Will Thomas
@williamthomas.bsky.social
Director of Research in History, Policy, and Culture at the American Institute of Physics. Author of Rational Action: The Sciences of Policy in Britain and America, 1940-1960. Views expressed are my own.
In today's AIP History Weekly Edition, @tjowens.bsky.social interviews @patchenbarss.bsky.social about how he researched and wrote The Impossible Man, a biography of mathematical physicist Roger Penrose.
Q&A: Patchen Barss on Roger Penrose
AIP History Weekly Edition: February 13, 2026
www.aip.org
February 13, 2026 at 9:05 PM
In today's AIP History Weekly Edition, @tjowens.bsky.social interviews @patchenbarss.bsky.social about how he researched and wrote The Impossible Man, a biography of mathematical physicist Roger Penrose.
This is just unquestionably true, mainly because books are supposed to have a main point. So, scholars will spend many years of their lives essentially organizing their work around the demonstration of a single point. How many side points, how much documentation, gets sacrificed to that end?
Does thinking about research in book-sized chunks constrain the ways we do historical research? It's something I have been wondering about... @standrewshist.bsky.social See: online.ucpress.edu/hsns/article...
Book or Project?
In my corner of the academic world, it’s standard practice for colleagues to describe their research work in terms of books already written, books in progress, and plans for books that may or may not ...
online.ucpress.edu
February 13, 2026 at 12:29 PM
This is just unquestionably true, mainly because books are supposed to have a main point. So, scholars will spend many years of their lives essentially organizing their work around the demonstration of a single point. How many side points, how much documentation, gets sacrificed to that end?
The AIP stats team has released its latest data of physics & astronomy PhD trends, with breakdown by gender. What is extraordinary to me is how clearly the overall trends exhibit an important gender dimension, and that that story is quite different between physics and astronomy.
February 11, 2026 at 9:58 PM
The AIP stats team has released its latest data of physics & astronomy PhD trends, with breakdown by gender. What is extraordinary to me is how clearly the overall trends exhibit an important gender dimension, and that that story is quite different between physics and astronomy.
I'm really happy to have this long-awaited guide up and running. Michel and Gernot did a great job of thinking about how a web site can complement a book chapter. We're busily working away on both history and policy guides that will follow its example. Please have a look!
⚛️ Today is the International Day of Women and Girls in Science.
AIP has posted its first-ever history guide that was made by Michel Janssen, Will Thomas and Gernot Münster. The guide offers a brief overview of physicist Lucy Mensing’s career, as well as photos,
1/2
www.aip.org/lucy-mensing
AIP has posted its first-ever history guide that was made by Michel Janssen, Will Thomas and Gernot Münster. The guide offers a brief overview of physicist Lucy Mensing’s career, as well as photos,
1/2
www.aip.org/lucy-mensing
Lucy Mensing
www.aip.org
February 11, 2026 at 4:50 PM
I'm really happy to have this long-awaited guide up and running. Michel and Gernot did a great job of thinking about how a web site can complement a book chapter. We're busily working away on both history and policy guides that will follow its example. Please have a look!
Washington has a rich scientific history! Come hear Greg, Teasel, and Sara talk about it at AIP on the evening of Thursday, Feb. 26.
I will give a public talk in the Smithsonian series Science in the City, co-sponsored by American Institute of Physics. Joining me will be Teasel Muir-Harmony and Sara Grossman, on DC and Science. Register below.
Feb 26, 6 p.m.
American Institute of Physics
555 12th Street NW, Suite 250
Feb 26, 6 p.m.
American Institute of Physics
555 12th Street NW, Suite 250
Smithsonian Libraries and Archives
How did Washington, D.C. become a center of scientific thought, innovation, and influence? From the founding dreams of George Washington to the rise of the Smithsonian and other federal science instit...
lp.constantcontactpages.com
February 10, 2026 at 1:49 PM
Washington has a rich scientific history! Come hear Greg, Teasel, and Sara talk about it at AIP on the evening of Thursday, Feb. 26.
Having grown up a couple miles from a ski jump in Minnesota, I'm a little surprised to see that this was evidently some sort of regional strength? There's not much of it in the Rockies? www.washingtonpost.com/sports/olymp...
February 9, 2026 at 8:45 PM
Having grown up a couple miles from a ski jump in Minnesota, I'm a little surprised to see that this was evidently some sort of regional strength? There's not much of it in the Rockies? www.washingtonpost.com/sports/olymp...
