July 2010 Archives

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Marilyn Gardner
American Association of Physics Teachers
mgardner@aapt.org
301-209-3306

July 26, 2010

College Park, MD -- The US top physics students are bringing home 1 gold medal, 2 silver medals, and 2 bronze medals from the 41st International Physics Olympiad, held this year from July 17 to 25 in Zagreb, Croatia.

The gold medal winner: Daniel Li, a senior at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, Alexandria, VA.

The silver medal winners: Eric Spieglan, a sophomore at Naperville North High School, Naperville, IL and Anand Oza, a senior at Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring, MD.

The bronze medal winners: Jenny Lu, a senior at Pomperaug High School in Southbury, CT and David Field, of Andover, MA, a senior at the Phillips Andover Academy in Andover, MA.

The US Physics Team tied with Korea for 11th place. China, Taiwan, and Thailand tied for 1st place with five gold medals each.

The U.S. Physics Olympiad Program was started in 1986 by AAPT to promote and demonstrate academic excellence. It continues to be supported as a joint initiative between AAPT, AIP, and the member societies of the American Institute for Physics: Acoustical Society of America, American Association of Physicists in Medicine, American Astronomical Society, American Crystallographic Society, American Geophysical Union, American Physical Society, AVS, Optical Society America, and the Society of Rheology. . The coaches for the 2010 U.S. Physics team are: Paul Stanley, Academic Director/Senior Coach, Warren Turner, Senior Coach/Lab Coach, Andrew Lin, and David Fallest.

The 41st IPhO is being organized by the Croatian Physical Society and the University of Zagreb as the co-organizer, under the financial support of the Ministry of Science, Education and Sports of the Republic of Croatia and the City of Zagreb. The nine-day international competition brought together The IPhO this year, with about 410 participating pre-university students from more than 82 nations.

MORE ON THE WEB
• Main website of the U.S. Physics Team: http://www.aapt.org/physicsteam/2010/index.cfm
• History of the physics team, including past winners: http://www.aapt.org/physicsteam/2010/program.cfm
• The official website of the International Physics Olympiad: http://ipho2010.hfd.hr/
• Screening exams the students had to pass to place on the U.S. Physics Team: http://www.compadre.org/psrc/evals/olympiad.cfm.

Funding for the U.S. Physics Team is supported through donations from concerned individuals and organizations. Contributions are entirely used to support the selection, training, and travel of the team. Donations to the U.S. Physics Team are accepted at www.aapt.org/physicsteam/donate.cfm.

About AAPT
AAPT is the premier national organization and authority on physics and physical science education--with more than 10,000 members worldwide. Our mission is to advance the greater good through physics teaching. We provide our members with many opportunities for professional development, communication, and student enrichment. We serve the larger community through a variety of programs and publications. AAPT was founded in 1930 and is headquartered in the American Center for Physics in College Park, Maryland.

Miklos Porkolab (MIT) and Dmitri Ryutov (LLNL) have been selected by Fusion Power Associates Board of Directors to receive FPA's 2010 Distinguished Career Awards. The Awards will be presented at Fusion Power Associates annual meeting and symposium, December 1-2 in Washington, DC.

19 JULY 2010--The AAPT Executive Board announced that Dr. Beth Cunningham will become the next Executive Officer of AAPT. She will assume her duties in that office on January1, 2011 but will start her work in the AAPT office in College Park on October 1, 2010, overlapping for three months with Dr. Warren Hein, who is retiring as AAPT's Executive Officer on December 31, 2010. This overlap will facilitate a period of orientation to AAPT and give Dr. Cunningham the opportunity to become further acquainted with AAPT's members, staff, and activities before she officially assumes the position of Executive Officer.

Dr. Cunningham's career has provided her with admirable preparation to serve as AAPT's next Executive Officer. She pursued her B.A., M.A. and Ph.D. degrees, all with majors in physics, at Kent State University. Her Ph.D. thesis focused on biological liquid crystals. After a two-year post-doctoral appointment at the Hormel Institute of the University of Minnesota, she taught physics for one year at Gettysburg College before moving to Bucknell University. There she taught physics for seventeen years, advanced through the academic ranks to full professor and, during the last six of those years, served as Associate Dean of the Faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences. In 2006, she assumed her present position as Provost, Dean of the Faculty, and Professor of Physics at Illinois Wesleyan University.

