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Re: [Phys-L] prizes



On 10/10/2014 06:57 AM, Paul Nord wrote:
Physics has been the preeminent science for approximately the last
hundred years.

Yes.

But the traditional labels of the sciences are artificial.

Yes, artificial.

Also fluid.

The distinction of a field known as physics is rapidly
fading and quickly being overtaken by genetics and medicine, among
others. But it had a good run.

I wouldn't talk about it in the past tense.

There was a time when designing electric motors was
considered "physics research". If you don't believe
me, look at early issues of The Physical Review.

This has the utmost importance for departmental
politics. The rule is: Adapt or die.

Specifically, the question arises, does biophysics
belong in the physics department (as opposed to
the biology department)?
a) The department that says "that's not what
we do" will gradually shrink in size and
importance. They will complain when their
funding gets cut, not understanding why the
cut was what they deserved.
b) Conversely the department that shifts and
expands the department boundaries will prosper
... and deservedly so.

Not mentioning any names, I've seen examples of (a)
and examples of (b).

Keep in mind that growth is not the only objective.
Sometimes you /want/ to transfer a subject out of
the department. Electric motors have long since
been transferred to the engineering department,
and rightly so.

Similar boundary issues exist concerning
-- theoretical chemistry versus atomic physics
-- theoretical physics versus mathematics
-- physical chemistry versus chemical physics
-- biochemistry (in the biology department)
vs. biochemistry (in the chemistry department)
-- applied physics (in the physics department)
vs. applied physics (in the college of engineering)
-- et cetera

At the level of meta-policy and meta-politics, you
want to set up policies and procedures that limit
the power of individual fiefdoms and encourage
interdisciplinary cooperation.

Getting this to work is easier said than done, but
let me mention some baby steps that can be taken.
For starters, the wise administration will set
things up so that funding requests, promotion cases,
etc. are more likely to be approved if they are
signed off by two departments, not just one.