Friday, 31 Mar 95 Washington, DC

1. HYDROGEN BILL SEEKS REPEAL OF THE 2ND LAW OF THERMODYNAMICS!
The devotion of Bob Walker (R-PA) to development of hydrogen as an "energy source" seems at odds with his aversion to "picking winners and losers." Yesterday, the House Science Committee reported out H.R.655, "the Hydrogen Future Act of 1995." The bill points out that "fossil fuels are limited and polluting," whereas "hydrogen holds tremendous promise as a new and better energy source." Source? Hydrogen is a wonderful non-polluting fuel, since the only product of its combustion is water. Alas, there are no hydrogen wells. Where will the hydrogen come from? Why from water of course! The supply is "practically infinite."

2. TOP CEOs UNITE BEHIND FEDERAL SUPPORT OF UNIVERSITY RESEARCH.
It used to be that the response of the scientific community to a threatened cut in federal support of university research would be an urgent plea to university presidents to use their influence on their congressional delegations. Times have changed. Last week, the CEOs of fifteen top U.S. technology companies united to urge congressional support for a robust federally-supported university research program. In a letter to members of Congress, they warned that without adequate support university research will quickly erode, and industry will cease to have access to basic research results and well-educated scientists and engineers. It was signed by heads of such companies as IBM, Dupont and General Electric.

3. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY WILL REVIEW ITS CLASSIFICATION POLICIES.
DOE Secretary Hazel O'Leary took her openness initiative a step further last week with the announcement of a major review aimed at creating a new classification policy that will maximize public access without sacrificing critical national security needs. Al Narath, Director of Sandia National Laboratories and a Fellow of the APS, will chair a review panel of some 50 experts; the review is to be completed in 12 months. Historians of the Cold War in particular have hailed DOE's new openness, but there is concern that Congress is preparing to cut DOE's declassification budget.

4. SHIRLEY JACKSON WILL CHAIR THE NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION.
President Clinton has announced his intention to appoint her upon confirmation by the Senate. Jackson, a Fellow of the APS who has served on the APS Council and on numerous APS committees, is a condensed matter theorist. She is currently Professor of Physics at Rutgers and was on the staff of AT&T Bell Labs for 16 years.

5. APS PRESIDENT ENDORSES MAJOR RECOMMENDATIONS OF GALVIN PANEL
(WN 3 Feb 95). In a letter to Robert Walker (R-PA), chair of the House Science Committee, Kumar Patel concurred with the need to end excessive oversight and micromanagement of DOE labs, create a knowledge base for environmental cleanup, ensure integrity of the stockpile, and encourage interaction with industry and academia.

THE AMERICAN PHYSICAL SOCIETY (Note: Opinions are the author's and are not necessarily shared by the APS, but they should be.)


Bob Park can be reached via email at whatsnew@bobpark.org
THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND
Opinions are the author's and are not necessarily shared by the University, but they should be.