Articles
Benjamin Franklin, Civic Scientist 
That early American prototype of a civic scientist would probably address many of today's concerns with wisdom, practicality, and a deep sense of civic responsibility — Neal Lane
What Have We Learned From the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider?
Collisions between high-energy beams of gold nuclei are providing glimpses of hot, dense states of matter reminiscent of the Big Bang — Thomas Ludlam and Larry McLerran
The Contentious Role of a National Observatory
For 50 years, astronomers have debated, Should large optical telescopes be under the auspices of national centers, or should access to them be controlled by a "benevolent dictatorship of the elite?" — W. Patrick McCray
Web departments
Readings from the Physics Today Archive
Departments
Reference Frame
Analysis and Synthesis III: Cosmic Groundwork — Frank Wilczek
Letters
Some Weisskopf Contributions to Atomic Physics
Remembering Robert L. Mills
'Physics of Whatever': A Study in Irrelevance
Authors Clarify Degeneracy Issue Corrections Search & Discovery
Ultracold Fermionic Atoms Team up as Molecules: Can They Form Cooper Pairs as Well?
The behavior of strongly interacting degenerate Fermi gases may hold clues to the universal behavior of many-body systems.
Where Do Carbon Atoms Reside Within Earth's Mantle?
Solubility measurements of carbon in olivine confirm a widely held belief that most carbon is stored in other, less abundant minerals.
Submillimeter Measurements Strengthen the Case for Supernovae as Sources of Ancient Cosmic Dust
Observations of high-redshift galaxies offered a surprise six years ago and presented a riddle that may have been solved only this past summer.
Nanoparticles Locate and Flag the Blood Vessels That Nourish Tumors
Ligand-coated droplets of oil can travel through the bloodstream to attach themselves to malignant cells.
Issues & Events
Applying Physics and the Law
Name a member of the National Academy of Engineering who is a physicist and a lawyer, but not an engineer. Try Richard Meserve, whose illustrious and varied career attests to the success of marrying different disciplines.
NOVA Creates String Theory Miniseries
An ambitious three-hour NOVA television miniseries starring Columbia University string theorist Brian Greene will present one of the more complex and controversial fields of physics, superstring theory, to a broad, non-science audience.
Academies Seek to Promote Scientific Excellence in Developing Countries
With some international guidance, African and Middle Eastern scientists are learning how to influence government policy.
Leap Second Debate Heats Up
Keep leap seconds, and glitches in telecommunications, navigation by satellite, and legal marking of time could become more frequent and serious. Lose them, and astronomers will have trouble pointing their telescopes, and eventually the time of day will get out of sync with Earth's rotation.
Hydrogen-Based Energy Merits Research
Making the transition from a fossil fuel-based economy to one based on hydrogen will require "revolutionary, not evolutionary" scientific advances, according to a Department of Energy report that details the challenges in developing a large-scale hydrogen-based energy system.
Aerobics Acoustics Can Harm Hearing
Working out at a gym may improve your muscle tone, but both the staff and exercise participants could damage their ears from the loud music, says physicist Eugenie Mielczarek of George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia.
Army Grants $50 Million for Biotech Research
The Army Research Office (ARO) has awarded a $50 million contract to a three-university consortium to create the Institute for Collaborative Biotechnologies (ICB), a research organization that will focus on creating sensors, electronics, optics, and information-processing systems based on what the army describes as "biologically derived and biologically inspired materials."
US Team Grabs Top Honors at Physics Olympiad
The US physics team achieved the top overall score of the 54 countries participating in the 34th International Physics Olympiad in Taipei, Taiwan, in August.
Report Card Shows Improvements in High-School Physics
High-school physics enrollments are growing, girls are filling nearly half the seats in physics classrooms, and salaries of high-school teachers are rising. In those areas, high-school physics gets an A, though other areas still need improvement, according to a recent report by the American Institute of Physics.
News Notes
McDonald Observatory Director; Sandia Mega-microsystems
More Jobs, Less Security in Academic Physics
US physics and astronomy departments employed 5% more physicists in 2002 than in 2000, the biggest increase since 1986, when the American Institute of Physics began carrying out biannual studies of the physics academic work force.
Web Watch
Physics in Denmark: The First Four Hundred Years; Special Relativity and Photography; Secrets of the Polar Aurora
Books
The Extravagant Universe: Exploding Stars, Dark Energy, and the Accelerating Cosmos, Robert P. Kirshner (reviewed by David Branch)
Atmospheric Pollution: History, Science, and Regulation, Mark Z. Jacobson (reviewed by Michael Oppenheimer)
An Introduction to Seismology, Earthquakes, and Earth Structure, Seth Stein and Michael Wysession (reviewed by Heidi Houston)
New Books New Products
Focus on Photonics
We Hear That
Dirac Medal Honors Work in Turbulence
EPS Recognizes Efforts in Particle Physics
Recipients of Highest US Civilian Honor Include Teller
In Brief
Obituaries
Olli V. Lounasmaa
Martin Deutsch
Abraham Klein
George Marx
James Alan McLennan Jr
Joseph Weinberg
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