Sherman Frankel

Professor of Physics

University of Pennsylvania

24 August 2001

Marc Brodsky (via e-mail)

CEO and Executive Director

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse

College Park, Maryland 20740

Dear Prof. Brodsky,

While I do not know the book Disciplined Minds, I do know that today's physicists are generally uninterested in the political aspects of their work. They no longer are involved in Washington on matters of physics and public policy as were physicists like Weisskopf and Bethe.

The charges that Schmidt had strong political views and that "he had done some work on his book in his office" strike home with me. For the last 40 or so years I have put in my 60 hour week in my office working on physics but spending about 15% of my time on politically important subjects. www.dept.physics.upenn.edu/facultyinfo/frankel lists my physics papers but also my political articles in newspapers around the country and in many different political and even medical journals. So I strongly feel that we should applaud the fact that he added public policy to his interests and disregard the lame statement that he worked on his book occasionally in his office.

Sincerely yours,

Sherman Frankel