Free Electron Laser Focal Point of Industrial Physics Forum

Cutting-edge laser science, the role of research in industry, and the use of technology to fight terrorism were some of the topics of discussion for attendees at the 2002 Industrial Physics Forum and its academic-industrial workshop, held 27–29 October in Williamsburg, Virginia.

Hosted by the Department of Energy’s Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility, the annual meeting was sponsored by the Corporate Associates of the American Institute of Physics, the Industrial Physicist , the American Physical Society’s Forum on Industrial and Applied Physics, and the Southeastern Universities Research Association. Participants in the pre-conference workshop focused on identifying the differences between academic, industrial, and government laboratories.

The workshop opened with an address by NIST Director Arden Bement on the differences in cultures among private, governmental, and academic labs. Researchers from all three sectors explored questions about how different labs are funded, how research priorities are set, how scientists are recruited, and the differences in management models for running labs.

The forum’s theme, “New Tools for New Materials,” was tied to Jefferson Lab’s powerful free electron laser, and several talks focused on research being done with such lasers. Participants were invited to tour the facility’s accelerator, the laser, and several research labs.

The forum’s policy session included talks by John Marburger, director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy; Jane Alexander, head of S&T at the Office of Naval Research; and Jill Trewhella, Los Alamos National Laboratory’s expert on bioterrorism.

The AIP Award for Science Writing by a Scientist was presented to Lawrence Krauss, head of the physics department at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, for his latest book, Atom: An Odyssey from the Big Bang to Life on Earth—and Beyond (Little, Brown, 2001). Next year’s forum will be sponsored by Agilent Laboratories in San Jose, California.