June 2, 1922] 



SCIENCE 



589 



president-elect is Frank H. Eiddle, of Detroit, 

 Mich. 



Mr. Riddle finished his course at the Ohio 

 State University in 1904 and since that time 

 has had broad experience in the manufacture 

 of art pottery, terra cotta and heavy clay 

 products. He is at the present time consulting 

 engineer and chief chemist of the Champion 

 Porcelain Company and the Jeffery-DeWitt 

 Insulator Company. Tor two years prior to 

 the war, as well as during the war, he was a 

 member of the technical staff of the Bureau of 

 Standards. It was he, more than any one else, 

 who developed the spark plug used in the aero- 

 plane during the war. The spark plugs made 

 prior to that time would not stand the high ten- 

 sion and were a soxirce of disastrous break- 

 down. Mr. A. V. Bleininger, then director of 

 the Ceramics Division of the Bureau of Stand- 

 ards, assigned Mr. Riddle to this problem and 

 with him made investigations of the composi- 

 tion and methods of manufacture that resulted 

 in the spark plug of exceedingly low coefficient 

 of expansion and of very high dielectric 

 strength. Mr. Riddle has been associated with 

 the society for several years and has been a 

 member of the board of trustees for two years. 

 The society has enjoyed a very large growth 

 in membership under his direction as ehairniau 

 of the membership committee. 



The other members of the board of trustees 

 for the coming year are : 



E. W. Tillotson, Mellon Institute, Pittsburgh, 

 Pa., vice-president. 



E. K. Hursh, University of Illinois, Urbana, 111., 

 Treasurer. 



E. C. Purdy, Columbus, Ohio, General Secretary. 



E. H. Minton, General Ceramics Co., Metuchen, 

 N. J., Trustee. 



F. K. Pence, Knowles, Taylor & Knowles, East 

 Liverpool, O., Trustee. 



E. M. Howe, Mellon Institute, Pittsburgh, Pa., 

 Trustee. 



B. E. Salisbury, Onondaga Pottery Company, 

 Syracuse, N. Y., Trustee. 



THE ILLINOIS STATE ACADEMY OF 

 . SCIENCE 



One of the most successful meetings ever held 

 by the Academy of Science was the fifteenth 

 annual meeting at Rockford on April 27, 28 and 

 29. A strong representation of members 



attended, and the Illinois Branch of the Mathe- 

 matical Association of America held its annual 

 meeting in conjunction with the academy for 

 the first time. Fifty-seven new members were 

 elected to the academy; the treasurer's report 

 showed a good balance on hand; members took 

 part in presenting strong papers at the general 

 and section meetings; and thus the academy 

 affairs were shown to be in good condition. 



Committees on membership, on ecological 

 survey, on high school science and clubs and on 

 publications gave interesting and encouraging 

 reports. 



The following resolution was adopted, and 

 copies have been sent to all Illinois senators 

 and representatives in Congress: 



Eesolved: (a) That the Illinois State Academy 

 of Science records its earnest hope that in the 

 tariff legislation now under consideration by the 

 Congress of the United States, provision may be 

 made for duty-free importation of scientific ap- 

 paratus for the use of educational institutions, — 

 a privilege that has contributed in no small de- 

 gree to the wonderful progress made in science 

 and its applications in the educational institutions 

 of this country during the past few decades. 



(6) That this resolution be spread on the min- 

 utes of the meeting and that certified copies of it 

 be sent to the Senate and House committees by 

 which the new tariff bill is being shaped up, and 

 to each member now representing Illinois in the 

 Senate and House of Eepresentatives. 



Another resolution was adopted urging the 

 academy members to cooperate with other sci- 

 entific organizations whose purpose it is to pro- 

 mote the use of the metric system of weights 

 and measures, so that the public in general may 

 become familiar with the advantages of this 

 system, and so that proper legislation may be 

 enacted. A committee on metric system was 

 appointed to act on the above resolution. 



The academy members were guests of the 

 Rockford University Club at dinner April 27, 

 and the Rockford Chamber of Commerce acted 

 as hosts on one of the field trips April 29 down 

 the beautiful Rock River Va,Uey. A second 

 field trip, taking two days, was conducted by 

 H. S. Pepoon to Apple River Canyon. These 

 geological and biological trips Avere much en- 

 joyed. 



The following officers were elected for 1922- 

 1923 : 



