History of 4CS

History of 4CS

Early History of the Four Corners Section, American Physical Society

William E. Evenson and Hans D. Hochheimer

June 9, 2023

In 1997 Harry Lustig, having retired as Treasurer of the American Physical Society (APS) and moved to Santa Fe in 1996, invited APS members from each of the Four Corners states (Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah) to meet in Albuquerque at the University of New Mexico on March 22 to consider the formation of a Four Corners Section (4CS) of APS. He arranged for APS to invite 29 representatives of physics departments, government labs and industry plus a representative of the Texas Section as an advisor. A list of organizations represented and the names of participants is attached to this history as Appendix A.

Those who participated were enthusiastically in favor of working toward this new APS Section. They elected interim officers and executive committee (Appendix B) to poll APS members in the region to gauge their support, obtain approval of APS Council for the Section, and organize the first 4CS meeting in 1998. The interim officers elected at this meeting were William (Bill) Evenson from Brigham Young University as chair, J.D. Garcia from University of Arizona as chairelect, David Wolfe from University of New Mexico as vice chair, and Eric Jones from Sandia National Laboratory as secretary-treasurer.

In addition, a committee was formed to draft bylaws that could be presented to APS Council (Appendix B). Harry Lustig’s long experience as an APS officer was invaluable in identifying the essential tasks for APS recognition.

Howard Voss, from Arizona State University, chaired the Bylaws Committee. H. Dieter Hochheimer, from Colorado State University, as a member of the Bylaws Committee, very strongly advocated that a student member be included in the future 4CS Executive Committee. This proposal was not universally welcomed, but it prevailed and has been key to the success of the Section. Due to this attention to students from the beginning, the Section has maintained a focus on student research and has become an important venue for student scientific presentations.

The second priority focus that came out of these first meetings was to include an evening physics talk for the public in 4CS meetings. This, too, has become an important tradition and has expanded awareness and interest in physics through the Four Corners states.

The minutes of the organizing meeting are attached in Appendix C. More details of the tasks ahead in the organizing process are contained in Bill Evenson’s notes in Appendix D.

There was a requirement of 200 members to organize a section. Since section membership was free to APS members, i.e. no extra dues, it was relatively easy to get APS members to join. A list of APS members in the four states was provided by APS, and the interim officers proceeded to contact these members, alert them to the imminent organization of the section and request that they commit to free membership. This was done by colleagues reaching out within their institutions as well as by mass emails (Appendix E). Interim letterhead for the Section was created for use in the organizing activities (Appendix F). We had immediate responses from sufficient APS members that we presented a preliminary application to APS Council at their April 1997 meeting (Appendix G). This application was approved conditional on approval of the final draft of the bylaws by the APS Constitution and Bylaws Committee.

In fall 1997, the interim officers presented to APS Council the bylaws as finalized by the 4CS Bylaws Committee and approved by the 4CS Executive Committee. These bylaws had previously been reviewed by the APS Constitution and Bylaws Committee who had assisted in bringing them to acceptable final form. The interim officers were also able to report that by fall 1997 approximately 400 APS members in the region had responded by email supporting the establishment of the Section. The bylaws were accepted and the Section formally established in November 1997.

The first meeting of the new section was organized at the University of New Mexico in spring 1998. As of February 10, 1998, there were 530 members of the new Section. Members were affiliated with institutions throughout the Four Corners States, with the largest number at any single institution naturally coming from Los Alamos National Laboratory. This made Albuquerque an attractive site for the first meeting. It was scheduled for April 3 and 4, 1998, a Friday and Saturday.

This first meeting established numerous precedents that have guided Section meetings ever since. These include parallel sessions emphasizing student research reports. Inviting both undergraduate and graduate students to participate. Offering student travel grants to the extent of available funding. Judging student papers and giving awards for outstanding papers. Setting a minimal registration fee for students (only $5 for this first meeting!). Opening contributed sessions to all members, students and non-students alike. Including plenary sessions on physics in the region and on frontier topics. Offering a public lecture following the banquet. Much of this was made possible by generous contributions for both meeting expenses and student support from institutions and individuals in the Four Corners states, a practice that continued in future meetings.

