Friedemann Freund

Adjunct Professor of Physics

San Jose State University

SETI Institute / NASA Ames Research Center

Moffett Field, California

24 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 an avid reader of Physics Today.  Many of the articles are challenging in their ways.  I vividly remember, for instance, the article not long ago by a Polish nuclear physicist on the worldwide politics behind radiation health concerns.  As I read it, my esteem for Physics Today and its responsible editorial staff moved up a big notch.  Bringing this article certainly took courage.  True to the APS tradition, I thought, it was meant to initiate a much-needed public discussion about a hot topic.

 

Now I have learned about Jeff Schmidt's book, Disciplined Minds, and I learned that Jeff Schmidt has been fired from his editorial position at Physics Today.  After having researched what is available on the net my esteem for those at One Physics Ellipse who decided to reprimand Jeff Schmidt in this way has taken a deep dive.

 

I gave up 14 years ago a tenured professorship in Germany to pursue my dream of working in the USA in an intellectually open, highly interdisciplinary area, where physics, chemistry, geology, and biology intersect.  My dream has long been shattered by reality.  Being on soft money, I have experienced first-hand what it means to be at the mercy of (1) anonymous reviewers who more often than not lack the competence, or fairness, that they claim to possess; (2) program managers who wield their power over the purse and often have circles of good ol' friends; and (3) local NASA administrators for whom we are "contractors" and who think of us as second-rate citizens — with dire consequences for those of us who don't easily "obey."

 

I think I understand what Jeff Schmidt is trying to convey to the readers of his book.  I understand his drive for freedom from intellectual bondage.  I value his sensitivity to the broader aspects of an eminently societal question:  How does America, the "country of the free," treat those who work in the state of dependency.

 

It's a shame that you at APS seem unable to get along with an independent-minded but otherwise (so I hear) impeccable member of the Physics Today editorial staff.

 

Friedemann Freund