California Institute of Technology Cal Tech - Big T Yearbook (Pasadena, CA)

Page 23 text:

Ethane Purification for A.P.l. project Research under Dr. William N. Lacey, professor of chemical engineering, has been chiefly directed toward the measurement of phyf sical and thermodynamic properties of hydro' carbon mixtures. This investigation is conduct' ed by Dr. Bruce H. Sage, with several assist' ants and graduate students. The work is fin' anced by the American Petroleum Institute. CHEMISTRY Within a few years Gates Chemical Labor' atory will be enlarged by the construction of a new unit to the west. The Division of Chemisf try and Chemical Engineering has as its chair' man Dr. Arthur A. Noyes, internationally known for his contributions in analytical and physical chemistry. Thermodynamic data for equilibria of com' pounds of fluorine and the other halogens and for the higher oxidation states of silver, cobalt, and other metals, together with rate measuref ments of photochemical reactions and on artificf ially produced radioactive materials, make up the work in physical chemistry. A In the field of structural chemistry, studies of Xfray diffraction photographs and band spec' tra by Drs. Pauling and Badger have contributf ed to the knowledge of molecular dimensions and the justification of the quantum mechanics. Professor Lucas, whose recently published text on organic chemistry included a physical and structural approach to the subject, directs research upon the chemical reactions of unsatf urated compounds and on the structure of com' plex naturallyfoccurring materials. Two visitors to Gates have worked in this field this year, Dr. Alfred E. Mirsky of the Rockefeller Institute, on proteins, and Professor Dwight C. Carpenf ter of Cornell. Dr. Charles C. Coryell has inf vestigated the structure of the porphyrin comf plexes found in blood and chlorophyll. CHEMISTRY PRoFEssoRs fREU,7'2 Joseph B. Koepili, James E. Bell, William N. Lacey, Don M. Yost, Ernest H. Swift, Arnold O. Beckman. George W. Whelandg fFv'onU Linus Pauling, Howard J. Lucas, Arthur A. Noyes, Roscoe G. Dickinson, Stuart J. Bates. 21

Page 22 text:

AERONAUTICS The personnel of the Daniel Guggenheim Laboratory of Aeronautics was vigorously ac' tive during the last year. The staff members and the thirtyfnve or more graduate students have undertaken a great deal of original ref search into various phases of airplane design, and the huge wind tunnel has been in continuf ous use. For example, two navy men, Lieut.fComf mander Bolster and Lieutenant Fleming, have tested in the tunnel the effects of the propellor on the performance of the plane itself, using a onefsixth scale model of an airplane powered with a twelve horsepower electric motor, while study of the ground's proximity on the perf formance of ships while landing or taking off has been conducted by Mr. William Sears. Testing work for all the big aeronautical companies was an important item in the laboraf tory's activity. Proposed new ship designs have been studied for Douglas, Boeing, Lockheed, and several others. METEOROLOGY - Most important among the recent wide' spread activities of the Meteorology Departf ment has been the development of the Radio' meteorgraph. This instrument, a combined 1f5 meter radio transmitter, barograph, thermof graph, and hydrograph, weighs one pound, inf cluding small storage batteries for the transmit' ter. Attached to a free balloon it will broadf Wind Tunnel cast, by calibrated signals, weather conditions at any altitude. The device, developed by Cap' tain Carl Meyer of the Army Signal Corps and Mr. L. E. Wood, has worked successfully to an altitude of 90,000 feet, promises to revolution' ize methods of obtaining weather data. A most important contribution, says Dr. Krick. Weather forecasting, nationwide, and training of meteorologists for many agencies continue as important phases of the Depart' ment's work. - ABRONAU1-rcs Pnomassons Irving P. Krick, Ernest E. Sechler, Theodor von Karman, Clark B. Millikan, William H. Bowen, Arthur L. Klein. 20

Page 24 text:

