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JOURNAL

of the

WASHINGTON

ACADEMY

of

SCIENCES

Vol. 51 • No. 1

JANUARY 1961

JOURNAL OF THE WASHINGTON ACADEMY OF SCIENCES

Editor: Samuel B. Detwiler, U. S. Dept, of Agriculture

Associate Editors

Frank L. Campbell, National Academy of Russell B. Stevens, Geo. Washington Univer

Sciences sity

John K. Taylor, National Bureau of Standards

Contributors

Albert M. S*tone, Applied Physics Laboratory

John A. O’Brien, Jr., Catholic University

Elliott B. Roberts, Coast & Geodetic Survey

Margaret D. Foster, Geological Survey

Russell B. Stevens, Geo. Washington University

Lloyd N. Ferguson, Howard University

Frank L. Campbell, NAS-NRC.

Alphonse F. Forziati, National Bureau of

Standards

Howard W. Bond, National Institutes of Health

Allen L. Alexander, Naval Research Laboratory

Victor R. Boswell, USDA, Beltsville

Harold Cook, USDA, Washington

William J. Bailey, University of Maryland

This Journal, the official organ of the Washington Academy of Sciences, publishes: (1)

historical articles, critical reviews, and scholarly scientific articles, (2) notices of meetings

and proceedings of meetings of the Academy and its affiliated societies, and (3) regional news

items, including personal news, of interest to the entire membership. The Journal appears

eight times a year in January to May and October to December.

Subscription rate; $7.50 per yr. (U.S.), $1.00 per copy. Foreign postage extra.

Subscription Orders or requests for back numbers or volumes of the Journal, or copies of the

Proceedings, should be sent to the Washington Academy of Sciences, 1530 P St., N.W., Washing-

ton, D.C. Remittances should be made payable to “Washington Academy of Sciences”.

Claims for missing numbers will not be allowed if received more than 60 days after date

of mailing plus time normally required for postal delivery and claim. No claims will be allowed

because of failure to notify the Circulation Manager of a change of address.

Changes of address should be sent promptly to the Academy Office, 1530 P St., N.W.,

Washington, D. C. Such notification should include both old and new addresses and postal zone

number, if any.

Advertising rates may be obtained from the Editor, c/o Academy Office.

Second class postage paid at Washington, D. C.

Philip Hauge Abelson

President, Washington Academy of Sciences, 196J

When Phil Abelson was elected in 1959 to the

National Academy of Sciences, one of the highest

honors that can come to an American scientist,

he could have affiliated himself with any one of

seven sections of the Academy, because he has

made distinguished contributions to Biochemis-

try, Chemistry, Engineering, Geology, Geo-

physics, Microbiology, and Physics. Perhaps the

presence of his friend Bill Rubey (Past President

of the Washington Academy) in the Section on

Geology caused Phil to register as a geologist.

In Who’s Who in America he calls himself a

physical chemist, but the only proper designation

for Phil Abelson is “scientist,” for he has set

no limit to his inquiries in natural science.

Phil is not unusual in his curiosity about

natural phenomena; many of us are interested

in all sciences from anthropology to zoology.

Indeed, a function of the Washington Academy

is to encourage broad interest in science and

interdisciplinary connections and relationships

among the recognized branches of science. Phil

is unique, however, in his successful pursuit

of knowledge through personal research in widely

different fields. I used to think of the late Forest

Ray Moulton as the modern Benjamin Franklin,

but now I think that honor should go to Phil.

Let us examine his remarkable career.

Phil was born in Tacoma, Washington, in 1913,

a son of a civil engineer. In his early teens he

learned to help his father in surveying and was

soon able to do the work of a skilled surveyor.

Opportunity and responsibility came when he

was permitted to substitute for a surveyor who

was absent from an important job because of ill-

ness. The boy made good and at 17 became

Tacoma’s City Surveyor. Thus he earned money

to pay some of his expenses at Washington State

University (then the State College of Washing-

ton). He majored in the physical sciences and

graduated in three years when he was only 20.

He remained in Pullman for two more years for a

master’s degree and served as an assistant in

physics. During this period he became acquainted

with the work of the late Ernest 0. Lawrence

at the University of California in Berkeley and

decided to work for his Ph.D. in nuclear physics

with Lawrence. His famous Radiation Laboratory

was new at that time and so was the cyclotron.

Phil was in on the ground floor of the great

developments in nuclear physics. His doctor’s dis-

sertation (1939) described the first identification

of many important products of uranium fission.

While at Berkeley Phil met and married a

young medical student, who must have caused

him to think about the biological effects of

ionizing radiations. In 1939 he joined the staff of

the Carnegie Institution’s Department of Terres-

trial Magnetism here in Washington, a research

institution that is not at all restricted to the study

of terrestrial magnetism. He collaborated with

Edwin M. McMillan, of the Radiation Laboratory,

in the discovery of neptunium and in the determi-

nation of its chemical properties. These in-

vestigations suggested the early process used at

Hanford for the manufacture of plutonium.

During World War II he was, of course, a key

figure in the Manhattan Project. Attached to the

Naval Research Laboratory, he developed the

liquid thermal diffusion method for the enrich-

ment of uranium 235. Under his general super-

vision a plant employing that method was de-

signed and constructed at Oak Ridge and in-

corporated into the over-all facility used in the

production of the first atomic bomb. For this

work he was awarded the Navy’s Distinguished

Civilian Service Medal. About two years ago

there appeared in a local newspaper a feature

story about Phil as the real father of our first

nuclear-powered submarine, in the sense that he

was the first to show how to use atomic energy

for propulsion of undersea vessels. He won’t talk

about it, but he assured me that the story I read

was substantially correct. Admiral Rickover,

whose name is always associated with our atomic

submarines, was the leader of the developmental

phase of the work.

Journal of The Washington Academy of Sciences

1

At the end of World War 11 we find Phil one of

the atomic scientists who had helped to win the

war for America. He had been well compensated

and honored for his work. What would you ex-

pect him to do next? I would have expected

him to advance to a position of greater authority

in nuclear physics, and perhaps to promote the

peaceful applications of atomic energy, which

he must have foreseen. I would have expected

him also to join in the public alarm sounded

by the Atomic Scientists about the need for

proper control of atomic energy. He did neither;

instead he searched his own mind and conscience

and quietly decided that he wanted to resume

learning — to do basic research himself. Strange to

say, he turned to biology where he could apply

chemical and physical tools to the education of

fundamental questions about living matter. The

opportunity to do such work was provided by

Merle A. Tuve, a member of the Washington

Academy and of the National Academy, who had

become Director of the Department of Terres-

trial Magnetism of the Carnegie Institution.

Thus Phil returned to the laboratory from which

the war had taken him, rejecting greater salaries

that he might have obtained elsewhere. He be-

came Chairman of the Biophysics Section of the

Department, which was a pioneer in the utiliza-

tion of radioactive tracers in biological research.

The group worked out many of the processes of

synthesis of the principal amino acids and pub-

lished a widely-used monograph on the subject.

In 1950 while in this position Phil received the

Annual Award of the Washington Academy of

Sciences, in the Physical Sciences; in 1962 he

will present this same award and others to young

men and women whose research or teaching has

been outstanding.

In 1953 Phil carried his biological interests

into another laboratory of the Carnegie Insti-

tution. Appointed Director of the Geophysical

Laboratory, he initiated investigations in what

might be called biochemical evolution. Previ-

ously, comparative studies of plant and animal

fossils had been only morphological. Phil saw

the possibility of making chemical studies on

traces of organic matter that he found, for ex-

ample, in fossil shells. By paper chromatography

he was able to isolate amino acids from fossils

as old as 450 million years!

It would be natural for Director Abelson to

succumb scientifically to the growing demands

upon him as an administrator, a lecturer, a chair-

man or member of committees and editor. But

he resists encroachment upon his time for think-

ing about his own research and for working at

it with his own hands. Most recently he has

been engaged with Thomas C. Hoering of his

Laboratory in studying separation of carbon

isotopes occurring during photosynthesis. By

examining C13/C12 in amino acids from organisms

grown in the laboratory they have discovered

unexpected isotope fractionations. How can he

do such research and also do more than his

share as a citizen of the Washington scientific

community? It takes a special environment, spe-

cial ability and dedication, and an unusual design

for living to be an Abelson. He literally lives with

his work at his Laboratory and goes to his

home in Philadelphia to spend week ends and

holidays with his wife (a practising physician)

and daughter. During the working week he is able

to allocate his time so as to concentrate exclu-

sively on his research for periods long enough for

effective thought and action.

Phil’s non-research activities for science are

impressive. His work as co-editor of the Journal

of Geophysical Research must be very time con-

suming. I know that he has had much to do with

the recent rapid growth of this highly technical

journal, which is certainly the world’s leading

publication in its field. His interest in the

medical sciences is not surprising if one knows

that Mrs. Abelson is a physician. For eight years

he served as chairman of an NAS-NRC com-

mittee on cataracts of the eye caused by ionizing

radiations. On another committee he concerned

himself with substances that might be used to

expand the volume of usable blood plasma. From

1956 to 1959 he was a member of the Biophysical

Study Section of the National Institutes of Health

and now serves on the Board of Scientific Coun-

selors of the National Institute of Arthritis and

Metabolic Diseases. On the physical side, he is

a member of the General Advisory Committee of

the Atomic Energy Commission and a member

of its Plowshare Advisory Committee, i.e., on

peaceful applications of atomic explosions, such

as were described to the Washington Academy

by Dr. Edward Teller at a meeting of the Acad-

emy in 1959. He is a consultant to the National

Aeronautics and Space Agency. His member-

ship in a dozen or so major scientific societies also

reflects the extraordinary diversity of his interest.

His preparation for service as President of the

Washington Academy includes not only the above

experiences in the content and civics of science,

but experiences in the affairs of the Academy itself.

In 1957 he served as chairman of the Meetings

Committee under Bill Rubey. As an elected

member of the Board of Managers he was a

faithful attendant at the monthly Board meetings

and a participant in its deliberations. It was he

who set in motion the chain of events that led

to a radical change in character of the Journal

of the Academy, a revolution that is now becom-

ing an evolution.

Phil is a quiet, thoughtful person, with whom

one cannot become quickly acquainted. Certainly

I do not know my subject as well as I should

like to and probably not well enough for writing

a profile that does him justice. I hope, however.

2

Journal of The Washington Academy of Sciences

that my readers believe, as I do, that the Wash-

ington Academy is very fortunate to have ac-

quired a share of his time. When he was elected

a member of the Cosmos Club in 1953, his

principal sponsors were two prominent physical

scientists, Vannever Bush and L. R. Hafstad.

The latter described Phil as a “most able scientist.

possessing an exceptional originality, with many

outstanding scientific accomplishments to his

credit.” Withal Phil is a modest, charming fel-

low with a flashing smile. I expect his “excep-

tional originality” to be applied to the Academy

gently but effectively. Frank L. Campbell

Science in Washington

SCIENTISTS IN THE NEWS

This column will present brief items concerning

the activities of members of the Academy. Such

items may include notices of talks given, im-

portant conferences or visits, promotions, awards .

election to membership or office in scientific

and technical societies, appointment to technical

committees, civic activities, and marriages, births,

and other family news. Formal contributors are

being assigned for the systematic collection of

news at institutions employing considerable num-

bers of Academy members (see list on masthead) .

However, for the bulk of the membership, we

must rely on individuals to send us news concern-

ing themselves, and their friends. Contributions

may be addressed to Harold T. Cook , Associate

Editor , U. S. Department of Agriculture .

Agricultural Marketing Service , Room 3917

South Building , Washington 25, D, C.

CARNEGIE INSTITUTION

H. W. Wells, Department of Terrestrial Mag-

netism, Carnegie Institution of Washington, is

on leave of absence to serve at the U. S. Embassy,

Rio de Janeiro, as Scientific Attache.

DAVID TAYLOR MODEL BASIN

Harry Polachek, Technical Director of the

Applied Mathematics Laboratory at the David

Taylor Model Basin, received the Distinguished

Civilian Service Award on November 23. This

honorary award, the highest that the Secretary of

the Navy may confer on a civilian employee of

the Navy, was given in recognition of Dr. Pola-

chek’s achievements in organizing and directing

the Applied Mathematics Laboratory, in demon-

strating the potential of high speed computers

and in his contributions to scientific, technical

and management fields such as nuclear design,

advance programming systems, and analysis ol

acoustic signals. This has opened additional lines

of research such as the automatic computation

of ship lines and speeded the solution of a

variety of problems and data reduction.

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

Edwin. W. Roedder gave a paper on “Primary

fluid inclusions in sphalerite crystals from the

OH vein, Creede, Colorado,” and Margaret D.

Foster gave a paper on “Fe203 in chlorites” at

the meeting of the Geological Society of America

and affiliated societies, Denver, Colorado, October

31 to November 2. Arthur A. Baker, Helen

M. Duncan, Joseph J. Fahey, George T.

Faust, Jewell J. Glass and Marjorie Hooker

also attended the meetings. At these meetings

Miss Marjorie Hooker was re-elected Treasurer

of the Mineralogical Society of America and Dr.

George T. Faust was re-elected Treasurer of the

Geochemical Society.

Francis R. Fosberg has returned from a two

months’ trip to the Pacific, during which he par-

ticipated in a symposium on “The Impact of

early man on humid tropical vegetation,” held

under the auspices of Unesco at Goroka, in the

interior of New Guinea. While in New Guinea,

Dr. Frosberg made a study of the vegetation

patterns and visited an island of the Great

Barrier Reef on the Queensland coast. In com-

pany with C. G. Johnson, of the Military Geology

Branch, D. I. Blumenstock, of the Weather Bu-

reau, and Harald Rehder, of the National Mu-

seum, he also visited Jaluit Atoll, in the Marshall

Islands, to study the course of recovery of the

atoll from the effects of the 1958 typhoon

Ophelia.