140 members registered for the meeting, and 95 attended the banquet. There were 54 contributed talks given in the initial meeting, organized into the following sessions: Fluids; Particles, Fields and Nuclei I and II; Condensed Matter I; Condensed Matter II and Energy; Instruments and Measurement Science; Space; Atoms, Optics and Lasers; Science Education; and Post-Deadline Papers.

The banquet speaker was Prof. Murray Gell-Mann, Santa Fe Institute and University of New Mexico, with title “Nature Conformable to Herself.” Two section members received APS Prizes in 1998 and were also honored at the banquet: J. D. Garcia, University of Arizona, winner of the Edward A. Bouchet Prize; and Joel Moss, Los Alamos National Laboratory, winner of the Bonner Prize.

Leaders of Los Alamos National Laboratory (Laboratory Director, John Browne), Air Force Research Laboratory in Albuquerque (Chief Scientist, Janet Fender), and Sandia National Laboratories (Director of Physics and Chemical Sciences Center, Thomas Picraux) reviewed Physics in New Mexico in a Saturday morning plenary Session. A Saturday afternoon plenary on Frontiers of Physics featured speakers from the Four Corners States reporting on current exciting work: Advances in PV Research at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, CO by Satyen Deb; Cosmic Ray Experiments in Utah by David Kieda; Developments in Nonlinear Systems in Arizona by Raymond Goldstein; and Quantum State Manipulation with Trapped Ions by Quentin Turchette and the Wineland Group at NIST in Boulder.

The Organizing Committee for this successful meeting deserves great credit for their work in the short time between formal establishment of the Section and deadlines for meeting arrangements. This committee consisted of Eric Jones (Sandia National Laboratories), Harry Lustig (APS), Scott Nutter (Eastern New Mexico University), Andrea Palounek (Los Alamos National Laboratory), and David Wolfe, Committee Chair (University of New Mexico).

The meeting in Albuquerque started the Section with enthusiasm and extended interest among students for participation in a scientific meeting that was not too distant, was not expensive, and was eager to include students and give them opportunities to present and participate.

Maintaining momentum, the second meeting of the Four Corners Section was held October 16- 17, 1998 at Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, by which time the membership had grown to 625. In the course of organizing this meeting, commitments were received by Section officers for annual contributions for student support and meeting support from Sandia National Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Additional local contributions were received to support the meeting from Moxtek and BYU.

The fall 1998 meeting continued the practices of the spring meeting and, with the benefit of several additional months for organization, expanded the opportunities and participation. The Executive Committee determined that future annual meetings would continue in the fall, so the spring 1998 kick-off meeting in Albuquerque is the only spring meeting in the history of this section.

There were 73 contributed and invited papers at the 1998 Provo meeting, of which about onethird were by students. The Provo Daily Herald, the Salt Lake Tribune, the Salt Lake Deseret News and the BYU Daily Universe (Appendix H) had all published articles about the meeting, including an announcement of a public lecture after the banquet at the Provo Marriott. This lecture was presented by Prof. Kip Thorne of Cal Tech on “Gravitational Waves: A New Window on the Universe.” It was very well-attended, bringing in a large group of interested townspeople outside the physics community. They were well rewarded as Prof. Thorne addressed interested, well-educated non-physicists perfectly.

Following the pattern of the spring meeting in Albuquerque, the fall meeting had a Friday plenary session on Physics in Utah, including Nanoscale Electronic Measurements by Clayton Williams, University of Utah; EUV Multilayer Mirrors by David Allred, Brigham Young University; and Physics R&D for Solid Rocket Motor Materials by Lee Pearson, Thiokol. A Saturday afternoon plenary featured current physics in the Four Corners States: Science Behind the Pictures from Hubble by Jeff Hester, Arizona State University; Reducing Asteroid and Comet Impact Hazard by David Crawford, Sandia National Laboratory; Recent Experiments in Bose-Einstein Condensation by Jason Ensher, University of Colorado; and Advances in Plasma Physics by Todd Haines, Los Alamos National Laboratory.

