TECHNICAL OPTICS. 331 



trade, the workers and other interests concerned was appointed 

 unde^he chairmanship of the Rt. Hon. A. H. Dyke Acland. 



An important part of the scheme was the establishment of the 

 above Department, which is administered nnder the Governors 

 of the College by the same Committee. In June Prof. Frederic 

 J. Cheshire was appointed Director of the new Department ; in 

 July Prof. A. E. Conrady was appointed to the Chair of Optical 

 Design, and other subordinate appointments are in hand. 



During the summer two courses of lectures were given on the 

 designing and computing of telescope systems, and attended by 

 sixty-six students, of whom forty-two came direct from the 

 workshop — a gratifying indication of the recognition by the 

 manufacturers of the importance of this work. About twelve 

 of these were men of academic distinction. The Ministry of 

 Munitions, the National Physical Laboratory, the Royal Obser- 

 vatory and Woolwich Arsenal were well represented. 



This Session well-attended courses are being given in Optical 

 Designing and Computing, Practical Optical Computing, the 

 Construction, Theory and Use of Optical Measuring Instruments, 

 Theory of the Microscope and Microscope Technique. Every 

 effort is thus being made to meet the more immediately urgent 

 demands arising in connection with the war. A complete curri- 

 culum for Optical students will be introduced as soon as the 

 exigencies of the time permit. 



The courses on the Theory of the Microscope and Microscope 

 Technique now in progress constitute the first effort of the 

 Technical Optics Department under the direction of Prof. 

 Cheshire to meet the needs of the users of optical instruments. 

 The microscope is perhaps the most important of all optical 

 instruments and the one for which there is the greatest com- 

 mercial demand, but unfortunately an exceedingly small propor- 