HOWARD UNIVERSITY

Lloyd N. Ferguson recently made talks on

“The Direction of Enolization of 1,3-Diketones”

at the University of Vermont; “Group Electroneg-

ativities in Organic Chemistry” at Norwich Uni-

versity; “Physicochemical Studies on the Sense

of Taste” at St. Michael’s College, “Multiple

Careers for College Science Majors” and “Aro-

matic Character of Certain Ring Structures” at

Middlebury College, under the ACS Visiting

Scientists Program.

Journal of The Washington Academy of Sciences

3

NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES

Frank L. Campbell served as deputy fore-

man of the November District of Columbia Grand

Jury from November 7. 1960 to January 10, 1961.

NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS

Arnold M. Bass is in London on a research

assignment under the NBS training program. He

is working with Dr. W. R. S. Garton in the

Physics Department, Imperial College of Science

and Technology, University of London until July

1961. Dr. Bass is working on vacuum ultraviolet

spectra of diatomic molecules.

Academy members presenting papers at recent

meetings included the following: Alexander,

S. N., “What’s Ahead in ADP Equipment”,

American University, Institute on Electronics in

Management, Washington, D. C., October 31;

Bennett, J. A., “What the Metallurgist is Doing

About Fatigue,” Washington Chapter, American

Society for Metals, Washington, D. C., November

14; Cook, R. K., and Young, J. M., “Strange

Sounds at Low Frequencies in the Atmosphere”,

Physics S’eminar, University of Maryland, College

Park. Maryland, November 8; Cook, R. K.,

“Methods for Measuring Sound Transmission

Loss”, American Society for Testing Materials

Symposium on Testing, Washington, D. C., No-

vember 15; Frederikse, H. P. R., “Conduction

in Rutile,” Solid State Physics Group, Westing-

house Research Laboratories, Pittsburgh, Penn-

sylvania, November 7 ; Harris, F. K., “The

present Status of the Electrical Standards,”

American Institute of Electrical Engineers. New

Haven, Connecticut, November 15; Herzfeld,

C. M., “Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy,” In-

stitute for Religions and Social Studies, New

York, N.Y., November 22; McNish, A. G., “Inter-

national Coordination of Standards,” 1960 Middle

Atlantic Conference for American Society for

Quality Control, the Martin Company, Baltimore.

Md., November 11; McPherson, A. T., “Preci-

sion Measurement and National Security,”

Cumberland Section, American Society for

Quality Control, Cumberland, Md., November 1 ;

Paffenbarger, G. C., “Denture Base Resins:

Changes in Dimensions During Processing and

in Service,” Mid-Continental Dental Congress, St.

Louis, Mo., October 30; Posner, A. S., “Three

Dimensional Chemistry,” American Chemical So-

ciety Student Affiliate, University of Maryland,

College Park, Md., November 16; Rubin, R. J.,

“Classical Energy Transport in Disordered Lat-

tices,” American Physical Society, Chicago, 111.,

November 25-26; Scribner, B. F., “Spectroscopic

Trace Analysis,” Eastern Analytical Symposium.

New York, N. Y., November 3; Sweeney, W. T.,

“Properties of Resins Used in Dentistry,” U. S.

Army Central Dental Laboratory Commanders

Conference, Washington, D. C., November 14-16;

Taylor, L. S., “Attending the meetings of the

International Atomic Energy Agency on Basic

Safety Standards of Radiation,” Vienna, Austria,

October 31-November 4; Taylor, J. K., “Electro-

analytical Chemistry”, Chemistry Seminar, Kent

State University, Kent, Ohio, November 2, and

“High Precision Coulometric Titrations”. Analyti-

cal Group, Cleveland Section, American Chemical

Society, “Advancing the Profession of Chemistry”

American Chemical Society, Dayton, Ohio, Novem-

ber 8, and “A Code of Ethics for Chemists,”

American Chemical Society, Philadelphia, Penn-

sylvania, November 17; Youden, W. J., “What

Happens When Different Laboratories Evaluate

the Same Item?”, Binghamton Section of the

American Society for Quality Control, Bingham-

ton, New York, November 14.

NAVAL RESEARCH LABORATORY

George R. Irwin and J. A. Kies presented a

paper entitled “Review of Fracture Toughness

Measurements” at the Twentieth Meeting of the

ANC-5 Panel on MIL-HDBK-5 Strength of Metal

Aircraft Elements, in Los Angeles, California on

November 15-17.

Dr. Irwin also gave a series of lectures on

“Materials and Missiles for Spacecraft” at the

University of California in Los Angeles, Decem-

ber 1-6.

Hoi •aee M. Trent and Betty E. Anderson com-

piled a “Glossary of Terms Commonly Used in

Acoustics.” This pamphlet was prepared for the

American Institute of Physics and is available

from them on request.

Dr. Trent was one of seven panelists at a con-

ference October 19 in San Francisco for science

writers. This conference was sponsored by the

American Institute of Physics with financial back-

ing from the National Science Foundation. He

spoke on “Mechanical Shock and Vibration.”

He also gave lectures to high school science

and mathematics teachers from the local area

at the Naval Research Laboratory November 19

and 21.

OFFICE OF NAVAL RESEARCH

J. Samuel Smart left the Physics Branch

August 19 to take a position with the IBM Re-

search Center, P.O. Box 218, Yorktown Heights,

N. Y.

USDA, BELTSVILLE

R. I. Sailer, until recently Assistant Chief of

Insect Identification and Parasite Introduction

Research Branch, of the Entomology Research

Division, left on November 25 to take charge

of the European Counterpest Laboratory, Paris,

France. The Laboratory is headquarters for the

Entomology Research Division Foreign Parasite

Investigations. Discovery and introduction into

the United States of parasiies or predators that

attack crop pests is the primary objective of the

Laboratory.

4

Journal of The Washington Academy of Sciences

Paul W. Oman, Chief, Insect Identification

and Parasite Introduction Research Branch, En-

tomology Research Division, is serving as director

of the U. S. Department of Agriculture, Far

Eastern Regional Research Office in New Delhi,

India, to develop and coordinate the agricultural

research grant program in Asiatic countries con-

ducted with PL 480 funds.

USDA, WASHINGTON

Hazel K. Stiebeling presented a paper on

“Contributions of Insecticides to the American

Home (including nutrition and Household Pests)’'

at a symposium on Contributions of Insecticides

to Human Welfare, at the Entomological Society

of America meeting in Atlantic City, November 28.

Justus C. Ward served on a panel on the

Pesticide Residue Problem at the Eastern Branch

of the Entomological Society of America meeting

at New York City, October 14. On November 18,

he spoke before the general session of the Oregon

State Horticultural Society, Corvallis, Oregon, on

“Historical Notes on Pesticide Controls,” and

before the Apple and Pear Section on “Pesticide

Residues and Regulations.”

Elbert L. Little, Jr., U. S. Forest Service,

attended the First Mexican Botanical Congress,

in Mexico City, October 24-26.

UNCLASSIFIED

Lloyd V. Berkner has resigned as president

of Associated Universities, Inc., New York, to

accept the presidency of the Graduate Research

Center, Dallas, Texas. Dr. Berkner has headed

the Associated Universities, Inc., for the last 10

years.

DEATHS

George Willis Stose died January 30, 1960,

after a long illness. He received the B.S. degree

in civil engineering from Massachusetts Institute

of Technology in 1893 and then spent 1 year in

graduate work in geology. He joined the U.S\

Geological Survey in 1894 and attained the rank

of Chief Scientist (Geologist). Dr. Stose was

retired in 1941 at the age of 72 years, his em-

ployment having been extended 2 years by Presi-

dential order. He was called back to make war-

time studies of manganese deposits in Alabama

and Virginia from July 1949 to February 1953.

For 44 years he was Editor of Geologic Maps,

in charge of the Section of Geologic Maps. The

geologic map of the United States printed in

1932 was compiled under his direction. Dr.

Stose’s own field studies were devoted largely to

the geology of the Appalachians. His bibliography

contains over 100 publications.

AFFILIATED SOCIETIES

American Institute of Electrical Engineers,

Washington Section

Considerable progress is reported in organizing

five technical groups or division within the Sec-

tion, in the areas of: instrumentation and tele-

metry; communications; transportation, indus-

try and management; power; and science and

electronics. At least one of these divisions has

held two meetings already, and others are

planned.

American Society of Civil Engineers,

National Capital Section

Annual Fall Awards to Outstanding Students

were made, on December 13, to Howard T. Hill,

George Washington Univ., Christopher L. Martin,

Howard University, and Michael A. Czachor,

Catholic University.

American Society of Mechanical Engineers,

Washington Section

Mechanical engineering education for the re-

mainder of the Twentieth Century was appraised

by Paul F. Chenea, of Purdue University, at the

December 8 meeting. This analysis tried, as so

many are doing, to examine whether changes in

curricula are needed, the relation of schools to

industry, and the interplay of teaching duties

and research effort.

Chemical Society of Washington

Principal business at the November 29 meeting

of the board of managers concerned how best

to arouse and continue member interest, a prob-

lem earlier studied by an ad hoc committee of

the board. It was generally considered unwise

to hold business sessions at regular meetings

featuring outside speakers, but that much might

be accomplished by inviting members to attend

Board meetings, by opening committee meetings

to the membership at large, by establishing addi-

tional committees with the avowed objective of

furthering entertainment, organizing special

events, and extending welcome to new and trans-

fer members. A possible way to accommodate

members’ interests in specialized areas of chem-

istry would be to form topical groups or sub-

sections within the society.

Geological Society of Washington

In addition to the regular program at the

November 9 meeting, Frank C. Whitmore, Jr.

discussed the discovery of an upper Miocene

whale near Hampton, Va., perhaps the finest

fossil of its kind that has thus far been found

on the Atlantic Coastal Plain. It is also of special

interest because, previously, whales of this type

were thought to be of Pliocene age.

Philosophical Society of Washington

The Ninth Annual Christmas Lectures this year

presented George W. Beadle, of the California

Institute of Technology, on the general topic

“Genes as Living Molecules.” These lectures are

primarily for high school and advanced junior

Journal of The Washington Academy of Sciences

5

high school students, who are admitted free upon

presentation of tickets distributed by the Society.

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

Beginning with this issue, meetings of affiliated

societies scheduled for the month of publication

of the Journal will be noted chronologically.

When available to us at the time of writing, the

nature of the program, the place, and the time

will be noted. Entries which do not include all

of this information indicate, in most instances,

a regularly scheduled meeting of the society —

unless our correspondents notify us to the con-

trary, we assume that the date and location of

such meetings remain unchanged from month

to month. Every attempt will be made during

1961 to have the Journal appear at the beginning

of each month. (January excepted).

January 16 — Acoustical Society of America,

Washington, D.C. Chapter

Gallaudet College, 8:00 PM

Society of American Military Engineers,

Washington Post

YWCA, 17th and K, N.W., 12:15 PM

January 18 — Insecticide Society of Wash-

ington

Symons Hall, University of Maryland, 8:00 PM

Washington Society of Engineers

John Wesley Powell Auditorium, 22nd and Mass.

Ave., N.W., 8:00 PM

January 19 — Washington Academy of

Sciences

John Wesley Powell Auditorium, 22nd and Mass.

Ave., N.W.

Banquet and presentation of Academy Awards.

Society of American Foresters, Washing-

ton Section

YWCA, 17th and K, N.W., 6:30 PM

January 24 — American Society of Civil

Engineers, National Capital Section

YWCA, 17th and K, N.W., 12:00 noon

Society o f American Bacteriologists,

Washington Branch

Walter Reed Army Medical Center

January 26 — American Society of Mechan-

ical Engineers, Washington Section

John Coutinho, “Reliability,” Pepco Auditorium,

10th and E, N.W., 8:00 PM

ACADEMY ACTIVITIES

The 454th meeting of the Academy will be the

Annual Dinner Meeting, held January 19, 1960

at the John Wesley Powell Auditorium. Awards

for Scientific Achievement will be presented by the

President to the following recipients:

1. Biological Sciences. Louis S. Baron, Walter

Reed Army Institute of Research.

2. Engineering Sciences. Romald E. Bowles,

Diamond Ordnance Fuse Laboratory.

3. Physical Sciences. Richard A. Ferrell, Uni-

versity of Maryland.

4. Mathematics. Philip J. Davis, National Bu-

reau of Standards.

5. T eaching — High School Science. Mrs. Pauline

Diamond, Sherwood High School.

6. Teaching — College and University Science.

Karl F. Herzfeld, Catholic University.

A full-length feature on the Awards program

and the recipients will appear in the February

issue of the Journal.

CORRECTION

Figures from the Treasurer’s reports of Acad-

emy receipts and disbursements as printed on

page 16 of the November 1960 issue of the

Journal show larger totals for the year to June

than to September.

This is because the author inadvertently in-

cluded the totals for the Junior Academy of

Sciences in the earlier report. Correct totals for

January-June are: receipts, $9,605; disburse*

ments, $8,850.

THE BROWNSTONE TOWER

Frank L. Capbell

Looking south down

the Potomac from the

Brownstone T o w e r,

one might with the

help of a telescope

locate the Engineer

Research and Devel-

opment Laboratories

of the U. S. Army

Corps of Engineers at

Ft. Belvoir, Va. Just

prior to writing this

column, I drove down

to the ERDL to see

Clyde S. Barnhart, who is the entomologist in

the Sanitary Sciences Branch (Richard P.

Schmitt, in charge) of these Laboratories. He is

responsible to W. Doyle Reed, an active member

of the Washington Academy, for the develop-

ment of equipment for pest control (rodents,

insects, etc.) in the armed services, for the Corps

of Engineers does this work for the Navy and

Air Force as well as for the Army.

Dr. Barnhart was one of my students at the

Ohio State University prior to World War II.

He showed unusual imagination and proficiency

in devising and constructing equipment for the

rearing of insects and for experimentation with

6

Journal of The Washington Academy of Sciences

them. Both the second world war and the Korean

war so interfered with his career that he did not

take his doctor’s degree in entomology until 1958.

