EDUCATION
Its package—Model 9000 subcritical reactor and all instruments—NuclearChicago says conforms to A E C specifications for education a n d training equipment. AEC will aid schools in financing this type equipment. It will also furnish them uranium fuel and neutron source without charge. Nuclear-Chicago's reactor (without fuel), instruments, course outline, and experiments cost under $30,000.
Science Center Approved Michigan works toward a new science institute which can ensure its future supply of technologists JTROPOSALS FOR THE
Training equipment furnished with Nuclear-Chicago's packaged course in nuclear engineering includes reactor (in corner), gamma ray spectrometer (on w a l l ) , and counter and scaler recorders. Student instruments—Geiger tubes and scintillation detectors (on benches)—are mounted in lead shields. On desk in foreground is a "cutie-pie" a, /?, and y survey meter
Nuclear Engineering in a Package Nuclear-Chicago starts producing a complete laboratory and course for teaching nuclear engineering TV
FULLY EQUIPPED ATOMIC LABORA-
TORY with instructions and experiments make up Nuclear-Chicago's new "packaged" nuclear engineering program for coDeges. First reactor from its production line will be installed at Northwestern University, Evanston, 111., and will become part of the school's nuclear engineering department. Heart of the Nuclear-Chicago package is a small, water-moderated, natural uranium reactor, especially developed for teaching. As the unit is subcritical, runaways cannot occur. And the comp a n y says design features eliminate t h e need for complicated shielding, costly cooling systems, special buildings, and involved safety precautions. T h e reactor, 6 feet liigh by 4 feet wide, fits easily into a school lab. In operation, the entire structure weighs less t h a n 5 tons. A lattice of 275 aluminum tubes contains the reactor's natural uranium fuel, u s e d as slugs, 1 by 8 inches. This unit, 108
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immersed in the stainless steel reactor tank, is shielded by 435 gallons of t a p water. Neutron source for the reactor may be polonium or plutonium mixed with beryllium. It can be moved about within the reactor for different experiments. • Complete Teaching Unit. Although Nuclear-Chicago can furnish a reactor as a separate item, its complete lab provides detecting, measuring, and recording instruments and a manual describing more than 30 experiments using the reactor setup—all needed in teaching a comprehensive nuclear engineering course. Some of the more important instruments included in the atomic lab are radioactivity detecting and counting systems, gamma ray scintillation spectrometer, neutron flux measuring equipment, automatic analyzer for determining exponential neutron flux throughout the reactor lattice, and portable health monitoring systems.
UNIVERSITY OF
MICHIGAN'S new Institute of Science and Technology now await action by the state legislature and Gov. G. Mennen Williams. Regents of the university have already approved the plan calling for a center where t h e state can expand and speed up education and research in science. As approved by the regents, the institute would match Michigan's atomic energy Project Phoenix in providing facilities for promoting science and technology. The center would be administered by a director, assisted by an executive committee of faculty members. A statewide group would advise on matters of interest to industry, business, government, labor, a n d education. Basic financing for the center will be requested from the state legislature. But funds will also be sought from individuals, business, and the federal government. An initial operating budget amounts to $2,870,000. Broad objectives of the institute will be to meet some present needs for scientists and engineers a n d to develop enough skilled manpower to keep Michigan ahead of new technology. Specifically, its first plans include: • Providing a center for science instruction, research, and secrvice at the college and postgraduate level. • Administering scholarship grants for students who wish to teach or do research in science. • Researching in methods to provide more effective science education at all levels. • Cooperating with other educational institutions and industries in the state in furthering the purposes of the institute.
The Michigan center was first pro posed by an advisory committee ap pointed by university president Harlan Hatcher. In its report t o president Hatcher, t h e committee emphasized the institute is not a crash program brought on by Russia's sputniks. Instead it is a carefully-thought-out answer to some of the basic education needs now facing the nation and the state.
Science Writing Grant Alfred P. Sloan Foundation is giving Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism a pilot grant of $70,000 to finance advanced science writing studies. The program aims to encour age young reporters and writers to spe cialize in interpreting science and tech nology news for the general public. Large scale scientific development depends finally on public understand ing, says Alfred P. Sloan, chairman of the foundation's board of trustees. This understanding, he adds, is only pos sible if scientific news is intelligently and fully reported. Science-writer candidates selected for the new program will spend a year at Columbia with school expenses and living costs paid. Recipients of the awards are expected to have scientific interests plus working experience on newspapers, magazines, wire services, or radio-television. Their studies will be kept flexible to meet personal needs but will include supervised study of research and development projects, meetings with well-known science wri ters, and seminars and discussions with Columbia's scientific leaders. During the first years of t h e program, Columbia says not more than five awards will b e made. However, as many as 10 may be possible in the future. The school also hopes later to experiment with writing courses for sci entists and to start short courses for established science writers.