In today's AIP History Weekly Edition, Anna Doel interviews Ankita Anirban about her interview/book project on the successful push at Bell Labs to elevate black scientists. At a time when such efforts are on the back foot, it's important to know more about these examples.
Q&A: Ankita Anirban on Black scientists at Bell Labs
AIP Weekly Edition: February 6, 2026
www.aip.org
February 6, 2026 at 4:21 PM
In today's AIP History Weekly Edition, Anna Doel interviews Ankita Anirban about her interview/book project on the successful push at Bell Labs to elevate black scientists. At a time when such efforts are on the back foot, it's important to know more about these examples.
Reposted by Will Thomas
Great blend of personal narrative and compelling nuclear physics. Colliders like RHIC (and the EIC) are often overlooked by people focusing on the highest energies of particle physics—which I've been guilty of. A fitting final toast(ed bagel) for RHIC.
RHIC investigated the extreme conditions that followed the Big Bang and detailed the inner workings of protons. Here's my very personal story for @sciencenews.bsky.social about RHIC, and the collider that will follow it, the Electron-Ion Collider.
www.sciencenews.org/article/part...
www.sciencenews.org/article/part...
The only U.S. particle collider shuts down – so a new one may rise
The famed collider at Brookhaven National Laboratory has ended operations, but if all goes to plan, a new collider will rise from its ashes.
www.sciencenews.org
February 6, 2026 at 3:42 PM
Great blend of personal narrative and compelling nuclear physics. Colliders like RHIC (and the EIC) are often overlooked by people focusing on the highest energies of particle physics—which I've been guilty of. A fitting final toast(ed bagel) for RHIC.
Reposted by Will Thomas
The funding cuts also include £59 million for the Electron-Ion Collider in Brookhaven.
UK to scrap more than £250mn in planned physics project funding
Cern particle accelerator led by British scientist among institutions affected by wider research shake-up
www.ft.com
February 5, 2026 at 5:26 PM
The funding cuts also include £59 million for the Electron-Ion Collider in Brookhaven.
Reposted by Will Thomas
Very bad news for CERN, it seems.
UK is pulling its funding for Cern's Large Hadron Collider upgrade, STFC leader Michele Dougherty confirms, after news first revealed by @francesjones.bsky.social @resprofnews.bsky.social
"We simply don’t have the money to do everything."
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-r...
"We simply don’t have the money to do everything."
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-r...
‘Difficult’ two years ahead for physics, warns STFC boss - Research Professional News
Michele Dougherty confirms withdrawal from LHC upgrade and indicates scant money for new projects
www.researchprofessionalnews.com
February 5, 2026 at 5:20 PM
Very bad news for CERN, it seems.
So, who's going to write the five-volume history of star culture in science, 1975 to 2020? What needs to be in there?
This gets to some important points. There was always something cold, even chilling, about Brockman's "Edge" culture. That feeling still pervades some scientific circles. There's a real problem here that won't go away with Epstein.
www.theverge.com/2019/9/19/20...
www.theverge.com/2019/9/19/20...
Jeffrey Epstein infiltrated science because it was ready to accommodate him
What could “nerd tunnel vision” possibly mean?
www.theverge.com
February 5, 2026 at 3:06 PM
So, who's going to write the five-volume history of star culture in science, 1975 to 2020? What needs to be in there?
If we all agree it is convincing, we can prove the philosophical primacy of social epistemology.
![Comic. Conjecture: It’s possible to construct a convincing proof without words, pictures, or content of any kind. Proof: [empty box] [caption] Proofs without words are cool, but we can go further.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:cz73r7iyiqn26upot4jtjdhk/bafkreiaukmlmzx6xhbcjej4rq5axkf7a25sjywnvodd53dgnebmt4ver5a@jpeg)
February 3, 2026 at 11:25 PM
If we all agree it is convincing, we can prove the philosophical primacy of social epistemology.
The Trump administration is expected to soon propose adjustments to the minimum pay levels that employers must offer foreign researchers. This will pick up where a proposal from the first Trump administration left off. AIP's Lindsay Milliken takes a closer look. #scipol
Policy analysis: Prospective changes to prevailing wage levels and impacts on international hiring
In early 2026 the Department of Labor is expected to post a notice of proposed rulemaking to revise upward the pay employers must offer to foreign workers who would have an H-1B visa or an employment-...
www.aip.org
February 3, 2026 at 8:43 PM
The Trump administration is expected to soon propose adjustments to the minimum pay levels that employers must offer foreign researchers. This will pick up where a proposal from the first Trump administration left off. AIP's Lindsay Milliken takes a closer look. #scipol
Reposted by Will Thomas
Richard Carrington was the namesake of history's largest known geomagnetic storm, but no one knew what he looked like--until now!
