Proponent: matt@physics.berkeley.edu (Matt Austern)
Date: 14 Jan 1993 13:28:31 -0500

NEWSGROUP NAME: sci.physics.research.

STATUS: moderated.

CHARTER: Sci.physics.research is a newsgroup for discussions related
         to current physics research.

DESCRIPTION OF THE GROUP:

Sci.physics.research is a moderated newsgroup for discussions related
to current physics research.

The newsgroup will be moderated by a panel; an article to be posted
will be randomly sent to one of the moderators, who will decide to
accept or reject it.  In borderline cases the moderators can consult
with each other, but the hope is that this will only rarely be
necessary.  The names and backgrounds of the moderators are at the end
of this posting.  (If one moderator has to quit, the others will
choose a replacement.)

This newsgroup is to be "lightly" moderated---that is, the moderators
will only reject clearly inappropriate postings, and will accept any
that has serious physics content or that is likely to be of interest
to an audience of professional physicists.  Clearly inappropriate
postings include:
        (1) Personal attacks;
        (2) Discussion that isn't about or related to physics;
        (3) Multiple responses that all say the same things; and
        (4) Crackpot postings that are "not even wrong."

An article that is rejected will be sent back to the author, perhaps
with the suggestion of a more appropriate newsgroup, or a suggestion
of how to revise it to make it acceptable.

Note that, in certain cases, articles about politics or philosophy are
appropriate to this group; for example, WHAT'S NEW is appropriate.
Such subjects, however, can easily drift into more general political
or philosophical discussions that have nothing to do with physics,
and, when this happens, the moderators will redirect the discussion to
a more appropriate group.

Note also that this newsgroup is not a peer reviewed journal; the
moderators are not referees or editors, and they do not have the time
to check whether the physics (or the grammar!) in each posting is
actually correct.  As long as an article is readable, and isn't
blatantly nonsensical, it's fine.

Finally, brief requests for facts are fine, so long as they aren't
already answered in the "frequently asked questions" (FAQ) list.
Replies to requests for information will be accepted if they (1) may
be of general interest, (2) don't become repetitive, and (3) don't
impose unacceptably heavy message traffic on the group.  Otherwise,
replies will be redirected to e-mail.


The moderators are:
       John Baez (jbaez@math.mit.edu)
       Dale Bass (crb7q@virginia.edu)
       Bill Johnson (mwj@beta.lanl.gov)
       Lee Sawyer (sawyer@utahep.uta.edu) 
The intent is that this panel be reasonably diverse in terms of
research interests; each of these people wrote up a "microCV" that
tells a bit about their background and what they do.
 
----------------------------------------
John C. Baez
BA mathematics Princeton U. 1982
PhD mathematics MIT 1986
Associate Prof. Dept. of Math. U. C. Riverside
Constructive quantum field theory, nonlinear wave equations, and
    the relationship of knot theory to quantum gravity

----------------------------------------
Cameron 'dale' Bass
B.S. Aerospace Engineering, UVa
Graduate Research Assistant, University of Virginia;  
    Ph.D. expected early 1993 in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering;  
Research interests: fluid dynamics, electromagnetism, acoustics

----------------------------------------
Bill Johnson
Staff member [project leader] at Los Alamos National Laboratory;
Ph.D., nuclear chemistry, Univ. of Rochester, 1979; 
Research interests: basic and applied nuclear physics, nuclear safeguards

----------------------------------------
H. Lee Sawyer, Jr
B.S. Northeast Louisiana University (1985)
Ph.D. Florida State University (1991)
Experimental high energy physicist (we haven't perfected them yet...)    
Member of the E711, ALEPH, D0, and SDC experimental collaborations.      


Date: Mon, 1 Feb 1993 19:28:38 GMT

The vote on the creation of the moderated newsgroup
sci.physics.research is finally over.  The proposal passed, with 365
yes votes and 26 no votes.