APS Meeting, March 2-6
San Antonio, TX

Inspirational Approaches to Teaching Physics/History of Physics
Co-sponsored by FHP and FED
Monday, March 2, 2015 • 11:15 a.m. - 2:15 p.m.
Session Co-chairs: Catherine Westfall and Randall Knight

Experts in physics and history of physics education will share ideas on inspiring students about physics and history of physics.

“The Use of Theater and the Performing Arts in Science Education and the Teaching of History,” Brian Schwartz, Brooklyn College and the Graduate Center, CUNY

“Bruno, Galileo, Einstein: The Value of Myths in Physics,” Alberto A. Martinez, University of Texas, Austin “Teaching Physics to Future Presidents,” Bob Jacobson, University of California, Berkeley

“Composing Science: Integrating Scientific Inquiry and Writing Instruction,” S. Leslie Atkins, California State University, Chico

“How Things Work: Teaching Physics in the Context of Everyday Objects,” Louis Bloomfield, University of Virginia

Pais Prize Session: Physics at the Intersection of History, Technology, and Society
Co-sponsored by FHP and FPS
Wednesday, March 4, 2015 • 8:00 a.m. - 11: 00 a.m.
Session Chair: Catherine Westfall

This session will investigate the relationship physics has maintained with society over the last century and a half, particularly in relation to technological change.

“Understanding the Impacts of Global Warming: A History,” Spencer Weart, American Institute of Physics

“Burnt by the Sun: Jack Kilby and the ‘70s Solar Boom,” Cyrus Mody, Rice University

“Optimistic Dangers: Views of Radium Therapy During the American Radium Craze,” Aimee Slaughter, Los Alamos Historical Society

“To Rule the Waves: Cable Telegraphy and the Making of ‘Maxwell’s Equations’,” Bruce Hunt, University of Texas at Austin

“The Social Appropriation of Quantum Language and Imagery,” Robert P. Crease, Stony Brook University

Why Peer Review?
Organized by Daniel Ucko, Stony Brook University
Physical Review Letters
Thursday, March 5, 2015 • 8:00 a.m. -11:00 a.m.
Session Chair: Robert P. Crease

How has peer review developed in scientific publishing, what is its value, and are there alternatives?

“There Is No ‘I’ in Referee: Why Referees Should Be Anonymous,” Daniel Ucko, Stony Brook University, Physical Review Letters

“Validity, Not Dissemination,” Samindranath Mitra, Physical Review Letters

“Peer-review: An IOP Publishing Perspective,” Tim Smith, IOP Publishing

“Inside Nature,” Andrea Taroni, Nature Physics

A Staged Reading of the Play Background, by Lauren Gunderson
Sponsored by FHP
Grand Hyatt San Antonio
Wednesday, March 4, 2015, 8:00 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.

APS Meeting, April 11-14
Baltimore, MD

Three Perspectives on the Supercollider
Organized by Michael Riordan
Monday, April 13 • 10:45 a.m. - 12:33 p.m.
Session Chair: Michael Riordan

“The Disappearing Fourth Wall: John Marburger, Science Policy, and the SSC,” Robert P. Crease, Stony Brook University

“DOE Perspectives on the Supercollider,” James Decker, Garman, Sullivan & Associates, LLC

“The Demise of the Superconducting Super Collider, 1989–1993,” Michael Riordan, University of California, Santa Cruz

APS and Public Engagement in Historical Perspective
Organized by Joseph Martin
Tuesday, April 14 • 10:45 a.m. - 12:33 p.m.
Session Chair: Joseph Martin

The history of the American Physical Society in the second half of the twentieth century, with particular emphasis on the Society’s role in politics and public outreach.

“The American Physical Society and the Ethics of Cold War Science,” Sarah Bridger, Cal Poly History Department

“APS Efforts to Defend Human Rights,” Edward Gerjuoy, University of Pittsburgh

“The Evolution of the APS Forum on Physics and Society,” David Hafemeister, Cal Poly Physics Department

Public Lecture
Cosponsored by FHP and GGR:
Saturday, April 11, 2015 • 7:30 p.m. - 8:06 p.m.

“Einstein’s Legacy: Studying Gravity in War and Peace,” David Kaiser, MIT

A Staged Reading of the Play Transcendence: Relativity and Its Discontents, by Robert Marc Friedman
Sponsored by FHP
Hilton Baltimore Inner Harbor
Sunday, April 12, 2015, 8:00 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.

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The articles in this issue represent the views of their authors and are not necessarily those of the Forum or APS.