MATERIAL MATTERS

During a break in the proceedings of ameeting at the National Academy of Scien-ces last month, I found myself, coffee cup inhand, standing outside the ConstitutionAvenue entrance gazing at the pensivebronze image of Albert Einstein as it waspondered by a few tourists. While wonder-ing where those visitors placed so great ascientific mind in their own personal schemeof things and feeling somewhat inspiredmyself, I was joined by David Nagel of theNaval Research Laboratory. We got totalking about the tourism phenomenon perse and wondered whether many Washing-ton, DC area residents had stopped toexamine the Einstein likeness. We agreed(without knowledge of any properly con-ducted survey) that people tend to visit allthe interesting sites while traveling but aremuch less likely to include such a visit ontheir daily schedule in their local area.

One can hypothesize why. The local alwaysappears less exotic than the distant (avariant on "the grass is greener" syndrome).Or, perhaps one always imagines that therewill be many other more convenient timesthan now to make the explicit effort to visitsomething so readily at hand. No matter.As I began to perceive that an analogousbehavior applies to conference attendees,Dr. Nagel advised me that the phenomenonover which we were musing was called the"proximity effect."

Proximity, indeed. The phenomenon that Iwas trying to enunciate was just that. Ihave often found myself in intense technicaldiscussions with colleagues from my owninstitution while attending a conference.Sometimes with coworkers whose labs oroffices were only a few steps from mine.Why did it seem more natural to have these

The Proximity EffectElton N. Kaufmann, MRS President

"We all try to keep abreast of activitiesat our . . . institutions . . . but theproximity effect inhibits us."

discussions while away from home. In thisway, I frequently learned of interesting andpotentially useful goings-on that I laterfollowed up on my return. It would seem arather round about way to maximize one'scoupling to one's own institution.

Another side of this phenomenon is thechagrin one experiences when a colleaguefrom a distant institution tells you of workcarried out by your coworkers of whichyou were unaware.

Before carrying this to an extreme, how-ever, let's acknowledge that we all try tokeep abreast of activities at home and thatour institutions often provide a variety oftools, such as seminars and internal publica-tions, to help us. But it seems that becausethey are so readily available, and becausewe are all so busy with many pressingduties of the day, the proximity effectinhibits us.When attending a conference, our focus isnarrower, extraneous interruptions arefewer, and the atmosphere seems moreconducive to these types of exchanges.Bumping into a coworker while conferen-

cing is just an accidental use of the se-questered-retreat method frequently em-ployed by committees and task forces.

What should one do about the proximityeffect? I see two alternatives. If you are aresident of the Washington, DC area, visitthe local sites as if your were from Spokaneand don't forget the likeness of Einstein.And, if you realize that proximity is af-fecting your interaction with your cowork-ers, make a concerted effort to walk throughthe halls of your laboratory asking peopleabout the exciting things with which they'reinvolved. On the other hand, since theproximity effect is a staple of human naturewe could turn it to our advantage. Toappreciate local attractions, research yourarea and play tour guide for relatives fromout of town. And as materials researchscientists, put conferences on your calen-dars where you are likely to have the mostfruitful interactions. May we suggest thatthe Fall Meeting of the MRS in Boston thisyear is an eminent candidate for taking fulladvantage of the ubiquitous proximityeffect.

Plan Now To Take Advantage of

JOB PLACEMENT CENTERIn Conjunction with 1985 MRS Fall Meeting

The Job Placement Center, to be held in conjunction with the 1985 MRS Fall Meeting inBoston (December 2-6), is a valuable way to become acquainted with important contactsin materials research and make your credentials known to them. See the Job PlacementForm in this issue. Fee: $ 5.00* (Make checks payable to American Institute of Physics).

A confidential service of the American Institute of Physicson behalf of the Materials Research Society.

*Fee for employers is $60.00. Contact Beverly Citrynell, AIP, (212) 661-9404

PAGE 4, MRS BULLETIN, SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 1985

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