To the Editor:
As chair of the Physics Department, my attention was naturally drawn to Tyler Rosenbaum's recent column ("No physicists need apply," March 3). What activity or organization would not welcome physicists with open arms? Imagine my surprise when I read of Rosenbaum's concern about Phi Beta Kappa's possible discrimination against science students.
In fact, of the 40 juniors (representing less than 3 percent of the junior class) selected for membership in Phi Beta Kappa this year, four (i.e. 10 percent) are physics concentrators. This remarkable achievement by our students is testament not only to their academic excellence but also to the breadth of their studies, given the rules of our Phi Beta Kappa chapter, as outlined in Rosenbaum's column. This latter characteristic is shared by the majority of our concentrators, whom we encourage from the start of their studies at Brown to explore a variety of disciplines, gain a broad liberal education and, most importantly, hone their writing skills.
Unfortunately, many non-science concentrators do not exhibit similar breadth in their course choices, taking one or no science classes. Maybe our Phi Beta Kappa chapter should institute a minimum requirement for science classes. In fact, one might posit that the inclusion of a basic science or math requirement, similar to the recently established writing requirement, would serve to strengthen the liberal education offered at Brown.
Chung-I Tan P'95 P'03
Chair, Physics Department
Chair, Faculty Executive Committee
March 5
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