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Medal Day Proceedings at the Franklin Institute
Medal Day Proceedings at The Franklin ITzstitute October 2OJl966
Reception
and Dinner
On Wednesday, October 20, 1965, approximately 360 Institute members and guests gathered to pay tribute to the men whose achievements had been recognized by the Committee on Science and the Arts during the past year. A reception honoring the 1965 Medalists was held at 6:15 P.M.in the lobby of Franklin Hall, and at 7 :00 P.M. the guests assembled for dinner in the Hall. The Reverend Ernest A. Harding, D.D., Rector of Christ Church in Philadelphia, gave the invocation. * * * * During dinner, Wynn Laurence LePage, President of the Institute, proposed the following toast to Benjamin Franklin: “Ladies and gentlemen, we dine tonight beneath the wise and benevolent gaze of one of the greatest of Americans-a man of such qualities of mind and spirit that he left the world the better, and the sciences and humanities the richer, for his having lived and worked among US. “To this universal man all of us in this room, and all the generations which have since reaped where he so freely sowed, owe a deep debt of gratitude. I ask you to raise your glasses in affectionate salute to our distinguished ancestor, Dr. Benjamin Franklin !” * * * * DR. LEPAGE : “Ladies and gentlemen, one of the most pleasant aspects of Medal Day is the circumstance that we are usually fortunate enough to have with us a number of distinguished past receipents of these awards. We are so honored tonight. “Gentlemen, it is good to have you here ; and as you must know, you are always welcome. In order that all of us may see and recognize you, I shall call on Professor George W. Patterson, 3rd, Chairman of the Committee on Science and the Arts, to present you. PROFESSOR PATTERSON: “Ladies and gentlemen, will you kindly applaud only after all the names have been read. Will each former Medalist rise as his name is called and remain standing until the last one has been read.” Former
Medalists
Attending
Day, 1965
Year
Year Awarded
Medal
MedaM
CERTIFICATE OF MERIT (1882) 1921 Dr. Joseph S. Hepburn Dr. E. Burke Wilford 1939
Awarded
Medalist
LONGSTRETH MEDAL(1890) 1911 Dr. Joseph S. Hepburn 1927 Mr. James F. Smathers
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Medal Day Proceedings LONGSTRETH MEDAL (1890)-Cant. Mr. Nicholas F. Arone 1948 Dr. J. B. Johnson 1957 Dr. Herman Epstein 1963 POTTS MEDAL (1906) Dr. John W. Mauchly 1949 Mr. W. Nelson Goodwin, Jr. 1958 Dr. Charles Stark Draper 1960 Professor Erwin W. Mueller 1964 THE FRANKLIN MEDAL (1914) Dr. Detlev W. Bronk 1961 LEVY MEDAL (1923) Mr. Stewart S. Kurtz, Jr. 1938 Dr. George C. Southworth 1946 Mr. Ezra S. Krendel 1960
HENDERSON MEDAL (1924) 1954
Mr. C. Levon Eksergian
WETHEFULLMEDAL (1925) 1955 1955 1960 1964 1964 BROWN 1962
Mr. Mr. Dr. Dr. Dr. MEDAL
Rene A. Higonnet Louis M. Moyroud Walter Juda John K. Hulm John Eugene Kunzler
(1938) Mr. Edmund N. Bacon
BALLANTINE MEDAL (1946) 1947 1956
Dr. George C. Southworth Mr. Kenneth Bullington
DR. LEEPAGE : “Thank you, Professor Patterson; and thank you, gentlemen, for joining us here this evening for the presentation of the 1965 Franklin Institute awards. “Ladies and gentlemen, the Committee on Science and the Arts is the oldest committee of the Institute; and from its beginning has been composed of outstanding men in the fields of science and engineering who have given generously and freely of their time throughout the year in order to ensure that the various Medals of The Franklin Institute shall be awarded only on the basis of the most exceptional and valuable achievement. “To this Committee and its distinguished Chairman, The Franklin Institute owes a debt of gratitude. I shall now call upon all the members of the Committee to rise and receive our thanks. There are about sixty to sixty-five members. 1 might add that I am extremely proud of having been a member of this Committee for the past thirty-three years. “Thank you very much.” Stated
Meeting
DR. LEPAGE : Wednesday, October 20, 1965, marks the first Stated Meeting of The Franklin Institute for the 1965-1966 season, and the first Stated Meeting since May nineteenth, last. The minutes of that meeting were published in the June, 1965 issue of the Journal of The Franklin Institute. If there are no corrections or additions to those minutes-I declare them approved as published. Here, as now, they are approved. “It is the custom of The Franklin Institute to welcome into membership each year the recipient of The Franklin Medal for that year. At the June 16, 1965 meeting of the Board of Managers, Dr. Frederick Seitz, President of the National Academy of Sciences, the Franklin Medalist for 1965, was elected to Honorary Membership in The Franklin Institute effective as of the present moment. “Dr. Seitz, it is a great pleasure to present you with your card and Certificate and to welcome you into membership in The Franklin Institute, an organi-
558
Journalof The Fmklin Institute
Medal Day Proceedings zation of nearly ten thousand science-oriented and public-spirited persons in this community and the nation. We, needless to say, hope that you will use this card to visit us often. Presentation
of Awards