A skilled teacher and researcher, Dr. Cunningham has taught both introductory and advanced lecture and laboratory courses in physics, the latter particularly in condensed matter, thermodynamics, and statistical mechanics. She has taught outreach courses for non-science majors and one-week continuing education courses for middle school and high school teachers. While at Bucknell, she played a major role in stimulating the growth of opportunities for physics majors to engage in undergraduate research and was herself the faculty mentor for more than 20 undergraduate research students.

To quote from Dr. Cunningham's letter of application, "All of [my] positions have reinforced my desire to be instrumental in leading and providing strategic direction in an organization devoted to improving student learning and developing physics educators. I also believe now is the perfect time for me to use my experiences to provide AAPT with leadership as it continues to focus on improving physics education. I welcome the opportunity to be in a position that goes back to my roots as a scientist and allows me to be more connected with fellow physicists."

Dr. Cunningham's experiences as a teacher, scholar, and administrator have acquainted her not only with the challenges of the classroom but also with the challenges of administering large organizations and managing budgets in a variety of institutional contexts and economic climates. She is well acquainted with and well known within the professional scientific community and with organizations like the American Physical Society (APS), Project Kaleidoscope (PKAL), and the Council on Undergraduate Research that serve that community. She has worked collaboratively on a wide variety of projects and programs. She has been uncommonly successful in these varied endeavors. She is enthusiastic and energetic, and she communicates a passion for physics, for AAPT, and for working with AAPT for the advancement of excellence in physics education.

The full announcement is available at http://www.aapt.org/aboutaapt/Beth-Cunningham-New-EO-Announcement.cfm.

About AAPT
AAPT is an international organization for physics educators, physicists, and industrial scientists--with more than 10,000 members worldwide. Dedicated to enhancing the understanding and appreciation of physics through teaching, AAPT provides awards, publications, and programs that encourage teaching practical application of physics principles, support continuing professional development, and reward excellence in physics education. AAPT was founded in 1930 and is headquartered in the American Center for Physics in College Park, Maryland.

For more information contact Marilyn Gardner, Director of Communications, mgardner@aapt.org, (301) 209-3306, (301) 209-0845 (Fax), www.aapt.org.

The three recipients of the 2009 Nobel Prize in Chemistry will be attending the 60th annual meeting of the American Crystallographic Association (ACA) at the Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers on July 24—29, 2010.

Highlights of the meeting include plenary lectures by the three Nobel Laureates, Venkatraman Ramakrishnan of Cambridge University, Thomas Steitz of Yale University, and Ada Yonath of the Weizmann Institute. Their lectures will describe their ground-breaking structural studies over the past decades of the ribosome, a large, complex biological machine in all living things that translates the DNA code into functional proteins that carry out various cellular tasks.

The International Astronomical Union Commission 54, Optical and Infrared Interferometry, is pleased to announce the first award of the Fizeau Prize, to Antoine Labeyrie, and the Michelson Prize, to Dr Michael Shao.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For more information, please contact:
Marilyn Gardner, American Association of Physics Teachers
office: 301-209-3306
mgardner@aapt.org

College Park, Maryland, United States, July 15, 2010--The American Association of Physics Teachers has announced the 25th Anniversary Celebration of Physics Teacher Resource Agents (PTRA) on Wednesday, July 21 at 11:15 am during their 2010 Summer Meeting in Portland, Oregon.

The speakers will discuss the origin of the idea, its implementation, its development over 25 years, and its present and future plans. Speakers include George A. Amann, James Nelson, Jan Mader, John Roeder, John Layman, Karen Jo Matsler, Lawrence Bader, Lila Adair, and Robert Beck Clark.

PTRA is one of the more innovative programs to be developed by a science professional organization. The idea that physics teachers could be engaged to meet together for common learning experiences and then, individually, go out into the community, to assume leadership roles, to network with other physics teachers, and be a resource and an educational assistant was a unique idea in the beginning.

The American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) initiated the Physics Teaching Resource Agents (PTRA) Program in 1985--with support from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the American Physical Society (APS)--with the mission of improving the teaching and learning of physics and physical science for all teachers and students in the United States. Twenty-five years later it is the leading in-service physics professional development program. Serving middle school and high school teachers, it provides professional development on physics content, teaching techniques based on research in physics education, and integration of technology into curriculum.

The program maintains a nationwide cadre of more than 150 accomplished high school teacher-leaders who are trained and continually involved in professional development. These teacher-leaders are certified as PTRAs by AAPT to lead workshops throughout the country. They have participated in national leadership institutes where they have developed their skills on a wide range of topics--to assist their fellow teachers. The program has involved more than 30 universities and college physics departments partnering to provide the summer institutes and follow-up sessions.