Admittedly a Ph.D. was not necessary for engi-

neering research, but he was determined to show

that he could take his degree in insect morphol-

ogy, and at last the time came when he was ready

for placement in a position where his engineer-

ing talents could be given full sway.

What I now have to say about the work of Dr.

Barnhart, whom I shall call Barney hereafter,

will serve a dual purpose: (1) to inform the

members of the Academy about some interesting

work that might not otherwise come to their

attention, and (2) to provide for the Member-

ship Committee information about Barney that I

hope will cause him to be elected to the Academy.

Soon after he came to ERDL, Barney con-

cluded that the current pest control equipment

was heavier and more expensive than was neces-

sary. In view of the probability that future mili-

tary operations will be air borne, it is really

important that everything used by the military

should be as light in weight as possible. There-

fore he began to think about how to lighten and

simplify the existing equipment.

First, he worked on a mosquito light trap, a

device for attracting mosquitoes to an electric

light and drawing them into a trap below by

means of a downward current of air. The exist-

ing trap was large, heavy, and had to be hooked

up to an electric outlet in order to operate it.

Barney designed and built a smaller cylindrical

trap of plastic materials and used dry batteries

to operate the light and a motor that spins a toy

propeller. The final product was not impressive

in appearance, but extensive field tests have

shown that it is promising, improvable, and usable

everywhere.

Then Barney turned his attention to the rodent

bait station, a heavy metal housing for poison

bait attractive to rats. After these metal con-

tainers are used they have to be cleaned before

they can be used again. Barney went to work

with scissors and cardboard and cut out a pattern

that could be folded into the shape of a very

small dog house. The rat either enters the box

to feed on the bait or it feeds with its head in

the entrance. When such a simple inexpensive

device becomes contaminated and is no longer

attractive, it is simply destroyed by burning.

Again, field tests have demonstrated that this

carboard shelter is just as effective as the old

sheet metal containers.

I shall not mention everything that Barney

has done along this line, but I do want to de-

scribe his centrifugal sprayer, which uses a

principle not hitherto employed in commercial

sprayers. The spray liquid is drawn or pumped

through the hollow shaft of a motor and is

thrown out through plastic tubing attached at

right angles to the end of the rotating shaft.

This sprayer is in process of development and

will be designed so that the whole unit on a

pedestal can be clamped to the rear end of an

army vehicle and will deliver a mist of con-

centrated spray that will be carried away from

the vehicle as it moves forward. Weight is re-

duced to a minimum and the operation is rela-

tively quiet.

Although this device is easily transportable

and can be attached to any military vehicle for

use wherever the vehicle can move, Barney

sensed the need for something even simpler

that can be carried by the individual soldier and

used by him not only to produce a space spray

for control of flying insects, such as mosquitoes,

but also for the control of insects for which a

so-called residual spray is required. In response

to this need Barney created what I like to call

the Whippersnapper, of the most elegant simplic-

ity. The soldier carries in his hand or suspended

from his shoulder a plastic bottle or bag con-

taining a liquid insecticide. A long flexible

plastic tube from container ends in a tiny brass

nozzle. To deliver spray that will drift down

wind all the soldier has to do is whip the

plastic tube around by hand, as a cowboy whirls

a rope, but in a vertical plane. It is helpful to

have an enlargement as a handle about a third

of the way along the tube. It occurred to Barney

that this enlargement might serve another pur-

pose. If one wants to spray, it gives simply a

convenient hand hold on the tube. But if one

wishes to deposit on a surface a layer of insecti-

cide by means of a coarse spray, the plastic

holder then becomes a pump which when

squeezed repeatedly forces a coarse spray out of

the nozzle. This pump has one-way valves at

either end and is used in hospitals for pump-

ing blood. The Whippersnapper, Barney tells

me, has attracted most favorable attention from

military officers.

Barney could have concentrated on pest con-

trol equipment to the exclusion of everything else

going on around him, but he could not help

being aware of the need for extension of his

“light weight line” into the field of desalination

and water purification, and he was encouraged

to spend part of his time along these lines. The

result is that he has moved into a very important

and active field of research headed in Govern-

ment by the Office of Saline Waters of the U. S.

Department of the Interior.

He started his work on the assumption that

if the evaporating surface was brought very close

to the condensing surface the efficiency of dis-

tillation would be improved. He has not been

concerned at all with stills as we know them in

a chemical laboratory but rather with the obtain-

ing of a condensate on a surface at a lower

temperature than that of the evaporating surface,

which he separates from the condensing surface

by means of a water-repelling plastic window

Journal of The Washington Academy of Sciences

7

screen. A rotating device on this principle was

built and worked very well, but again Barney

thought that it was more important from the

military point of view to work first on a device

for the use of individual soldiers, sailors, or air

men than to develop a machine for the produc-

tion of fresh water in large quantities from salt

water. Therefore I shall describe here only a

very simple arrangement for the production of

small quantities of fresh water from seawater.

Let us suppose that men are adrift at sea under

a rainless sky without drinking water. Each

man could spend his time getting drinking water

from Barney’s solar still, which looks superficially

like a file of correspondence having a minimum

of five sheets. The top sheet consists of black

plastic film; the second, a piece of paper towel-

ing or cloth; the third, a water-repellent screen,

or netting; the fourth, a piece of aluminum

foil; and the fifth a cloth backing for the foil

to cool it by evaporation of water from the cloth.

The castaway dips all these sheets in the ocean,

thus saturating the paper toweling and cloth with

sea water. Then he drains off excess water, wipes

off the aluminum foil with his shirt, and exposes

the top black surface to the sun. In a little

while he opens these layers, exposing the alumi-

num surface upon which there will be a conden-

sate of fresh water. This he can mop up with a

sponge to be provided in the kit and obtain

water from the sponge.

Barney finds that the efficiency of this device

can be multiplied by replication of layers two,

three, and four mentioned above, and I myself

saw the operation of a multilayered pile in which

the three intermediate layers were repeated six

times. On each of the aluminum layers a conden-

sate was formed, diminishing in quantity as one

proceeds from the top aluminum surface to the

layers below. This survival still can be operated

when the sun is not shining or at night merely

by sitting on the black surface, thus providing a

temperature differential between the top surface

warmed by the body and the aluminum surfaces

cooled by the sea water. Thus, as Barney ex-

presses it, the output of the still will be propor-

tional to the human effort put into it, and cer-

tainly a man who wants nothing so much as

water will be glad to put a lot of effort into it.

There is in the embryo stage another solar still

that will require little attention. It will be a

variation of the so-called greenhouse still. A bell

jar without a knob on top will be covered by an

aluminum layer and the aluminum in turn by a

black cloth or wick, which will pick up saline

water from a circular trough below. This wet

surface will be covered by a larger transparent bell

jar the inside surface of which will be close to but

not in contact with the wick. The double bell will

be placed in direct sunlight, which will shine

through the outer jar and will heat the cloth

and aluminum under it. The heat will be con-

ducted by the aluminum around to the shady

side of the bell. Then there will be a consider-

able temperature difference between the warm

wet surface and the cooler glass jar surrounding

it. Most of the condensate will form on the in

side of the glass jar away from the sun. Be-

cause of its shape, this device need not be

oriented toward the sun, but will work unat-

tended wherever it is exposed to sunshine. Suit-

able arrangements will be made, of course, to

collect the condensate.

All the above-mentioned developments have been

protected by patent applications.

It was very interesting to me to see how Barney

has reduced to practice the ideas that have come

to him in such profusion. He has help, of course,

but at first in the heat of imagination he works

with his own hands and uses whatever he can

and that he might adapt to his purpose. Thus

his prototypes look very crude indeed, but in the

end the armed services and the civilian popula-

tion will benefit greatly by his work.

SCIENCE AND

DEVELOPMENT

A newly developed soil psychrometer will

aid scientists in accurately measuring the

relative humidity of air in the soil. The new

instrument was designed by Dr. Lorenzo A.

Richards and Dr. Gen Ogata at the U.S. Depart-

ment of Agriculture Salinity Laboratory, River-

side, California. It is capable of measuring differ-

ences in relative humidity as small as 1/2000 of

1 percent. It will make possible quantitative

measurements of soil moisture needed to deter-

mine the factors influencing availability of water

to plants. Research has shown that most plants

will grow if the relative humidity of air in the

soil is between 98.91 and 99.83 percent, but not

at 98.90 percent, although at this lower humidity

most plants will remain alive.

Bootlegging of amphetamine drugs is a

menace to safety on the Nation’s highways, the

Food and Drug Administration has asserted in

a special report on its efforts to curb illegal sales

of the stimulant pills to truck drivers and mo-

torists. The FDA crackdown was launched last

fall when it had more than 200 cases under

investigation. Since that time, 85 criminal

prosecutions have been completed; 31 additional

prosecutions have been instituted and are now

pending in Federal district courts; and in eight

separate actions, 1,837,000 tablets and capsules

of amphetamine drugs were seized. Defendants

in the actions involved truck stop operators,

grocers, and other peddlers; retail druggists who

sold without prescription or refilled without au-

thorization; and licensed practitioners who dis-

pensed the drugs without having established a

bona fide doctor-patient relationship.

8

Journal of The Washington Academy of Sciences

Vice-Presidents of the Washington Academy of Sciences

Representing the Affiliated Societies

Acoustical Society of America Richard Cook

Institute of the Aeronautical Sciences Not Named.

Anthropological Society of Washington Regina Flannery

Society of American Bacteriologists Mary Louise Robbins

Biological Society of Washington Herbert Friedman

Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine Kathryn Knowlton

Botanical Society of Washington Herbert C. Hanson

Chemical Society of Washington William J. Bailey

American Society of Civil Engineers Not Named.

International Assn, for Dental Research Gerhard Brauer

American Inst, of Electrical Engineers Robert D. Elbourn

Washington Society of Engineers Howard S. Rappleye

Entomological Society of Washington Harold H. Shepard

Society of American Foresters Not Named.

National Geographic Society Alexander Wetmore

Geological Society of Washington Carle Dane

Helminthological Society of Washington Carlton M. Herman

Columbia Historical Society U. S. Grant, III

Insecticide Society of Washington Joseph Yuill

Amer. Society of Mechanical Engineers William G. Allen

Medical Society of the Dist. of Columbia Fred 0. Coe

American Society for Metals John A. Bennett

American Meteorological Society Morris Tepper

Institute of Radio Engineers Robert Huntoon

American Nuclear Society, Washington Section Urner Liddel

Philosophical Society of Washington Louis R. Maxwell

Society of American Military Engineers Not Named.

Chairmen of Committees

Standing Committees

Executive Lawrence A. Wood, Nat. Bureau of Standards

Meetings Robert D. Stiehler, Nat. Bureau of Standards

Membership Wayne C. Hall, Naval Research Laboratory

Monographs Dean B. Cowie, Dept, of Terrestrial Magnetism

Awards for Scientific Achievement Archie I. Mahan, Applied Physics Laboratory

Grants-in-Aid for Research B. D. van Ever a, George Washington University

Policy and Planning A. T. McPherson, Nat. Bureau of Standards

Encouragement of Science Talent Leo Schubert, American University

Science Education Raymond J. Seeger, Nat. Science Foundation

Special Committees

By Laws

Library of Congress

Repres. on AAAS Council

Harold H. Shepard, Dept, of Agriculture

John A. O’Keefe, Nat. Aeronautics & Space Admin.

Howard A. Meyerhoff, Scientific Manpower Commission

Volume 51

JANUARY 1961

No. 2

CONTENTS

Philip H. Abelson. Frank L. Campbell 1

Science in Washington

Scientists in the News 3

Affiliated Societies 5

Calendar of Events __ __ 6

Academy Activities 6

The Brownstone Tower 6

Science and Development 8

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FEBRUARY 1961

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JOURNAL OF THE WASHINGTON ACADEMY OF SCIENCES

Editor: Samuel B. Detwiler, Jr., Department of Agriculture

Associate Editors

Frank L. Campbell, National Academy of Russell B. Stevens, George Washington 1

Sciences University

Harold T. Cook, Department of Agriculture John K. Taylor, National Bureau of Standards j

Staff Assistant

Richard P. Farrow, National Canners Association

Contributors

Alphonse F. Forziati, National Bureau of

Standards

Howard W. Bond, National Institutes of Health

Ileen E. Stewart, National Science Foundation I

Allen L. Alexander, Naval Research Laboratory I

Victor R. Boswell, USDA, Beltsville

Harold T. Cook, USDA, Washington

William J. Bailey, University of Maryland

This Journal, the official organ of the Washington Academy of Sciences, publishes ]

historical articles, critical reviews, and scholarly scientific articles; notices of meetings and |

abstract proceedings of meetings of the Academy and its affiliated societies; and regional news I

items, including personal news, of interest to the entire membership. The Journal appears I

eight times a year in January to May and October to December.

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Claims for missing numbers will not be allowed if received more than 60 days after date

of mailing plus time normally required for postal delivery and claim. No claims will be allowed

because of failure to notify the Academy of a change of address.

Changes of address should be sent promptly to the Academy Office, 1530 P St., N.W., I

Washington, D. C. Such notification should include both old and new addresses and postal zone 1

number, if any.

Advertising rates may be obtained from the Editor, care of Academy Office.

Second class postage paid at Washington, D. C.

Albert M. Stone, Applied Physics Laboratory

John A. O’Brien, Jr., Catholic University

Elliott B. Roberts, Coast & Geodetic Survey

Margaret D. Foster, Geological Survey

Russell B. Stevens, George Washington

University

Lloyd N. Ferguson, Howard University

Frank L. Campbell, NAS-NRC

A Message from the Retiring President—-

The Academy in the Sixties

Lawrence A. Wood

National Bureau of Standards

Scientific activity in the Washington

area, like that in the country as a whole,

has undergone a tremendous expansion

since 1940. Older governmental organiza-

tions employing scientists, like the Naval

Research Laboratory and the National

Bureau of Standards, have expanded ap-

preciably while newly-established labora-

tories like the National Institutes of

Health, the Naval Ordnance Laboratory,

and the Department of Agriculture’s Belts-

ville Research Center have entered the

picture with staffs numbering in the thou-

sands. Private organizations, said to be

almost 150 in number, also conduct re-

search and engage in development work.