DR. LEPAGE: “Ladies and Gentlemen, the time has come to welcome distinguished scientists and engineers for the presentation of The Franklin Institute awards to them, each of whom has been selected by our Committee on Science and the Arts as outstanding in his field because of notable professional attainments. “But first I believe it may be appropriate to place before you the context in which these awards are-and for a great many years have been-made. “Since its founding in 1824, one hundred and forty-one years ago, in memory and in honor of Benjamin Franklin, one of the most imaginative scientists in all history, The Franklin Institute has sought to serve the public interest as a science education and research institution. Even in 1824, at the very dawn of our present technological era, the need for improved science education was recognized. And simultaneously it was perceived that research, the process of systematic inquiry into the secrets and laws of nature, was basic to human progress and development. “It is a matter of great pride and significance to us that in 1831 The Franklin Institute, still young in years but already possessed of an enviable scientific reputation, was selected to receive the first research contract ever placed by the United States Government. As a result of that contract, The Franklin Institute designed and built an ingenious testing machine which now stands on permanent exhibit within thirty feet of this hall. I hope that some of you, later in the evening, may take a moment to look at this machine. “Today, more than a century later, we are engaged in a vastly expanded program of research for the Federal Government, as well as for industry. Within a few months we shall be moving many of our research operations, those based in Philadelphia, into the splendid new Laboratories Building which is now nearing completion on Twentieth Street, adjacent to this building, Our other research facilities in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania; Thule, Greenland; and in the southern Arctic region ; in Washington, D. C. ; and in Cambridge, Massachusetts, will remain where they are. “In the past one hundred and forty-one years there has been an equally phenomenal development of our science education program. Our unique pushbutton science museum, whose three floors of exhibits are all around you, is a fabulously effective teaching tool, visited by nearly 400,000 school-age youngsters every year, not to mention the LLyoungsters” of your and my age who also enjoy visiting this museum. By this means, and by our many science courses, workshops, and educational broadcasts, we seek to ‘light the spark of science in young minds’, and thus to inspire gifted young people to embark, while
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Medal Day Proceedings they still have time, upon fruitful careers as qualified scientists, engineers or science teachers. “During this past year, indeed, we have continued to pioneer in education by sending our demonstration van, known as Expeditions in Science, to bring to school children in depressed areas across the States the same sort of science teaching they would enjoy if they were able to come to The Franklin Institute in Philadelphia. We expect to greatly expand this operation with more vans. “Finally, we feel it to be our duty not only to take an active part in the discovery and dissemination of scientific knowledge, but to honor scientific research and discovery everywhere. It is for this reason that we keep a constant year-round, global watch, through the Committee on Science and the Arts, and on all of the significant work being done in the physical sciences and engineering, and pay tribute to outstanding scientific achievement by means of the annual Franklin Institute awards. “The roster of those so honored is a distinguished one. I need only mention such names as Einstein, Bohr, Rutherford, Planck, J. J. Thomson, Orville Wright, Langmuir, Fermi, Curie, Edison and Marconi, or those present, to say nothing of Sir Geoffrey Taylor, Glenn Seaborg, James Van Allen, Wernher Von Braun, Donald Douglas and Detlev Bronk, to show that the holder of a Medal from The Franklin Institute is indeed in good company. “The recipients of the awards of The Franklin Institute are sponsored usually by the Chairmen of the Sub-Committees of the Committee on Science and the Arts which recommend them for the awards. “Before calling on these Sponsors to present their candidates, I should like to present my associate, Mr. J. G. Richard Heckscher, Executive Vice President of The Franklin Institute, who will assist me in presenting the awards. “I now call upon the Sponsors to present their candidates for awards, and to read their citations.” Presentation
of the Elliott (Founded
Cresson
Medal
in 1848)
This Medal is awarded for discovery or original research, adding to the sum of human knowledge, irrespective of commercial value; leading and practical utilizations of discovery; and invention, methods or products embodying substantial elements of leadership in their respective classes, or unusual skill or perfection in workmanship. To Donald D. Van Slyke, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, Long Island, New York. DR. LEPAGE : “The Chair recognizes Dr. Joseph S. Hepburn.” DR. HEPBURN: “Mr President, I present Donald Dexter Van Slyke for an award.
