Call for NSF Scholar-in-Residence at NIH

The Directorates for Mathematical and Physical Sciences and Engineering of the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health are co-sponsoring a new activity, NSF 98-48: NSF Scholar-in-Residence at NIH. This activity provides support for mathematical and physical scientists and engineers to develop research collaborations within the intramural research environment at the NIH. It is designed to help bridge the interests of the research communities served by NSF and the NIH, and to catalyze productive interactions which can enrich both. The full announcement of this activity, together with contact information for interested individuals, is accessible electronically through the NSF web page at: http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/1998/nsf9848/nsf9848.html

Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty

In January, J. Robert Schrieffer, a past President of the APS, and APS President-Elect Jerome Friedman sent a joint letter to all Nobel laureates in physics, urging them to write to their Congressional representatives and endorse the APS Council Statement on the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), unanimously approved last April. (see APS News, July 1997) The APS statement maintains that "continued nuclear testing is not required to retain confidence in the safety, reliability, and performance of nuclear weapons in the U.S. stockpile, provided science and technology programs necessary for stockpile stewardship are maintained." The U.S. Senate began reviewing the CTBT in early January in anticipation of an upcoming vote on its ratification. "We believe that this treaty is a vital step in advancing nuclear nonproliferation and is of extraordinary importance to world security," the APS officers wrote in their letter. APS members wishing to add their support should contact Francis Slakey, APS Associate Director of Public Affairs, 202-662-8700; slakey@aps.org.

Lev Okun Honored as Humanitarian

In December, Lev Okun, head of the Laboratory of Particle Theory at the Institute of Theoretical and Experimental Physics (ITEP) in Moscow, was honored by the George Soros and the Open Society Institute for his humanitarian contributions in the effort to preserve and maintain a strong community of scientists and science in Russia and the former Soviet Union. In the U.S. as a visiting lecturer at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, Okun received a special prize of $25,000 "in recognition of his dedicated and selfless devotion to the cause of Russian Scientists." Aside from his distinguished reputation as one of the outstanding theoretical particle physicists of our time, and decision to remain in Russia to keep the ITEP alive, Okun was a member of the Executive Board of Soros' International Science Foundation, evaluating grant proposals to ensure that funds went to the best scientists.

Deutch Appointed to PCAST

In January, President Clinton announced his appointment of John M. Deutch, a professor in the Department of Chemistry at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an APS Fellow, as a Member of the President's Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST). Deutch served as Undersecretary of Defense from March 1993 to April 1994, Deputy Secretary of Defense from April 1994 to May 1995, and Director of Central Intelligence from May 1995 to December 1996. He obtained undergraduate degrees at Amherst College and MIT, and obtained his Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from MIT in 1965. PCAST was established on November 23, 1993. It was created to advise the President on matters involving science and technology, and to assist the National Science and Technology Council in securing private sector involvement in its activities.

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Editor: Barrett H. Ripin

March 1998 (Volume 7, Number 3)

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Articles in this Issue
One Year Until APS Centennial Celebration in Atlanta
Physicists Honored at the 1998 March Meeting
APS Forms Cooperative Agreement with LANL's xxx e-Print Archive
APS Announces Physical Review Special Topics Series
A Century of Physics
Inside the Beltway
CSWP Web-Based Survey
In Brief
APS Views
Letters
"Net Myths"
Zero Gravity: The Lighter Side of Science
The Back Page