News
The American Scientific Affiliation

VOL 1 NUMBER 3                                       5 May 1959



CONVENTION..............CONVENTION...............CONVENTION.........CONVENTION

This year's annual convention of the ASA will be held jointly with the Evangelical Theological Society June 9-12 at Trinity Seminary, Chicago. Some of the finest meetings the ASA. has ever held have been with the ETS. Be sure to be there for intellectual stimulation, spiritual challenge and good fellowship.

ASA MEMBERS ATTEND ACS MEETING

Gleaned from the cards recently sent in: Robert B. Fischer and Paul E. Swartzendruber recently attended the ACS Meeting in Boston.

WHY DO WE, HEAR SO MUCH ABOUT WEST. LAFAYETTE?

Mrs. Joan Pubols (wife of ASA member Merton H. Pubols) assisted Hendrik Oorthuys in ASA secretarial duties while at Purdue. He has since moved on to Oregon State College and  Walt Hearn of Iowa State College has been elected Secretary-Treasurer and still Pubols is rendering valuable service by "action at a distance" from West Lafayette, Indiana. She also gets out this NEWS letter. Husband Merton has just finished his research for an MS degree in biochemistry at Purdue and will be entering a Ph.D. program at the same institution.

LOS ANGELES SECTION'S NEW OFFICERS

Kermit Ratzlaff has just been elected Chairman of the Los Angeles section of the ASA. Mr. Ratzlaff is a graduate student doing research in physiology at the University of California at Los Angeles, Lewis Humphrey of Moody Institute of Science has been re-elected Secretary-Treasurer

CASSEL RECEIVES NSF GRANT

Most of us have received NSF grants from the local bank (not-sufficient-funds) but Dr. J. Frank Cassel, Chairman of the Zoology, Department: North Dakota Agricultural College has just received a National Science Foundation grant to attend an Institute on "The History and Philosophy of Science and Mathematics  to be held at the American University, Washington DC June 15 - July 24. Quite likely there will be some sessions open to the public and ASA members in the vicinity may wish to attend, possibly integrating with local section activities. Frank's opportunities and responsibilities at this Institute will be very great and we know of no one better fitted to represent the conservative position before this scholarly group.

INDIANA REPORT

Dr. William J. Tinkle of the Indiana Section reports a very good meeting April l8th. After a welcome by Dr. Gerig, President of Fort Wayne Bible College, the host institution. Good papers were ably presented by Dr. Henry Weaver, Jr., Prof. Claude E. Stipe, and Dr. Edward Coleson. A nominating committee is now at work as the first step toward their first formal organization. Twenty-nine members and guests were present.

ASA MEN AT FEDERATION MEETING

The ASA was well represented in a creative sort of way at the recent meetings of the Federation of American Societies For Experimental Biology at Atlantic City, April 12-17. Papers were presented by four ASA members: A. Kurt Weiss (Univ. of Miami) on "Effects of Aging on Adaptation to Cold", Marlin B. Kreider with P. F. Iampietro (QM Res. & Eng. Command, Natick, Mass,) on "Heat Exchanges of Man During Sleep in Cold Environments", Truman V. Hershberger at Penn. State Univ. on "Utilization of Dietary Protein and Energy as Affected by Fat and Carbohydrates", and Wayne M. Meyers (Baylor Univ.) on "Inhibitors on Anaphylaxis in the Mouse". It is futile to present such profound papers without someone to listen to them so other ASA members served by being present and nodding at the right places, among them William F. Seip, Robert L. Herrmann, Joseph H. Boutwell, Jr., and Walter Hearn. (Hearn nodded most of the the time.) Nor is it good to have this many ASA members at one place without an informal dinner which was both pleasant and profitable, especially for a medical student who was invited who had been plagued by serious doubts concerning his Christian faith.

PAGE HONORED AGAIN BY GOVERNMENT

According to SCIENCE for 27 March 59, Robert M, Page, director of research, US Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC, received the third annual Captain Robert Dexter Conrad Award of the Office of Naval Research. He was honored "for his outstanding contributions to science, especially in the fields of radio communications, radar and electronics and for his dedicated service to the Navy as a civilian scientist. It. Dr. Page is a member of the ASA who presented a magnificent paper on "Frontiers of Outer Space" at the 1958 Annual Convention at Ames. He was the first man to send a massage by reflection from the moon's surface and one of the very early pioneers in radar.

