VOL. 8, NO. 4
CONTEMPORARY NEWS
STAFF CHANGES AT MELLON INSTITUTE R. WEIDLEIN,director of DR. EDWARO the Mcllon Institute of Industrial Research a t Pittsburgh, has announced the appointment of DR. LEONARD HARRISON CRETCHER to an assistant directorship in the institution. Dr. Crctcher, who since 1026 has been senring as head of the department of research in pure chemistry, is a specialist in organic chemistry and will have supervisory charge oi a group of industrial fellowships that arc concerned wrth problems in organo-chemical technology. In addition to serving in this capacity, Dr. Cretcher will continue as head of the department of research in pure chemistry. In this work he will be aided by D R. WILLIAM L. NELSON. who has been made senior fellow in pure research. Beside Drs. Cretcher and Nelson, the departmental staff will include DR. C. L. BUTLERand DR. ALICE G. RENPREW,who has gone to the Mellon Institute from the Sterling Chemistry Laboratory of Yale University.-Sciace FACULTY APPOINTMENTS AT COOPER UNION P R O F E ~ ~ALBERT OR B. NEWMAN,head of the Department of Chemical Engineering, has recently been appointed to the Memh~rshipCommittee of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers.
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PROFESSOR HENRY C. ENDERShas been appointed to membership on the Committee of Law and Ethics, and also elected to the Committee on Nominations of the New York State Society of Professional Engineers, New York Chapter. MR. CHRISTIAN WEAVER. Instructor in Organic Chemistry, was elected t o the presidency of the Cooper Union Chemical Society a t its recent meeting. Mr. Weaver has been teaching in Cooper Union for twentyave years, and will use his wide experience to effect a complete reorganization of the society upon a more modern basis. EDGAR FAHS SMITH MEMORIAL COLLECTION AT UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA The Edgar Fahs Smith Memorial Callection in the History of Chemistry, which was presented to the University of Pe'ennsylvania two years ago, has been endowed by MRS. EDGAR F. SMITH. The collection is located in the Harrison Laboratory of Chemistry, and comprises rare books in chemistry, portrait prints and engravings, manuscripts and autograph letters. A catalog is in course of prcparation and will shortly be available for distribution. MISS Eva V. ARMSTRONG. who was formerly Dr. Smith's secretary, has been appointed curator.
Bucky Boundary Ray Now Used against Forgers. Life for forgers and counterfeiters promises to be harder in the future. Toultra-violet radiation and R h t g e n rays, now used in probing beneath the surface of etchings, postage stamps, and documents for photographic evidence of falsification, has been added the Bucky Boundary Ray. between the ultra-violet andX-rays. This radiation.. lying . . in the s ~ e c t r u m ~. has been found superior for penetrative lighting purposes in cases where ultra-violet rays have too reports t o the American Chemical small and Rbntgen rays too strong.- a ~enetration. . Society from Germany indicate. Like the X-rays and the ultra-violet light, the boundary rays consist of waves too short to affect the eye, they are longer than the X-rays but not as long as the ultra-violet. They must be used in a vacuum as they are strongly absorbed by air. Prof. B. SpiethoiT, 0.Gfrorer, and Heinz Berger, who devclopcd the new detective method a t the University Dermal Clinic a t Jena, have called upon professional men to test out these unfamiliar rays and report on their efficiency in various types of investigation.-Science Service