The fall 1998 meeting was also the occasion for further development of a system for judging student papers and giving awards for outstanding presentations. This work was led by Andrea Palounek, and development has continued in all subsequent years to provide fair, efficient judging and significant recognition (including monetary awards) for outstanding presentations by undergraduate and graduate students. Appendix I contains Registration Forms for the two 1998 meetings, showing the low cost registrations and banquet fees and inviting students to register for the Student Prize Competition.

At the Provo meeting, the 4CS Executive Committee arranged to coordinate exhibits from the four states of the Section at the 1999 APS Centennial meeting in Atlanta. In addition, they set the date for the fall 1999 4CS meeting in Tucson and accepted a proposal from Colorado State University to host the fall 2000 meeting.

Reminiscences from Hans Dieter Hochheimer

Let me start with the year 1997, when we met in Albuquerque, New Mexico, to follow the suggestion of Harry Lustig, to found a new section covering Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah, and call it the Four Corners Section of the American Physical Society. I remember still very well the discussions I had with Fred Mueller, Los Alamos National Laboratory, who was opposed to my suggestion to include a student in the Executive Committee. We did not solve this problem at the meeting, but were able to agree to found the section and elected Bill Evenson, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah as the first Chair of the Section and organize the first meeting at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque.

At the founding meeting in Albuquerque: Left: My wife Renate, Howard Voss, Arizona State University and his wife Helen.

In 1998 Bill Evenson organized the second meeting at Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, which was definitely one of the best meetings I have attended and probably laid the cornerstone for the success of the Four Corners Section.

Since I think that pictures will make our history more interesting and show the flavor of our meetings, here are a few:

Bill Fairbank (right) with three of our Colorado State students at the fall 1998 section meeting at BYU. Jennifer Burris (second from right) became Prof. at Appalachian State University, now Provost at Lenoir-Rhyne University. Steve Rehse (left) became Prof. at Case Western University. Jennifer and Steve won a student award for their presentation at this meeting.

Bill Fairbank advertising the Colorado State University Physics Program at the fall 1998 meeting at BYU.

Craig Taylor (U of Utah) and Howard Voss (Arizona State U) at the Las Cruces meeting in 2001.

Student award winners at Las Cruces meeting, 2001. Eric Jones (Sandia National Laboratory and 4CS Secretary-Treasurer) on the right.

Waiting for a session to begin. Las Cruces meeting, 2001.

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APPENDIX A: Organizations Represented and Participants in the Organizing Meeting, March 22, 1997

Organizations

American Physical Society

Texas Section APS

Sandia National Laboratories

Los Alamos National Laboratory

Phillips Lab, Kirtland Air Force Base

University of New Mexico

New Mexico State University

New Mexico Tech (Socorro)

Eastern New Mexico University

University of Arizona

Participants

Arizona

Bruce Barrett, Dept of Physics, U of Arizona

J. D. Garcia, Dept of Physics, U of Arizona

Mark Lemon, Lunar & Planet Lab, U of Arizona

Michael Petras, Motorola, Tempe

Otto Sankey, Dept of Physics, Arizona State U

Darrell Smith, Math/Phys Sci Dept, Embry-

Riddle University Arizona

Howard Voss, Dept of Physics, Arizona State U

Trevor Weekes, Whipple Observatory, U of Ariz

Colorado 

Allan Franklin, Dept of Physics, U of Colorado

Hans Hochheimer, Dept of Physics, Colorado

State U

Mariet Hofstee, Dept of Physics, Colorado

School of Mines

Other 

C. A. Quarles, Dept of Physics, Texas Christian U

Arizona State University

Motorola (Tempe)

Embry-Riddle University AZ

Brigham Young University

University of Utah

Weber State University

Utah State University

Colorado State University

University of Colorado

Colorado School of Mines

New Mexico 

George Burleson, Dept of Physics, New Mexico

State U

Eric Jones, Sandia National Laboratory

Harry Lustig, APS (retired to Santa Fe)

