piner@pur-phy.UUCP (Richard Piner) (11/23/85)
Posted: Fri Nov 22, 1985 2:20 PM EST Msg: DGIF-2121-3203
From: RPARK
To: WHATSNEW
CC: RPark
Subj: What's New
WHAT'S NEW, Friday, November 22, 1985 Washington, D.C.
1. SCIENTIFIC OPPOSITION TO STAR WARS is down to a "few
diehards" according to SDI Chief General Abrahamson.
Abrahamson told a symposium of the United States Space
Foundation that the anti-SDI petitions represented "plaintive
letters" from students who do not represent mainstream views.
The signers so far include 16 Nobel laureates and more than
2,100 science professors (What's New, October 18).
Abrahamson also seemed to be saying that the feasibility of
SDI has already been established and "the question is no
longer if we can do something, the question is how fast."
White House Science Advisor George Keyworth also seems to
have been visiting a different planet. In an interview with
Science and Government Report, Keyworth (who spends more than
85% of his time on SDI according to his staff) sees a
momentum being built up of people who are "expressing
everything from increasing curiosity to genuine wanting to
come on board." He characterized scientists opposed to Star
Wars as "politically motivated."
2. THE COMMITTEE ON UNDERGRADUATE SCIENCE EDUCATION OF THE
NATIONAL SCIENCE BOARD heard testimony this week from Tony
French of MIT, president of the American Association of
Physics Teachers, and Robert Wilson of Cornell, president of
The American Physical Society. They presented a report
prepared by the two societies based on the Conference of
Physics Department Chairs held at the National Academy of
Sciences in May and the Survey of Quality and Quantity of
Undergraduate Programs and Students, conducted by the
Education Committee of the APS. According to the report, the
most significant problem now facing physics programs is the
poor condition of undergraduate laboratory instrumentation.
The report also concludes that undergraduate physics programs
have experienced declines in the quantity and quality of
students enrolled. Dr. Wilson related this decline to public
attitudes: "If we have a culture that places a high value on
science, then scientists will emerge from that culture."
3. THE DEFICIT REDUCTION PLAN, passed by the House on
November 1, 1985, represents a game of chicken with the
Senate, which has already passed the administration approved
Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Deficit Reduction Bill. The House plan
would force immediate action to reduce the deficit in the
current fiscal year, unlike the Senate version that puts off
action for another year -- and gives them a year to change
their minds. The House plan is seen by many observers as an
effort by House Democrats to force increased taxes. Either
bill would result in severe problems for controllable
programs such as R & D, but the effect of the House plan
would be far more drastic and immediate.
Robert L. Park (202) 429-1946
American Physical Society THAT'S ALL 11/22/85