Harvard University - Red Book Yearbook (Cambridge, MA)

Page 28 text:

certain areas by an even larger amount. At the same time, numerous adjustments were made in the curriculum, as well as in research programs and facilities, to meet the demands for expansion of fundamental research along lines not previ- ously accessible. From the Point of View of a Teacher By and large, the Harvard scientists, faculty and stu- dents alike, came through the trying ordeals of these strenuous years with flying colors. The essential core of the academic life of Harvard College was kept intact. There was no breach in continuity of any essential phase of scholarship in spite of the valiant assistance rendered by the Harvard community in the grim business of winning the war. The members of the Class of 1946 deserve the highest praise for their success in making the personal adjustments as well as the sacrifices required by the total situation in which their college years were necessarily spent. From the point of view of a teacher of many of the men in that Class, it is appropriate to note the fact that the disruption of academic careers by the requirements of military service did not appear to be nearly so disastrous as many of us had feared at the beginning of the war would be the case. American youth, as exemplified by Harvard ,46, possesses a spiritual resiliency and a mental flexibility far greater than many observers have assumed. The Proper Balance This very fact, however, presents a problem to the educator that cannot be dismissed. The trend of the times is definitely toward science and more science. But the intelli- gence of science is not enough. Something more must be added ifmen are to live well-rounded, gracious, soul-satisfying lives. Culture is not complete unless it includes the arts and Derwent Whittlesey, noted geopolitician, was a key wartime consultant to the Army, Navy, and O.S.S. Geography was dis- continued as a field of concentration in 1948. -.,..i.,., . . Mathematician Howard Aiken adjusts a tape on the 25-ton cal- culator which he designed for Harvard's new Computation Professor Emory Chaffee organized the Navy's Electronic School at Harvard, helped develop radar. He is the Director of the Cruft Laboratory. -...li :. 'nfl I .-1' l28l

Page 27 text:

uring World War II, the Departments charged with responsibility for instruction and research in the natural sciences were confronted with an extraordinary array of new problems and opportunities that required radical adjustments Of many kinds. A large number of members of the staff de- voted all or part of their time to research in connection with military affairs, either in the several research projects organized at Harvard under the auspices of the Office of Scientific Re- search and Development, or elsewhere, and thus were unable to continue their regular courses of instruction. At the same time, certain courses, notably in physics, chemistry and engi- neering sciences, were inundated with students in the training programs of the Army and Navy. Many innovations in sub- ject matter and teaching methods were made necessary by the training requirements and the rapid advances in technologic application of scientific knowledge during those years. The accelerated program of instruction with its three full terms each year placed an additional strain upon teachers and students alike. A Flood Tide The period of demobilization, essentially the last three Of the seven academic years with which the members of the Class of 1946 are primarily concerned, involved fully as much stress and change as that of the war itself. The return of veterans to the academic scene, plus the emphasis upon the desirability of scientific training as a basis for satisfactory living in the years immediately ahead, brought a flood-tide of students into the courses in the natural sciences. Enrolment in the introductory courses in each scientific field began to zoom upward in 1945-46 and continued to fill lecture halls and IRVING W. BAILEY LARS VALERIAN AI-ILFORS Ihofvssiri' of 1'lunl.Anut4:1ny I'roI't-ssor ol' lxlIlf.ll0llllI.I.lI'S Pfofefsof George F0fbeS, expert in phorochemisrry and electro- chemlstry, taught at Harvard for 43 years. He retired last May. laboratories to maximum capacity during the two subsequent 2C2lClCmiC years. Middle group courses that registered 25 to 50 students in prewar years were elected by 75 to 100 or even more students. The number of graduate students in each field increased by an average of at least 50 per cent and in KENNETH T. BAINBRIDGE PAUL D BARTLETT .. 1 ,N h ' , , C. HAROLD BERRY Pm'-'ham' nl 1l'5 ' Pmf 'S r of c'lW Fll'5' liortlnn Us-liiw I'ruft-ssol' of l'lllLZlIll'l'I'illjlI Scif-111-1- A ,jp ' MARLAND P. BILLINGS FRANCIS BIRCH CARROLL p fr, jg. , , ., T- BOIYNEY LEON N. BRILLOUIN ro UNDP 0 to ogy 1'fUf'SH0f of G' 01'-'gy PI'0f0SS0l' of Nuvul bclnllul: Profvsstrl' of Applii-cl lhlllilwllllll-ll'S l'roft-fgfmiifi' Emgisilzrnplly I27l

Page 29 text:

Laboratory. Nicknamed Mark Il, the giant machine runs 20 hours '1 day, mostly on secret Navy research. Donald Menzel, Professor of Astrophysics, C0f11ml1feS between Cambridge and Harvard's solar observatory in Climax, Colorado, is an expert on eclipses, the temperatures of planets. the humanities as well as the sciences. Especially in this new age of potential abundance for all mankind'-thanks to science and technologye---and of inescapable interdependence among all men everywhere, the fine art of living can be acquired only by those who are aware of the vivid values in our world that transcend the comprehension of scientific truths. Attention has therefore been carefully given, during these years of the collegiate training of the Class of 1946, to the proper balance and appropriate integration of the work in the three major fields of learningehthe natural sciences, the social sciences and the humanities. The Impact of Modern Science It is significant that many of the professors in the natural sciences are among the most outspoken of those who are concerned with the impact of modern science upon con- temporary education. This makes it all the easier to discover the best strategy for insuring integrated and well-rounded educational programs. This has been accomplished by ad- justments in the regulations pertaining to distribution require- ments for the baccalaureate degree, by inaugurating new courses in certain departments as well as in the program of General Education, and by changes in content or method of some of the courses that have become almost traditional in long established fields. Although certain aspects of this re- vamped curricular strategy are still in the experimental stage, it would appear that the results already attained are highly commendable. The liberal and humane tradition continues to be a profoundly influential part of Harvard's cultural pattern. Associate Director of the College Observatory, Professor Bart Bok is well-known for his statistical studies of stars in the Milky Way. l29l L