Lenore McMackin, Phillips Lab, Kirtland AFB

Fred Mueller, Los Alamos National Laboratory

Scott Nutter, Eastern New Mexico U

Andrea Palounek, Los Alamos National Lab

Richard Simeon, Los Alamos National Lab

Mary Ann Sweeney, Sandia National Lab

David Westpfahl, Langmuir Lab, New Mexico

Tech

David Wolfe, Dept of Physics, U of New Mexico

Utah 

Farhang Amiri, Dept of Physics, Weber State U

Brenda Dingus, Dept of Physics, U of Utah

William Evenson, Dept of Phys, Brigham Young

Mark Riffe, Dept of Physics, Utah State U

Craig Taylor, Dept of Physics, U of Utah

Stuart Taylor, Dept of Physics, U of Utah

Steven Turley, Dept of Phys, Brigham Young U

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APPENDIX B: Interim Officers and Executive Committee 1997 + Bylaws Committee 1997

Interim Chair: Bill Evenson, Brigham Young University

Interim Chair-Elect: J.D. Garcia, University of Arizona

Interim Vice Chair: David Wolfe, University of New Mexico

Interim Secretary-Treasurer: Eric D. Jones, Sandia National Laboratory

Interim Executive Committee

Mariet Hofstee, Colorado School of Mines

Michael Petras, Motorola – AISL Tempe

Andrea Palounek, Los Alamos National Laboratory

Brenda Dingus, University of Utah

Bylaws Committee

Howard Voss, Arizona State University – Chair

Hans Hochheimer, Colorado State University

Fred Mueller, Los Alamos National Laboratory

Scott Nutter, Eastern New Mexico University

Mary Ann Sweeney, Sandia National Laboratory

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APPENDIX C: Organizing Meeting Minutes

FOUR CORNERS SECTION OF THE AMERICAN PHYSICAL SOCIETY

ORGANIZATION MEETING MINUTES

March 22,1997, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM

On Saturday, March 22,1997 a meeting was held at the University of New Mexico with the express purpose of forming a new Four Corners Section of the American Physical Society. The boundaries of the Section will be the states of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. The APS invited thirty representatives to participate in this meeting. The organizations represented included the American Physical Society, Texas Section APS, Sandia National Laboratories, Los Alamos National Laboratory, University of New Mexico, New Mexico State University, New Mexico Tech (Socorro), Eastern New Mexico University, University of Arizona, Arizona State University, Motorola (Phoenix), Brigham Young University, University of Utah, Weber State University, Utah State University, Colorado State University, University of Colorado, and Colorado School of Mines.

Introductions and welcome speeches were presented by David Wolfe, Physics Department Chairman - University of New Mexico, Bill Evenson, Physics Department - Brigham Young University, J. D. Garcia, Physics Department - University of Arizona, and Harry Lustig, Secretary/Treasurer American Physical Society (retired).

All representatives then introduced themselves with a brief personal history and their vision for a Four Comers Section of the APS. After the self introductions, J. D. Garcia was elected to serve as Chair of the Meeting until interim Officers were elected.

A review of the history, activities, governance, finances, etc., of existing Sections was presented by Harry Lustig. A discussion by Texas Section Secretary/Treasurer C. A. Quarles regarding the operation of the Section. In particular the Texas Section organization of the Section Meetings and formats were discussed.

A typical set of By Laws, appropriate for APS Sections was presented by Harry Lustig. Each section of these By Laws was modified by the representatives with the main thrust that whenever possible, all four states would be represented on the Executive Committee. A discussion regarding student representation on the Executive Committee was deferred to a later date.

The representatives elected the following interim Officers and Executive Committee to serve until elections by the Four Comers APS Membership are held. Chair - Bill Evenson, Brigham Young University, Chair Elect - J. D. Garcia, University of Arizona, Vice Chair - David Wolfe, University of New Mexico, and Secretary/Treasurer Eric D. Jones, Sandia National Laboratories. Executive Committee members are Brenda Dingus, University of Utah, Mariet Hofstee, Colorado School of Mines, Michael Petras, Motorola (AZ) and Andrea Palounek, Los Alamos National Laboratory.

