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Points of View

A forum for commentaries, reminiscences, opinions, and other personal essays.

The Compass Project: Charting a new course in physics education

A student-led initiative helps students from underrepresented minorities succeed in a most rewarding yet challenging subject: physics.

Should the US join CERN?

Physicists in the US risk being excluded from the world's preeminent accelerator laboratory if the US does not negotiate a new partnership agreement.

Center for History of Physics: A crown jewel of the field

A donor explains why he supports a unique institution devoted to the preservation, study, and dissemination of the history of physics and its practitioners.

An outsider’s inside view of Sandia National Laboratories

In excerpts from his new autobiography, Nigel Hey recounts his experiences as a public information officer at a nuclear weapons lab.

How long is the fuse on fusion?

Harnessing the energy of nuclear fusion remains a formidable and worthwhile challenge. Meeting it requires nurturing international cooperation and reinvigorating US leadership.

A crisis of perception

The public believes that science is all about developing technology. What does this mean for science?

Comic books in the physics classroom

A series of Japanese-style comic books aims to teach physics to schoolchildren. Are the books effective?

Bringing science online: a personal quest

A retired space physicist has put together an impressive set of online science courses, with the help of friends but little support from NASA and other agencies.

Physics and spirituality: "A rapturous amazement at the harmony of natural law"

A physicist shares his conviction that scientific and religious views of the world are complementary and compatible.

Strengthening K-12 science education through teacher development

Teaching science is challenging—which is why it's important to help teachers develop their skills and learn new ones.

Video is the new writing: Are you literate?

A physics professor has found that his students benefit not only from watching instructional videos but also from making videos of their own experiments.

An objective nuclear accident magnitude scale for quantification of severe and catastrophic events

The existing scale for characterizing the severity of nuclear accidents is inadequate, argues David Smythe. It should be replaced, he says, with a scale that is similar in nature to the one used for earthquakes.

Just and unjust distributions

A single theory can explain how power-law distributions emerge from such wildly different areas as economy, cultural geography, ecology, linguistics, sociology, and biological chemistry.

Investment: Fun for physicists?

A visit to a Houston doughnut store changed the way a physicist picked stocks—with profitable results.

We love you, you're perfect, now edit

Three magazine professionals explain what authors should and shouldn't do to establish a mutually beneficial relationship with a magazine's editors.

Two physics students begin their congressional internships

Every year the Society of Physics Students places 10 undergraduates in physics-related internships in the DC region. Here, two of this year's interns describe their first few days in Washington, DC.

Why we need to build a national HVDC electrical grid

If US states that have significant renewable resources are to export their power to more populated states, the US should build a high-voltage direct current grid, says Andy Silber.

Everything I need to know about science communication I learned from local television news

Find out how topics are chosen for the American Institute of Physics’s Discoveries and Breakthroughs Inside Science, a program of 90-second news segments that runs on local TV.

How to succeed at engaging the public's interest in science

Whether you're a veteran or a newcomer to public outreach, and no matter what stage of your career you are in, there are plenty of ways to get involved. In this article, we share some personal experiences and discuss various ways you can make an impact.

The challenge of gifted education

Would you consider an elementary school program that is "not challenging enough," in the words of one student, to be a blessing or a bane? We often focus on the kids who can't master the basics in K12 education but what about the smart kids? asks Alex Antunes.

Putting the science in science fiction

Mika McKinnon describes how she got involved with Stargate Universe, and how to successfully foster a strong relationship between science and entertainment.

Changing your field of research is not as difficult as you may think

Giacinto Scoles talks about how essentially easy, not difficult, it is to change fields, and how the prospect of making the switch generally fills scientists with fear and apprehension.

What's it for?

Neil Calder describes how a scientist's failure to answer a simple question by a journalist, led him into a completely unexpected career direction.

Keeping ethics relevant

Marshall Thomsen discusses why ethics education for physics students must incorporate established expectations of professional conduct specific to the field.


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