302 SCIENTIFIC NOTES AND NEWS 



A Washington Section of the American vSociety of Mechanical En- 

 gineers has been organized, with the following officers: S. W. Strat- 

 TON, Bureau of vStandards, chairman; Maj. J. H. Kijnck, vice-chairman; 

 Prof. Geo. a. WeschlER, Catholic University, secretary; H. L. Whitte- 

 MORE and A. E. Johnson, members of executive committee. The Sec- 

 tion held a meeting with the following program: S. W. Stratton, 

 Standardization of screw threads; Col. E. C. Peck, Gage work of the 

 Ordnance Department for the U. S. Army; H. L. Van Keuren, Certi- 

 fication of gages at the Bureau of Standards; C. G. Peters, The use of 

 interference methods in calibrating length standards. 



The Medical Society of the District of Columbia, one of the affiliated 

 societies of the Academy, is raising a fund of $100,000 for the erection 

 of a permanent home for the Society. A site on M street near Con- 

 necticut Avenue has already been purchased. Dr. Edward Y. David- 

 son is chairman of the building committee. 



NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL 



One vear ago this Journal^ outlined the war reorganization of the 

 National Research Council which went into effect on April i, 191 8. 

 With the coming of peace this plan of organization has been elaborated 

 and the Council placed on a continuing basis. The present organiza- 

 tion was adopted on February 11, 191 9, by the council of the National 

 Academy of Sciences, and is, in brief outline, as follows: 



The membership is to consist of: (i) Representatives of national 

 scientific and technical societies; (2) representatives of the federal 

 government; (3) representatives of other research organizations, and 

 other persons whose aid may advance the objects of the Council. The 

 membership is organized into thirteen divisions, grouped into two 

 classes, as below: 



(a) Divisions dealing with general relations: I, Government Divi- 

 sion. II, Foreign Relations. Ill, States Relations. IV, Educational 

 Relations. V, Industrial Relations. VI, Research Information vSer- 

 vice.^ 



(b) Divisions of science and technology: VII, Physical Sciences. 

 VIII, Engineering. IX, Chemistry and Chemical Technology. X, 

 Geology and Geography. XI, Medical vSciences. XII, Biology and 

 Agriculture. XIII, Anthropology and Psychology. 



Each division in the class of science and technology, and some of the 

 divisions in the class of general relations, will have a salaried chairman, 

 who will be stationed in Washington. The affairs of the Council will 

 be administered by an executive board, which will include, in addition 

 to ex-ojficio members from the Council itself, the President and Home 

 Secretary of the National Academy and the President of the American 

 Association for the Advancement of Science. The Chairman of the 



1 This JouRNAi, 8: 337. 1918. 



2 See this Journal 8: 223, 339. 1918. 



