The World Year of Physics in 2005

The year 2005 has been designated the World Year of Physics (WYP) to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Albert Einstein's legendary papers on quantum theory, Brownian motion, and special relativity, first published in 1905. Organizations around the globe are planning a variety of programs to raise worldwide public awareness for physics in 2005. This paper provides a brief description of the WYP, discusses the significance of 1905, presents national objectives for the U.S. physics community, and outlines a variety of activities that individuals or teams can pursue to contribute to the success of this international campaign.