Issues

By making catalysis more of a science than an art, surface scientists can help solve the current high‐priority problem of transforming fossil fuels into more usable forms.

Only two years old, the APS Forum on Physics and Society has proved its value as an instrument for encouraging physicists to employ their special skills for the benefit of society.

Analysis of close to a million citations puts Physical Review at the top of the list, but the order changes when we adjust for “impact” and “immediacy.”

“About a year ago,” says David A. Goldberg of the University of Maryland, “in a moment of giddiness following the completion of a paper (my mind still swimming in a haze of references) I created the following list. The authors of these ‘papers’ are all practicing physicists, many of whom are known to me personally or through their published works, although I have had to resort to the latest APS directory for a number of the names. The titles of the ‘papers,’ while plausible, are all to my knowledge fictitious.”

The physics‐department executive committee at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville received the following memo after they had been reviewing faculty tenure and promotion cases. (Although unsigned, the memo has proved to be the work of Roger Hill, of the Southern Illinois, Edwardsville, physics department, who was himself a candidate for tenure.)