Geophysical Institute-Alaska University— Wilson 179 



ceremony, July 1, 1949. Thus the plans of the many who were 

 interested in this project came to be a reality. 



The United States could now add her name to the list of 

 those countries possessing polar research facilities: in England, 

 the Scott Polar Research Institute at Cambridge; in Russia, 

 the Arctic Institute at Leningrad; in Greenland, the Commis- 

 sion for Scientific Research; in Norway, Spitzbergen and Arctic 

 Sea Research Institute at Oslo; and in Finland, the Geographical 

 Society of Finland at Helsinki. Realization of the plans has 

 progressed rapidly. Shortages and the like have delayed prog- 

 ress a little. Today the plant is about 95% complete. 



Facilities for Research at the Geophysical Institute 



The facilities for geophysical research at the University of 

 Alaska include the laboratory building, the staff residences and 

 the basic equipment provided by the Public Law. These have 

 been supplemented by field sites and stations as indicated in 

 the following description. 



The Laboratory Building 



The Geophysical Institute Building is a three story reinforced 

 earthquake-proof concrete structure, 56 feet by 1 1 2 feet, with 

 the long dimension running due east and west (Fig. 1). The 

 building provides offices, laboratories and other specialized 

 rooms. The roof is an especially constructed instrument deck 

 with an astronomical dome at one end. The main features of 

 the building are evident from its floor plans, figures 2-5. 



Each laboratory will be provided with water, gas and com- 

 pressed air. The laboratories and offices will be lighted with 

 fluorescent lamps. The building provides conduits for carrying 

 all services to all parts. 



The first floor (figure 2) is set aside for laboratory space and 

 service rooms. It provides four large laboratories, a reception 

 room, a machine shop, a dark room, utility rooms and a store- 

 room. One of the large laboratories has pillars resting on bed- 

 rock for the support of delicate instruments used inseismological 

 and gravimetric studies. A dust-proof room is provided. 