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Medal Day Proceedings
Donald Dexter Van Slyke “Since 1907, Donald D. Van Slyke has been a diligent and prolific research worker at the Rockefeller Institute, its Hospital, and the Brookhaven National Laboratory. His studies have involved the application of the analytical procedures of chemistry to the determination and measurement of the chemical changes produced in man by disease. The results have been of great value to the physician in the diagnosis or determination of the disease and its severity, and in following its progress under treatment. Frequently, new apparatus and new procedures were devised. These procedures have also been of value in the study of the normal biochemical processes in the animal body. His assistants have later become eminent in this field. Through his researches, his publications, and the men whom he trained, Van Slyke has become the major American contributor to the growth of clinical chemistry, and to its recognition as an important link between chemistry and medicine. In fact, he is the dean of American clinical chemists. “I present Donald Dexter Van Slyke, of Port Jefferson, New York, as a candidate for an Elliott Cresson Medal, ‘In consideration of his extensive biochemical researches which have resulted in the discovery of new analytical procedures and the invention of laboratory apparatus, both of which have found wide application in clinical chemistry, and thereby facilitated diagnosis and therapy.’ ” DR. LEPAGE: “Thank you, Dr. Hepburn. “Dr. Van Slyke, by virtue of the authority vested in me as President of The Franklin Institute of the State of Pennsylvania, I present to you this Elliott Cresson Medal and the Certificate and Report which accompany it.” Presentation
of The Certificate
of Merit
(Founded in 1882) ,4 Certificate of Merit is awarded to persons adjudged worthy thereof for meritorious inventions, discoveries or improvements in physical processes or devices. To Joseph D. Christian, Christian Manufacturing Trade Center, San Francisco, California.
Engineers,
World
DR. LEPAGE: “The Chair recognizes Mr. Walter J. Kinderman.” MR. KINDERMAN: “Mr. President, I present Joseph Dennis Christian an award.
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Joseph Dennis Chriiian
“The history of industry is closely related to the art of transmitting and of controlling the application of power to perform man’s daily tasks. “The pictures of old factories are literally characterized by jungles of belts and pulleys. It was through these belts and pulleys that power from engines was transmitted to the machines that fabricated textiles or formed metal and other materials into the many articles of commerce. By today’s standards however, these means of mechanical power transmission were extremely cumbersome and inefficient. “The concept of individual gear transmission units changed all this and two important forms of these transmissions are the shaft-mounted transmission and the combined electric motor and gear reduction power unit invented by our candidate. “Along with the development of the power transmission art has come the development of the material transfer art. The moving of material automatically from one place to another to facilitate its processing to meet a human need is symbolic of the automation trend of modern industry. Included in this broad area is the concept of transporting and heating materials in hollow conveyers of the type invented by our candidate. “I present Joseph Dennis Christian, of San Francisco, California, as a candidate for The Certificate of Merit, ‘For his meritorious inventions and improvements in the ‘Holo-Flite’ Processor, motorized speed reducers, and particularly for his conception and continuing practical development of shaftmounted speed reducers.’ ” DR. LEPAGE: “Thank you, Mr. Kinderman. “Mr. Christian, by the same authority, I present to you this Certificate of Merit and the Report which accompanies it.” Presentation
of the Howard
N. Potts
Medal
(Founded in 1906)
This Medal is awarded for distinguished work in science or the arts ; important development of previous basic discoveries, inventions or products of superior excellence or utilizing important principles. To C. X. Cockerell,
Bassett, Southampton,
Hampshire,
England.
DR. LEPAGE : “The Chair recognizes Mr. Robert P. Haviland.”
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Journal of The Franklin Institute
Medal Day Proceedings
MR. HAVILAND: “Mr. President, I present in absentia, Christopher Sidney Cockerell for an award.
