APS 2008: To Congress, with love
This afternoon, I was blithely walking to a session when I found myself trapped between three very avid volunteers for the American Physical Society. All conference-goers caught in the cross-hairs were urged to sit down at a computer terminal to sign a letter calling for additional physics funding. It was an impressive example of technology meets advocacy. Fill out your contact information, click a few buttons, sign your name on a digital pad, and bang – letters to your local congresspersons are set to go.
Advocacy is a tradition at the March Meeting, but this year the stakes seem a bit higher. By the end of the day, it looked like every third physicist boasted an "I support science funding" sticker on their badge. The volunteers told me that sticker affords safe passage, the only way to avoid their cajoling the rest of the meeting.