APPH E4901 & E4903 Applied Physics Seminar

Fall 2014 Theme
Science for Policy and Policy for Science: The roles of science in the advancement of our national goals


Email: mauel@columbia.edu

General Theme Grading Syllabus GRE Student Policy Teams Links

General

Welcome to the APPH E4901 & E4903 Applied Physics Seminar class information site. MW 11:40 - 12:55 Room 327 S. W. Mudd

APPH E4901x Applied Physics Seminar 1 pt. Discussion of specific and self-contained problems in areas such as applied EM, physics of solids, and plasma physics. Topics change yearly. This course is usually reserved for third-year students majoring in Applied Physics.

APPH E4903x Applied Physics Seminar 2 pt. Involves students in all of the discussions that are part of APPH E4901, but also involves the preparation of a formal term paper or presentation on a research topic of the student's choice. This course is usually reserved for graduating seniors majoring in Applied Physics.

Topics change every year and are designed to introduce students in to current research in applied physics.

Theme

This year's theme is Science Policy, especially Science Policy in the United States.

Science policy in the U.S. began with the "Copyright Clause" in the U.S. Constitution (Article I, Section 8, Clause 8) and became a national focus following World War II and intensified after the Soviet launch of Sputnik in October 1957. The National Science Foundation was created in 1950. NASA and ARPA (also called DARAPA) were created in 1958.

Vannevar Bush headed the U.S. Office of Scientific Research and Development (OSRD) during World War II. He managed the activities of over six thousand scientists in the application of science to warfare and national defense. In 1944, President Roosevelt charged Bush to prepare his recommendations what government can do to aid research, to develop scientific talent in America, to organize science to fight disease, and to make known the scientific advancements accomplished during the war. Bush delivered his report to President Harry Truman, entitled "Science, the Endless Frontier." Bush opened his report by motivating science with three pillars: "war against disease", "new products, new industries, and more jobs", and "defense against aggression". He strategy to achieve scientific progress was clearly stated as "obtained only through basic scientific research":

Scientific Progress is Essential

Progress in the war against disease depends upon a flow of new scientific knowledge. New products, new industries, and more jobs require continuous additions to knowledge of the laws of nature, and the application of that knowledge to practical purposes. Similarly, our defense against aggression demands new knowledge so that we can develop new and improved weapons. This essential, new knowledge can be obtained only through basic scientific research.

Vannevar Bush US Science Funding to 1945

Our nation's funding of science has changed significantly since Vannevar Bush's report. In 1944, the U.S. national income was $161 billion. In 2013, the U.S. national income was $16.8 trillion. Adjusted for inflation, the national income eight (8) times larger. In today's dollars, total scientific expenditures were $10.6 billion. In 2012, total scientific expenditures were $452 billion, more than 40 times larger. Significantly, U.S. businesses and industries support most (70%) of the cost of our nation's science and technology research, just as it was at the start of WWII. Today's scientific enterprise is large, diverse, and expensive, and our elected officials struggle to chart the most effective strategy to manage and guide the creative energy and expertise of our nation's scientists. Although scientists have strongly advocated for further increases in federal research investments, our nation's elected officials are maintaining constant taxpayer support for scientific research.

The motivation for this year's theme came from my own experiences with national science policy in plasma physics and magnetic fusion energy and from my year as a Jefferson Science Fellow working in the Office of International Energy Policy (now the Bureau of Energy Resources) in the State Department. The State Department has a role in science policy for several reasons. For one, science has become international, especially with mega projects like the ITER fusion energy experiment in France, the world's most complicated energy project, and the high-energy particle colliders used to understand the fundamental constituents of matter. Others include: science as diplomacy, the international efforts to keep the world safe from misuse of nuclear weapons technology, and the promoting international trade and development based on global advancements in science and technology.

  • What are the issues driving science and technology investments today?
  • How should scientists contribute to the important policy debates in Congress and in the White House?
  • What are the best ways to clearly communicate science and science policy to the general public?
  • What size and how to allocate our national research dollar? How do we set the priorities of research spending?

These are complex questions, with no single answer.