ChristopherSidneyCockerell “The development of transportation is a significant factor in this modern rapidly moving world. Several of the awards of The Franklin Institute recognize the importance of this field. However, it is a rare event for the Institute to be able to recognize the development of a completely new mode of transportation. “Early transportation techniques involved motion along the surface of earth, or motion along the surface of water. These vehicles, the travois, the wagon and the boat, formed the basis of all transport for many centuries, and their descendants form the core of many modern transportation systems. “In recent years, a new form of surface transportation has appeared, which is fundamentally different in principle from these early vehicles. A true aircraft, this new vehicle rides on a captive bubble of air : Because it moves in the air, the vehicle escapes the need for roads, rails and charted waterways. This vehicle is often called a Ground-Effect Machine in this country, but overseas it is usually known by the name Hovercraft. “As in all modern developments, many people have contributed to this project. However, it is clear that the basic concepts of a workable vehicle are due to one man, and it is equally clear that his vision and enterprise have been responsible for the acceptance of the concept and its reduction to practice. “I present, in absentia, Christopher Sidney Cockerell, of Bassett, Southampton, Hampshire, England, as a candidate for a Howard N. Potts Medal, ‘In consideration of his invention of the annular-jet ground-effect machine, which captures a low-pressure air cushion by a thin curtain of high-pressure air, his additional contributions in the field, and his efforts in securing acceptance of these developments, thereby opening for exploration a totally new form of transportation.’ ” DR. LEPAGE: “Thank you, Mr. Haviland. “In the absence of Mr. Cockerell, I call upon Mr. Terence Grady, Consul in Philadelphia for Her Britannic Majesty. “Mr. Grady, on behalf of The Franklin Institute of the State of Pennsylvania, I present to you, for Christopher S. Cockerell, this Howard N. Potts bledal and the Certificate and Report which accompany it. I know that you will see that our honored Medalist receives it with our sincere good wishes.”
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280,
No.
6,
December 196.5
563
Medal Day Proceedings Presentation
of John
Price
Wetherill
Medals
(Founded in 1926)
This Medal is awarded for discovery or invention in the physical sciences or for new and important combinations of principles or methods already known. To Wendell F. Moore, Technical Director, Bell Aerosystems Company, Buffalo, New York ; John H. Reynolds, Professor of Physics, University of California, Berkeley, California ; Frederick D. Ross&i, Dean of the College of Science, Associate Dean of the Graduate School, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana; Eugene M. Shoemaker, Chief, Branch of Astrogeology, United States Geological Survey, Flagsta$, Arizona; and Edward Ching-Te Chao, Arlington, Virginia; and Fred Noel Spiess, Professor of Oceanography and Director of the Marine Physical Laboratory, Scripps Institution of Oceanography of the University of California, San Diego ; San Diego, California. DR. LEPAGE: “The Chair recognizes Mr. Harry L. Decker.” MR. DECKER: “Mr.
President, I-present Wendell F. Moore for an award.
WendellF. Moore
“During the autumn of 1963, Mr. Harold Graham propelled himself through the air, from the deck of an off-shore amphibious vehicle, and landed on shore in front of the late President John F. Kennedy, saluting as he landed. This was the most memorable of over 800 successful flights of a controllable jet device, or rocket belt, which could be afixed to a man’s body, be wholly supported by him, and made him capable of complete maneuverability in the air without the use of wings or other lifting devices. “This achievement was the work of Wendell F. Moore, a rocket engineer, who is presently technical director for Bell Aerosystem’s rocket belt program. Mr. Moore began serious work on the project in 1953, and after eight years of research and development, he witnessed the first flight when his device transported its pilot 18 inches above the ground for a distance of 112 feet. Much of the early testing in the tethered flight category was performed by Wendell Moore until an injury suffered in a test of the device forced him to select another test pilot.
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Journal of The Franklin Institute
Medal Day Proceedings “While the United States Army has already attested to the fact that the device has definite military applications, there is no question that further unlimited uses for the rocket belt will be found in everyday life, as its versatility becomes more widely recognized. Its application as a ready means of transport for a human being will be increasingly obvious as its effectiveness is improved by research and technological development. “I present Wendell F. Moore, of Youngstown, New York, as a candidate for a John Price Wetherill Medal, ‘For his conception, design and development of the Small Rocket Lift Device that gives man the capability of free flight and has demonstrated, therefore, important applications for military and commercial usage.’ ” DR. LEPAGE: “Thank you, Mr. Decker. “Mr. Moore, by the same authority, I present to you this John Price Wetherill Medal and the Certificate and Report which accompany it.
“The Chair recognizes Dr. George M. Karns.” DR. KARNS: “Mr. award.
President, I present John Hamilton
Reynolds
for an
John Hamilton Reynolds “John H. Reynolds has made an important contribution to the catalogue of cosmological facts by determining with new precision the length of the epoch during which earth elements were available in space but were not yet assembled into solid bodies. “This he accomplished with ingenious mass spectrometric instruments and techniques of his own devising, which were capable of detecting and measuring anomalies in the xenon isotope population of meteorites. “These xenon inclusions, amounting to fractions of billionths of a cubic centimeter of gas per gram of meteorite, constitute a record of the decay history of Iodine-129 in undifferentiated space, which began when the element was born, continued for about two hundred million years, and ended when the earth and meteorites were formed. “Professor Reynolds’ estimate of the length of this period in our solar system is much shorter than before thought probable. In consequence, it supplies a revised and more accurate framework within which cosmologists
Vol.
