The Avenir Foundation, which has been interested in the American Institute of Physics (AIP) for many years, has made a gift of three million dollars ($3,000,000) to the AIP to endow the Spencer R. Weart Directorship of the Center for History of Physics at AIP. This is the largest gift ever given to AIP and establishes the first endowed position at the Institute. "We are deeply gratified by this very generous gift from the Avenir Foundation," says AIP Executive Director and CEO H. Frederick Dylla, Ph.D. "The Center for History of Physics is a unique resource for scholars and institutions worldwide. The authors of most of the hundreds of books on the development of modern physics and allied sciences published in recent decades have relied on the resources of the History Center and the Archives in their research. This endowment will ensure the Center's stature and growth into the foreseeable future." The Avenir Foundation ("avenir" means "future" in French) has a special concern for the sciences. The principles of physics are basic to human existence, and it is of vital importance that a historical record of the application of these principles be preserved. The Foundation's board is helping to make this possible by supporting the work so ably conducted at the American Institute of Physics by Spencer R. Weart. The position is named in honor of Spencer R. Weart, Ph.D., the Center's current director who is retiring after 35 years. The new director will oversee the History Center and its programs promoting the understanding and dissemination of the history of modern physical science and its role in society. "The way we live," says Weart, "our entire society today would be utterly different without the physics discoveries of the past couple of centuries-and much worse off. The physics community has long recognized a need to figure out how all this happened and explain it to the public. The Center has given exceptional support to the work of historians and archivists. Friends of our enterprise, like the Avenir Foundation, have also been wonderfully far-sighted. They have given the AIP’s History Center a matchless capacity to advance our knowledge of one of the most crucial forces in modern history."

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(College Park, MD) -- The American Institute of Physics has named geophysicist Louis J. Lanzerotti of the New Jersey Institute of Technology as the new chair of AIP’s Governing Board. He will replace MIT’s Mildred Dresselhaus, who is stepping down as chair at the end of March 2008.

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COLLEGE PARK, MARYLAND, 5 January 2007 —Marcia Bartusiak, veteran science writer and a visiting professor at MIT, joins venerable physicists in receiving the American Institute of Physics' Gemant Award. The Gemant Award annually recognizes the accomplishments of a person who has made significant contributions to cultural, artistic, or humanistic dimension of physics.

Ms. Bartusiak is the author of numerous popular books on astronomy and cosmology, including "Einstein's Unfinished Symphony," "Thursday's Universe," "Through A Universe Darkly" and most recently, "Archives of the Universe."

The citation for her award reads, "The Andrew W. Gemant Award is presented to Marcia Bartusiak for a body of work that has won high praise from critics, scientists, and general audiences alike. Her books have been widely read, translated into four languages and have been especially successful in transmitting physics and astronomy to the public. Her reputation for detail and accuracy coupled with her clear writing and thorough understanding of the science and personalities behind the topic has made her an eloquent spokesman for what is important in science. "

Bartusiak will receive her award on Sunday, January 7, at this year's American Association of Physics Teachers and American Astronomical Association joint meeting, held in Seattle, Washington. She will deliver a public lecture there and receive a $5,000 cash award. She will also designate an academic institution to receive a grant of $3,000 to further the public communication of physics.

Bartisiak was honored in 1982 with the AIP's science writing award, the first woman to win the prize. She is a visiting professor with the Graduate Program in Science Writing at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. More biographical details can be found on her website http://www.marciabartusiak.com/marcia_bartusiak.htm.

The award is made possible by a bequest of Andrew Gemant to the American Institute of Physics. The awardee is named by the AIP Governing Board during the annual spring meeting based on the recommendation of an outside Selection Committee appointed by the Institute's Board Chairman.

Headquartered in College Park, Maryland, the American Institute of Physics is a not-for-profit membership corporation chartered in New York State in 1931 for the purpose of promoting the advancement and diffusion of the knowledge of physics and its application to human welfare.

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MELVILLE, NEW YORK, 24 May 2006 — The American Institute of Physics (AIP) announced today that Prof. Hsueh-Chia Chang has accepted the position of Editor of AIP's new rapid-publication, open access journal, Biomicrofluidics (http://bmf.aip.org). Dr. Chang is Bayer Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and Director of the Center for Microfluidics and Medical Diagnostics at the University of Notre Dame. He has done extensive work on biological applications of microfluidics and on pattern-formation dynamics driven by hydrodynamic and electrochemical, biological, thermal, and reaction-diffusion instabilities.

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