654 



SCIENCE 



[Vol. LVI, No. 1458 



Third. A gold medal, to be known as the 

 ' ' Charles A. Coffin Medal, ' ' will be awarded an- 

 nually to the electric railway company within the 

 United States which, during the year, has made 

 the greatest contribution towards increasing the 

 advantages of electric transportation for the con- 

 venience and well-being of the public and the 

 benefit of the industry. The company receiving 

 the medal will also receive one thousand dollars 

 ($1,000) for its employees' benefit or similar 

 fund. 



Fourth. Five thousand dollars ($5,000) is to 

 be awarded annually for fellowships to graduates 

 of American colleges and technical schools who, 

 by the character of their work, and on the recom- 

 mendation of the faculty of the institution where 

 they have studied, could with advantage continue 

 their research work either here or abroad; or 

 some portion or all of the fund may be used to 

 further the research work at any of the colleges 

 or (technical schools in the United States. The 

 fields in which these fellowships and funds for 

 research work are to be awarded are: Electricity; 

 physics; physical chemistry. 



A committee appointed by the foundation com- 

 mittee will award such fellowships and funds for 

 research work, with the advice and cooperation 

 of a committee of three, one to be appointed by 

 each of the following: The National Academy of 

 Sciences, the American Institute of Electrical 

 Engineers and the Society for the Promotion of 

 Engineering Education. This committee is to be 

 known as the ' ' Charles A. Coffin Fellowship and 

 Eeseajch Fund Committee ' ' and the fellowships 

 are to be known as the "Charles A. CofSn Fel- 

 lowships. ' ' 



The board of directors of the General Elec- 

 tric Company has appointed as the "Charles' 

 A. Coffin roundation Committee" the follow- 

 ing officers of the company: A. W. Burchard, 

 J. R. Lovejoy, E. W. Eice, Jr., Gerard Sw'ope 

 and 0. D. Young. 



The following committee, to administer the 

 fund and to act with oa-ganiza)tions outside the 

 company, have ibeen appointed: 



Committee' to cooperate with the National Elec- 

 tric Light Association: A. H. Jackson, J. E. 

 IjOve."joy, vice-presidents. 



Committee . to cooperate with the American 

 Electric Railway Association: J. G. Barry and 

 A. H. Jackson, vice-presidents. 



Committee to cooperate with the National 



Academy of Sciences, American Institute of Elec- 

 trical Engineers and the Societj* for the Promo- 

 tion of Engineering Education: E. W. Eice, Jr., 

 honorary chairman, A. H. Jackson, vice-president, 

 and W. E. Whitney, director of research labora- 

 tory. 



THE SOCIETY OF SIGMA XI 



The annual convention of the Society of the 

 Sigma Xi will be held in Cambridge on Decem- 

 ter 27, at the time of the meetings of the Amer- 

 ican Association for the Advancement of 

 Scien'ce. The program of the convention 

 includes the following: 



2:30 P.M. Business session. 



6:15 P.M. Annual dinner. 



8:45 P.M. Joint meeting with the American 

 Association for the Advancement of Science. 

 Address, ' ' The Nation and its Health, ' ' by Presi- 

 dent Farrand of Cornell University. 



The chapters of Sigma Xi are entitled to del- 

 egates with the right to vote at the business 

 session. Attendance alt the ibusLness session or 

 the dinner or the evening address is not lim- 

 ited to delegates. All members of the society 

 are invited to be present and will be welcome 

 at all the meetings. A special desk for the 

 registi'ation of members of Sigma Xi will be 

 provided in the registration bureau of the asso- 

 eiaition, where programs and , dinner tickets 

 may be secured. Clerks will be in attendance 

 at this registration desk on December 26 and 27. 



The business session of the convention mil 

 be one of unusual importance, since e com- 

 plete revision of the constitution of the society 

 is to be brought up for adoption. The revision 

 has been made necessary by the growth of the 

 sooiety as well as iby the expansion of its work. 

 Sigma Xi is no longer a soeieity of a few 

 chapters scattered among the educational insti- 

 tutions of the country, but it is a large organ- 

 izaifcion numbering thirty-eight chapters in 

 universities and in some of the research insti- 

 tutions of the country. In addition to this 

 active memlbership there are scaittered over the 

 country and the world some fifteen thousand 

 members of Sigma Xi, who by the provisions 

 of the new constitution will be 'brought into 

 closer touch with the work of the society. All 