Most of them are quite small, but a dozen

or more have staffs (including both tech-

nical and non-technical employees) num-

bering more than 300. Only about 10

percent of them were in existence in 1945.

The membership in the societies affili-

ated with the Washington Academy of

Sciences has likewise grown apace. The

Chemical Society of Washington alone

now has more than 2400 members. I am

not aware of any recent totalling of the

membership figures for all 27 component

societies, but it must be of the order of

10,000. The total number of people with

a scientific or engineering background in

the Washington area has been estimated

to be about 20,000.

Thus one can readily see that there is

an opportunity of considerable magni-

tude for a federation of societies to func-

tion in coordinating scientific activities

along common lines. The Washington

Academy of Sciences was organized in

1898 to serve this purpose.

Probably the most extensive cooperative

program of this sort is handled hy the

Joint Board on Science Education, estab-

lished in 1955 by the Academy and the

D. C. Council of Engineering and Archi-

tectural Societies. The detailed activities

of the Joint Board, as outlined in its 46-

page directory, will probably surprise

most members of the Academy by their

variety and magnitude. The index lists

the names of about 400 individuals who

are participating in the various activities

of the program. Another booklet, entitled

“Visiting Scientists and Engineers,” lists

181 topics for which speakers are avail-

able on request. A book, “Project Ideas

for Young Scientists,” contains over 400

suggestions for science projects. A monthly

publication, The Reporter , is sent free to

all the secondary school teachers of science

and mathematics in the area, numbering

about 1800.

The program has received national rec-

ognition, as shown by comments of college

officials and by the many inquiries re-

ceived from organizations in other parts

of the country.

This work on the secondary school level

might well be complemented by another

program aimed at coordinating and im-

proving scientific education on the univer-

sity and graduate school level in the Wash-

ington area. The Academy is doing noth-

ing in this field at present.

Another coordinating activity is the

weekly compilation of a science calendar

listing the meetings of scientific interest

in the area; this likewise is conducted in

February, 1961

9

collaboration with the D. C. Council.

In addition to being a federation of

societies, the Academy, as you all know,

includes individual members — that is,

“persons who by reason of original re-

search or scientific attainment are deemed

worthy of the honor of election.” The

total number of individual members has

grown from 531 in 1938 to about 1100 at

the present time. This is certainly a far

smaller proportion of the scientific work-

ers in the area than was the case in 1938.

It would be flattering to the present mem-

bers to think that this represents more

careful selection; but I fear that it merely

represents lethargy on the part of the

members in bringing in new candidates of

high qualifications. In any case, it would

seem that more activity along this line is

highly desirable. Recognition of scientific

attainment is certainly a worthwhile Acad-

emy function in which all its members can

and should participate. The Academy’s

annual awards for scientific achievement

to scientists no older than 40 could well

be made more substantial.

Like any other living organism, the

Academy cannot afford to remain static.

It must grow and change, adapting itself

to new conditions and new needs. The

establishment of an Academy office in 1958

and the alteration of the Journal , begun

in 1959 and still continuing, represent the

most important changes of the two years

preceding 1960. The past year saw the

adoption of revised bylaws and standing

rules. T feel that they are all worthwhile

accomplishments.

In the course of a year the Washington

Academy of Sciences can teach much to

any individual who is fortunate enough to

be its president. One gains insight into

some of its activities from continual re-

minders that new members must be ap-

pointed to its various committees and

panels. One becomes acquainted with the

multitude of scientific societies in the

Washington area by contacts with their

delegates in Academy Board meetings. One

receives intellectual stimulation from hear-

ing the lectures at its general membership

meetings. For all of this I am very

grateful.

In return it seems only fitting that a

president, on retiring into the state of

innocuous desuetude characteristic of ex-

presidents, should outline some specific re-

spects in which he thinks the operations of

the Academy might be improved.

The first recommendation I would make

is to change the operating year of the

Academy to begin on July 1, rather than

in January. It would then correspond to

the “academic year” of our educational

system and to the “fiscal year” of our

governmental agencies. The relatively in-

active summer period could be used effec-

tively by the new president in appointing

committees, by the treasurer in drawing

up a budget, by the Journal editor in

making his plans, and by the Meetings

Committee in selecting speakers. At pres-

ent, these arrangements must be made in

haste at the beginning of the calendar

year.

The second recommendation would be

for an increase of dues, with the major

portion of the increase going towards the

improvement of the Journal. A proposal

of this sort in 1959 was favored by a

majority of the members, but fell slightly

short of the two-thirds vote required

for amendments to the bylaws. Conse-

quently, the Journal has been hampered by

inadequate financial support.

The Academy organization at present

makes no formal use of the services of its

ex-presidents. Since a change in this situa-

tion could not be made before 1962, I can

safely recommend it now without the

possibility of incurring additional respon-

sibilities myself. In general, it would

seem that one who has been as familiar

with the affairs of the Academy as a presi-

dent is at the end of his term should be re-

tained for a time in some formal way in

the organizational scheme of the Academy.

The monthly meetings in the past few

years have been addressed by some out-

10

Journal of the Washington Academy of Sciences

standing speakers on a wide variety of

topics. Attendance in the future should be

improved by the better publicity made pos-

sible by a more definitely-scheduled Jour-

nal. There can be no doubt of the necessity

of obtaining interesting, well-prepared

speakers lecturing on topics of general

interest. Topics dealing with interdisciplin-

ary subjects, with international scientific

relations, with the government’s part in

science, and with the history of science

seem to me to be especially suitable types.

Academy Presents

John K. Taylor

National Bureau of Standards

The Academy’s 63rd Annual Meeting

and Dinner, held on January 19, featured

the presentation of awards for scientific

achievement to six local scientists and

educators.

The Academy awards program was initi-

ated in 1939 to recognize young scientists

in the local area for “noteworthy discov-

ery, accomplishment, or publication” in

the fields of biology, engineering, and the

physical sciences. Awards for outstanding

teaching were added in 1955, while mathe-

matics was included for the first time

in 1959.

The awards consist of scrolls engrossed

with a citation. Beginning with the cur-

rent year, they also include election to

membership in the Academy with remis-

sion of dues for the first two years.

Award winners must be under 40 years

of age in all cases except in teaching, for

which no age limit is set. Nominations,

obtained from Academy members and from

local scientific institutions, are evaluated

by committees composed of members of

the Academy distinguished in the fields of

science involved.

At the annual dinner, Archie I. Mahan,

chairman of the Awards Committee, in-

troduced the heads of the organizations

The very diversity of the Academy oper-

ations requires the cooperation of many in-

dividuals. Those who are participating in

one activity should appreciate the extent

and importance of the other activities. The

federative activities, the honorary awards,

the science education program, the monthly

meetings, and the Journal all are import-

ant facets of the Washington Academy of

Sciences as it enters the decade of the

sixties.

Awards to Six

represented by the award winners. These

officials, in turn, commented upon the

achievements of the candidates. Presenta-

tion of the awards was made by Lawrence

A. Wood, president of the Academy dur-

ing 1960, the award year.

The award for biological sciences was

made to Louis S. Baron of the Walter Reed

Army Institute for Research. Dr. Baron

did his undergraduate work at City College

and his graduate work at the University of

Illinois, from which he received the Ph.D.

degree in 1951. He joined the staff of the

Department of Immunology at Walter Reed

and has been chief of that Department

since 1956.

Dr. Baron’s research activities have been

concerned with various aspects of bac-

terial gentics, especially the relation of

changes in antigenic and enzymatic com-

position. He was cited for “work on genetic

recombination in different genera and

tribes of bacteria.”

The award in the physical sciences was

made to Richard A. Ferrell of the Physics

Department, University of Maryland, who

received his bachelor’s degree at California

Institute of Technology after an outstand-

February, 1961

11

Award Winners at Annual Academy Meeting

L. S. Baron

R. E. Bowles

P. J. Davis

Pauline Diamond

R. A. Ferrell

K. F. Herzfeld

ing undergraduate record. His Ph.D. degree

was obtained at Princeton University in

1952.

After an AEC postdoctoral fellowship,

he joined the faculty of the University of

Maryland and was elevated to professorial

rank in 1959. He has also been a recent

recipient of an NSF postdoctoral fellow-

ship.

Dr. Ferrell has achieved international

recognition in the field of theoretical

physics. He was cited in particular for

“contributions to the theory of collective

effects in nuclei and solids.”

Romald E. Bowles of the Diamond Ord-

nance Fuze Laboratory received the award

for scientific achievement in engineering.

Dr. Bowles, a native of the local area, at-

tended Roosevelt High School and the Uni-

versity of Maryland. Most of his profes-

sional career has been at DOFL, which

he joined in 1954. While employed there,

he attended the University of Maryland

graduate school part-time and received the

Ph.D. degree in mechanical engineering in

1957. His present position at DOFL is that

of a supervisory mechanical engineer.

Dr. Bowles has done extensive pioneer-

ing work in the theory and development of

fluid amplifiers without moving parts,

which promise to create a revolution in the

field of automatic control. He was cited for

“distinguished service in starting and lead-

ing research on pneumatic control de-

vices without moving parts.”

The award for mathematics was presented

to Philip J. Davis of the National Bureau

of Standards. Dr. Davis received the Ph.D.

degree in mathematics from Harvard Uni-

versity in 1949. After a period of post-

doctoral research at Harvard and a one-

year period at American University, he

joined the staff of NBS in 1953 and is now

chief of the Numerical Analysis Section,

Applied Mathematics Division.

Dr. Davis’ chief research interest is in

12

Journal of the Washington Academy of Sciences

the field of functional analysis. He was

cited for “contributions to the theory of

analytic functions and numerical analysis.”

Presentation of the award for teaching

college and university science was made to

Karl F. Herzfeld of Catholic University.

Born in Vienna, Dr. Herzfeld received the

Ph.D. degree from the University of Vienna

in 1914. During the period 1926 to 1936,

he served on the faculty at Johns Hopkins

University. He has been associated with

Catholic University since 1936, where he

is professor and head of the Physics De-

partment.

Dr. Herzfeld, a member of the National

Academy of Sciences, has had a distin-

guished career in physics including the

fields of ultrasonics, quantum theory, and

solid state physics. The present award, how-

ever, was for his outstanding teaching:

the citation reads, “in recognition of his

distinguished services as a teacher of

physics, and his lasting influence on the

lives of his students.”

Pauline Diamond, who teaches chemistry

and physics at Sherwood High School,

Sandy Spring, Md., received the award for

outstanding teaching of high school science.

After receiving the A.B. degree from Brook-

lyn College in 1940, Mrs. Diamond was

employed during the war years at the Na-

tional Bureau of Standards, where she con-

ducted research in electrical measurements

and in pH determinations. She is now in

her sixth year of teaching at Sherwood.

Mrs. Diamond has taken an active in-

terest in science education activities out-

side of the classroom, especially in matters

concerned with science fairs in Montgomery

County. Her citation reads, “in recogni-

tion of effectiveness as a teacher of chem-

istry and physics, resulting in the choice of

careers in science by many of her students.”

Plant Disease Control

Without Chemicals *

Harold T. Cook

Agricultural Marketing Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture

The title may suggest that the subject

of this paper was chosen because of the

current interest in pesticidal residues and

food additives resulting from the recent

amendments to the Food, Drug and Cos-

metic Act and the cranberry episode of last

year. Actually, my interest in plant dis-

ease control without chemicals antedates

the present furor over pesticidal residues

by about 30 years.

Fungicides are useful and necessary for

control of some plant diseases, but too

often plant pathologists resort to them

when other methods may be more effec-

tive, practical, and economical. Ever since

* Address of the retiring president of the Botani-

cal Society of Washington, December 1960.

the discovery of bordeaux mixture by Mil-

lardet in 1882, fungicides have played a

major role in plant disease control. Their

use has been accelerated in recent years by

extensive commercial advertising and a vast

army of salesmen.

Disillusionment about standard chemi-

cal treatments came early in my profes-

sional career. Soon after I became plant

pathologist at the Virginia Truck Experi-

ment Station in 1930, I was directed to

revise the Station bulletin on sweet potato

diseases. Since I had never seen a sweet

potato except on the dinner table, I put

my trust in recommendations in farmer’s

bulletins and experiment station bulletins.

I recommended treating the seed potatoes

February, 1961

13

with bichloride of mercury and warned in

boldface type how to handle the deadly

poison. I recommended coating the bot-

tom end of each sprout with copper or

sulfur dust before planting. And finally, T

recommended fumigating the storage house

with formaldehyde or spraying the walls

and floors with copper sulfate solution,

whitewash, or lime-sulfur.

These were standard recommendations,

but they didn’t control disease in demon-

stration plots I planted to show farmers

how to grow healthy sweet potatoes. Later

1 found why the chemical treatments didn’t

work, and developed non-chemical meth-

ods that were more effective and practical.

There are many advantages to non-

chemical methods for controlling plant

diseases :

1. They are often cheaper, since there is

no cost for fungicidal materials and

equipment and labor for applying them.

2. They are often more practical, since it

is difficult or impossible to spray or dust

at frequent and regular intervals.

3. Mechanical injury by sprayers and dust-

ers is avoided.

4. Chemical injury by fungicides is

avoided.

5. There are no unsightly or toxic residues.

6. Disease control is sometimes more com-

plete.

The non-chemical methods for plant

disease control are based on rather simple

and basic principles:

1. Elimination of the microorganism that

causes disease by hot water seed treat-

ment, heat treatment of vegetative parts,

growing seed in dry areas where the

disease does not develop, propagation

methods that remove diseased parts, and

sanitation.

2. Preventing infection by avoiding in-

juries and promoting formation of nat-

ural barriers to infection.

3. Retarding infection and development of

disease by refrigeration and controlled

moisture.