This semester, our approach will be to select a few topics of interest and analyze the scientific and technical basis needed to arrive at a science policy recommendation. Like Vannevar Bush 60 years ago, in this seminar, you will serve in the role of science policy advisor.

Your charge will be to prepare a formal science policy recommendation and to write an editorial explaining your recommendations to the general public.

Textbooks and References

There are no textbooks in this course. I will provide links to PDF documents in the class schedule detailed below.

While preparing for this course, I did refer to three very useful books:

 

Beyond Sputnik: U.S. Science Policy in the 21st Century


by Homer Alfred Neal, Tobin Smith, Jennifer McCormick

The authors maintain a great science policy website:

GO BEYOND SPUTNIK ONLINE: located at www.science-policy.net containing t news, teaching resources, learning guides, and internship opportunities in the 21st-Century field of science policy.

The Science of Science Policy: A Handbook

"In this volume, many of the nation's foremost science policy scholars make the case for a more rational decision process to guide federal research funding, arguing that 'science for science policy' is a prerequisite. It is not clear that all federal policymakers are open to a rational process. But, the arguments in this book are, indeed, compelling and will certainly propel discussions on this matter."—Neal Lane, Rice University, Former Director of the OSTP and of the NSF.

Editors: Julia Lane, Kaye Fealing, John Marburger III, Stephanie Shipp

A SHORT HISTORY OF PHYSICS IN THE AMERICAN CENTURY

A Short History of Physics in the American Century by David Cassidy presents a brisk but excellent institutional and political history of the discipline, ornamented by lucid descriptions of physics concepts and discoveries...[It] deserves a wide audience, including physicists curious about their discipline's prominent role in modern U.S. history.. .A snappy and enjoyable read. (review by Benjamin Wilson, in Physics Today)

by David C. Cassidy, Professor of Natural Sciences at Hofstra University.

 

GRE Practice

This year the GRE Subject Test in Physics can be taken on Saturday, October 25. A very good score on your GRE Physics Exam will significantly improve your graduate school admission options.

We'll practice GRE Physics problems on [Date to be determined], 11:45 to 12:25, beginning in September. We'll discuss those high-leverage questions that have a relatively low percentage of correct answers.

Some past year exams include:

Grading

This is a lunch-time seminar, and grading is based on participation.

For those taking E4903x, your grade will also be determined by your policy recommendation and your editorial presentation.

Process:

  • Every student enrolled in E4901x and E4903x must work in a six-person policy panel.
  • Students in E4903x will take leadership of the panel and be responsible for all final documents and presentations. However, your panel must arrive at consensus of the entire panel.
  • Each policy committee must debate and consider at least three science policy questions. After class discussion, you will submit a draft charge letter, which I will review, revise, and return for your deliberations as a policy committee.
  • Based on your charge letter, you must prepare an interim report (no longer than three pages in 14 pt font) and a four-page slide presentation of your interim policy recommendation.
  • After feedback from the class, each policy committee must complete their final report (no longer than six pages in 14 pt font) and prepare an editoral describing their science policy recommendation (in a format suitable for the New York Times Op-Ed, and between 400 - 1,200 words).

Syllubus

This Web Site is a basic resource for APPH E4901 & E4903.

Copies of lecture notes will be available for download in Adobe PDF formats.

A preliminary lecture plan is llisted below. I anticipate changes as we move along. Some topics may require more lecture time, and some will require less. Depending on your interests and comments, we may change some of the topics in the last third of the course.

Lecture Dates Topics
Sept 3

Introduction to the 2014 Applied Physics Seminar.

Be sure to download and read Science and Technology Policymaking: A Primer, prepared by Deborah Stine, now a Professor of Engineering and Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon.

Sept 10

Who makes science policy in the U.S.?

Lecture Notes: Science and Technology Policy Making

Class Issues and Possible Action Areas: Your Issues and Solutions

Sept 17

Science Policy "in the news"

Also, yesterday, NASA Chooses American Companies to Transport U.S. Astronauts to International Space Station selecting Boeing and SpaceX to transport U.S. crews to and from the space station using their CST-100 and Crew Dragon spacecraft.

