By Amanda Nelson, Associate Archivist
The APS Forum on the History of Physics (FHP) has arranged five invited sessions for the April 2014 meeting in Savannah, Georgia. Here is some information about the sessions and we hope to see you there.
Session B10: History of Physics
This session ranges in topics from Einstein’s 1929 unified field theory proposal to the origin of the Franck-Hertz experiments to developments in computational physics at particle accelerators. Speakers include:
- Paul Halpern: Reactions to Einstein’s 1929 Unified Theory Proposal
- Clayton Gearhart: The Origins of the Franck-Hertz Experiments
- Kendall Milar: Nikola Tesla, the Ether and his Telautomaton
- Felix T. Smith: Minkowski’s Road to Space-Time, and its Consequences and an Alternative
- Hamilton Carter: Rapidity: The Special Relativity Work of Dr. Vladimir Karapetoff
- Francisco Cano: Developments in Computational Physics at Particle Accelerators
- Stephen Woolbright, Jacob Schumacher, and Ekaterina Michonova-Alexova: From the Dawn of Nuclear Physics to the First Atomic Bombs
Session C17: Journeys in the History of Physics: Pais Prize Session in Honor of David Cassidy
This session will be to award the 2014 Abraham Pais Prize for the History of Physics to David C. Cassidy “for his foundational studies on the history of quantum mechanics and his nuanced examinations of physics in Germany and the United States with special attention to the scientific work, personalities, and dilemmas of Heisenberg and Oppenheimer.”
- David C. Cassidy: Physics, History, and Biography
- Daniel Siegel: Toward a Rethinking of the Relativity Revolution
- Brian Schwartz: An Insider’s History of Some of the Significant Changes in the APS from the 1960s to Today
Session K17: Gaining Inspiration from Galileo, Einstein and Oppenheimer
This session features three speakers focusing on how to use history of physics to enhance the teaching of physics.
- Paolo Palmieri: Galileo as an intellectual heretic and why that matters
- Gerd Kortemeyer: Walking in the Footsteps of Einstein: Why History of Physics Aids Physics Education
- Cameron Reed: Using the History of Physics to Enrich Your Teaching
Session R17: The Many Worlds of Leo Szilard
As the title mentions, this session features three speakers discussing various aspects of Leo Szilard.
- William Lanouette: The Many Worlds of Leo Szilard: Physicist, Peacemaker, Provocateur
- Richard Garwin: Leo Szilard in Physics and Information
- Matthew Meselson: Leo Szilard: Biologist and Peace-Maker
Session Y10: History of the G2 from 1947 to Present
- Toichiro Kinoshita: Study of Electron G-2 from 1947 to Present
- Richard Garwin: The First CERN Muon g-2 Experiment
- Yannis Semertzidis: The BNL Muon G-2 Experiment and Beyond