4. Planned marketing so that products are

used before spoilage occurs.

5. Use of disease-resistant varieties.

There are numerous examples of plant

disease control by these methods. Some are

so firmly established that they are taken

for granted. Time will permit discussion

of only a few.

Bean anthracnose was the most serious

disease of beans in states east of the Mis-

sissippi until 1927. Numerous attempts to

control it by chemical seed treatments and

field sprays failed. Breeding for resistance

was complicated by the existence of three

strains of the fungus. The disease has

been almost completely eliminated since

1927 simply by growing disease-free seed

in the arid western states where the air

is too dry for the fungus to develop on

the seed pods and infect the seed. Previ-

ously, much of the bean seed was grown

in Michigan and western New York, where

the weather was often favorable for an-

thracnose.

Bacterial blight is another seed-borne

disease of beans that is controlled by grow-

ing seed in western states, especially in

certain parts of California. Numerous wet

and dry chemical seed treatments were

tested before this simple and effective con-

trol was found.

Black rot is an important disease of

cabbage and related crops. For many

years, treating the seed with bichloride of

mercury was recommended, but only in-

complete control was obtained. Research

recently showed that some seed is intern-

ally infected so that chemical treatment

could not be expected to be effective. Hot

water seed treatment gave complete con-

trol, but was not practical for treating

large volumes of seed. Fortunately, hot

water seed treatment is no longer neces-

sary because most of the seed is now

grown in Pacific coast states where it does

not become infected. Blackleg, another

cabbage disease that was formerly im-

portant, also has been nearly eliminated

by using western-grown seed.

Celery is sprayed weekly from the time

the plants come up until it is harvested, to

control the leaf blights. It is a costly and

messy operation and does not control

14

Journal of the Washington Academy of Sciences

blight satisfactorily in bad years. Much

trimming and washing are necessary to

remove spray residue before marketing.

These celery diseases may be controlled

and the need for spraying eliminated by

treating the seed with hot water and crop

rotation. Chemical seed treatments are

only partly effective because the fungi are

within the seed coat.

The effectiveness of hot water seed treat-

ment was strikingly demonstrated in com-

mercial plantings at Norfolk. Va., in 1941.

Blight had caused heavy losses there in

1940. The next season, six of the nine

growers accepted the Experiment Station

offer to treat their seed. Blight destroyed

the celery of the three growers whose seed

was not treated. Four of the growers using

treated seed had no blight. The other two

had blight only in the beds where they

used plants obtained from neighbors whose

seed was not treated.

Hot water and hot air treatments of

vegetative parts have been used to control

virus diseases of peaches, cranberries, and

sugar cane, red rot of sugar cane, and black

rot of sweet potatoes.

Black rot is a major disease of sweet

potatoes. Some may be found at harvest,

but usually infection is not noticeable un-

til several weeks later. Sweet potatoes that

are washed before packing may be infected

by spores in the wash water. Black rot that

develops during transit may make the en-

tire lot unsalable when it reaches the

market.

Standard recommendations for black

rot are to discard seed potatoes with black

rot and to treat the remaining ones in

bichloride of mercury. This treatment kills

black rot spores on the surface but not the

fungus in the spots. Spotted potatoes that

escape detection and are bedded produce

diseased sprouts and cause black rot in the

next crop.

An easier and more effective way to con-

trol black rot is to cut the sprouts above

the seed bed soil line instead of pulling

them. Since black rot occurs only on the

underground stem, only the healthy part is

planted. Sprout cuttings live and yield as

well as field sprouts.

Scurf is another major sweet potato

disease that may be easily eliminated by

planting sprout cuttings. Chemical seed

and sprout treatments that have been rec-

ommended have little effect on scurf.

Sanitation is an effective control meas-

ure and need not involve chemicals. Fumi-

gation of sweet potato storage houses with

formaldehyde is still recommended. It is

an expensive and unpleasant task and I

don’t know of any experimental evidence

to justify it. Thorough sweeping or wash-

ing down of the storage will probably do

as much or more good.

Preventing infection is important in con-

trolling many market diseases. Once the

pathogen has entered the fruit or vegetable

it is beyond reach of most fungicides.

Many years ago, U. S. Department of

Agriculture workers showed that much de-

cay in California oranges started at me-

chanical injuries that occurred during har-

vesting, packing, and shipping. Fruit with

no apparent injury when packed had only

1.8 percent decay at destination in con-

trast to 26.9 percent in visibly injured

fruit. Improved handling has markedly re-

duced decay in commercial shipments with-

out the aid of chemicals.

Heating, chilling, and freezing may cause

physiological changes and physical damage

that are followed by decay. Alternaria de-

cay of tomatoes, peppers, and acorn squash,

and penicillium decay of sweet potatoes,

are examples of decay that follows chilling

injury. Unchilled tissues are not affected

by these fungi, but decay develops rapidly

after chilling. Chilling injury occurs in

tomatoes and sweet potatoes below 55°F.,

and in acorn squash and peppers at 45°

or lower. Chemical treatments give little if

any protection. The logical remedy is to

avoid exposure to conditions that cause

such injury.

Formation of natural barriers in injured

tissues prevents decay in potatoes and sweet

February, 1961

15

potatoes. These vegetables are unavoidably

cut. broken, and skinned during harvest-

ing, cleaning, and packing, but the injured

tissues heal and wall out the decay patho-

gens in potatoes that are kept at 70° F. or

higher in a humid atmosphere. These heal-

ing properties are utilized to prevent soft

rot and browning of new potatoes during

transit. Instead of using low temperatures

to check decay, moderate temperatures are

maintained in the rail cars so the injured

tissues will heal. Healing also is used to

reduce seed piece decay before and after

planting. Chemical treatments are unneces-

sary and may interfere with healing and

increase decay.

Curing sweet potatoes at 85 °F. in a

humid atmosphere after harvest gives ex-

cellent control of rhizopus rot. Recuring

the potatoes after they are washed and

packed for market is a promising method

of reducing decay in transit and at the

market.

Refrigeration controls many post-harvest

diseases. But the amount of refrigeration

that may be used depends on the fruit or

vegetable. Some may be stored at 32 °F.

but others, like tomatoes, are injured and

made more susceptible to decay by chill-

ing temperatures considerably above freez-

ing. The temperatures used must be tailored

to the particular fruit or vegetable. Tem-

peratures below 40° are safe for oranges

and retard penicillium and stem end rots.

Rhizopus causes no visible decay in peaches

after six days at 45°, but 36° is necessary

to retard brown rot an equal amount.

Recent research has shown that rhizopus

decay in cannery peaches can be reduced

from 4.7 percent to 0.5 percent simply by

storing the fruit at 31 °F. for 14 days

before ripening instead of ripening imme-

diately. Canners get two or three more

cases per ton when peaches are handled this

way. Chemical treatments failed to give

satisfactory decay control.

Humidity control is important for con-

trolling disease. Aeration is a practical

method of reducing moldiness in stored

grain. Fungicides are not effective, and if

they were would leave undesirable residues.

Prompt drying and maintenance of low

humidity are especially important to pre-

vent heavy losses from onion neck rot.

Free moisture favors decay of stored

root crops. Crater rot, rhizopus, sclerotinia,

and botrytis decays cause serious damage

to carrots that are continuously wet by

water dripping from overhead brine coils.

Such decay has been almost completely

eliminated in some storages simply by

erecting a kraft paper awning over the

carrots to shed the water.

Planned marketing based on the pre-

dicted keeping quality of different lots of

fruits or vegetables reduces disease losses.

Decay during storage varies in different

lots of California grapes. More decay

occurs in grapes from some vineyards than

others, and in grapes harvested soon after

rainy periods. The grapes that will have

least decay in storage may be identified

soon after harvest by placing samples of

each lot under conditions that accelerate

decay. This makes it possible to market

lots that will decay badly if stored too

long, while they are still in good condition.

Some California grape producers have used

this method as a marketing guide for sev-

eral years. A similar method is being used

to forecast bull’s-eye rot in stored north-

western apples.

Plant disease control by use of disease-

resistant varieties is well established. It

is a very effective method, but many years

are required to develop an assortment of

desirable resistant varieties, and progress

is frequently nullified by the appearance of

new strains of the pathogenic fungi.

I have cited only a few examples of

successful plant disease control without

chemicals. There are many others. Many

diseases now unsatisfactorily controlled by

chemicals would probably respond to non-

chemical methods.

16

Journal of the Washington Academy of Sciences

FEBRUARY MEETING

(455th Meeting of the Washington Academy of Sciences)

ADDRESS OF THE RETIRING PRESIDENT

SPEAKER

Lawrence A. Wood, National Bureau of Standards

SUBJECT

Unorthodoxy in Science

DATE

Thursday, February 16, 1961, 8:15 p.m.

PLACE

John Wesley Poivell Auditorium, Cosmos Club, 2170 Florida Ave., N.W.

where he changed

THE S P E A K E II —

Law rence A. Wood was

born in Peekskill, N.Y.,

in 1904. He received

the A.B. degree in

chemistry and mathe-

matics from Hamilton

College in 1925. He

then transferred for

his graduate work to

Cornell U n iversity,

his field of science to

physics and received the Ph.D. degree in

1932. He remained at Cornell as an instruc-

tor in physics for three subsequent years,

conducting research in the field of electric-

ity, then came to the National Bureau of

Standards in 1935 as a member of the

Rubber Section. In 1943 he became chief

of this Section, a position which he still

holds.

Dr. Wood’s scientific career was reviewed

in the Journal for February, 1960. For his

oustanding research achievements he re-

ceived the Academy’s 1943 award for

achievement in the physical sciences. In

1958 he received a meritorius service award

from the Department of Commerce for

his valuable fundamental contributions to

the science and technology of rubber.

Dr. Wood has always shown much interest

in scientific societies, both locally and na-

tionally. In addition to being a member and

immediate past president of the Washington

Academy of Sciences, he is a member of

the American Chemical Society, member

and past president (in 1955) of the Philo-

sophical Society of Washington, and a fellow

of the American Physical Society. He was

a founder of the APS Division of High

Polymer Physics, and its chairman in 1947.

ABSTRACT OF THE ADDRESS— Some

scientific concepts, when they are first pro-

posed, are distinctly not in accord with the

accepted ideas of their time. Later, some

of them receive general recognition and

are incorporated into the body of general

scientific knowledge. It is instructive to

study specific examples of unorthodoxy in

science to see if there are distinguishing

general characteristics which may he useful

in predicting the probable fate of the con-

cept. The human motives and personal

factors involved in scientific activities must

not be underestimated. Examples, drawn

largely from the physical sciences, include,

among others : Copernicus’ concept of the

solar system, Galileo’s mechanics of falling

bodies. Young’s wave theory of light, the

theory of conservation of energy, Pasteur’s

theories of bacterial action, Planck’s quan-

tcm theory, N-rays, Ehrenhaft’s sub-electrons

and single magnet poles, Klingelfuss’ com-

putation of electrical constants, Rupp’s ar-

ticial positrons and polarization of electron

beams, para-psycliology and extra-sensory

perception, and the magneto-optical method

of chemical analysis.

February, 1961

17

Summary Annual Report of Treasurer for 1960

Washington Academy of Sciences

Receipts

Dues

Life membership

Journal subscriptions and reprints

Sales of Journal back numbers

Sales of Monograph No. 1 and Index

Interest, dividends, and capital gains

Fiscal services to Joint Board on NSF grant administration

Unused portion of $500 grant

Miscellaneous receipts (meetings, grants, gifts, etc.)

Total

$ 5,290.75

25.00

3,125.63

618.19

19.30

3,673.12

403.71

79.04

567.70

$13,802.44

Expenditures

Journal (printing, mailing, etc., for 8 issues) $ 4,528.87

Routine operations, officers and meetings 2,254.35

Headquarters office expenses including Social Security 5,599.13

Directory 274.75

Custodian of Publications 422.42

Annual dinner 339.00

Grant, Joint Board on Science Education 500.00

Grant-in-aid, WAS Committee on Encouragement of Science Talent 300.00

Grants, reimbursable 100.85

A A AS’ academy conference 20.00

Science calendar 75.00

Certificates, Awards Committee 5.77

Debits, memos and refunds 17.22

Total $14,437.36

Excess disbursements over receipts $634.92

Summary of Cash Balances

12/31/59

Washington Academy of Sciences $ 6,321.82

Washington Junior Academy of Sciences 1,337.04

NSF grant administration (Joint Board) 21,737.08

Totals $29,395.94

12/31/60 Decrease

$ 5.686.90 $ 634.92

781.91 555.13

19,856.38 1,880.70

$26,325.19' $ 3,070.75

Summary of Receipts and Expenditures, 1960

Washington Academy of Sciences

Washington Junior Academy of Sciences

NSF grant administration (Joint Board) .

Totals

Receipts Expenditures R less E

$13,802.44 $14,437.36 — $ 634.92

4,140.50 4.695.63 — 555.13 j

35,914.35 37,795.05 — 1,880.70 j

$53,857.29 $56,928.04 $3,070.75

Summary of Grant, National Science Foundation to WAS (Administered by Joint Board on

Science Education)

Balance in WAS checking account on 12/31/59 $21,737.08

Additions to grant during 1960 35,914.35

Total $57,657.43

Expended or returned to NSF during 1960 37,795.05

Cash balance on 12/31/60 $19,856.38

I

18

Journal of the Washington Academy of Sciences

Summary of Assets

—Carl I. Aslakson, Treasurer , 1960

Summary Annual Report of Secretary for 1960

In order to summarize the activities more ex-

tensively reported by the various officers and

chairmen of committees at the annual meeting,

the Secretary has prepared the following facts

regarding the Academy’s vital statistics. As of

the end of the calendar year 1960, the Academy

had the following numbers of members in the

respective categories:

Resident

Active 775 (+16)

Retired .... 67 ( + 16)

Patron 0

Honorary 0

Subtotal . 842

Total membership

Nonresident

Active 180 ( — 16)

Retired 69 ( + 15)

Patron 0

Honorary 6

Subtotal 255

1,097 (+31)

The parenthetic figures show the net change

over 1959. The Membership Committee inherited

15 nominations at the beginning of the year and

made recommendations for 83 new memberships.

