Berol Robinson, PhD
Physicist
Retired UNESCO Science Officer, Paris
Headquarters
Meudon, France
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 have
received the information circulated by Speech Rights. If the facts are as SR has depicted them, I join in the concern
of colleagues and willingly sign their draft letter:
As
physicists and other scientists concerned about freedom of expression in the
science community, we were troubled to learn of your dismissal of Jeff Schmidt,
who had been an articles editor at Physics Today magazine for over 19
years.
As we
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 we do not
necessarily agree with Jeff's views about the situation of physicists and other
salaried professionals, and do not expect you to, we believe that free debate
within the physics community is healthy.
We expect you to encourage it, not stifle it.
We ask that
you publish this letter in Physics Today, to bring our concerns to the
attention of the wider physics community.
Sincerely,
Berol Robinson
Member:
American
Association of Physics Teachers
American
Association for the Advancement of Science
American
Physical Society
(Disclaimer: This letter is signed by me personally and
does not represent in any way the position of UNESCO.)