John F. McClelland
Group Leader — Applied Spectroscopy Group
Ames Laboratory — US Department of Energy
Iowa State University
Ames, Iowa
2 September 2001
Marc Brodsky
(via e-mail)
CEO and
Executive Director
American
Institute of Physics
One Physics
Ellipse
College
Park, Maryland 20740
Dear Mr.
Brodsky,
Thanks for
responding to my inquiry. I have tried
to gather the information necessary to fairly understand both sides of this
issue and your input has been valuable.
After going
through this process, I have to say that the actions of the AIP regarding Jeff
Schmidt's termination concern me a great deal.
Quite frankly I'm aghast that the organization that represents my
profession and that I have supported for many years would engage in such behavior. Doesn't anyone at AIP understand the full
implications of what this action means?
Furthermore, I seriously doubt that the majority of physicists who have
supported AIP would be comfortable with the treatment of Jeff Schmidt.
Please
understand that your belief the AIP has not violated federal law is hardly the
point. Most people who look into what
occurred are going to suspect early on that the "stolen time" issue
is bogus and that this is really about personality clashes and difficulty
within AIP recognizing the importance of examining matters of great importance
to the profession from different perspectives.
While it may not work to have all of the Physics Today editors
with Schmidt's outlook, our profession was truly lucky to have one regardless
of any personality considerations.
I hope that
you will reinstate Schmidt immediately.
To do so will save a lot of people a lot of time and expense, and it is
simply the only reasonable course of action at this point. I feel that the physics community would be
best served if the matter could be settled without further legal action and
further organization of the APS membership against the AIP actions. Both will inevitably occur unless you take
action. Please seriously consider an
early closure.
Sincerely,
John McClelland