March 24, 192 1] 



NATURE 



123 



University and Educational Intelligence. 



Cambridge. — The election of the first professor to 

 the Sir William Dunn chair of biochemistry will take 

 place on April 19. 



Mr. L. J. Comrie and Mr. W. M. H. Greaves, 

 both of St. John's College, have been elected to Isaac 

 Newton studentships in astronomv. 



It is proposed to appoint a University lecturer in 

 medical radiology. 



The annual report of the General Board of Studies 

 on various University departments refers to the over- 

 crowded state of the laboratories, with the consequent 

 burden on the teaching staff. Cambridge has suffered 

 along with other anatomical schools from a scarcity 

 of subjects for dissection, and, partly as a consequence 

 of overcrowding, other departments also have suffered 

 from difficulties in the supply of material. Various 

 new buildings and extensions of existing buildings 

 are proceeding" in the chemical, physical, engineering, 

 biochemical, and parasitological schools. 



It is proposed to discontinue the Higher Local 

 Examination, which has been graduallv displaced by 

 the Higher School Certificate Examination. 



Leeds. — Her Highness Princess Helena Victoria 

 paid an informal visit to the University on March 15. 

 She was received by the Vice-Chancellor (Sir Michael 

 Sadler) and by the Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Prof. 

 Smithells). Her Highness then inspected several of 

 the departments of the University. In the large 

 physics laboratory was an exhibit consisting" in the 

 main of experiments which had been carried out in 

 the department in the preceding year. Among the 

 items shown were the "ultra-micrometer," an instru- 

 ment described to the British Association at the 1920 

 meeting, by which distances as small as 10- ' cm. could 

 be detected ; and a new system of hoih way wireless 

 telephony by which conversation may be carried on in 

 precisely the same manner as in an ordinarv telephone. 

 In the department of textile industries the Princess 

 was shown in process of manufacture Herdwick wool 

 (the roughest type of the British wools), Suffolk Down 

 wool (one of the finest of British wools), the finest 

 Australian wool, llama from 14,000 ft. up the Andes, 

 and the under-fibre of the musk-ox (forwarded to the 

 department bv Mr. Stefansson, the Canadian explorer). 

 British and Continental methods of manufacture and 

 wool-combing were also shown. In the museum the 

 collection of old fabrics — possibly the finest in the 

 provinces — was supplemented by Indian shawls lent 

 by Sir Michael Sadler. 



Mr. R. J. Stewart McDowall, lecturer in the physio- 

 logy department of the University of Edinburgh, has 

 been appointed to the post of lecturer in experimental 

 physiology and experimental pharmacology. 



London. — At a meeting held on March 16 the 

 Senate adopted a resolution for the continuance of 

 the physiological laboratory at the University head- 

 quarters at South Kensington until the end of the ses- 

 sion 1922-23. 



The following doctorates have been conferred by 

 the Senate: — D.Sc. in Mathematics: Miss D. M. 

 Wrinch, an internal student of University and King's 

 Colleges, for a thesis entitled "An Asymptotic For- 

 mula for the Hypergeometric Function o^4(z)-" Ph.D. 

 (Science) : Miss D. M. Adkins, an internal student of 

 Royal Hollo way College, for a thesis entitled " (i) The 

 Economic Value of the Soya Bean" and "(ii) The 

 Dicjestibility of Germinated Beans." D.Sc. in Agri- 

 cultural Chemistry : Mr. H. E. Annett, an external 

 student, for a thesis entitled "Biological Chemistry." 



The University Extension Board of the University 

 of London arranged during the present session a ses- 



NO. 2682, VOL. 107] 



sional course of lectures on "The Bases and Frontiers 

 of Physical Science " by Prof. John Cox at Gresham 

 College. The last four lectures of this course, 

 beginning on Friday, April 8, will deal with "The 

 Principle of Relativity." 



Two scholarships, each of the yearly value of 300^., 

 are being offered by the Grocers' Company for the 

 encouragement of original research in sanitary science. 

 The scholarships are tenable for one year, but may be 

 renewed for a second or a third year under certain 

 conditions. The election will take place in June next, 

 and applications must be made before May 2, on the 

 prescribed form, to the Clerk of the Grocers' Com- 

 pany, Grocers' Hall, E.C.2. 



The Imperial College of Science and Technology 

 announces a further generous donation by a leader in 

 industry, who desires to remain anonymous, to the 

 fund for the provision of scholarships to enable 

 students of the college to spend a year in post- 

 graduate study at American universities or in works. 

 At present four such students are in America. The 

 present donation will enable four more to be sent for 

 1921-22. 



The report for 1920 of the Association of Science 

 Teachers, which has just been received, refers to the 

 revised edition of the association's "Book List," 

 which now includes books on zoology, natural history, 

 and astronomy. The list can be obtained from the 

 hon. secretary or from Miss Storr, 12 Angell Park 

 Gardens, S.W.9, price is. 6d. It is intended to pub- 

 lish a supplement at the end of the year. Notice is given 

 of a course of lectures on biological science which the 

 executive hopes to be able to arrange at Oxford during 

 the summer vacation ; the probable date for the 

 course is July 29 to August 9, and the fee will be 305. 

 The afternoon session of the general meeting held on 

 January 4 at University College was devoted to a 

 lecture by Dr. J. C. Drummond on vitaniines, in 

 which a brief summary was given of our knowledge 

 of these important constituents of food. Representa- 

 tives of the association have attended meetings of the 

 Consultative Council of University and School Science 

 Teachers, and the subjects discussed are mentioned. 

 Reference is also made to the death of Mr. D. H. 

 Nagel, an appreciation of whom appeared in Nature 

 for October 7 last. Mr. Nagel 's place as chairman 

 of the council has been taken by Prof. Weiss, of 

 Manchester. 



The report of the Carnegie Trust for the Universi- 

 ties of Scotland for the year 1919-20 contains a com- 

 plete financial statement of the work of the executive 

 committee of this foundation during the past year. 

 Grants are made quinquennially in ordinary circum- 

 stances, but the difficulties arising out of war condi- 

 tions made the distribution of interim grants for the 

 years 19 18-19 and 1919-20 desirable. A return to the 

 old system was made with the opening of the aca- 

 demic year 1920-21, and details of the grants allo- 

 cated are given in the appendices. The estimated 

 available income for the five years is 225,000!., and 

 it has been decided that 200,000/. shall be distributed 

 among" the universities, the remaining 25,000!. 

 being set aside to meet extra-mural expenses. The 

 former sum will be divided in the following way : — 

 To St. Andrews, 18-5 per cent. ; to Glasgow, 29 per 

 cent. ; to Aberdeen, 19-5 per cent. : and to Edinburgh, 

 33 per cent. More than two-thirds of the sum 

 (144,580/.) is earmarked for buildings and permanent 

 equipment, while 32,920/. goes for the endowment of 

 professorial chairs and lectureships. In view of the 

 difficult circumstances in which the universities find 

 themselves, a further sum of 49,000/. from the reserve 