Bill Evenson appointed Howard Voss, Arizona State University, to chair a By Laws Committee for the Four Comers Section to prepare a revised version of the By Laws as approved by the representatives. Bill also appointed Hans Hochheimer, Colorado State University, Fred Mueller, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Scott Nutter, Eastern New Mexico University and Mary Ann Sweeney, Sandia National Laboratories to serve on the By Laws Committee.

Bill Evenson also asked all of the representatives to consider two questions (1) Could you help with the Section Meeting, when, where? and (2) Could you obtain financial support for a meeting at your institution or elsewhere?

The meeting was adjourned at 4:30 P.M.

Submitted by Eric D. Jones, Secretary/Treasurer

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APPENDIX D: William Evenson notes addressed to Eric Jones

Eric, The following are a compilation of the miscellaneous notes that I made at the March 22 Four Corners Section organizing meeting. I'm sorry I don't have a more organized set of notes to help you with, but perhaps these will be useful, if only to keep in the file.

It was suggested that the Four Corners Section meet jointly with regional meetings of the Optical Society of America when that can be convenient. Public events and public outreach should be part of our section meetings. The Texas Section will meet in El Paso, very close to our border, in mid-October, 1998.

Harry Lustig explained how sections work.

  • Sections are autonomous in their functioning.
  • There are five existing sections: New England, organized in 1932 now has about 2400 members; New York, organized in 1938 now has about 1900 members; Texas, organized in 1982 now has about 1400 members; Ohio, organized 1939, has about 1100 members; and Southeastern Section, organized 1937, has about 1800 members.
  • Section meetings are opportunity to bring all fields of physics together and treat physics as a unified subject.
  • Most sections have about two meetings a year. They rotate meetings through the region, and can be hosted by universities, national labs, or industries. The meetings are usually scheduled for 1 1/2 to 2 days.
  • The potential total membership for the Four Corners Section is about 1000, based on the current number of APS members in this region.
  • Often one meeting a year can be held jointly with AAPT with a focus on education. Sections also work with SPS. They have both invited and contributed sessions at their meetings. 
  • Meeting registration fees, for members, are usually $25-30. Students have lower registration fees, $5-10 or even free. Non-members are charged about $10 more.
  • Meetings often include a scheduled banquet. They may use hotels or dormitories for housing, depending on availability.
  • Most sections have a newsletter. A section home page will be provided on the APS server. APS will also send e-mails to section members.
  • There is a requirement of 200 members to initially organize a section. Their membership in the section is free with APS membership; one simply has to designate section membership, but there are no extra dues.
  • Section Finances: Revenues include a $1000 start-up grant, $4 per member per year subsidy, meeting registration fees, abstract fees, and donations from host institutions. Expenses are due to meeting costs, publication of abstracts in the Bulletin of the American Physical Society, newsletter printing and mailing costs, executive committee expenses, and student travel subsidies.
  • Governance consists typically of Officers who are involved for four years with rotating terms, Secretary-Treasurer, who has a three-year assignment and may be re-elected to a second three year term, an APS Council advisor (non-voting representative from the Section, sometimes this is the past Chair, elected by the Executive Committee each year) , and Members-at-Large of the Executive Committee of the Section on three-year rotating terms.
  • There is also a Program Committee appointed by the Chair of the Section.
  • There is an annual APS units meeting which involves the Section Chair and Secretary-Treasurer at the American Center for Physics.

Notes of tasks to follow up:

  • Notify the APS of the status of our bylaws and our organization plans.
  • Contact all the AAPT sections with which this APS section overlaps geographically, to coordinate joint meetings where appropriate.
  • Arrange to have notice of the new section at the Denver AAPT meeting since that national AAPT meeting is being held in our region.
  • Provide a summary statement to potential members by e-mail for instructions on responding and note that membership in the section is free.
  • Keep in mind the possibility of joint sponsorship of some sessions or invited speakers at our meetings by other APS forums or divisions.
  • The Secretary-Treasurer should contact other sections to get detailed budgets for recent section meetings for our reference.
  • Each participant in the organizing meeting agreed to try to get others at their institutions to sign up.
  • Coordinate with other groups like the Utah Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters. 
  • There were several comments urging that we place high priority on involving undergraduates and other students and that we be sure there are public events at our meetings. It was suggested that we have an undergraduate poster session.

