Happy Birthday, APS!

May 20 was the 125th birthday of the American Physical Society (APS).  Founded in 1899 at Columbia University, and later taking over publication of the Physical Review (founded in 1893 at Cornell University) in 1913, the society has expanded both its core early functions (conferences and journal publications) as well as added many other programs in the last century and a quarter.

I joined the APS around 1997, and its Centennial Meeting in Atlanta (1999) was the first national scientific conference I ever attended, and the first one I ever gave a talk at.  That year, the March and April meetings were combined into a grand extravaganza, with (if I recall right) well over 10,000 attendees.  I remember following (by coincidence) at least one Nobel Laureate down an escalator (J. Friedman) and recognizing others in the hallways or meeting rooms.  I presented again at the 2002 March Meeting in Indianapolis, though my findings were shot down by a very prominent scientist in the audience.  That was the second and final time I presented at an APS conference, though in later years I've attended "for fun" on my own time on several occasions, including last year.  I have also attended a number of APS section meetings, as well as the Division of Fluid Dynamics annual meetings.  I once published in an APS journal (Physical Review E), but that was during the end of my time in graduate school.

Since I have not been a practicing physicist for over two decades, I have not been an active APS member, but I am a Life Member of the parent organization and a number of its individual units.  Indeed, I have been an APS member for just over 20% of APS's own lifetime, and just over 50% of my own lifetime!  Many Happy Returns, APS!