SCHEPP SPEAKS AT KING'S IS COLLEGE

At the invitation of Wayne F. Frair, William J. Schepp, consulting chemist of East Paterson, NJ and Follow of the ASA addressed the students of King's College. He spoke on "Transformation Study: Chemistry in the Light of the Bible" in which he mentioned not only examples of chemical transformations mentioned in the Bible but also how his own life has been transformed by a personal encounter with Jesus Christ.

ADAMS ON BORON CIRCUIT

Dr. Roy M, Adams, Professor of Chemistry, Geneva College, Beaver Falls, PA leads the reporter a dizzy chase. Speaking to American Chemical Society sections on the subject of Organoboron Compounds. "The Chemistry of Boron" and "Boron Fuels", Dr. Adams was at Akron on April 16th, Greenville, Pa., April 17th, Emporium on April 21st, and at Erie on April 22nd ....obviously rocket-propelled!

HOW AB0UT A SOUTHERN FLORIDA SECTION?

Along with some nice words about his interest in the ASA, Charles E. Schwartz writes of his conviction that there should be a Southern Florida Section of the ASA. This might be the stirring of a sleeping giant. If you are also interested communicate with Mr. Schwartz at 326o SW 20th Street, Miami 34.

CALL FOR DENVER, SECTION

Dr. Harley Barnes., longtime member of the ASA is with the Geological Survey working out of Denver. He writes asking if any interest has been expressed in starting an ASA section in Denver. We have a modest number of members in the vicinity and undoubtedly a host of prospective members. If you are interested or have suggestions or prospects, write to Harley at 7905 W. 14th Avenue, Denver 15.

HOPES FOR SAN FRANCISCO SECTION

There are 22 members in the San Francisco Bay area which would seem to be ample to insure a start towards a San Francisco Section. We are in need of a spark and we are eagerly scanning both shores of the bay for it. Any volunteers?

HOW TO START A LOCAL SECTION

There have been so many queries as to how to start a local section that a few comments are in order.

1) Constitution. The old constitution of the ASA makes no provision for local section activities. The By-laws of the revised constitution now being voted on by the Follows definitely recognize local sections and specify how they are to be officially recognized. it is too early to go into these before the results of the voting are announced. For the moment, local activity should precede along informal lines as it has for the past 18 years.

2) Leadership. Someone has to provide the leadership and enthusiasm and act as the rallying point during the initial stages. This might be an individual or a small team of two or three. Nothing will ever happen unless someone assumes this responsibility. Once started,others are glad to share this responsibility, but the key is this self-starting nucleus.

3) Members and Prospects. Usually a survey reveals a small group of 5 to 10 ASA members in a given area. The editor of this sheet will be glad to give any interested member the names of others near him. However, rarely is the number of existing members encouraging in the formation of a new section. The first thing to do is to got these few together and build up a list of prospects. Christians with scientific training. Christian leaders on local campuses and pastors are glad to help expand this list. Every person added to the list can probably supply more names. Contacts in industrial plants, research laboratories and universities can usually give names of other Christians in their organizations. This list must precede the next stop,

 4) First Meeting. The quality of the first meeting is extremely important. Every effort should be made to make it significant in content to demonstrate how valuable such meetings can be.

 5. Goals. A local group usually finds itself drawn in several directions, each complementing the other; (a) informing and building up the local members, (b) developing a Christian philosophy of science, (c) Christian fellowship and mutual encouragement and stimulation, (d) being of service to the Christian community. Activities along these lines can contribute immeasurably to the vitality of the national ASA by development of papers, enlisting new members, etc, Proportioning of time between these differing activities can be done on the basis of need of the local group.

6) Program. At such busy times it seems folly to set up another organization just to generate more meetings to go to. Everyone has too many meetings already. A few well-planned and worthwhile meetings can make a successful section,

One of the major functions of ASA NEWS is to stimulate interest in local section activity and the editor (who is also Secretary For Local Sections) and every officer of the ASA stands ready to help any aspiring local group. It can be a very discouraging business at times, but the intellectual and spiritual profit can be very great.

 F. Alton Everest, Editor, 947 Stanford Street, Santa Monica, California