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THE INSTITUTE OF CHEMISTRY OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY A chemical vacation community organized for the intensive study of all branches of chemistry and for daily conferences on the recent advances in the science and its applications in industry is being planned by the American Chemical Society to be held a t The Pennsylvania State College during the month of July. Its program will appeal to chemists in industry, to teachers of chemistry in all grades, to physicians, and to the nonchemical public. It will be based on the success of the round-table on "Chemistry in World Affairs," which was a part of the Institute of Politics a t Williamstown last summer. This Institute of Chemistry is in charge of a committee composed of G. I,. Wendt, State College, Pa., F. C. Whitmore, Evanston, Ill., W. R. Whituey, Schenectady, N. Y., C. M. A. Stine, Wilmington, Del., C. E. K. Mees, Rochester, N. Y., F. W. Willard, New York City, B. S. Hopkins, Urbana, Ill., and N. E. Gordon, College Park, Md. The Institute will meet for four weeks-July 4th to 30th. Those who desire college credit for courses taken in connection with the Institute will attend for the six weeks of the regular summer session-June 28th to August 6th. There will be four chief items in the program. The daily conferences on "1927 in Chemistry" will meet each day a t eleven, and periods of one to four days will be devoted to such subjects as catalysis, colloids, thermodynamics, X-rays, crystal structure, chemical engineering economics, chemical education, physical chemistry of alloys, distillation, vitamins and deficiency diseases, electron phenomena, atomic structure, and others. They will form in effect a series of symposia on the theory and its application in other sciences, in the industries, and in education. The detailed program has not yet been arranged. In addition to attendance a t conferences each member of the Institute will have the opportunity of attending one or more of the intensive courses given by leaders in chemical research and development of this country and Europe. A third feature of the program will be the evening lectures which will be both advanced and popular, in two different series. The last but not least important item will be the opportunities for recreation provided to members. The afternoons will be left free. There will be no scheduled meetings on Saturdays and Sundays. There will thus be time for informal discussion groups, excursions in the mountains, golf, tennis, and fishing, and automobile trips through the scenic forests and mountains of Pennsylvania. Foreign Speakers Four European chemists will be present for part or all of the session and will take part in all phases of the program. Dr. Eric K. Rideal of Cam-
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bridge University, England, will have charge of a portion of the work in catalysis. Professor J. C. Dmmmond of University College, London, will present special topics in biological chemistry. Dr. Jean Piccard of the University of Lausanne, Switzerland, will have charge of the course in advanced organic chemistry. Dr. Hans Tropsch of the Coal Research Institute a t Miihlheim-Ruhr, Germany, will discuss the recent work in the catalytic production of synthetic motor fuel and other chemical products from coal. Other speakers who will have charge of courses and conferences will include Dr. James Kendall, F.R.S., of New York University, Dr. Harry N. Holmes of Oberlin College, Dr. Wheeler P. Davey of the Pennsylvania State College, Dr. H. S. Taylor of Princeton University, Dr. Victor Cofman of the du Pont Company, Dr. L. H. Germer of the Bell Telephone Laboratories, Dr. L. Tonks of the General Electric Research Laboratories, Dr. C. H. Kunsman of the Fixed Nitrogen Research Laboratory, Dr. Marie Farnsworth of New York University, Dr. C. P. Smyth of Princeton University, Dr. E. P. Carr, Mt. Holyoke College, F. C. Whitmore, Northwestern University, and members of the faculty of the Pennsylvania State College, R. A. Dutcher, W. R. Ham, D. C. Duncan, E. D. Ries, G. C. Chandlee, and G. L. Wendt. The courses of lectures given by these men include advanced inorganic chemistry, theories and practice of analytical chemistry, advanced organic chemistry, physical chemistry, advanced physical chemistry, X-rays and crystal structure, colloids, catalysis, atomic strncture, thermionic and photo-electric phenomena, optics, electrical measurements, applied thermodynamics, clinical and biochemical methods, and vitamins and deficiency diseases. A course in the teaching of chemistry will be given by a professorselected by the committee on chemical education of the American Chemical Society. In addition to these courses the usual undergraduate courses in chemistry will also be given, including elementary organic chemistry, household chemistry, quantitative analysis, qualitative analysis, elementary chemistry for chemists, elementary chemistry for students in engineering, and a course combining chemistry and physics for students in education and the liberal arts. All courses in chemistry and physics will be open to members of the Institute, who will, in general, choose one of these courses for intensive study, while all members will attend the daily conferences. A group of modern fraternity houses has been reserved for the exclusive use of the institute and will form a separate campus. Opportunity for discussion and for extensive acquaintance will be given by this community of living. Rooms will be assigned in these Institute dormitories as applications are received, several buildings being reserved for women members and for members who bring their wives or husbands. A uniform charge of $15.00 a week will be made for board and room in these dormitories. The fee for membership in the Institute, which will include admission
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to all courses and lectures and will be used to defray the program expenses, will be $10.00 for one week, $20.00 for two weeks, $25.00 for three weeks, and $30.00 for four weeks. College credit up to six semester hours is included in the $30.00 fee, but six weeks are needed for credit. Members of the Institute and their families will also be interested in the full program of lectures and entertainments given by the Summer Session of the Pennsylvania State College which will be in session a t the same time. These include lectures by Dr. H. V. Pike, Grace Hazard Conkling, Clayton Hamilton, Edward Davison, Dr. F. L. Pattee, and Hamlin Garland. There will be recitals and concerts by Stella Anderson, Vera Poppee and James Woodside, and dramatic performances by the Penn State Players, the DeVereaux Players, and by U. L. Granville. The institute of French Education, under M. G. P. Fougeray, will have a number of interesting French sessions, including lectures by M. Des Granges. There will be numerous excursions to the mountains and forests under the direction of the Department of Nature Study. The detailed calendar of the daily conferences will be announced so that it will be possible to plan attendance for a portion or the entire session. The conferences will be opened by Dr. George D. Rosengarten, President of the American Chemical Society, and the presiding chairmen will be the members of the directing committee listed above and others. The general chairman will be Dr. H. E. Howe, Editor of Industrial and Enginearing Chemistry. Detailed information, housing reservations, and a special bulletin may be obtained by writing to G. L. Wendt, Director, Institute of Chemistry, State College, Pa. Nicotine Has Rival in Insecticide Field. Nicotine, thus far practically unrivalled as an insecticide against plant lice, may soon have a serious competitor in the field through the results of erperimmtr carried on a t the 11. S. Bureau of Entomology. An oil prepared from pyridine, which forms an essential port of nicotine, combined with sodium, has been found to be poisonous t o plant lice. Like nicotine it destroys the lice without injuring the infested plants. Entomologists believe it possible that dipyridyl ail, as the new compound is called, ma? prove moreeffective than nicotine for the practical control of same injurious insects. Thus far the economic phase of large-scale production of the new insecticide has not been thoroughly gone into, but it is believed that it can be made as cheaply as nicotine. Pyridine is obtained from coal-tar distillation as a by-product and is largely wasted. The supply is great and the demand small so that it is fairly cheap. Sodium may also be obtained a t low prices. The cost of the new product should, therefore, not exceed the cost of nicotine. Entering into the field as a rival, i t may possibly bring down the price of nicotine. I t is difficult t o find chemicals possessing sufficient toxicity to destroy plant lice and, a t the same time, not injure the plants. The bureau experimented with sixteen other organic compounds whose toxicity was inferior as compared to dipyridyl ail.Science Semice
