Condensed Matter Physics in a Market Economy

MAY 01, 1992

Knowledge in the field has become o commodity, subject to the some market forces that apply to silicon chips or lasers. The present malaise among researchers is due to an oversupply in a time of decreasing demand.

DOI: 10.1063/1.881308

John M. Rowell

In 1991 I attended my 30th consecutive March meeting of The American Physical Society, held in Cincinnati. This anniversary made me reflect on the changes I have seen in the field since I listened to my first ten‐minute talk in Baltimore in 1962. I believe it was obvious to many in Cincinnati that there is a malaise affecting our field that was not present 30 or even 10 years ago. By “our field,” I mean what is variously called solid‐state physics, condensed matter physics, materials physics and materials science.

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References

1. R. E. Gomory, IEEE Spectrum, October 1990, p. 82.

More about the authors

John M. Rowell, Conductus Inc, Sunnyvale, California.