Comment from Eric Weeks

[200.432, 200.454, 200.461, 200.206, 200.450] To Whom it May Concern: I am a physics professor, and my research is in the area of experimental soft condensed matter. This is the physics of squishy materials like sand, foam, gels, pastes, etc. -- a lot of these materials have industrial relevance. For example, three PhD students from my laboratory ended up working in the petroleum industry after they graduated. I am writing in my personal capacity to oppose the proposed revisions to sections 200.432, 200.454, 200.461, 200.206, and 200.450 that would restrict typical professional expenses, curtail the communication of scientific results, and place excessive scrutiny on the activities of scientists. Being a member of the American Physical Society has been key to disseminating research results. I regularly attend APS conferences where I present my latest results. I know from many of my colleagues around the country (indeed, around the world) that they have learned useful information from my presentations over the years, which changes and improves the science they do. And likewise, the presentations I hear change and improve the science I do. I frequently come back from conferences with new ideas for my own research, and sometimes also meet new collaborators at conferences. Moreover, it is useful to have flexibility in which conferences I attend: I go where I need to be to learn new topics, or to meet people who will be most useful to know in the research I am doing and/or plan to do in the future. I have published over 120 papers in my career; 20 of these have been in the last five years. These papers have been well-cited, showing that people are reading them and finding the results useful for their own research. Publishing my lab's results is key to advancing science. I worry that this rule will harm my ability to learn about the science being done by others; for others to learn about the science I am doing. Generally, this will just slow down the pace of science because it will be that much harder to discover something unexpected at a conference, or to meet a new collaborator. In the past, often meeting a new collaborator at a conference is someone who I didn't even know existed until I met them there, but then after the meeting we began a fruitful collaboration.