SCIENCE CONGRESS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22619, 6 January 1937, Page 10

SCIENCE CONGRESS

MEETING IN AUCKLAND NEARLY 600 DELEGATES OUTLINE OF PROGRAMME: WIDE SPHERE COVERED Preparations for the biennial meeting of the Australian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science, which is to be held in Auckland from . Tuesday next, January 12, to Tuesday, January 19, inclusive, are now far on toward completion. It is expected that the meeting will be attended by nearly 600 members of the association, including over 200 from Australia, most of whom will arrive by the Awatea next Monday. Those taking part in the meeting will include 120 delegates from 70 affiliated bodies, who form the General Council of the association, and the balance will consist of individual members. Membership in the association is open to anyone interested in sicence, and no academic or professional qualification is imposed. The general and sectional meetings will be open to members onl\, but two public lectures are to be held in the Town Hall concert chamber on the evenings of January .13 and IB respectively. It is not part of the official programme, but advantage is being taken of the presence of Dr. A. L. I)ay, of the Carnegie Institute, Washington, to obtain from him on the evening of Monday next a lecture on "The Problem of the Yellowstone Hot Springs." The lecture will bo public and will be delivered in the University College Hall. Detailed Plans The following is an outline of the programme: — Monday, January 11- —Sight-seeing for visitors. Tuesdav, January 12.-~Mcmbers assemble at University College, 9.30 a.m.; meeting of general council to follow; civic reception at Town Hall, 12.15 p.m.; garden party at residence of Mr. and Mrs. F. C. Mappin in afternoon; official opening by the GovernorGeneral, Viscount Galway, in the Town Hall, 8 p.m., with presidential address, "The Scientific Estate," by Sir David Rivett, chief executive officer of the Commonwealth Council for Scientific and Industrial Research. Wednesday, January 13.—Sectional meetings in morning and afternoon at University College; public lecture. Beyond the Stratosphere," by Dr. D. F. Martin. Sydney University, in Town Hall concert chamber, 8 p.m Thursday, January 14. —Sectional meetings. Friday, January 15. —Sectional meetings; conversazione in evening. Saturday, January 16.—Excursions. Monday* January 18.—Sectional meetings; public lecture, "Geophysical Prospecting for Ores and Oil," by Professor H. C. Richards, University of Queensland, in Town Hall concert chamber, 8 p.m. Tuesday, January 19—Sectional meetings in morning; meeting of general council and a garden party given by the Mayor, Mr. Ernest Davis, in the grounds of Government House in the afternoon. Business of Council The principal business at the meeting of the general council on January 12" will be to receive a report 011 the past two years' operations and to decide 011 the. date of the next meeting, which is to be held at Canberra in 1939. The place of the 1941 meeting will also bo determined. The annual award of the Mueller Medal for distinguished research in some branch of natural history will bo announced. Large numbers of invitations are ! being sent out for the formal opening in the Town Hall on the following evening. Lord Galway will officiate as -joint patron of the association, an office which he holds in association with Lord Gowrie, Governor-General of Australia. The retiring president, Sir Douglas Mawson, will preside and will introduce his successor. Among those present will be the Hon. A. J. McLaehlan, Commonwealth Minister in charge of Scientific and Industrial Research. Sixteen Sections Almost the whole field of pure and applied science is covered by the 16 sections of the association. They are as follows: —Physics; Chemistry: Geology; Zoology; History; Anthropology; Economics; Engineering and Architecture;, Medical Science; Philosophy; Psychology and Education; Agriculture and Forestry; Veterinary Science; Botany; Physiology; Pharmaceutical Science; Geography and Oceanography. •Sections will combine, when it is deLsirable to do so, to hear and discuss papers of common interest. Possibly one of the most valuable parts of the congress will be that in which the chemistry, geology, agriculture, veterinary science and physiology sections combine to discuss the effects of the presence or absence of minute traces of certain minerals in the soil. It is anticipated that these discussions will not only spread information, but will provide a basis for fresh research. A proportion of the scores of papers that are to be delivered by scientific experts are of too highly specialised a nature to interest the public, but on the other hand not a few of the subjects that are to be dealt with are matters of common discussion. Familiar Subjects There are, for instance, papers 011 the cyclonic storms that visited the Dominion last February and March; observations of the recent eclipse and the preparations for the next; the hydro-electric power of the West Coast sounds; migration policy in New Zealand; the state of New Zealand archives; the education arid future of the Maori; the progress of the Brisbane River bridge; characteristics of the Now Zealand climate; the need for a national food policy; the intelligence of New Zealand children find the incidence of mental deficiency in this country; and the progress of weed control. The sections aro for the most part arranging their own excursions to the places of most interest to them, and in many cases elaborate descriptive folders have been prepared for delegates so that they may havo full information before them about the places they aro going to see. A general liarbour excursion has been arranged for Saturday, January 16, when members will be taken to the upper harbour, Motuihi Island and Rangitoto. Excursions are being planned for members to Rotorua and other resorts of interest immediately after the sessions conclude.