Potential national PTRAs are selected based on physics content mastery, creativity, successful teaching experience, familiarity with physics education research, and the capacity for professional leadership. The opportunity for continuity and expansion of training is offered each year at an intense summer institute at which AAPT/PTRA commissioned workshops are developed. What emerges, then, are teachers from within urban districts or rural schools who go out to meet the specific needs of teachers in their local area.

Learn more about PTRA at http://www.aapt.org/Programs/projects/PTRA/index.cfm.

About AAPT
AAPT is an international organization for physics educators, physicists, and industrial scientists--with more than 10,000 members worldwide. Dedicated to enhancing the understanding and appreciation of physics through teaching, AAPT provides awards, publications, and programs that encourage teaching practical application of physics principles, support continuing professional development, and reward excellence in physics education. AAPT was founded in 1930 and is headquartered in the American Center for Physics in College Park, Maryland.

The late Dr Timothy Hawarden, who was based for many years at the STFC's UK Astronomy Technology Centre (UK ATC), has been awarded a NASA Exceptional Technology Achievement Medal for his pioneering work on innovative cooling techniques that make possible future infrared space telescopes, including the one that will follow the Hubble Space Telescope. The awards were presented at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, home of the Hubble, on 16 June 2010. Nobel laureate, Dr. John Mather, an American astronomer who was an early convert to Tim's concept, accepted it on Tim's behalf.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For more information, please contact:
Marilyn Gardner, American Association of Physics Teachers
office: 301-209-3306 Email: mgardner@aapt.org

College Park, Maryland, United States, July 14, 2010--The American Association of Physics Teachers has announced that its 2010 Summer Meeting in Portland, Oregon, will feature some of the nation's top physics educators. The meeting will take place on July 17-21. Plenary sessions will celebrate 50 Years of the Laser, the Millikan Medal and Klopsteg Awardees, and awards for teaching as well as the AIP Children's Science Writing Award.

Monday, July 19
Celebrating 50 Years of the Laser: APS/DLS Symposium on Laser Physics
10:30 a.m.-12 p.m.

Breasts and Brains, Similarities and Differences: Using Novel Physics to Enhance Clinical Molecular Imaging
Warren S. Warren, Duke University
Molecular imaging--the use of targeted molecular and chemical signatures to visualizing function instead of just structure--is one of the most rapidly growing fields in biomedical science. Applications range from molecular medicine, to early and improved disease diagnosis, to reducing health-care costs. The major techniques in common use (positron emission tomography, CT, magnetic resonance imaging, optical imaging) often have quite complementary strengths and applications. This presentation will give an overview of the physical principles behind these methods, then focus on optical imaging--specifically on approaches that exploit optical nonlinearity to enable microscopic resolution without excision.

Femtosecond Optical Frequency Combs
Steven T. Cundiff, NIST and University of Colorado
The ability to detect the carrier-envelope phase evolution of the pulse train emitted by a mode-locked laser has led to the field of femtosecond combs. Femtosecond combs have solved the problem of optical frequency metrology, enabled optical atomic clocks and been essential to the development of attosecond technology. This address will give an introduction to the basic concepts of femtosecond combs and include a discussion their applications, both current and future possibilities.

Lasers and the Eye
3:20-4:20 p.m.
Vasudevan (Vengu) Lakshminarayanan, University of Waterloo
We celebrate the 50th anniversary of the laser which now has a huge range of applications, from consumer electronics to optical metrology. One of the very first applications of the laser was in biomedicine--namely photocoagulation process to weld a detached retina back into place in the eye. This talk will feature a discussion of laser applications in ophthalmology and deal with laser-tissue interaction, laser safety and more recent work on photorefractive procedures, such as LASIK as well as some recent work on predicting vision from measurement of wavefront aberrations and its use in predicting post-operative vision following photorefractive procedures.

Tuesday, July 20, 2010
10:30 a.m.-11:15 a.m.
Millikan Medal Address
Guiding the Future: Developing Research-based Physics Standards
Patricia Heller, Associate Professor of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Minnesota and a founding member of the Physics Education Research (PER) Group.

