302 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XLIX No. 1265 



SCIENTIFIC EVENTS 



CHARLES LEANDER DOOLITTLE 



As an expression of sorrow over the death of 

 Professor Charles L. Doolittle, the college fac- 

 ulty of the University of Pennsylvania recently 

 passed the following resolutions: 



Tiie college faculty learns with profound grief 

 of the death of their colleague, Professor Charles 

 Leander Doolittle, who has been, associated with 

 them since 1895, at first as professor of mathe- 

 matics and astronomy, and since 1899, when these 

 departments were separated, as professor of astron- 

 omy, until his retirement from active duty in 

 1912. 



Professor Doolittle 's position in the world of as- 

 tronomy was a distinguished one, and not only this 

 imiversity but the scientific world at large has by 

 his death sustained a great loss. 



As a colleague, Professor Doolittle was ever 

 ready to bear his part in helping to solve the per- 

 plexing problems which naturally arise in con- 

 ducting the affairs of a great university, and by 

 his wisdom to assist in reaching such conclusions 

 as would further the best interests of students and 

 institution. 



In deploring the loss of a helpful counsellor and 

 a genial friend, the members of the college faculty 

 desire to extend to Professor Doolittle 's family 

 their sincere sympathy. They also direct that this 

 record of their action be entered on the minutes 

 and that it be inserted in the appropriate univer- 

 sity publications. 



Edwin S. Ceawlet, 

 Henry Brown Evans, 

 Samuel G. Barton, 

 Committee of the College Faculty 



AIRPLANE FUEL 



During the war the Bureau of Mines, 

 Department of the Interior, made strenuous 

 ejGforts to find a special fuel for airplanes that 

 would be superior to others already in use. Of 

 the numerous products and mixtures obtained 

 some were originated by the biu-eau engineers 

 and chemists, others were suggestions by out- 

 side interests. Through its own experiments 

 or by cooperation with other organizations, 

 notably the research division of the Dayton 

 Metal Products Co., and the Bureau of Stand- 

 ards, it was possible to establish the fact that 

 certain types of fuels had elements of superior- 



ity that had not before been noted or appre- 

 ciated. Of the fuels proving most satisfactory, 

 gasoline refined from the crude petroleum of 

 certain producing fields was distinctly supe- 

 rior to the type most extensively used. The 

 blending of moderate proportions of benzol 

 with gasoline was found to be distinctly ad- 

 vantageous, and motor fuel of this type would 

 undoubtedly have been emploj'ed for military 

 purposes if the war had continued much 

 longer. It is believed that through the proper 

 use of benzol and other distillates derived from: 

 coal it may be possible to embody features in 

 the design of internal combustion motors that 

 will notably increase their efficiency. Benzol 

 and other coal-derived fuels are already being 

 sold for use in automobiles and are believed 

 to be giving satisfactory results even with pres- 

 ent types of motors. 



The bureau was particularly interested in 

 a special fuel tested in cooperation with the 

 Dayton organization and named "hector." 

 This fuel, which was a mixture of cyclohesane, 

 and benzol, gave indications of marked supe- 

 riority over any other product tested and 

 should, unless unforeseen deficiencies appear, 

 prove ideal for the military aviation service. 

 In some experimental flights this fuel has 

 given 10 miles an hour more speed. It is not 

 certain that the cost of production will ever 

 be low enough to permit its use in peace times, 

 but it is planned to complete the work of ob- 

 taining comprehensive information regarding 

 all of its possibilities and to publish reports on 

 the subject in cooperation with the engineers 

 of the research division of the Dayton Metal 

 Products Co. 



NATIONAL RESEARCH FELLOWSHIPS IN PHYS- 

 ICS AND CHEMISTRY SUPPORTED BY THE 

 ROCKEFELLER FOUNDATION 



The ITational Research Council has been en- 

 trusted by the Bockefeller Foundation with the 

 expenditure of an appropriation of $500,000 

 within a period of five years for promoting 

 fundamental research in physics and chemis- 

 try in educational institutions in the United 

 States. 



The primary feature of the project is the 



