Harvard Physicists Endorse Anti-Nuke Political Statement

More than 100 Harvard physicists--including three Nobel laureates--have signed a petition calling for a halt to the testing, production and deployment of nuclear weapons.

Faculty and graduate students from the Physics, Astronomy and Astrophysics Departments at Harvard joined in the petition with scientists from 43 countries--including the Soviet Union, Poland and the nations in Western Europe--a Harvard junior fellow in the Physics Department, Lawrence M. Krauss, said yesterday. Twelve thousand physicists in all have signed the petition, he added.

"Physicists have always felt they had a special connection to nuclear weapons,' said Krauss, who serves as the petition coordinator for the Boston area. "It was felt that if an international group of eminent physicists pointed out their objections, it would bear more weight on current debates."

Supporters of the drive are planning to present the petition to various world leaders and international organizations, including the United Nations, on November 11.

Advertisements will also appear in The New York Times and in The Washington Post containing a complete list of American signatories later this week, Krauss said. He said that actor Paul Newman is paying for the ad.

Krauss said that the three Harvard Nobel laureates who signed the declaration are Higgins Professor of Physics Sheldon I. Glashow; Gade University Professor Nicolaas Bloembergen; and Gade University Professor Emeritus Edward M. Purcell.

"At the time I signed, things were escalating--with the MX missile, space defense, and all that." Bloembergen said "I was very much against it, and thought we should sit down and talk seriously about these matters. I think so even more now."