Almost two decades after the American Association for the Advancement of Science's "Benchmarks for Science Literacy" and the National Academies' "National Science Education Standards" set in motion attempts to systematize science standards in K-12 education, there is a growing realization at both the state and national level that those standards need to be revised to be based more firmly on learning research. Physics educators need to be heard on what physics concepts and related skills are truly essential for student success in higher education and in the workplace. These concepts and skills then would be linked to the necessary supporting knowledge that can appropriately be learned at earlier points in a student's K-12 education. This address frames the task by addressing important questions about developing K-12 physics standards for college success.

11:15-11:45 a.m.
Excellence in Undergraduate Physics Teaching Award
Stumbling on a Tightrope
William P. Hogan, Professor of Physics at Joliet Junior College, Joliet, IL.

This address will be a discussion of the issues, struggles, and the spectacular mistakes made along the way to finding what works to achieve high student performance and positive teacher evaluations.

11:45-12:15 a.m.
Excellence in Pre-college Physics Teaching Award
Who's In??
Diane Riendeau, physics teacher, Deerfield High School, Deerfield, IL

Mentoring helps shape all phases of a teaching career. Being a mentor is a vital role we should all play during our time as physics teachers but being a mentee is equally important. This address will challenge your beliefs on the importance and benefits of mentoring relationship at ALL times in your career.

Wednesday, July 21
8:30-9:40 a.m.

Klopsteg Award Address
Science and Science Fiction
Robert Scherrer, Department of Physics and Astronomy Chair, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN.

As a practicing physicist who has written science fiction, Scherrer will explore the similarities and differences between the process of writing science fiction and the process of "producing" science, specifically theoretical physics. What are the ground rules for introducing unproven new ideas in science fiction, and how do they differ from the corresponding rules in physics? How predictive is science fiction? (For that matter, how predictive is theoretical physics?) While science fiction has been dubbed "the literature of ideas," there are crucial differences between the role that ideas play in science fiction versus their role in science, as well as differences in the actual way in which ideas are presented. Finally, Scherrer will examine whether a background as a research scientist provides any advantage in writing science fiction, or whether it can actually be a hindrance at times.

Key Web Sites

* Main meeting site: http://www.aapt.org/Conferences/sm2010/
* AAPT abstracts: http://www.aapt.org/Conferences/sm2010/program.cfm
* Hotel: http://www1.hilton.com/en_US/hi/hotel/PDXPHHH-Hilton-Portland-Executive-Tower-Oregon/index.do

About AAPT
AAPT is an international organization for physics educators, physicists, and industrial scientists--with more than 10,000 members worldwide. Dedicated to enhancing the understanding and appreciation of physics through teaching, AAPT provides awards, publications, and programs that encourage teaching practical application of physics principles, support continuing professional development, and reward excellence in physics education. AAPT was founded in 1930 and is headquartered in the American Center for Physics in College Park, Maryland.

More Information for Journalists
The 2010 Summer Meeting of the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) takes place from July 18-24 in Portland, Oregon.
The meeting hotel is the Hilton Portland and Executive Tower, which is located at 921 Southwest 6th Avenue, Portland, OR 97204.

Registering as a Journalist
Science writers intending to go to the meeting should contact Marilyn Gardner (mgardner@aapt.org) or 301-209-3306 about free registration. Journalists are encouraged to register in advance. Press badges can be picked up at the meeting registration desk and will allow you to attend all scientific sessions and exhibits.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For more information, please contact:
Marilyn Gardner, American Association of Physics Teachers
office: 301-209-3306,
mgardner@aapt.org

College Park, MD June 28, 2010 -Governor, Theodore R. Kulongoski declared in a signed proclamation today that the upcoming week of July 18-24, 2010 will be "Physics Education Week" in Oregon.

In making his proclamation, Kulongoski recognizes the importance of physics to the global economy and calls upon "...all the residents of this great state to join me encouraging others to learn more about physics education."

The proclamation also specifically recognizes the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) for supporting the development of effective teaching resources and enrichment programs.

More than 1,000 physics educators will gather in Portland, Oregon that week for the AAPT 2010 Summer Meeting. Journalists interested in attending the meeting, which runs through Tuesday, can find registration information below.

Monday, July 19 is "Laser Day" at the meeting with special sessions dedicated to a study of some ways this marvelous tool improves our lives. The APS/DLS Symposium on Laser Physics, will feature addresses by Duke University's Warren Warren, "Breasts and Brains, Similarities and Differences: Using Novel Physics to Enhance Clinical Molecular Imaging," and by Steven T. Cundiff of NIST and the University of Colorado, "Femtosecond Optical Frequency Combs." Laser Day, will also feature an address by Vasu Devan Lakshminarayanan, University of Waterloo, on Lasers and the Eye.

