Jordan A. Goodman Professor and Chair Department of Physics

From the Physics Chair

By Jordan A. Goodman
Professor and Chair

Dear Colleagues,

Welcome back to a new semester and a new year - and a very exciting year, at that. 2005 is the 100-year anniversary of the publication of Einstein's groundbreaking papers on the photoelectric effect (light quanta), Brownian motion and special relativity. These three papers, which we collectively refer to as "The 1905 Papers," drastically changed the field of physics, opening the door to new areas of science that we are still exploring today.

To commemorate this "miraculous year," the University of Maryland Department of Physics is taking part in the international World Year of Physics 2005 celebration with a variety of events. In addition to honoring the incredible contributions of an outstanding scientist, this celebration is an excellent opportunity for the entire field of physics to highlight the enormous impact that Albert Einstein's work, as well as the work of so many others, has had upon our world - from understanding the fundamental nature of our universe to developing applications for the electronics and high technology industries.

It is also an opportunity for us here at Maryland to showcase the cutting-edge research that our own physicists are working on, many of which have roots in Einstein's work a century ago.

Our World Year of Physics committee, headed by Professor O.W. Greenberg, is assembling a variety of events for a variety of audiences throughout 2005. To kick things off, we're proudly hosting a World Year of Physics distinguished lecture series featuring some of the brightest minds in physics today, including Nobel Laureates Leon Lederman, Anthony Legget and Sheldon Glashow, as well as Michael Turner, assistant director for mathematical and physical sciences at the National science Foundation, John Stachel, director of the Center for Einstein Studies at Boston University and Benoit Mandelbrot, recipient of the 2003 Japan Prize. In addition, several of my Maryland colleagues and I are honored to have been asked to present a course of lectures for the Smithsonian Institute's Resident Associate Program, entitled "Physics from Einstein to the Ends of Time."

I hope you'll join us for this celebration. For additional information about the University of Maryland's World Year of Physics events, please visit www.physics.umd.edu/Physics2005. Also, if you have questions or ideas for additional events, please do not hesitate to contact O.W. Greenberg at 301-405-6014 or owgreen@physics.umd.edu.

Sincerely,

Jordan A. Goodman
Professor and Chair