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ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY Wattttr i. Murphy, Editor
SUMMER SYMPOSIUM HIS issue contains details of the Summer Symposium to be held in June a t Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, N. Y., on the Analytical Chemistry of the Less Familiar Elements. When we noticed that this is the sixth meeting, we began to contemplate how well the original objectives had been reached over the years and to ponder on the perennial question on which everyone has ideas: What is the best type of scientific meeting? The ideal seems to be a meeting small enough (200 to 300) with a topic general enough in interest so that it will be of interest to more than a fen- experts: ,In opportunity should be provided for formal and informal discussion in attractive surroundings, and, finally, all this should be accomplished with a minimum of cost. For those of us fortunate enough to attend all the meetings it has been evident that these worthy objectives have been largely fulfilled. The local committees and the colleges involved have been, without exception, most cooperative. For long-range planning the Division of Analytical Chemistry set up in 1950 a committee n-ith a staggered three-year rotation of members. The continuity which this committee permits has prevented duplication with national meeting symposia and has permitted the long-range objectives of the summer symposia to be carried out. These summer meetings hare permitted the free and informal discussion of the individual problems of the analytical chemist and those of his profession. The summer symposia are a direct outgrowth of the vigorous state of well-being of the analytical chemist. A list of summer symposia will attest to the scope of this virility of viewpoint: 1 1948 Xorthwestern University Sucleonics and dnalytical Chemistry 2 1949 Wesleyan University Organic Reagents The Role of Separations in Analytical Chemistry 3 1950 Ohio State University Standards and Standard Methods 4 1951 Washington, D. C. Analysis of Materials for Ingredients of Unknown 5 1952 Michigan State College Constitution
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The topic chosen for discussion this year is one which we discussed editorially last month. Many of these elemeQts have been known for years, but their detection and determination in the presence of other elements and compounds, which their application to research and industry demands, give the analytical chemist every opportunity to show his skill and apply his chemical knowledge. Our thanks and appreciation are extended to the local and Analytical Division committees for their accomplishments of the past in setting and maintaining the high standards of past meetings. The support of their efforts in the future will guarantee the continued growth of the profession. L.T. HALLETT Science Editor
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