Of the latter, 22 are still pending election by

the Board and 61 have been so elected and in-

vited to become members. A total of 66 new mem-

bers have been brought into the Academy; but

due to resignation and deaths our net gain in

membership is only 31 as shown above.

Losses in membership reported in 1960 due to

deaths are listed herewith with the date of de-

ceased when known:

Arthur C. Baker (September 11, 1959) ; Harley

H. Bartlett (February 13, 1960) ; Paul Bartsch

(April 24, 1960) ; Peter Chrzanowski (April 14,

1960) ; Carroll E. Cox (June 24, 1960) ; Arthur

L. Day (February 2, 1960) ; Howard A. Edson

(February 29, 1960) ; Julia Gardner (November

15, 1960) ; Beno Gutenberg (January 25, 1960) ;

Ernest L. Jackson (June 14, 1960) ; Frank C.

Kracek (July 5, 1960) ; Leo Loeb (December

28, 1959) ; Paul Schureman (September 20,

1959) ; Joseph F. Siler; Paul K. Smith (October

6, 1960) ; George W. Stose (January 30, 1960).

During the academic year the meetings of the

Academy heard Frank L. Campbell, retiring presi-

dent, speak on “The Amateur and the Academy”

— a plea for the recognition of those persons who

through self-education and discipline have pro-

duced very fine research in fields out of their

area of formal training. His lecture was illus-

trated by the work of two such amateurs — Walter

C. O’Kane on “Tree Flowers,” and Alvah Peter-

son on “Insect Eggs.” In March, the Academy

met jointly with the Junior Academy to award

certificates of merit; and it heard Louis H. Bean

talk on “The Science and Art of Predicting,” a

subject in which he has great competence as

proved by his ability to interpret trends to the

political and economic satisfaction of his ad-

herents. In April, the Academy heard David H.

Johnson, curator of mammals at the National

Museum, give his views on the distribution of

mammals on islands in the Pacific Ocean. He

stressed the special adaptations that successful

migrant species needed to surmount distributional

barriers. In May, W. O. Baker, vice president

of the Bell Telephone Laboratories, spoke to the

Academy on “Logical Processes in Creatures and

Crystals.” He explored the analogy of digital in-

formation coding of perception and experience.

During the summer months the Academy sus-

pended its meetings, but reconvened in October

to hear S. L. Madorsky give his impressions of

a recent trip to Russia, where he and his wife

had the advantages of linguistic parity and in-

formal, friendly reception by scientists. The meet-

ing was heavily attended, and some members were

unable to hear the presentation. In November,

the Academy met jointly with the Washington

Chapter of Sigma Xi and the Junior Academy

to hear E. B. Wilson discuss the introduction of

young people to scientific research as a career.

A lively discussion by many members of the

February, 1961

19

Junior Academy followed this talk. On Decem-

ber 15, a concatenation of early winter and the

secretary’s failure to get out notices resulted in

the meagerest attendance at one of the most in-

teresting and timely presentations that the Meet-

ings Committee has been able to arrange — a

presentation by Harry Wexler of the Weather

Bureau on the use of televising satellites in

analyzing and predicting world-wide weather

effects. Dr. Wexler’s grace and good humor in

the face of the restrictions imposed by his every-

day adversary, the weather, were much appre-

ciated by the audience that braved the storm

to hear him.

In January 1961, the annual dinner meeting of

the Academy witnessed the presentation of the

annual awards for distinguished service:

Biology — Louis S. Baron, Walter Reed Army

Institute for Research; Engineering — Romald E.

Bowles, Diamond Ordnance Fuze Laboratory;

Physical sciences — Richard A. Ferrell, University

of Maryland; Mathematics — Philip J. Davis, Na-

ational Bureau of Standards; Teaching of science

(high school) — Pauline Diamond, Sherwood High

School; Teaching of science (graduate) — Karl

F. Herzfeld, Catholic University.

During the course of the year, the adoption of

the new Bylaws and Standing Rules has improved

the relationship between the Academy and its

affiliates and permitted their freer cooperation.

It is hoped that more active interest of the af-

filiates will be engendered also by the experi-

mentation with the content of the Journal, espe-

cially as it affects the overall interests of the

Washington scientific community. The disaffection

of some members on the decision to cease using

the Journal for primary publication of experi-

mental and descriptive research has been dis-

tressing to the Board and its officers; but para-

doxically it proved to be the final incentive to

generate new publications specifically and cate-

gorically dedicated to such publication. Should

the efforts of succeeding Boards be successful

in raising the pitifully inadequate dues ($6.00),

the Academy may be in a position to devise means

and to support other needs of its community, in-

cluding archival publication if this is indeed a

problem. Goals for the immediate future are the

synthesis of disciplines and categorical fields into

stimulating cross-fertilizations through symposia

and conferences.

The support of science education has been in-

creasingly successful with the granting of funds

to the Academy for this purpose, and the use

of these by the Joint Board on Science Educa-

tion to pursue experimental approaches to teach-

ing mathematics and physics or chemistry to-

gether. A roster of speakers and counselors is

also now maintained for the use of metropolitan

area school science teachers and clubs. The spon-

sorship of minor financial aid to selected students

engaged in summer laboratory experience has

been a successful venture of the Junior Academy

beyond its usual activities in Science Fair pro-

motion.

Heinz Specht, Secretary, 1960

Science in Washington

SCIENTISTS IN THE NEWS

This column presents brief items concerning

the activities of members of the Academy. Such

items may include notices of talks given, im-

portant conferences or visits, promotions, awards,

election to membership or office in scientific and

technical societies, appointment to technical

committees, civic activities, and marriages, births,

and other family news. Formal contributors have

been assigned for the systematic collection of

news at institutions employing considerable

numbers of Academy members (see list on mast-

head). However, for the bulk of the membership,

we must rely on individuals to send us news

concerning themselves and their friends. Con-

tributions may be addressed to Harold T. Cook.

Associate Editor, care of Agricultural Marketing

Service, U. S. Department of Agriculture, Rm.

3917 South Bldg., W ashington 25, D. C.

COAST AND GEODETIC SURVEY

Elliott B. Roberts is the author of a detailed

review article, “The IGY in Retrospect,” recently

published in the Smithsonian Report for 1959.

GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY

Ira B. Hansen, professor of zoology, and

Charles R. Naeser, professor of chemistry, were

recently elected to represent Columbian College

on the newly-constituted University Senate. This

body will be the senior group representing faculty

interests in the affairs of the University.

Benjamin D. Van Evera visited University !

establishments at Monterey, Calif., and El Paso, j

Tex., with Acting President Colclough, in early

December, to survey units of the Human Re-

sources Research Office.

Mary L. Robbins, professor of bacteriology, j

has been appointed a member of the newly- j

created Film Project Advisory Board of the Na- |

tional Science Teachers Association, and a 1

member of the Administrative Committee of the i

Board. She spoke before the Third Conference

on the Participation of Women in Science, De-

cember 27, at the AAAS meetings in New York.

Ernestine B. Thurman, NIH, served as chair-

20

Journal of the Washington Academy of Sciences

man of the conference.

HARRIS RESEARCH LABORATORIES

Louis R. Mizell has been elected chairman

and Edmund M. Buras, Jr., treasurer of the

Washington Section of the American Associa-

tion of Textile Chemists and Colorists for 1961.

Both are project leaders at HRL.

On January 14, Mr. Buras participated in the

conference on “Chemistry Teaching in the Wash-

ington Metropolitan Area” sponsored by the Joint

Board on Science Education.

NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS

Academy members presenting papers at recent

meetings have included the following:

Samuel N. Alexander, “The Russian Ap-

proach vs. the American Approach to Computers

and Data Processing” — Civil Service Commission

Seminar, Brookings Institution, Washington, De-

cember 9; Roger G. Bates, “The Use of Amine

Buffers for pH Control” — Conference on “In

Vitro and In Vivo Effects of Amine Buffers” —

New York Academy of Sciences. New York, De-

cember 12: Irvin H. Fullmer, “Some Funda-

mentals of Modern Dimensional Metrology” —

Huntsville Chapter, American Society of Tool and

Manufacturing Engineers, Huntsville, Ala., Jan-

uary 5; Forest K. Harris, “The Status of Elec-

trical Standards” — Precision Measurements As-

sociation, Los Angeles, January 4; Charles M.

Herzfeld, “The Standards Laboratory and Rocket

Testing”— American Rocket Society, Washington,

December 5-6; John D. Hoffman, “Crystalliza-

tion of Polymers from Bulk and Dilute Solution”

— Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cam-

bridge, Mass., January 5; George C. Paffen-

barger, “Dimensional Stability of Dentures” —

U. S. Naval Dental Clinic, Norfolk, Va., in De-

cember; and Earle K. Plyler, “High Resolution

Spectroscopy of the Infrared Region” — Indian

Academy of Science, Madras, India. December

27.

NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH

G. Robert Coatney, chief of the Laboratory

of Parasite Chemotherapy, National Institute of

Allergy and Infectious Diseases, recently returned

from Geneva, Switzerland, where he served as

chairman of the Technical Committee on Chemo-

therapy of Malaria, World Health Organization,

November 14-19. Dr. Coatney is the newly-elected

president-elect of the American Society of Tropi-

cal Medicine and Hygiene.

OPERATIONS RESEARCH OFFICE, JHU

Bernard B. Watson served as editor of “The

Delayed Effects of Whole-body Radiation: A Sym-

posium,” recently published by the Johns Hop-

kins Press.

USDA, BELTSVILLE

Erwin L. LeClerg, director of Biometrical

Services, ARS, participated in a program review

of the Biometrics Unit of the Department of Plant

Breeding, Cornell University, in October. On No-

vember 7, Dr. LeClerg presented a paper at the

Second National Congress of Entomology and

Phytopathology at Chapingo, Mex.

WEATHER BUREAU

Charles S. Gilman left October 15 for a two-

year assignment with the UN at Santiago, Chile.

DEATHS

Joseph S. Wade died on January 1 at the age

of 80. He served with the Department of Agri-

culture from 1906 until his retirement in 1950.

After retirement, he continued with the Depart-

ment as an official collaborator. Mr. Wade was a

native of Cumberland County, Ky. He was edu-

cated at Fairmount College, Wichita, Kans., at

Iowa Slate University, and at the University of

Chicago. His research was concerned with insects

injurious to cereal and forage crops in the central

and plains states. Mr. Wade was the author of

more than 600 publications on scientific, historical,

and literary subjects. He was a former president

of the Entomological Society of Washington and

the Biological Society of Washington.

AFFILIATED SOCIETIES

Acoustical Society of America, Washington

Chapter

At the January 16 meeting, Wayne D. Wilson,

Naval Ordnance Laboratory, spoke on “Sound

Velocity, its Measurement, and Applications.”

The meeting was preceded by an informal dinner

at the Cafe Burgundy.

American Institute of Electrical Engineers,

Washington Section

On January 10, Herbert Friedman, Naval Re-

search Laboratory, addressed the Section on “Re-

cent Results of Upper Atmosphere Research.”

The Student Guidance Committee is address-

ing itself anew to the problem of impressing upon

gifted students the challenges, opportunities, and

potential rewards of careers in science or engi-

neering.

The Science and Electronics Division held its

first meeting on December 15, featuring a talk by

David Cook, Naval Research Laboratory, on “Ele-

mentary Particles and Their Detection.” A sec-

ond Division, Telemetry and Instrumentation,

met on January 9 to hear Gilbert Jaffee, Navy

Hydrographies Office, on “Under-Sea Exploration

Instruments and Equipment.” The cancelled De-

cember meeting has been rescheduled for March.

February, 1961

21

American Society of Civil Engineers, Nation-

al Capital Section

Dean Cornelius Wandmacher, University of

Cincinnati, was the principal speaker at a joint

meeting:, January 10, on current trends in engi-

neering education, with the American Society of

Engineering Education, National Capital Area.

He reported on the Conference of Civil Engineer-

ing Education held last July at Ann Arbor, Mich.,

at which proposals were made for modifying the

context and extending the period of instruction.

The January luncheon meeting, on the 24th,

presented Waldo G. Bowman, editor of Engineer-

ing Neius Record, reporting on a recently-com-

pleted world tour.

Four programs remain in the 1961 Forum

Series, which compares United States resources

policy and administration with those of other

nations; admission is unrestricted, and programs

are scheduled for 2 to 4 p.m. at the Brookings

Institute, 1775 Massachusetts Ave.

February 2 — National Park Administration in

England.

February 16 — Regional Resources Development

in Southern France.

March 2 — Preservation of Natural Areas in

Great Britain.

March 16 — Pollution Abatement in the Ruhr

Valley of Western Germany.

Botanical Society of Washington

Officers elected in December are: President,

W. D. McClellan, US’D A; vice-president, Robert

W. Krauss. University of Maryland; recording

secretary, R. A. Paterson, University of Mary-

land; corresponding secretary, Marie Lack,

USDA: treasurer, A. A. Piringer, USD A; and

councillors. Father Duman, and Richard Cowan.

On January 3 Chester Emmons, NIH, spoke

on fungi pathogenic to man with special refer-

ence to natural infections and the ecology of in-

fection initiation.

Chemical Society of Washington

Incoming officers for 1961 are William J. Bailey,

president; John L. Torgesen, president-elect; Sam-

uel B. Detwiler, Jr., secretary; and Leo Schubert,

treasurer.

At the Board of Managers meeting on January

10, the Society’s 1961 budget was approved in

the amount of $4,575. Estimated income for 1961

is $5,826, as compared with $3,698 in 1960.

