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Inside this Issue:

1. Message from the Chair (Julia Phillips)
2. By-Election for GERA Vice-Chair
3. March Meetings 2012-13
4. April Meetings
5. GERA White Paper on Transportation Energy

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Message from the Chair

The APS Topical Group on Energy Research and Applications (GERA) seeks "to promote communication relevant to the physics involved in humankind's safe generation, transmission, storage, and efficient use of energy with as small an impact on the Earth's environment and resources as feasible. The GERA fosters the education and networking of scientists and engineers active in these fields and the next generations of researchers and educators." In its first few years of existence, GERA has focused on establishing a presence at the APS meetings.

This newsletter highlights some of the ongoing activities of GERA, including the upcoming election, activities at the March and April meetings and GERA plans to champion a joint study with POPA (the APS Panel on Public Affairs) on energy.

More information on GERA is available on APS website.

By-Election for GERA Vice-Chair

A special election will be held this spring for the vacant position of Vice Chair of GERA. Suggestions for candidates are encouraged, and may be sent to the GERA Nominating Committee: Alex King (Chair), Reuben Collins, Al Compaan, Jim McGuire) by March 31.

2012-13 March Meetings

GERA sponsors a variety of invited talks on topics related to energy research and applications at the March Meeting. Some of these are co-sponsored with other units of APS, such as the Division of Condensed Matter Physics (DCMP), the Division of Materials Physics (DMP) and the Forum on Industrial Applications (FIAP).

We encourage you to suggest topics, speakers, and symposia for the 2013 March Meeting in Baltimore, MD. The Program Committee for 2013 is chaired by Reuben Collins.

GERA has sponsored an annual Workshop held the day before the beginning of the March Meeting. This event, intended primarily for students, has proven to be very popular. We are grateful to Judy Franz (retired) and Ken Cole of APS, who have been instrumental in getting this off the ground. There is a luncheon for students to meet with experts on energy research and applications, followed by a series of talks given by leading experts in our field. We thank the Organizing Committee for the 2012 Workshop in Boston -- Mike Campbell (Chair), George Crabtree, Jill Dahlberg, and Chris Hamilton. The Organizing Committee for next year in Baltimore includes: Julia Phillips, Reuben Collins, and Jim McGuire.

April Meetings

GERA organizes both invited and contributed sessions for the April Meeting; Ellen Stechel and Al Compaan have organized the sessions for the 2012 April meeting. Don Siegel and Ellen Stechel are serving on the Program Committee for the 2013 April meeting. We encourage you to suggest topics, speakers, and symposia for the 2013 March Meeting in Denver, CO.

GERA White Paper on Transportation Energy

The GERA leadership is developing a white paper on energy related to transportation. We plan to explore the possibility of a joint study with the APS Panel on Public Affairs (POPA). We hope that the effort will lead to a workshop and influence legislative action by Congress.

• The GERA Committee working on this initiative is: Ellen Stechel (Chair), Mike Tamor, Al Compaan, Jim McGuire (ex-officio).
• The topic is Transportation Energy (paths to sustainable energy, paths to low carbon and sustainable fuels, scalability and integration, recommended research, final party).
• We plan to coordinate with the POPA leadership to enable discussion at a POPA meeting this spring or summer.
• If accepted by POPA, this project would take about one year to complete.

Call for Articles for our Newsletter

We would like to publish articles related to energy research and applications in our Newsletter. We also invite announcements related to energy research and applications from other organizations and APS units. Please send these to Jim McGuire.

New Members

We hope that GERA will grow. If you know someone interested in membership, please encourage them to click on the "Join this Unit" link on the right of the GERA homepage.

The GERA Executive Committee consists of Julia Phillips (Chair), Reuben Collins (Chair-Elect), Jill Dahlberg (Past Chair), Jim McGuire (Sec/Treas), Joe Poon, Ellen Stechel, Al Compaan, Jim Misewich , Don Seigel, and Franz Himpsel.