MORE INFORMATION FOR JOURNALISTS

The 2010 Summer Meeting of the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) takes place from July 18-24 in Portland, Oregon.
The meeting hotel is the Hilton Portland and Executive Tower, which is located at 921 Southwest 6th Avenue, Portland, OR 97204.

KEY WEB SITES

• Main meeting site: http://www.aapt.org/Conferences/sm2010/
• AAPT abstracts: http://www.aapt.org/Conferences/sm2010/program.cfm
• Hotel: http://www1.hilton.com/en_US/hi/hotel/PDXPHHH-Hilton-Portland-Executive-Tower-Oregon/index.do

REGISTERING AS A JOURNALIST

Science writers intending to go to the meeting should contact Marilyn Gardner (mgardner@aapt.org) or 301-209-3306 about free registration. Journalists are encouraged to register in advance. Press badges can be picked up at the meeting registration desk and will allow you to attend all scientific sessions and exhibits

WASHINGTON, July 6 --The Optical Society (OSA) today announced that Elizabeth Nolan has been promoted to chief publishing officer. In this new role, Nolan will oversee the society's publishing program, including leading the development of comprehensive strategies for OSA's publishing activities and directing the marketing, sales, and operations of OSA's entire portfolio of peer-reviewed journals, electronic products, and special programs. Additionally, Nolan will serve as the primary point of contact for OSA's strategic and editorial committees with oversight of technical content. Nolan most recently served as the senior deputy director of publishing sales and marketing at OSA, and she is succeeding John S. Childs, Ph.D., publisher/senior director, who retired from OSA on July 1.

"Elizabeth comes to OSA with an extensive background in scientific, technical, and medical publishing," said Elizabeth Rogan, CEO of OSA. "OSA publications are recognized worldwide for the standard of excellence provided by its flagship journals and co-published titles. We look forward to Elizabeth's leadership in continuing OSA's long-held reputation as a foremost publisher, recognized for delivering the highest quality publications in the optics and photonics field."

Immediately prior to joining OSA, Elizabeth was senior vice president, global sales, marketing and strategy at SPi, where she successfully led some of its largest strategic initiatives as well as developed a host of new innovative services for scientific, technical and medical publishers. Prior to that, she held senior level positions at Thompson Publishing Group, The Worldwatch Institute and Wolters Kluwer. With more than 17 years of experience working with and for global not-for-profit and commercial publishers and an Asia-based publishing service provider, Elizabeth has forged an international career that is rich in journal, book, and electronic publishing expertise.

"OSA provides its members and the scientific community with a rich portfolio of top-rated publications and electronic products that are unmatched by others in the field," Nolan said. "I'm delighted to have joined one of the most pioneering publishers in the optics and photonics market, and I look forward to working with the team to enhance and advance OSA's current publishing program in order to effectively meet the 21st century content needs of our myriad constituencies."

About OSA
Uniting more than 106,000 professionals from 134 countries, the Optical Society (OSA) brings together the global optics community through its programs and initiatives. Since 1916 OSA has worked to advance the common interests of the field, providing educational resources to the scientists, engineers and business leaders who work in the field by promoting the science of light and the advanced technologies made possible by optics and photonics. OSA publications, events, technical groups and programs foster optics knowledge and scientific collaboration among all those with an interest in optics and photonics. For more information, visit www.osa.org.

KYOTO, JAPAN — June 18, 2010 — The non-profit Inamori Foundation (President: Dr. Kazuo Inamori) today announced that Dr. László Lovász will receive its 26th annual Kyoto Prize in Basic Sciences, which for 2010 focuses on the field of Mathematical Sciences. Dr. Lovász, 62, a citizen of both Hungary and the United States, will receive the award for his outstanding contributions to the advancement of both the academic and technological possibilities of the mathematical sciences.

KYOTO, JAPAN — June 18, 2010 — The non-profit Inamori Foundation (President: Dr. Kazuo Inamori) today announced that Dr. Shinya Yamanaka will receive its 26th annual Kyoto Prize in Advanced Technology, which for 2010 focuses on the fields of Biotechnology and Medical Technology. Dr. Yamanaka, 47, will receive the award for his pioneering work in developing a technology to generate pluripotent stem cells that does not require the use of human embryos.