop on December 8-9 in Washington, DC.
- The Solid State Sciences Committee will hold a meeting in Washington, DC on December 10-11.
- The panels of the Survey of Astronomy and Astrophysics have been formed to provide input to the Survey Committee in a number of subfields of astronomy as well as in some cross-cutting areas such as education. The Survey Committee will have its first meeting in Washington, DC on December 18-20.
September 2, 1998
- The Study Committee that will carry out the new Survey of Astronomy and Astrophysics has been appointed.
- The Helium Reserve Committee will hold its second meeting on October 6-7 in Washington, DC. The HRC is carrying out a Congressionally mandated study to assess the impact on science and technology of offering the contents of the helium reserve for sale as specified by legislation.
- The full report of the Committee on Optical Science and Engineering, entitled Harnessing Light: Optical Science and Engineering for the 21st Century is now available from the National Academy Press. The report includes chapters on the role of optics in information technology and telecommunications, health care and the life sciences; optical sensing, lighting, and energy; national defense, manufacturing, and research and education. A brief description of the book and the full table of contents can be found on the NAP Bookstore's webpage for the book. The NAP offers the book for sale on the web at a 20 percent discount.
- Martha Krebs, Director of the Department of Energy's Office of Energy Research, has asked the National Research Council to evaluate the science component of the program of the Office of Fusion Energy Sciences. The BPA will form a new committee under the Plasma Science Committee to carry out the study, which is expected to begin in the Fall of this year.
- The BPA welcomes Kevin Aylesworth to the staff. Dr. Aylesworth will assume responsibility for physics projects under the BPA.
June 1, 1998
- The June issue of BPA News is now available in Adobe portable document file format.
May 6, 1998
- COSE Report released. The Overview of the report of the Committee on Optical Science and Engineering (COSE) was released on May 5. COSE Chair Charles V. Shank presented the main conclusions of the report to the CLEO conference in San Francisco on May 6. CLEO issued a press release outlining Shank's address. Color copies of the overview brochure will be available from the BPA in mid May. Publication of the full report by the National Academy Press is expected in late August.
April 13, 1998
- The National Research Council will undertake a new Survey of Astronomy and Astrophysics. Joseph Taylor of Princeton University and Christopher McKee of the University of California at Berkeley will co-chair the new study. Suggestions from the community are welcome and may be sent to bpa@nas.edu.
March 31, 1998
February 19, 1998
- Elementary Particle Physics Report Released. The Committee on Elementary-Particle Physics has released its report--Elementary-Particle Physics: Revealing the Secrets of Energy and Matter (part of the new survey Physics in a New Era). CEPP Chair Bruce Winstein briefed the DOE-NSF High-Energy Physics Advisory Panel on the recommendations of the report, which address the following points:
- Sustaining a vigorous domestic program.
- Support of the agreement between CERN, DOE, and NSF for a significant U.S. contribution to the Large Hadron Collider, the next major new machine in the field.
- Continuing R&D on (but not construction of) several options for a machine to complement or extend the reach of the-Large Hadron Collider, including a very-high energy lepton collider, a very large hadron collider, and a very-high energy muon collider. The Committee argues that such a machine will eventually be necessary.
- The need for international collaboration in the development, construction, and operation of future machines.
The report describes the physics objectives of the field over the next decade, which have come into focus with unprecedented clarity. These include:
- Identifying the mechanism by which matter acquires mass.
- Intensifying the search for supersymmetry.
- Understanding the breakdown of fundamental symmetries, including the reason for the preponderance of matter over antimatter in our universe.
- Revealing the nature of the dark matter that constitutes most of the substance of the universe.
The report will be published by the National Academy Press in April and will also be available through the Reports section of the BPA Web site.
January 15, 1998
- David N. Schramm, former BPA chair and one of the world's leading astrophysicists, was killed Friday, Dec. 19, when the twin-engine plane he was piloting crashed outside of Denver. The BPA feels the loss deeply. The survey now in progress, Physics in a New Era, in which David played a leading role, will be dedicated to his memory. More information may be found on the website of the University of Chicago's Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics.
What's New in 1997
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