At the same meeting, President Bailey reported

on the activities of a Special Committee on

Member Participation, which over the past several

months has been conducting a survey of member

interests. Although the survey has been only par-

tially completed, it already has brought to light

the fact that a large number of Sociey members,

not now engaged in committee work, would like

to be so engaged. Pursuant to this report, the

Board approved the establishment of three new

special committees — on employment, boy scout

chemistry merit badge counseling, and women’s

programs. Another contemplated new field of

activity — science fair project counseling — will be

handled by the Standing Committee on Education.

It was announced that Frank T. McClure of

the Applied Physics Laboratory had won the So-

ciety’s 1960 Hillebrand Award. Dr. McClure will

be guest of honor at the annual Hillebrand

Award Dinner, to be held on March 9.

Entomological Society of Washington

Newly installed officers are: President, J. F.

Gates Clarke, National Museum; president-elect,

Harold H. Shepard, USDA; recording secretary,

Ernestine B. Thurman, NIH; corresponding sec-

retary, Paul A. Woke, NIH; treasurer. Price G.

Piquett, US’DA.

Geological Society of Washington

Three papers were presented at the January 11

meeting: L. L. Thatcher and C. W. Carlston,

“Tritium in the Hydrologic Cycle”; Mark W.

Pangborn, Jr., “Geology and Geologists in Fic-

tion”; and George H. Drury, Hydrologic Impli-

cations of Meandering Valleys.”

Present officers are: President, G. Arthur

Cooper; first vice-president, Harold M. Banner-

man; second vice-president, C. L. McGuinness;

secretaries, John T. Hack and Frank C. Whit-

more, Jr.; and treasurer, Margaret Cooper.

Helminthological Society ol Washington

Officers for 1961. installed in December are:

President, Lloyd E. Rozeboom, Johns Hopkins

University; vice-president, Carlton M. Herman,

Patuxent Research Refuge; corresponding secre- I

tary-treasurer, Edna M. Buhrer, USDA; and

recording secretary, A. James Haley, University

of Maryland.

Insecticide Society of W ashington

On January 18, W. E. Westlake, Agricultural

Research Service, spoke on "Recent Developments

in Instruments for Pesticide Residue Analysis ;

and Arthur D. Moore spoke on “Probing Some

of the ‘What’s’ and ‘W hy’s’ in Insecticidal Control

of Forest Insects.”

Institute of Radio Engineers, Washington

Section

John W. Clark, Hughes Aircraft Co., described

to the Section on January 9 the Hughes "Mobot” ;

— a mobile, radio-controlled robot with sight,

touch, and hearing designed to perform tasks too

hazardous or difficult for man, such as handling

fissionable materials, fire fighting, deep ocean

exploration, bomb disarming, demolition, etc.

Medical Society of the District of Columbia |

Air France advertises a European tour, August j

8-September 1, for members of the Society, their |

families and friends, to coincide with the Inter-

national Congress on Mental Health in Paris.

Journal of the Washington Academy of Sciences

22

Philosophical Society of Washington

The retiring president, Louis R. Maxwell, de-

livered an address on January 13, entitled “Mag-

netic Atoms Amongst Others.”

Society for Experimental Biology and Medi-

cine, District of Columbia Section

The December 1 program consisted of three

papers, as follows: Margaret Kelly, NIH, “Pro-

tective Action of AET Against Radiation and

Alkylating Agents”; Howard Reynolds, USD A,

“Effect of Carbohydrate on Growth and Utiliza-

tion of Nitrogen by Tetrahymena pyroformis”;

and Leo Wislicki, Georgetown University, “Ef-

fects of Neuromuscular Blocking Agents on Direct

Excitability of Striated Muscle.”

Society of American Bacteriologists, Wash-

ington Branch

The January meeting of the Branch included

papers by M. Rogosa, NIH, on “Nitrate Reduc-

tion and ‘Catalase’ Formation by Certain Lacto-

bacilli,” and R. A. Finkelstein, Walter Reed Army

Institute of Research, on “Non-Specific Resistance

Mechanisms in Embryonated Eggs.”

Society of American Foresters, Washington

Section

On January 26, at the Section meeting, Jerome

F. Seaman of the Forest Products Laboratory,

Madison, discussed “Realistic Outlook on New*

Forms of Wood Utilization.”

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

Entries which do not include information as to

the nature of the program, exact time or location,

or other data are, in most instances, regular meet-

ings of the society in question. Except where our

correspondents have notified us to the contrary,

we assume that the date and location of such

meetings remain unchanged from month to month.

February 7 — Botanical Society of Washing-

ton

John Wesley Powell Auditorium, 2170 Florida

Ave., N.W., 8:00 p.m.

February 8 — Geological Society of Wash-

ington

John Wesley Powell Auditorium, 2170 Florida

Ave., N.W., 8:00 p.m.

February 9 — American Society of Mechani-

cal Engineers, Washington Section

Jacob Rabinow, “Creative Design”; E. L.

Daman, “Supercharged Boilers for

Stationary and Marine Application.”

Pepco Auditorium, 10th and E S’ts., N.W., 8:00

p.m.

February 9 — Chemical Society of Washing-

ton

Joint meeting with Washington Junior

Academy of Sciences. John Turkevich,

Princeton University, “The World of

Fine Particles.”

Museum of Natural History Auditorium, Con-

stitution Ave. at 10th St., N.W., 8:15 p.m.

February 10 — Philosophical Society of

Washington

John Wesley Powell Auditorium, 2170 Florida

Ave., N.W., 8:15 p.m.

February 11 — Institute of Radio Engineers,

Washington Section

Annual banquet.

Statler-Hilton Hotel.

February 13 — American Society for Metals,

Washington Chapter

Stanley Smith, Institute for the Study of

Metals, University of Chicago, “His-

tory of the Science of Metals.”

AAUW Headquarters, 2410 Virginia Ave., N.W.

February 13 — Institute of Radio Engineers,

Washington Section

Digital TV.

Museum of Natural History Auditorium, Consti-

tution Ave. at 10th St., N.W., 8:00 p.m.

February 14 — American Institute of Elec-

trical Engineers, Washington Section

Pepco Auditorium, 10th and E Sts., N.W., 8:00

p.m.

February 14 — American Society of Civil En-

gineers, National Capital Section

John Wesley Powell Auditorium, 2170 Florida

Ave., N.W., 8:00 p.m.

February 15 — Insecticide Society of Wash-

ington

Symons Hall, University of Maryland, 8:00 p.m.

February 15 — Washington Society of Engi-

neers

John Wesley Powell Auditorium, 2170 Florida

Ave,. N.W., 8:00 p.m.

FEBRUARY 16— WASHINGTON ACADEMY

OF SCIENCES

February 20 — Acoustical Society of Ameri-

ca, Washington Chapter

Gallaudet College, 8:00 p.m.

February 20 — Society of American Military

Engineers, Washington Post

YWCA, 17th and K Sts., N.W., 12:15 p.m.

February, 1961

23

February 21 — Anthropological Society of

Washington

Daniel E. Berlyne, Boston University,

“New Directions in Motivation Theory.”

Museum of Natural History, Room 43, Constitu-

tion Ave. at 10th St., N.W., 8:15 p.m.

February 22 — Geological Society of Wash-

ington

John Wesley Powell Auditorium, 2170 Florida

Ave., N.W., 8:00 p.m.

February 23 — American Society of Mechani-

cal Engineers, Washington Section

Pepco Auditorium, 10th and E Sts., N.W.. 8:00

p.m.

February 24 Philosophical Society of

Washington

John Wesley Powell Auditorium, 2170 Florida

Ave., N.W., 8:15 p.m.

February 28 — American Society of Civil En-

gineers, National Capital Section

YWCA, 17th and K Sts., N.W., 12:00 noon.

February 28 — Society of American Bacteri-

ologists, Washington Branch

Sternberg Auditorium, Walter Reed Army Insti-

tute for Research. 8:00 p.m.

ACADEMY ACTIVITIES

DECEMBER BOARD MEETING

The following notes are for the timely informa-

tion of the membership; they are not the official

minutes of the meeting. Ed.

The Board of Managers held its 533rd meet-

ing on December 20, 1960 at NBS, with Presi-

dent Wood presiding.

The minutes of the 532nd meeting were ap-

proved with minor corrections.

The Board suspended the regular order of

business in order to accommodate Ralph Cole of

Melpar, a member of the Washington Board of

Trade, who discussed a projected movement for

establishment of a Greater Washington Scientific

Bureau under the auspices of the Board of Trade.

This bureau would expect “to fulfill a need in

the Greater Washington area of a better means

of cohesion of scientific industry, professional

societies, the universities, and the community

at large.” Its functions might include (a) im-

provement of graduate scientific education by

such means as establishing new professorships

for specialized subjects; (b) conduct of a monthly

self-supported publication to disseminate meet-

ing notices and other information of value to the

scientific and industrial community; (c) provision

of a central office for professional administration

of scientific societies, possibly with a phone serv-

ice and mailing and addressing functions, or pro-

vision of a meeting room; (d) assistance in pro-

moting such meetings as “Engineers, Scientists,

and Architects Day”; (e) enhancement of the

scientific atmosphere of the Greater Washington

area by publication of a brochure emphasizing the

scientific community and value of the institutions

to be found here.

Financial support for the first year was esti-

mated at $17,500, which would enable hiring a

full-time executive director and his secretary.

Up to $2,000 of this amount might be provided by

professional societies, the remainder by scientific

industry of the area. Mr. Cole emphasized that

“what is required from the scientific and pro-

fessional societies is a sincere expression of the

types of services that they believe would enhance

their operation stated in the order of the priority

with which they would like to see them estab-

lished.” He urged the establishment of an ad hoc

Academy committee to formulate a position in

the matter.

After considerable discussion, Dr. Wood ad-

vised Mr. Cole that the Board would consider the

matter further, in particular the idea of setting

up an ad hoc committee to define the special

services that the proposed Scientific Bureau

might provide. Further discussion was deferred

in favor of the regular order of business.

Dr. Wood announced the appointment of a

Committee on the National Zoo, with Carlton M.

Herman as chairman and Keith C. Johnson and

George W. Wharton as members.

Chairman Hall of the Membership Committee

presented for first reading the names of 22 candi-

dates for membership.

Chairman Mahan of the Awards Committee

distributed an extensive report, including a re-

sume of the responsibilities of the Committee, its

recommendations to succeeding committees, and

its nominations of individuals for scientific

achievement awards for 1960. (See also story on

award winners elsewhere in this issue.) The re-

port was accepted. The Board also agreed that

award winners, upon becoming members of the

Academy, should not be obliged to pay dues for

the remainder of the current year or for the

following year.

For the Policy and Planning Committee, Dr.

Sookne reported on plans to hold a dinner meet-

ing with the presidents and delegates of af-

filiated societies for the purpose of improving

Academy relations with the societies. It was ex-

pected to hold this dinner some time during

February.

Following the second reading of their names,

Dorothy Carroll and Alfred M. Pommer were

elected to membership in the Academy.

Treasurer Aslakson pointed out a discrepancy

in the treasurer’s reports for January 1 — June 21,

and January 1 — September 30, as summarized in

24

Journal of the Washington Academy of Sciences

the November Journal (page 16, columns 1 and

2). In one case, the figures include Junior

Academy receipts and disbursements; in the

other case, they do not. Comparable totals, not

including the Junior Academy figures, are as

[ ollows:

January 1 — June 21: Receipts, $9,605; disburse-

ments, $8,850.

January 1-September 30: Receipts, $11,599; dis-

| bursements, $12,302.

Di. Schubert reported for the Science Educa-

tion Committee that a request had been made to

the National Science Foundation for a grant of

$40,000 to extend the science education projects

currently going forward; NSF has suggested

paring this to $27,000, and the matter is currently

under consideration.

In a discussion led by Chairman Hall of the

Membership Committee and Chairman Mahan of

the Awards Committee, it was agreed that run-

ners-up for science achievement awards could be

considered for Academy membership on the basis

of the background information developed by the

Awards Committee.

JOINT BOARD

ON SCIENCE EDUCATION

The Joint Board has now passed the half-way

point in its current series of conferences on the

teaching of science. Two conferences on teaching

general science have taken place — one each in

Virginia and the District of Columbia. In addi-

tion, area-wide conferences have been held on

the teaching of physics and the teaching of

chemistry.

Each conference follows a similar pattern.

After an opening address on a topic of general

interest in the subject-matter area of the con-

ference, the remainder of the day is devoted to

a general discussion of problems in science teach-

ing, with emphasis on ways in which scientists

of the area may be of assistance in improving

science education.

The remainding conferences have been sched-

uled as follows:

General Science Teaching — Prince Georges

County Area — University of Maryland — February

11 — John K. Taylor, moderator.

Mathematics Teaching — Area- wide Conference

— Mt. Vernon S'eminary — February 25 — Raymond

J. Seeger, moderator.

General Science Teaching — Montgomery County

Area — Landon School — March 11 — Raymond J.

Seeger, moderator.

Biology Teaching — Area-wide Conference — Na-

j tional Institutes of Health — April 8 — John K.

Taylor, moderator.

As in the preceding conferences, persons in-

vited include about 60 teachers from the sec-

ondary schools of the particular area, and 40

persons representing college teachers and sci-

entists from various research institutions. School

contact representatives are especially invited.

Luncheon is provided by the Joint Board from

the grant received from the National Science

Foundation.

While every effort is being made to invite

interested persons, it is inevitable that some who

are vitally interested in local school programs

may be overlooked. Members of the Academy

desiring to be invited should make it known to

John K. Taylor, director of science projects, at

the office of the Joint Board, 1530 P Street, N.W.,

Washington 5. Invitations will be extended as far

as possible within the attendance limitation of 100

persons.

The proceedings of these conferences, as well

as reports of other activities carried out under

the NSF grant, will be published in a final

report that will be sent to all participants. Others

desiring copies should request them from the

Joint Board. A limited number of copies of the

1959-60 report are still available upon request

THE BROWNSTONE TOWER

When it was an-

nounced that Hiro-

shima had been de-

stroyed by an Ameri-

can atomic bomb on

August 6, 1945, I was

working in my office

on the eighth floor of

the Brownstone Tow-

er. I was depressed

rather than elated by

this news because I

felt that in just a few

years the Washington

that I knew and loved might be obliterated in

the same way. As I expected, much progress has

been made in atomic weapons and their delivery,

and the destruction of Washington can prob-

ably be accomplished whenever our enemy is

willing to pay the price. Indeed, I am somewhat

astonished that I am still alive and working in

Washington more than 15 years after that first

explosion in Japan. Yet we continue to plan and

build for the future as if we were not vulnerable.