Sept 24

Case Study: The Launch of the National Nanotechnology Initiative – The "most successful" recent science policy initiative

Another Case Study: October 4, 1957 and the great expansion of U.S. science and technology

…and the aftermath later in the century.

See: NASA's 50th Anniversary website.

Oct 1 

Example Policy Recommendations:

Example Science Editorials:

Oct 8

Andrew Holland
Senior Fellow for Climate and Energy
American Security Project

Oct 15

Loftin Flowers
Assistant Vice President for Government Relations
Columbia University

Oct 22

Dr. Adam Rosenberg
Staff Director, Subcommittee on Energy
U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science, Space, and Technology

Oct 29

No Class: Annual Meeting of the APS-DPP (New Orleans)

Nov 5

Group discussion about policy team charges and team work

Lecture notes: Post-Election News

Take a look at this excellent advice for science policy chairs from the NRC.

Nov 10-12

Monday: Red and White Teams: Assignments

Wednesday: Blue and Green Teams: Assignments

Nov 17-19

Monday: Red and White Teams

Wednesday: Blue and Green Teams

Assignment (Part 2 of 3) Due before Thanksgiving Break

  • Review and understand status
  • Formulate and propose (in writing) policy options
    • What is a “policy option”? Each option must…
    • Responds (in whole or part) to charge
    • Written as a one to three sentence recommendation
    • You can support each policy option with scientific and technical arguments
  • Discuss and understand each option within your Team
Nov 24-26

Formulating your policy options

Communicating your policy with Op-Ed

Monday: (All Teams!) Review of 1 Page Policy Recommendations

Wednesday: (All Teams!) Draft 1 Page Policy Recommendations are due.

Dec 1-3

Finalizing your Policy Recommendations

Monday: How to write an Op-Ed article

Wednesday: 1st Draft of 2-3 Page Policyt Recommendations are due.

Dec 8-10

Monday: 1st Draft of Op-Ed artcle due

Wednesday: End of year "science for policy" celebration and recap

Student Policy
Advisory Teams

All students in APPH E4903 will make a presentation on the technical motivation for your policy recommendations and submit to your classmates the Op-Ed article promoting your recommendation to the general public.

Policy advisory teams are listed below:

Red Team
Thaer Al-Sheikh Theeb
Haris Durrani (chair)
Minyong Han
Sean Ballinger
Omar Mahmood

Charge Summary: Considering the importance of space activities to our nation, I ask your panel to assess the scientific and technical strategies now being followed to prevent and deter aggression against U.S. space infrastructure and to respond rapidly to a deliberate or accidental event that may cause damaging debris contamination.

Final Policy Letter to President Barak Obama

Final Op-Ed article to New York Times

White Team
Isabel Baransky
Adrian Febre (chair)
Cole Stephens
Joshua Cohen
Seth Olsen

Charge Sumary: Considering the importance of STEM education to our nation’s future, I ask your panel to assess the priorities among the proposed new investments in STEM education and research and recommend policies that would make most effective use of these investments and programs.

Final Policy Letter to President Barak Obama

Final Op-Ed article to New York Times

Blue Team
Ross Basri (chair)
Mark Greenan
Ari Turkiewicz
Richard Creswell
Jason Williams

Charge Sumary: Considering the rapid progress of detecting and characterizing exoplanets, I ask your panel to assess the scientific and technical strategies now being followed to find and identify exoplanets with the potential to support human life.

Final Policy Letter to President Barak Obama

Final Op-Ed article to New York Times

Green Team
Sergio Becerra
Maksim Grinchenko (chair)
Anton Baleato Lizancos
Jonathan Fletcher
Lucas Zeppetello

Charge Sumary: Considering the importance of coal use for U.S. electricity production, I ask your panel to assess the priorities among the potential new technologies that reduce carbon dioxide emissions from coal-fired power plants and to meet the new EPA targets while continuing to benefit from our nation’s large coal resources.

Final Policy Letter to Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz

Final Op-Ed article to New York Times

Useful Links and References


Professor Michael E. Mauel
Department of Applied Physics
Columbia University

Go to Prof. Mauel's HomePage