January 



PCB P rogre ss: The Smithsonian received a "Letter of Compliance" from the U.S. 

 Environmental Protection Agency indicating that the Smithsonian is now in 

 compliance with all regulations concerning PCB transformers. 



January 



Expedition: Following the catastrophic eruption of Nevada del Ruiz in the 

 Colombian Andes, which destroyed villages and caused the deaths of about 24,000 

 people, a multidisciplinary museum team, headed by Smithsonian scientists William 

 Melscn (volcanolcgist) , Vicki Funk (botanist) and Gary Graves (ornithologist) , 

 flew to Colombia to study the eruption and its long-term impact on the 

 environment. 



January 



Award: Museum archaeologist Betty J. Meggers was awarded the Secretary's Gold 

 Medal for Exceptional Service for her innovative research in pre-Columbian 

 archaeology and her achievements in cementing the professional bonds between the 

 Northern and Southern hemispheres. 



January 1 



Fellow: La Belle Prussin, Professor of Architecture, University of Washington, 

 Seattle, began residency at the National Museum of African Art as the first 

 recipient of the Rockefeller Foundation Residential Program in the Humanities. 

 Dr. Prussin 's topic was "Nomadic African Women as Place Makers: The Arts and 

 Architecture of Nomadism in Africa." 



January 2 



Acquisition: The National Museum of American Art accessioned Thomas Eakins 1 

 1908 painting "William Rush's Model," a major gift from Mr. and Mrs. R. Crosby 

 Kemper Jr. 



January 5-18 



Seminars: "British Country Karnes," offered by the National Associates Lecture 

 and Seminar Program, featured 11 British scholars who conducted special lectures 

 and tours of the National Gallery of Art exhibition "Treasure Houses of 

 Britain. " 



January 7-8 



Conference: The Native American Museums Program cf the Office of Museum Programs 

 convened a Native American Archives Advisory Conference in Harpers Ferry, West 

 Virginia. 



January 10 



Exhibition: "Music and Dance of Papua, New Guinea," (Jan. 10- Mar. 9) , opened at 

 the National Museum of Natural History, an exhibition of the Smithsonian 



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