Board on Physics and Astronomy

In response to a request from Martha Krebs, Director, Office of Science, Department of Energy, a Fusion Science Assessment Committee (FuSAC) has been formed to evaluate the science component of the program of the Office of Fusion Energy Sciences. Chaired by Charles Kennel, Director, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, FuSAC will hold its first meeting on May 16-19 at the University of California at San Diego.
Nuclear Physics: The Core of Matter, the Fuel of Stars has been published by the National Academy Press. The book may be ordered by calling NAP at 800-624-6242 and referring to ISBN 0-309-06276-4. This book is the fourth in the series Physics in a New Era.
Condensed-Matter and Materials Physics: Basic Research for Tomorrow's Technology has been published by the National Academy Press. The book may be ordered by calling NAP at 800-624-6242 and referring to ISBN 0-309-06349-3. This book is the fifth in the series Physics in a New Era.
The Board on Physics and Astronomy held its Spring Meeting on April 23-24 in Washington, DC. The Board reviewed progress on a number of projects, including the fusion science assessment, the helium reserve study, the astronomy and astrophysics survey, and the physics survey overview. The Board also heard presentations on programs at NSF and NASA. Prof. Ingrid Daubechies of Princeton University and Dr. Wim Sweldens of Lucent presented talks on the use of wavelets for representing and compressing images and waveforms. Michael Lubell of the American Physical Society described the public outreach programs of the APS.
The Astronomy and Astrophysics Survey Committee will hold its second meeting on May 6-8 in Washington, DC. The agenda will be devoted to reviewing the major projects proposed for astronomy and astrophysics over the next decade. The panel chairs will attend this meeting and will present the cases for the various major projects and initiatives that have been identified by their panels.
The Physics Survey Overview Committee will meet on May 20-30 in Washington DC to continue work on a report that will synthesize the work of the committees that prepared reports on the branches of physics.
The Committee on Radio Frequencies will hold its annual meeting on May 25-26 in Washington, DC. CORF monitors new developments in radio frequency spectrum allocations for possible interference with passive uses such as radio astronomy and remote sensing.