220 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. LI. No. 1313 



Editor, E. T. Wherrj', of the Bureau of 

 Chemistry, "WasMngton ; and Councilors, A. 

 S. Eakle, of the University of California (1 

 year) ; F. E. Van Horn, of the Case School of 

 Applied Science, Cleveland (2 years) ; F. E. 

 Wright, of the Carnegie Geophysical Labora- 

 tory, Washington (3 years) ; and A. H. 

 Phillips, of Princeton University (4 years). 

 The formation of a society whose object is 

 to promote and foster the mineralogical sci- 

 ences comes at a time when there is a distinct 

 need in this country for such a body. The 

 growing importance of this field of research, 

 already felt to a marked degree in the period 

 preceding the war, has now with the necessary 

 curtailing of scientific activity in Europe, 

 assumed scope and size. It is acknowledged 

 by observers of the trend of events that scien- 

 tific prestige has come to abide in America 

 rather than in the countries of the Old World. 

 No more keenly is this tendency sensed than 

 in those industries which are demanding 

 trained workers in crystallography and phys- 

 ical mineralogy for their research laboratories. 

 If then, science is to keep pace with industry 

 in this period of reconstruction and if our 

 universities and technical schools are to 

 supply to the increasing stream of students 

 coming to us from abroad, the high standard 

 of scientific education which has come to be 

 demanded of us, it is eminently right and 

 fitting that such specialized bodies as the 

 Mineralogical Society of America should be 

 formed and fostered. 



Herbert P. Whitlock, 

 Secretary 



THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR 



THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE 

 SECTION A— MATHEMATICS AND ASTRONOMY 



Inasmuch as the American Mathematical Society 

 and the Mathematical Association of America both 

 had meetings at St. Louis during the period of the 

 meeting of the American Association, only one for- 

 mal meeting was held of Section A. At this meet- 

 ing, which was a joint meeting with the American 

 Mathematical Society, the following papers were 

 given : 

 Becent progress in dynamics: Professor G. D. 



BiRKHOPT, retiring vice-president of Section A. 



Some recent developments in tJie calculus of varia- 

 tions: Professor G. A. Bliss, retiring chairman 

 of the Chicago Section of the American Mathe- 

 matical Society. 

 A suggestion for the utilization of atmosplieric 

 molecular energy : Mr. H. H. Platt. 

 What has been heretofore Section A has been 

 divided into two sections, " A ' ' — Mathematics, and 

 "B" — Astronomy. The officers of Section A are 

 as follows: 



Vice-president — D. E. Curtiss, Northwestern XJni- 

 versity. 



Secretary — Wm. H. Eoever, Washington Univer- 

 sity. 



Memiers of Sectional Committee — 5 years, Dun- 

 ham Jackson, tJmversity of Minnesota; 4 years, A. 

 D. Pitchard, Western Reserve University; 3 years, 

 G. A. Bliss, University of Chicago; 2 years, James 

 Page, University of Virginia; 1 year, H. L. Bietz, 

 University of Iowa. 



Member of the Council — Gi. A. Miller, Univer- 

 sity of Illinois. 



Member of General Committee — E. V. Hunting- 

 ton, Harvard University. 



The officers of Section B are : 

 Vice-president — Joel Stebbins, University of 

 Illinois. 



Secretary — P. E. Moulton, University of Chicago. 

 Members of the Sectional Committee — 5 years, 

 Philip Fox, Northwestern University; 4 years, H. 

 N. Russell, Princeton University; 3 years, Harlow 

 Shapley, Solar Observatory; 2 years, H. D. Curtis, 

 Lick Observatory; 1 year, J. M. Poor, Dartmouth 

 College. 



Member of the Council — S. A. Mitchell, Univer- 

 sity of Virginia. 



Member of General Committee — E. B. Frost, 

 Terkes Observatory. F. B. Moulton, 



Secretary 



SCIENCE 



A Weekly Journal devotjed to the Advancement ot 

 Science, publishing the official notices and pro- 

 ceedings of the American Association for 

 the Advancement of Science 



Published every Friday by 



THE SCIENCE PRESS 



LANCASTER, PA. GARRISON, N. Yo 



NEW YORK. N. Y. 



Entered in the post-office at Lancwtcr, Pa., u lecond cla« nsttct 