Possible future meetings:

  • Spring 1998: Bill Evenson will look into the possibility of BYU.
  • Fall 1998: George Burleson will explore whether we might have a joint arrangement with UTEP and New Mexico State University.
  • 1999: Arizona, J.D. Garcia will explore specific possibilities.

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APPENDIX E: Report to APS Members and Invitation to Join

A one-page report and invitation to join the section, accompanied by a more detailed “Part 2” for those interested. Prepared March 27, 1997

REPORT TO APS MEMBERS IN ARIZONA, COLORADO, NEW MEXICO, AND UTAH

INVITATION TO PARTICIPATE IN NEW APS SECTION

On Saturday, March 22, 1997, 29 APS members and potential members from Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah met in Albuquerque to prepare a proposal for a Four Corners Section of the American Physical Society (4CSAPS). This group agreed on a proposed set of bylaws and interim officers to be presented to the APS Council.

WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT FOR THE FORMATION OF THE SECTION. PLEASE SEND AN EMAIL MESSAGE (IF YOU HAVE NOT DONE SO PREVIOUSLY) TO fourcorners@aps.org - see more information below.

Motivation 

APS carries on many activities at the national level. The purpose of a regional section is to offer smaller and less expensive regional meetings and activities that can reach more APS members and potential members, including students and indust^ physicists for example. Section meetings will unite participants from colleges, universities, industry, and government laboratories. In addition, the section could contribute to greater awareness of regional activities in physics through a newsletter (probably via email) and provide programs for public outreach.

Petition to Form the New Section

The APS Council can authorize the formation of this new section upon receipt of a petition from at least 200 APS members in the region, including a proposal for beginning the activities of the section (proposed bylaws, interim officers, etc.). We now need additional members to indicate their support for this unit. Membership in the section is available AT NO COST to any APS member in the region. Approximately 110 APS members responded to the email inquiry about interest in a Four Corners Section sent out on February 11. IF YOU DID NOT RESPOND TO OUR EMAIL REQUEST AT THAT TIME, PLEASE SEND A MESSAGE TO fourcorners@aps.org INDICATING THAT YOU SUPPORT THE FORMATION OF THE FOUR CORNERS SECTION. As soon as we have heard from 200 supporters, we are ready to present our petition to Council.

Additional information about the proposed Section and the actions taken at the meeting on March 22 is contained in an accompanying email message. 

Please let us hear from you.

The Interim Section Officers

Bill Evenson (BYU), J.D. Garcia (U. Of Arizona), David Wolfe (UNM), Eric Jones (Sandia), Brenda Dingus (U. Of Utah), Mariet Hofstee (Colorado Sch. Of Mines), Andrea Palounek (LANL), Michael Petras (Motorola-Tempe) PART 2 of REPORT TO APS MEMBERS IN ARIZONA, COLORADO, NEW MEXICO, AND UTAH

INVITATION TO PARTICIPATE IN NEW APS SECTION

As explained in the previous message, 29 APS members and potential members from Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah met in Albuquerque on Saturday, March 22, 1997, to prepare a proposal for a Four Corners Section of the American Physical Society. This message reports on the actions taken by that group, including an outline of planning to this point, a list of interim officers, and a call for suggestions.

Those attending the March 22 meeting agreed that a Four Corners Section should be organized. They suggested that the Section hold general physics meetings twice a year, where the unity of the various fields of physics can be emphasized. Such meetings could also provide public events to strengthen broader perceptions of and support for science. When it could be arranged suitably, the section would meet jointly with the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT), the Student Physics Society (SPS), and possibly with regional sections of the Optical Society of America (OSA), the American Ceramic Society (AcerS), AAAS, and other scientific groups.

