APS March 07: Getting Political
The APS’s congressional relations people were out in force, trying to get physicists to write letters to their congress people,and implore them for cash. As a rule, the physics community is pretty good at making their funding voices heard. But condensed matter researchers appear apathetic: as of yesterday afternoon, just 900 of the roughly 7,300 people who showed up bothered to sign letters.
One thing that was clear in a session last night (in which I participated) is that physicists will need to speak much more loudly to the new congress if they want their voices heard over competing interest like Iraq, health care and education.
But, at this meeting at least, that didn't seem to grab people's attention. Maybe it’s the lack of big machines, or the fact that the field itself isn’t very cohesive. Whatever the reason, Mike Lubell, APS’s head of public affairs, says he hopes to boost participation next year.