Today's #histSTM & #astronomy lunch read: @royalastrosoc.bsky.social archivist Kate Bond discusses the serendipitous discovery of the 1st known photo of Carrington 🗃️📜🔭📷
Today's #histSTM & #astronomy lunch read: @royalastrosoc.bsky.social archivist Kate Bond discusses the serendipitous discovery of the 1st known photo of Carrington 🗃️📜🔭📷
Capturing Carrington
A speculative search in the right place at the right time turned up what is thought to be the only image of the eponymous solar observer.
academic.oup.com
February 3, 2026 at 6:10 PM
Richard Carrington was the namesake of history's largest known geomagnetic storm, but no one knew what he looked like--until now!
Today's #histSTM & #astronomy lunch read: @royalastrosoc.bsky.social archivist Kate Bond discusses the serendipitous discovery of the 1st known photo of Carrington 🗃️📜🔭📷
Today's #histSTM & #astronomy lunch read: @royalastrosoc.bsky.social archivist Kate Bond discusses the serendipitous discovery of the 1st known photo of Carrington 🗃️📜🔭📷
That she was frequently nominated is known, but, with the death of Chen-Ning Yang last year, the 1957 archive has been opened, when she might have won with Lee & Yang for parity violation. Wu received no nominations in '57 as her paper (w/ Ambler) appeared after the deadline.
Many people have wondered why the Chien-Shiung Wu never won the Nobel Prize for Physics. New findings from the Nobel archives, exclusively revealed in Physics World, show she was nominated 23 times by 18 different physicists - and yet was still left empty-handed. 🧪⚛️
physicsworld.com/a/twenty-thr...
physicsworld.com/a/twenty-thr...
Twenty-three nominations, yet no Nobel prize: how Chien-Shiung Wu missed out on the top award in physics – Physics World
Mats Larsson and Ramon Wyss reveal why Chien-Shiung Wu never won a Nobel prize
physicsworld.com
February 3, 2026 at 1:25 PM
That she was frequently nominated is known, but, with the death of Chen-Ning Yang last year, the 1957 archive has been opened, when she might have won with Lee & Yang for parity violation. Wu received no nominations in '57 as her paper (w/ Ambler) appeared after the deadline.
Reposted by Will Thomas
Many people have wondered why the Chien-Shiung Wu never won the Nobel Prize for Physics. New findings from the Nobel archives, exclusively revealed in Physics World, show she was nominated 23 times by 18 different physicists - and yet was still left empty-handed. 🧪⚛️
physicsworld.com/a/twenty-thr...
physicsworld.com/a/twenty-thr...
Twenty-three nominations, yet no Nobel prize: how Chien-Shiung Wu missed out on the top award in physics – Physics World
Mats Larsson and Ramon Wyss reveal why Chien-Shiung Wu never won a Nobel prize
physicsworld.com
February 3, 2026 at 11:50 AM
Many people have wondered why the Chien-Shiung Wu never won the Nobel Prize for Physics. New findings from the Nobel archives, exclusively revealed in Physics World, show she was nominated 23 times by 18 different physicists - and yet was still left empty-handed. 🧪⚛️
physicsworld.com/a/twenty-thr...
physicsworld.com/a/twenty-thr...
Reposted by Will Thomas
Sad news in the UK #histSTM community - my former University of Kent colleague and admired historian of 19thC energy physics and steam ocean navigation, Crosbie Smith, died at the weekend following a short illness. We owe him a great deal.
www.kent.ac.uk/history/peop...
www.kent.ac.uk/history/peop...
February 2, 2026 at 8:45 PM
Sad news in the UK #histSTM community - my former University of Kent colleague and admired historian of 19thC energy physics and steam ocean navigation, Crosbie Smith, died at the weekend following a short illness. We owe him a great deal.
www.kent.ac.uk/history/peop...
www.kent.ac.uk/history/peop...
