Comment from Eric Wells
Eric WellsOpposeAcademic
Summary: Eric Wells, a physics professor at Augustana University, opposes the proposed revisions because they would restrict professional expenses, limit the communication of scientific results, and increase scrutiny on scientists. He argues that these restrictions would hinder his ability to network, attend conferences for student development, and publish research in open-access journals.
[200.432, 200.454, 200.461, 200.206, 200.450]
To Whom it May Concern:
My name is Eric Wells. I am a professor of physics at Augustana University in South Dakota where I teach and conduct research in atomic, molecular, and optical physics with my undergraduate students.
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.
Membership in a professional society is essential to keep informed of developments in the field, network through conferences, and support peer-reviewed publication.
Being able to attend conferences is critical to my ability to present my research, give students a forum to show their work and explore potential graduate schools, and learn about the latest in the field. In South Dakota, we don't have much local networking, so the annual national meetings give my students opportunities to connect with potential graduate school mentors. It is often not clear, years ahead of time, which conference is the most appropriate venue to present work, so explicit requirements to select conferences at the time of a grant proposal will reduce the effectiveness of our ability to efficiently show our work.
Without the large library resources available at a typical R1 University, open access publications help us stay up to date in the field. At the same time, publishing in these journals is expensive. Without the opportunity to fund this from grants, our ability to publish under open access models would be limited.
Even while at a school with an emphasis on teaching, I still publish about 1 article a year (one in 2024, two in 2025). This work highlights the work done by undergraduate students and makes contributions to the scientific enterprise.
Getting away from our home institution to network with colleagues, plan with collaborators, and see what is new an interesting is very important when you work in South Dakota. Since it is not always clear how research will evolve, having the freedom to explore the most relevant meeting or journal maximizes the impact of our work. Losing this freedom will harm our ability to do the best work and is not in the best interest of the public.