Panel on Public Affairs

The Panel on Public Affairs (POPA) consists of a Chair, Chair-Elect, Vice Chair, immediate Past Chair, the Vice President, the Chair of the Physics Policy Committee (PPC), the Congressional Fellow(s) in the second year following the year of service, thirteen (13) members elected by Council to staggered three (3) year terms, (1) industrial physicist APS-member elected by the Forum on Industrial and Applied Physics to a three (3) year term, and (1) member elected by the Forum on Physics and Society to a three (3) year term. The candidates for election as members of POPA are selected by the Nominating Committee. The Vice Chair is elected by Council and serves in that office for one (1) year, then as Chair-Elect for one (1) year, then as Chair for one (1) year, and then as Immediate Past Chair for one (1) year. The POPA Steering Committee consists of the Chair, the Chair-Elect, the Vice Chair, the Vice President, the PPC Chair, and at least two (2) additional members selected from among and by the members of POPA.

POPA is responsible for making recommendations to the President, the Board, and the Council on public affairs activities of the Society that have been designated by the Board or Council. POPA may initiate new public affairs activities for the Society and may recommend new programs to the Council. POPA shall keep minutes and distribute them to POPA members and to the Council and Board. All POPA reports and APS studies shall be approved by the Council before public release.

Chair: Eric Mazur (01/23 - 12/23)
Harvard University

Chair-Elect: Don Lamb (01/23 - 12/23)
University of Chicago

Vice Chair: Brian DeMarco (01/23 - 12/23)
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Past Chair: C McCurdy (01/23 - 12/23)
University of California, Davis

Vice President: John Doyle (01/23 - 12/23)
Harvard University

Member: Despina Louca (01/21 - 12/23)
University of Virginia

Member: Young-Kee Kim (01/23 - 12/23)
University of Chicago

Member: Marion White (01/21 - 12/23)
Argonne National Laboratory

Member: Sarah Demers (01/21 - 12/23)
Yale University

Member: Washington Taylor (01/21 - 12/23)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Member: Dana Dattelbaum (01/22 - 12/24)
Los Alamos National Laboratory

Member: Kristen Pudenz (01/22 - 12/24)

Member: Clifford Johnson (01/22 - 12/24)
University of Southern California

Member: John Marston (01/22 - 12/24)
Brown University

Member: Ian Coddington (01/23 - 12/25)
National Institute of Standards and Technology Boulder

Member: Lisbeth Gronlund (01/23 - 12/25)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Member: Raymond Jeanloz (01/23 - 12/25)
University of California, Berkeley

Member: Patricia Rankin (01/23 - 12/25)
Arizona State University

Member: Marty Baylor (01/23 - 12/25)
Carleton College

Chair, Physics Policy Committee: Frances Hellman (01/23 - 12/23)
University of California, Berkeley

Representative, Forum on Industrial and Applied Physics: James Adams (01/21 - 12/23)
National Institute of Standards and Technology

Representative, Forum on Physics and Society: Laura Grego (01/22 - 12/24)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Congressional Fellow: David Somers (01/23 - 12/23)
University of Maryland, College Park

Advisor: Robert Rosner (01/22 - 12/23)
University of Chicago

POPA Links

APS Staff

Staff Advisor
Nico Hernandez Charpak

Committee Administrator
Jessica McCullough

Nominees for and holders of APS Honors (prizes, awards, and fellowship) and official leadership positions are expected to meet standards of professional conduct and integrity as described in the APS Ethics Guidelines. Violations of these standards may disqualify people from consideration or lead to revocation of honors or removal from office.

APS Committees

The American Physical Society is a volunteer-driven organization. Since 1899, physicists have contributed their time and resources to running the APS in cooperation with a minimal full-time staff. Volunteers are the backbone of the Society. They form the character and direct the Society's progress and development. All APS committees operate on a calendar year basis and committee terms run from January 1 through December 31.

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Information for Committee Members