Even in this first organization meeting we saw the benefits of bringing physicists from the region together in a way that facilitates productive interactions and acquaintance.

Outline of Plans for the Section

The Proposed Bylaws (available upon request) provide that the Section will be governed by an Executive Committee consisting of a Section Chair, Chair-Elect, Vice-Chair, Secretary-Treasurer, Section Advisor to the APS Council, and four Members-at-Large. The Vice-Chair is elected each year and serves successively as Vice-Chair, Chair-Elect, and Chair, one year in each office. The Secretary-Treasurer is elected to a three-year term, and the Members-at-Large to staggered three-year terms. The Section Advisor to Council is elected by the Executive Committee for a one-year term.

The Proposed Bylaws also provide for a Nominating Committee and a Program Committee, each to include members of the Executive Committee and others appointed by the Chair, with one additional member of the Nominating Committee appointed by the APS Council. Ad hoc committees can be appointed as necessary.

The Nominating Committee will be charged to balance representation among the four states of the Section and to assure representation from all major groups participating in the Section, i.e. universities, colleges, industry, government labs, and any others.

The Section expects to hold two scientific meetings each year, rotating among the four states. The opportunity to present papers will be open to any APS member. Both oral and poster presentations will generally be accommodated, and sessions especially for students or other means of encouraging student participation are planned.

A committee was appointed to further refine the Bylaws in preparation for their formal adoption when the Section is officially formed.

Interim officers were elected by the group meeting on March 22 to oversee the organization of the Section and get it up and running. Permanent officers will be elected by the Section membership soon after the APS Council has approved the Section.

Interim Officers

Chair: Bill Evenson, Brigham Young University (Utah)

evenson@byu.edu, 801 378-6078, Fax: 801 378-2265

Chair-Elect: J. D. Garcia, University of Arizona

jdg@physics.arizona.edu, 520 621-6808, Fax: 520 621-4721

Vice-Chair: David Wolfe, University of New Mexico

dwolfe@unm.edu, 505 277-2616, Fax: 505 277-1520

Secretary-Treasurer: Eric D. Jones, Sandia National Laboratories

edjones@sandia.gov, 505 844-8752, Fax: 505 844-3211

Members-at-Large:

Brenda Dingus, University of Utah

dingus@mail.physics.utah.edu, 801 581-6930, Fax: 801 581-4801

Mariet Hofstee, Colorado School of Mines

mhofstee@mines.edu, 303 273-3917, Fax: 303 273-3919

Andrea Palounek, Los Alamos National Laboratory (New Mexico)

aptp@lanl.gov, 505 665-2574, Fax: 505 665-7920

Michael Petras, Motorola-AISL (Tempe, Arizona)

RP3257@email.sps.mot.com, 602 413-6417, Fax: 602 413-4511

Call for Suggestions

We would appreciate any suggestions you care to make about the operation of the Section and the current organizational activity. Please email suggestions to Bill Evenson (evenson@byu.edu) or to fourcorners@aps.org

We are especially eager to have suggestions or proposals about Section meeting sites and dates for the next two to three years. Please indicate what institutional support might be available and what additional support will be needed that is not available at your location.

Please suggest meeting focus topics if you think they would be appropriate, possible invited speakers and public outreach speakers, and any other ideas for Section meetings.

Thanks for your interest in the Four Corners Section.

The Interim Section Officers

Bill Evenson

J. D. Garcia

David Wolfe

Eric Jones

Brenda Dingus

Mariet Hofstee

Andrea Palounek

Michael Petras

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APPENDIX F: Interim 4CS Letterhead Used in Initial Organizing Efforts

    American Physical Society Four Corners Section 

    Department of Physics and Astronomy, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602

    Tel: 801 378-4361    Fax: 801 378-2265    Email: FourC@byu.edu

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APPENDIX G: Application to APS Council for Four Corners Section March 27, 1997 and April 9, 1997

March 27, 1997

Memo

To Barrie Ripin and APS Council

From Interim Officers of Proposed Four Corners Section of the American Physical Society: 4CSAPS

Re: Proposed Four Corners Section

On Saturday, March 22, 1997, 29 APS members and potential members from Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah met in Albuquerque to prepare a proposal for a Four Corners Section of the American Physical Society. This group agreed on a proposed set of bylaws and interim officers to be presented to the APS Council and carried out additional business as reported below. By this report, we request that Council consider our application to establish a Four Corners Section.