Reposted by Will Thomas
Sopka raises the issue, twenty five years later, of how colleagues responded to Melba Phillips being targeted by the McCarran Committee in 1952. (10/10)
February 1, 2026 at 6:51 PM
Sopka raises the issue, twenty five years later, of how colleagues responded to Melba Phillips being targeted by the McCarran Committee in 1952. (10/10)
Reposted by Will Thomas
The AIP has an excellent oral history interview with Melba Newell Phillips. Katherine Sopka spoke with her in 1977. (9/n)
repository.aip.org/node/128531
repository.aip.org/node/128531
February 1, 2026 at 6:50 PM
The AIP has an excellent oral history interview with Melba Newell Phillips. Katherine Sopka spoke with her in 1977. (9/n)
repository.aip.org/node/128531
repository.aip.org/node/128531
Reposted by Will Thomas
Here is the summons sent to Phillips, ordering her to appear before the McCarran Committee. (6/n)
Image: Box 1, Folder 1, Melba Phillips papers / AIP www.aip.org/library/melb...
Image: Box 1, Folder 1, Melba Phillips papers / AIP www.aip.org/library/melb...
February 1, 2026 at 6:44 PM
Here is the summons sent to Phillips, ordering her to appear before the McCarran Committee. (6/n)
Image: Box 1, Folder 1, Melba Phillips papers / AIP www.aip.org/library/melb...
Image: Box 1, Folder 1, Melba Phillips papers / AIP www.aip.org/library/melb...
Reposted by Will Thomas
After the war, Melba Newell Phillips became a professor at Brooklyn College and also worked at the Columbia University Radiation Laboratory.
Both institutions fired her in 1952 when she refused to testify against her colleagues during McCarthy's witch hunts. (5/n)
Both institutions fired her in 1952 when she refused to testify against her colleagues during McCarthy's witch hunts. (5/n)
February 1, 2026 at 6:42 PM
After the war, Melba Newell Phillips became a professor at Brooklyn College and also worked at the Columbia University Radiation Laboratory.
Both institutions fired her in 1952 when she refused to testify against her colleagues during McCarthy's witch hunts. (5/n)
Both institutions fired her in 1952 when she refused to testify against her colleagues during McCarthy's witch hunts. (5/n)
Reposted by Will Thomas
Nuclear physicist Melba Newell Phillips was born #OTD in 1907. Author of two standard textbooks and numerous articles on physics history, she worked tirelessly to promote the teaching of physics as an AAPT member. 🧪 ⚛️ 👩🔬 (1/n)
Image: Ellen and John Vinson, in link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Image: Ellen and John Vinson, in link.springer.com/article/10.1...
February 1, 2026 at 6:36 PM
Nuclear physicist Melba Newell Phillips was born #OTD in 1907. Author of two standard textbooks and numerous articles on physics history, she worked tirelessly to promote the teaching of physics as an AAPT member. 🧪 ⚛️ 👩🔬 (1/n)
Image: Ellen and John Vinson, in link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Image: Ellen and John Vinson, in link.springer.com/article/10.1...
In today's AIP History Weekly Edition, @rebeccacharbon.bsky.social looks at a new issue of Centaurus examining what is and is not distinctive about the new era of "multi-messenger" astronomy.
📷IceCube Laboratory and South Pole Telescope, Moreno Baricevic, IceCube / NSF.
📷IceCube Laboratory and South Pole Telescope, Moreno Baricevic, IceCube / NSF.
Special issue spotlight: Shaping a multi-messenger universe
AIP History Weekly Edition: January 30, 2026
www.aip.org
January 30, 2026 at 8:32 PM
In today's AIP History Weekly Edition, @rebeccacharbon.bsky.social looks at a new issue of Centaurus examining what is and is not distinctive about the new era of "multi-messenger" astronomy.
📷IceCube Laboratory and South Pole Telescope, Moreno Baricevic, IceCube / NSF.
📷IceCube Laboratory and South Pole Telescope, Moreno Baricevic, IceCube / NSF.
Remembering how 12 years and eons ago CEI got into a years-long lawsuit with the White House under the Data Quality Act because John Holdren made a video that supposedly didn't use hedgy-enough language to connect the wandering of the polar vortex to climate change. www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eDT...
The Polar Vortex Explained in 2 Minutes
YouTube video by The Obama White House
www.youtube.com
January 25, 2026 at 5:45 PM
Remembering how 12 years and eons ago CEI got into a years-long lawsuit with the White House under the Data Quality Act because John Holdren made a video that supposedly didn't use hedgy-enough language to connect the wandering of the polar vortex to climate change. www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eDT...
Reposted by Will Thomas
Tomorrow's front page of the Minnesota Star Tribune: Jan. 24, 2026
January 23, 2026 at 11:45 PM
Tomorrow's front page of the Minnesota Star Tribune: Jan. 24, 2026