Dr. T. S. Bhatia
Los Alamos National Laboratory
Los Alamos, New Mexico
27 August 2001
Marc H.
Brodsky (via e-mail)
CEO and
Executive Director
American Institute
of Physics
One Physics
Ellipse
College
Park, Maryland 20740
Dear Dr.
Brodsky:
I am
troubled to learn of your dismissal of Jeff Schmidt, who, I understand, had
been an articles editor at Physics Today magazine for over 19 years.
As I understand
it, you fired Jeff after you saw his book, Disciplined Minds, and in
particular after you learned that Jeff had used some of his spare time at the
office for critical writing about education and employment in physics and other
fields.
While I do
not necessarily agree with Jeff's views about the situation of physicists and
other salaried professionals, and do not expect you to, I believe that free
debate within the physics community is healthy. I expect you to encourage it, not stifle it, especially because
physicists are known for speaking out when physicists internationally are
punished for expressing their views.
Your actions as head of the American Institute of Physics help to shape
society's view of the physics community.
I urge you to reconsider your decision, and offer to reinstate Jeff as
an editor at Physics Today.
Sincerely,
T. S. Bhatia