The Proposed Bylaws approved by the organizing group will be provided to Barrie Ripin this week.

The meeting on March 22 included representatives from universities, colleges, industry, and government labs from all four states in the region. Harry Lustig and C. A. Quarles (Texas Section) reported on the activities and organization of other APS Sections.

The organizing group is eager to organize this new Section in order to offer smaller and less expensive regional meetings and activities that can reach more APS members and potential members, including students and industry physicists for example. We anticipate that Section meetings will unite participants from colleges, universities, industry, and government laboratories in our region. In addition, the Section could contribute to greater awareness of regional activities in physics through a newsletter (probably via email) and provide programs for public outreach.

We plan to hold general physics meetings twice a year, where the unity of physics can be emphasized, and often including public events to strengthen broader perceptions of and support for science. When it could be arranged suitably, the Section would meet jointly with the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT), the Student Physics Society (SPS), and possibly with regional sections of the Optical Society of America (OSA), the American Ceramic Society (AcerS), AAAS, and other scientific groups.

Participants in the March 22 meeting agreed to encourage other APS members and prospective members at their institutions to send messages supporting the organization of the Section to fourcorners@aps.org. At the time of the meeting we had 118 APS members who have expressed interest in the Section. We will send an email report of this meeting and request for response to APS members in the region within a few days and are confident of reaching 200 members very quickly.

A committee was appointed to further refine the Bylaws in preparation for their formal adoption when the Section is officially formed.

Interim officers were elected by the group meeting on March 22 to oversee the organization of the Section and get it up and running. Permanent officers will be elected by the Section membership soon after the APS Council has approved the Section.

Interim Officers

Chair: Bill Evenson, Brigham Young University (Utah)

evenson@byu.edu, 801 378-6078, Fax: 801 378-2265

Chair-Elect: J. D. Garcia, University of Arizona

jdg@physics.arizona.edu, 520 621-6808, Fax: 520 621-4721

Vice-Chair: David Wolfe, University of New Mexico

dwolfe@unm.edu, 505 277-2616, Fax: 505 277-1520

Secretary-Treasurer: Eric D. Jones, Sandia National Laboratories

edjones@sandia.gov, 505 844-8752, Fax: 505 844-3211

Members-at-Large: 

Brenda Dingus, University of Utah

dingus@mail.physics.utah.edu, 801 581-6930, Fax: 801 581-4801

Mariet Hofstee, Colorado School of Mines

mhofstee@mines.edu, 303 273-3917, Fax: 303 273-3919

Andrea Palounek, Los Alamos National Laboratory (New Mexico)

aptp@lanl.gov, 505 665-2574, Fax: 505 665-7920

Michael Petras, Motorola-AISL (Tempe, Arizona)

RP3257@email.sps.mot.com, 602 413-6417, Fax: 602 413-4511

We anticipate that the first scientific meeting of the Section will be in spring 1998, possibly at BYU. We also intend to have a fall 1998 meeting, possibly in New Mexico, with 1999 in Arizona. We have solicited suggestions and proposals to come from the organizing group in the next two weeks about these meeting possibilities.

We believe this Section will be important to physicists and students in this region, and we are eager to begin.

The Interim Section Officers

Bill Evenson

J. D. Garcia

David Wolfe

Eric Jones

Brenda Dingus

Mariet Hofstee

Andrea Palounek

Michael Petras

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APPENDIX H: BYU Daily Universe Story on Fall 1998 Meeting at BYU

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APPENDIX I: 4CS Registration Forms Spring 1998 and Fall 1998 Meetings

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