BIOLOGY Work in genetics, which has been extenf sively pursued by the Division of Biology for many years, is being actively continued under the direction of Dr. Morgan. During last sum' mer, under a Rockefeller Foundation grant, Dr. Dobzhansky went on an extensive collecting tour to supplement former collecting in Alaska, Canada, Cregon and Washington. This year his trip included the Rocky mountain region from Montana to New Mexico and Mexico City. The material he brought back is being used by Dr. Sturtevant for a detailed study of different racial types of Drosophila pseudoobf scura in an attempt to find how a species may evolve into a new species. At the Marine Station at Corona del Mar, several undergraduates worked last summer mainly on the comparative anatomy of vertef brates, but also familiarizing themselves with many types of marine animals. In addition, sevf eral visiting professors worked on special prob' lemsg investigations were conducted by Dr. Wiersma and Dr. van Harreveld on the reacf tion of the claw muscles of crayhsh, crabs and other crustaceans. In the department of plant physiology, work on the growth hormones in plants has led to several important discoveries concerning both the chemical nature of the substances and the way in which they bring about an increased or decreased rate of growth in diiferent parts of the plant. - BIOLOGY Pizorisssoas fR0d7'2 Hugh M. Huffman, Frits W. Went, Anthonie van Harreveld, Cornelis A. G. Wiersma., Sterling H. Emerson: IF'1'o'n,tj Thomas Hunt Morgan, George H. Parker, George E. MacGinitie. ,,., ...,. , ...- ,.,,,.....T..,.,..,.. ..... .xxx it ' , gi ., K, I Y agififfgihfi:-. ,,., ,,,,,.,.f,,-.v...w:,. 1 2 2 ' - ' , fn- . . av -ug . .V 1 , ..., gif., v- .. ,, ' is rein'-L, :s:gs?i. wi. 3 fa Y N? mu ye ,MW KN H www I ve, M -fl - QS'-1--i ' -5 2'-. '1e11-vf2-f'i5f Mf'-'X-?::?a.f3ra.i,?ff:,-1. sa cg,a.a,o: :Q ' f. ' '21i5A'f1 V?+Xf'2 'N' EESYQRE' 1-ii.-:af-y' w- f' NNE? '. . . V .-2:,:4.v:a?fj,.jf -wmv.: :-m',g:-- .H-fo-sin -va -at 1. Q 'f 7 1 sffv me-5 '-' e '13, fr. 1. :ws i Hz: n fi. ., i'- -'g.:P's.f , 'V ' f-s:.'ez:1sfar:f1.1zafszxvlif-1-- f Y-H-.riser 'cf?f-A ., .. X N. ...Af -- i-g,,q4.,f,a,,... .1 J , ,- ,.,, , y ., ,Kan ,,.. wr ,app - .f'1,,1z,,g,ig:, ,.5-.f-74,3-1 ..::2: ,,..:,, f V ' - V . I''f're,.wf2:f.',:::fxL-'1...'-Tiki 2 ff' , v1 3G:fs+:r5f: I '+gf':r.fa3I! fardfiif '-3 .4 .m.---a...--my fe ,. ,ag ..,..,if3f 4. - -.1 . an, - 1- .g.Lia:Ifw:g,if fig? .A ..- . ,f,'-is-zfigqx, . ,.p fe - ' . 3417 '- ,' Q: , ',., j:,.,f.1f- -' 5' - . . ,, gl.-' .' . ',, -lk, g'gg'V'-iff. , 1 'i ' .''a'g.:-55',:.j5f'f 722,f,Q--1 .. 1, f'-5-.:1iitff. .vas I :ci :Zf:iE.3:f-36ix:F25'ba-gi:'.,,Eg5:':,g,,'E'?r: :-:'-,g,,'gY:'2,f1.2-- 'f' -.f2.If':fvif.:f: ': af' . Q ff' Sift Q.. Q,,,'Xf?g T I M i A-V -f+f'ff-'X'-'ffff' 2 Qc, we ,Q ,W 'ff QQZWWQQW. N aww. Ja ff wgg 2 f We fs we M ir it if ' 1 Marine Laboratory Under the direction of Dr. Borsook 'bio' chemical studies have been made on the origin of uric acid in animal tissues. Woirk on Vitamin C has also been continued, especially on the ref lation between the oxidation of the vitamin and its function in the animal organism. Dr. Huff' man has determined the free energies of a num' ber of physiologically important substances, and his work in this field is to be extended for sevf eral years. 22