Nuclear Program at RPI A betatron and a Cock croft-Walton accelerator are included in plans for a $6.8 million science center at Rensse laer Polytechnic Institute. This project will play a major role in RPI's new pro gram to jump its enrollment 80% over the next 14 years. RPI bases its expansion program on a novel inductive teaching approach. Its goal: Get students through the basic concept stage and into up-to-date work
COMMENT One of the significant things we noticed in Russia was the number of women engineering students. In (Britain), a woman engineering student is rather a rare bird and is treated as such. But in Russia, about 50% of the engineering stu dents are women. They work at all levels, and many are doing jobs of high technical standard with ability. This is certainly a field that could be tapped in (Britain). Would women want to do the job and could industry make it worth their while? Engineering as a career should be brought to the notice of young women. They should be told it is a satisfying career and that they can be very successful. Russia has found the solution to the big problem of getting an in creased output of engineers and at the same time maintaining their quality. When we talk about pro ducing more engineers . . . some one immediately says . . . if we want to increase the number of people trained to a high level, we will have to go further down the scale in order to get them, and we will have to put up with people of low quality. The Russians have not had to go lower down the scale of ability because a bigger proportion of the more able people are clamor ing to get into engineering. Engineering is recognized in Russia as something of importance, contributing to the national welfare and . . . improving the standard of living of the people. Any engi neering achievement is publicized and praised. Engineers are re garded as socially desirable with the result that there is great compe tition to win places in engineering colleges, and the quality of each student is high. E D M O N D G I F F E N , professor of civil and mechanical engineer ing, Queen Mary College, Lon don University, London, Eng land, before apprentices of British Oxygen Gases, Ltd., and British Oxygen Engineering, Ltd.
spray-dried perfumes perfected by D&O There is now a simple answer to the difhYult problems involved in perfuming powdered bleaches, dry detergents, soap ponders, household and specialty cleansers, scouring ponders and other similar products. DA.Ο lias applied its own, unique spray-drying technique to perfume oils and compounds with the result that fragrance can now he locked-in . . . just as surely and permanently as flavor. The use of such spray-dried perfumes, vastly increases the shelf-life of the scented product and assures that the fragrance is ahsolutely intact when it reaches the consumer . . . regardless of storage tim*\ Upon its Hrst contact with water.. . the full, rich perfume is released j i all its original strength and depth. D&O has named its new group of locked-in perfumes — "FRAGRANCE-SEAL"-and trial quantities are availahle in al! aromatic types for individual manufacturer testing. Write today.
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EDUCATION
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fast. To do this, the program stresses ideas and concepts n e e d e d for modern technology, says Rensselaer. At the same time, it cuts out much time-con suming, outdated study. RPI will try this out on its beginning physics students starting in February. If successful, chemical engineering stu dents may be next. T h e school's new science center is designed to make t h e new teaching program possible. Individual under ground vaults are provided for the beta tron and the accelerator to study the atom. But this is only part of the pro gram. E q u i p m e n t duplicating that used original 1 y to work out concepts basic in physics will b e on hand at the center. Instructors will hand students elementary raw data on these concepts. Thus, students will b e in the same posi tion as the original scientist. By work ing out the concept firsthand, they grasp a greater understanding of the problems, RPI believes. RPI plans to build this four-sectioned center as funds allow. Other project features include a demonstration and teaching audi ton um to seat 650 people and a large display area.
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A second contest in colloid and sur face chemistry open to college under graduates will be held in 1958. It is again sponsored by the Continental Oil Co., Houston, Tex. Students of chemistry and chemical engineering in all accredited colleges in t h e U. S. and Canada can enter the contest if they are full-time under graduates on April 1, 1958. A 5000-word report on research con ducted by the contestant in colloid or surface chemistry or an essay, "Radio active Isotopes in Colloid and Surface Chemistry," may b e submitted for a $500 first prize, $200 second prize, $100 third prize, or honorable mention prizes of $50. An extra excellence prize may also be a w a r d e d the best entry if it meets exceptionally high standards. Awards will be m a d e by Sept. 2, 1958. Entry blanks may be obtained from K. J. Mysels, University of South ern California, Los Angeles 7, Calif.
Chemistry on Television A 26-week series of television pro grams designed to interest both school children and the lay adult in chemistry
will be made available to 19 educational TV stations throughout the country this year. These programs were orig inally produced live some t w o and a half years ago over station KQED in San Francisco. They were p u t on by Harry Sello of Shell Development and were sponsored by the California Section, ACS. The series, called "Tempest in a Test Tube," was judged to b e so valuable as an educational medium t h a t the Educational Television a n d Radio Cen ter of Ann Arbor, Mich, (a Ford Foundation g r a n t e e ) , provided more than $50,000 for filming the shows. Sello and his associates r e p e a t e d each show for the camera. Initial showings will b e simultaneous over educational TV stations in San Francisco, Boston, Chicago, Houston, and Pittsburgh. Each four weeks thereafter, the films will be m a d e avail able to another group of five stations.
• The University of Washington is of fering teaching and research assistantships in biochemistry for the academic \ear 1958-59. They carry a stipend of $1575 to $2625 a year and remission of tuition and lab fees. Send inquiries, before April 1, to Department of Bio chemistry, University of Washington, Seattle 5, Wash. • A $ 5 0 0 0 fellowship has been estab lished by Chas. Pfizer & Co. in the Uni versity of Rochester's chemistry depart ment. The grant will support graduate training with no requirement for a specific research project. Students continuing their studies under the fel lowship in the current year are Garard A. Carges of Rochester, Ν. Υ., a n d F. C. Loveless, Ogdensburg, Ν . Υ. • Seventh annual p r o g r a m of Science Achievement Awards for Students will be conducted b y the F u t u r e Scientists of America Foundation of the National Science Teachers Association. The competition, sponsored by the Ameri can Society for Metals, is open to all science students in grades seven through 12. Projects in any field of science or mathematics are eligible t o compete for 140 awards totaling $10,000, and projects dealing with metals and metallurgy will be considered also for 20 special awards. Information can be obtained from The National Science Teachers Association, 1201 16th St. N.W., Washington 6, D . C.
