Reader Rights Polymer Prize Slip

I was pleasantly surprised to read that Thomas Russell is about to receive the “Polymer Prize in Nuclear Physics” (March 2005, page 82 ). I had already known of his most deserved selection as the winner of the 2005 American Physical Society Polymer Physics Prize, but I must admit that I had failed to realize its connection to nuclear physics. However, upon further reflection, I am now convinced that Professor Russell’s contributions must be so unique that he will be not only the first recipient of this prestigious new prize but undoubtedly also the last.

As a long-standing advocate of the pervasiveness and importance of polymers to both the physical and the biological world, I am delighted to see that the nuclear-physics community apparently agrees. I hope this new prize will serve as an impetus for the long-delayed establishment of similar polymer prizes in fields such as astrophysics and gravitational physics—and I look forward with great anticipation to nominating Professor Russell as their first recipient.