I am reminded of R. L. Stevenson’s flaunting of

death in “Aes Triplex.” Of people living on

active volcanoes he wrote, “There are serenades

and suppers and much gallantry among the

myrtles overhead; and meanwhile the foundation

shudders underfoot, the bowels of the mountain

growl, and at any moment living ruin may leap

February, 1961

25

sky-high into the moonlight, and tumble man

and his merry-making in the dust.” He implies

that there is something admirable about the

behavior of men who are so unafraid of death

that they do not bother to move away from the

volcano — or from probable targets of atomic

bombs.

I live in the center of a target and have been

just as fatalistic about it as the citizen who

doesn’t even know the name of the Office of Civil

and Defense Mobilization. I have chosen to ig-

nore the threat of atomic blasts and fallout and

of chemical and biological warfare. But when I

think of it, I don’t feel brave, but just selfish.

For it is selfish to say, “I have lived long enough*

my way of life is fall’n into the sear, the yellow

leaf; . . .” and it matters little whether I leave

it this year or next, by atomic violence or by

pathogenesis. It does matter to the future of

mankind whether fools like me try to survive

modern warfare. Certainly there should be some

reasonable compromise between ignoring the

problem of nonmilitary, or civil, defense and being

obsessed by it.

The foregoing thoughts were generated by my

recent attendance in line of duty (I would have

avoided it otherwise) at a meeting on improve-

ment of our defenses against insidious chemical

and biological agents that might be applied when-

ever it suits our enemy to attack us. Later I

read what must certainly be the most up-to-date

and authoritative book on the subject. It is

“Nonmilitary Defense; Chemical and Bio-

logical Defenses in Perspective,” the proceedings

of a symposium held in Cleveland at the April

1960 meeting of the American Chemical Society

(ACS). Priced at $2.00, it can be obtained from

the Special Issue Sales Department of ACS at

1155 16th Street N. W., Washington 6, D. C.

This 100-page paper-covered book ought to be

read by every scientist who has been ignoring

nonmilitary defense and feeling uneasy about it.

It is hard to believe, but true nevertheless, that

the Washington metropolitan area could be de-

populated by a chemical bomb or by a biological

bomb, just as well as by an atomic bomb; the

only difference would be that buildings and other-

facilities would remain intact after chemical or

biological attack. Back in 1945 in the Brownstone

Tower I was not aware of biological and chem-

ical warfare (BW-CW) as a major threat against

civilian populations; now I am, though many

scientists may still be unaware of the power of

BW and CW to kill and incapacitate.

By biological warfare I mean the planned

dissemination by an enemy of microorganisms

pathogenic to man or to his domestic animals or

crops with the intention of causing death or

disability of military personnel; or casualties,

food shortages, or governmental and economic

paralysis in the civilian population. Although

biological agents may be disseminated by conven-

tional military weapons in open warfare, they

are particularly suited for silent, insidious, sub-

versive application, the results of which may be

indistinguishable from those of a natural epi-

demic, epizootic, or epiphytotic. Man may be

infected by inhaling air containing viable micro-

organisims, by ingesting contaminated food or

beverages, or by being attacked by vectors of

diseases — all of which are subject to manipula-

tion by an enemy. Toxins produced by micro-

organisms are included in the biological arsenal.

By chemical warfare I mean the planned dis-

semination by an enemy of organic chemicals

toxic to man so as to cause death or various de-

grees and kinds of disabilities for various periods.

CW is a biological as well as a chemical subject,

because the target is man.

I think the people in this area should know

more about BW-CW than they do. They should

know what might be used against them, how

it might be applied, how they might be affected,

and how they may protect themselves. The

scientists of the area should take the lead in

informing their fellow-citizens of these lethal

applications of science and of the beneficent by-

products of research on the development of bio-

logical and chemical weapons. Many disciplines

pure and applied are involved. Surely no organi-

zation in this area is more appropriate than the

Washington Academy of Sciences for taking the

lead in the missionary work that needs to be

done. I recommend that a Committee on Non-

military Defense be set up in the Academy to

keep in touch with developments in the light

of the special needs of our community and to

suggest what should be done for our protection.

Through the educational program of the Joint

Board the story can be brought to our secondary

school students, who may in turn take it to their

parents. I had previously signed up to talk

upon request on “the flowers that bloom in the

spring” — on trees. I shall do so, but I also want

to preach on nonmilitary defense to any audience

that will listen.

— Frank L. Campbell

SCIENCE ANI) DEVELOPMENT

A newly-established high-speed weather

facsimile network is being used by the

Weather Bureau to transmit weather analyses

and forecast maps. The new network is cap-

able of transmitting weather maps twice as fast as

the circuit formerly used. The upper air charts

are prepared with the aid of the Bureau’s elec-

tronic computer and drawn by a new electronic

weather plotter. More than 100 weather maps

are sent over the network every 24 hours to

26

Journal of the Washington Academy of Sciences

about 650 government, military, and commercial

receiving stations in 330 cities of the United

States and southern Canada.

The University of Maryland has received

a license from the Atomic Energy Commis-

sion to operate a 10-kilowatt, pool-type re-

actor. It will be constructed on the campus at

College Park and will be used for student train-

ing and research.

A modern $12,212,800 building for the

Food and Drug Administration in Washing-

ton is scheduled to be completed in March

1963. The six-story building, with basement and

sub-basement, will provide 300,000 square feet

of assignable space and will provide, for the first

time, a consolidated headquarters and laboratory

for most of the operations in the Washington

area. At the present time some Bureaus have units

in as many as three different locations, separated

by distances of one block to three miles. The new

building will be located across Third Street from

the HEW buildings and connected with them

by a tunnel.

The land surface in part of the Santa

Clara Valley, California, has subsided as

much as 9 feet since 1912, according to a

report by the Geological Survey. The area is

about 13 miles wide and extends about 25

miles, from Redwood City to southern San Jose.

The subsidence is attributed to a lowering in

artesian pressure caused by pumping from wells.

The rate of subsidence averages about a foot

for each 13 feet decline in pressure.

Oil-in-water paints for outside use have

been developed by USDA chemists. The lin-

seed oil-in-water emulsion paints can be diluted

with water, but they resist water within 15 min-

utes after application and are sufficiently dry

after 30 minutes to permit application of another

coat. The paints adhere well to chalking sur-

faces, cover well, pour and flow easily, and do

not readily form lap marks. Some of the experi-

mental paints containing zinc oxide remained

stable on the shelf more than 46 weeks. In-

stability of emulsion paints containing zinc oxide

has limited their use in the past. Development

of new emulsifiers from linseed oil fatty acids has

overcome this difficulty.

A weapon that preceded by centuries the

bow and arrow in the New World is still in

use. A coot-hunting trip on Lake Patzcuaro

in western Mexico, in which the only weapon

used was the spear thrower — the Aztec atlatl — is

described in a recent Smithsonian report by

Matthew W. Stirling, retired director of the

Bureau of American Ethnology. Use of the atlatl

long before the first Europeans reached the New

World presumably was general over most of the

two American continents, Dr. Stirling says.

Relatively speaking, the bow was a late invention.

By the time of the first white settlers, however,

its use was confined largely to the highly cultured

Maya of Central America and the Incas of Peru.

Presumably this was due in large part to the

fact that hunting, for which the bow was more

effective, played a relatively small part in the

economy of these highly cultured and essentially

horticultural people. For this purpose there was

no incentive to change weapons.

An insect attractant that occurs naturally

in the female gypsy moth has been syn-

thesized by Martin Jacobson and fellow

workers in the U.S. Department of Agricul-

ture. They have also synthesized a related

chemical that is equal to the natural lure as an

attractant and can be produced cheaply in large

quantities. The attractant is used to bait traps

used in surveys to determine the location and

extent of gypsy moth infestations and to check

the effectiveness of chemical sprays. Collecting

the insects and preparing the natural attractant

was very expensive and time consuming. At times

it has been necessary to depend on imports from

Europe.

A conferendrum of nuclear education

programs in the United States has been pub-

lished by the Oak Ridge Institute of Nu-

clear Studies. The 76-page brochure lists 175

schools offering instructions in nuclear fields.

It details the degrees, courses and facilities at

each university and notes the availability of

fellowships or assistantships. Institutions are

listed with plasma and thermonuclear research

facilities, particle accelerators, and gamma radia-

tion facilities. Existing or planned university

reactor installations are indicated according to

type.

EDITORIAL COMMENT—

It is with considerable regret that we an-

nounce the resignation of Ileen E. Stewart as

managing editor of the Journal. Drawing upon

her extensive professional experience, Mrs.

Stewart designed the 1960 Journal, found a suit

able printer, developed many of the regular fea-

tures that have appeared in each issue, served

as a focal point for the rest of the staff, and

spent countless hours each month in copy editing

and putting the magazine together. We deeply

appreciate her efforts.

John Taylor’s feature story on the Academy’s

annual dinner and award presentations was pre-

pared before the snowstorm of January 19 and

I he incredible traffic snarl that resulted. President

Wood reports that the meeting did go forward,

substantially as scheduled, although two of the

awards had to be conferred in absentia. About

40 indomitable souls were present, out of an

anticipated attendance of a hundred. The rest,

like us, presumably were sitting it out in icy

streets, or trudging homeward through the drifts.

February, 1961

27

Vice-Presidents of the Washington Academy of Sciences

Representing the Affiliated Societies

Acoustical Society of America

Institute of the Aeronautical Sciences

Anthropological Society of Washington

Society of American Bacteriologists

Biological Society of Washington

Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine

Botanical Society of Washington

Chemical Society of Washington

American Society of Civil Engineers

International Assn, for Dental Research

American Inst, of Electrical Engineers

Washington Society of Engineers

Entomological Society of Washington

Society of American Foresters

National Geographic Society

Geological Society of Washington

Helminthological Society of Washington

Columbia Historical Society

Insecticide Society of Washington

Amer. Society of Mechanical Engineers

Medical Society of the Dist. of Columbia

American Society for Metals

American Meteorological Society

Institute of Radio Engineers

American Nuclear Society, Washington Section

Philosophical Society of Washington

Society of American Military Engineers

Richard Cook

Not Named.

Regina Flannery

Mary Louise Robbins

Herbert Friedman

Kathryn Knowlton

Herbert C. Hanson

William J. Bailey

Not Named.

Gerhard Brauer

Robert D. Elbourn

Howard S. Rappleye

Harold H. Shepard

Not Named.

Alexander Wetmore

Carle Dane

Carlton M. Herman

U. S. Grant, III

Joseph Yuill

William G. Allen

Fred O. Coe

John A. Bennett

Morris Tepper

Robert Huntoon

Urner Liddel

Louis R. Maxwell

Not Named.

Chairmen of Committees

Lawrence A. Wood, Nat. Bureau of Standards

Robert D. Stiehler, Nat. Bureau of Standards

Wayne C. Hall, Naval Research Laboratory

Dean B. Cowie, Dept, of Terrestrial Magnetism

Archie I. Mahan, Applied Physics Laboratory

B. D. van Evera, George W ashington University

A. T. McPherson, Nat. Bureau of Standards

Leo Schubert, American University

Raymond J. Seeger, Nat. Science Foundation

Special Committees

By Laws

Library of Congress

Repres. on AAAS Council

Standing Committees

Executive

Meetings

Membership

Monographs

Awards for Scientific Achievement

Grants-in-Aid for Research

Policy and Planning

Encouragement of Science Talent

Science Education

Harold H. Shepard, Dept, of Agriculture

John A. O’Keefe, Nat. Aeronautics & Space Admin ,

Howard A. Meyerhoff, Scientific Manpower Commission

Volume 51

FEBRUARY 1961

No. 2

CONTENTS

Page

The Academy in the Sixties 9

Academy Presents Awards to Six 11

Plant Disease Control Without Chemicals 13

FEBRUARY MEETING 17

Annual Report of Treasurer 18

Annual Report of Secretary 19

Science in Washington

Scientists in the News 29

Affiliated Societies : 21

Calendar of Events 23

Academy Activities 24

Joint Board 25

The Browns tone Tower * 25

Science and Development 26

Editorial Comment 27

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JOURNAL

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ACADEMY

of

SCIENCES

received

Vol. 51 • No. 3

MARCH 1961

ar i 4 1961

i

JOURNAL OF THE WASHINGTON ACADEMY OF SCIENCES

Editor: Samuel B. Detwiler, Jr., Department of Agriculture

Associate Editors

Frank L. Campbell, National Academy of

Sciences

Harold T. Cook, Department of Agriculture

Russell B. Stevens, George Washington

University

John K. Taylor, National Bureau of Standards

Staff Assistant

Richard P. Farrow, National Canners Association

Contributors

Albert M. Stone, Applied Physics Laboratory

John A. O’Brien, Jr., Catholic University

Elliott B. Roberts, Coast & Geodetic Survey

Margaret D. Foster, Geological Survey

Russell B. Stevens, George Washington

University

Lloyd N. Ferguson, Howard University

Frank L. Campbell, NAS-NRC

Alphonse F. Forziati, National Bureau of

Standards

Howard W. Bond, National Institutes of Health

Ileen E. Stewart, National Science Foundation

Allen L. Alexander, Naval Research Laboratory

Victor R. Boswell, USD A, Beltsville

Harold T. Cook, USDA, Washington

William J. Bailey, University of Maryland

This Journal, the official organ of the Washington Academy of Sciences, publishes

historical articles, critical reviews, and scholarly scientific articles; notices of meetings and

abstract proceedings of meetings of the Academy and its affiliated societies; and regional news