Leon Lederman , Illinois Institute of Technology

Physics, Education, and Physics Education

The awareness is growing that the nation's traditional leadership in the sciences, and especially in the physical sciences, is waning. Research budget projections look ominously gloomy. Less than five years ago, Alan Greenspan warned that US born students were not choosing to study physics, chemistry, or mathematics, and that the benefits the nation drew from immigration would eventually diminish. Little did he know how quickly this happened. So we have a looming economic and cultural crisis in the traditional power of our science. I will talk about the exciting prospects for major discoveries in physics and about our K-16 educational posture.