280,No. 6, December
1965
565
Medal Day Proceedings can consider the timed sequence and mechanism by which other sun systems are being born or are decaying to extinction. “I present John Hamilton Reynolds, of Berkeley, California, as a candidate for a John Price Wetherill Medal, ‘For his contributions to the precise mass spectroscopy of xenon and especially for his studies of xenon isotopes in meteorites, which contribute to the understanding of the nature and sequence of events before the earth was formed.’ ” DR. LEPAGE: “Thank you, Dr. Karns. “Professor Reynolds, by the same authority, I present to you this John Price Wetherill Medal and the Certificate and Report which accompany it.
“The Chair recognizes Dr. Percival Theel.” President, I present Frederick Dominic award. DR. THEEL: “Mr.
Rossini for an
FrederickDominicRoasini
“Dr. Rossini’s work over many years as scientist, analyst, lecturer, director, author, teacher and dean has demonstrated his broad experience and knowledge of the field of petroleum hydrocarbons. He is particularly eminent as an authority in such areas as the chemistry, the thermodynamic properties, the thermochemical equilibrium, and the classification of the properties of all hydrocarbons. “An additional recognition of his high stature in his chosen field is the number of special lectures that he has given at the universities of Harvard, and Notre Dame, the Carnegie Institute of Technology, and the National Bureau of Standards. Of especial significance is the fact that he was invited to give the Marburg Lecture at an annual meeting of the American Society for Testing and Materials. “Dr. Rossini has published a number of books and many scientific and technological papers on petroleum hydrocarbon chemistry, which have become the ,authoritative reference works for this field. Of outstanding importance has been his direction of the gathering and correlating of data for relating hydrocarbon structure and properties, so that it is now possible to predict the properties and thermodynamic functions of various hydrocarbons. “I present Frederick Dominic Rossini, of South Bend, Indiana, as a candidate for a John Price Wetherill Medal, ‘In consideration of his extensive
566
Journal
of The Franklin
Institute
Medal Day Proceedings and detailed contributions over a period of thirty-six years to the chemical equilibrium, thermodynamic, thermochemical and other properties of petroleum hydrocarbon chemistry and engineering; for his precision methods of analysis; for the assembly of fundamental data and for his extensive service as editor, teacher, and lecturer.’ ” DR. LEPAGE: “Thank you, Dr. Theel. “Dr. Rossini, by the same authority, I present to you this John Price Wetherill Medal and the Certificate and Report which accompany it.
“The Chair recognizes Mr. John H. Neher.” MR. NEHER: “Mr. President, I present Eugene M. Shoemaker and Edward C. T. Chao each for an award.
Eugene M. Shoemaker
Edward C. T. Chao
“Since the invention of the telescope and the subsequent discovery of the craters of the moon, scientifically-minded men have speculated on their origin. Were they, and also the craters of the earth, caused by volcanic activity or meteoritic impact? “One terrestrial crater in particular, the Barringer Meteorite Crater in Arizona, has long been the subject of such a controversy. After the hitherto unknown minerals coesite and, later, stishovite had been produced artifically in the laboratory by subjecting silica to extremely high pressure at elevated temperatures, Shoemaker and Chao reasoned that since minute diamonds which are produced from carbon under similar conditions had been found in the meteoritic fragments around the Barringer crater, these minerals in their natural state might be present there as well. And if this were so, the meteoritic origin of the crater would be more definitely established. Not only did they find them there, but they have found coesite in a number of other terrestrial craters formerly thought to be of volcanic origin. “I present Eugene Merle Shoemaker, of Flagstaff, Arizona, and Edward Ching-Te Chao, of Arlington, Virginia, each as a candidate for a John Price Wetherill Medal, ‘In consideration of their outstanding contributions in the field of geology, particularly in respect to their discovery of natural coesite in large terrestrial craters, as prima facie evidence of their formation by meteoritic impact.’ ”
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1965
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DR. LEPAGE: “Thank you, Mr. Neher. “Dr. Shoemaker, by the same authority, I present to you this John Price Wetherill Medal and the Certificate and Report which accompany it. Dr. Chao, it is my pleasure to present to you also this John Price Wetherill Medal and the Certificate and Report which accompany it.
“The Chair recognizes Mr. Clarence B. Campbell.” MR. CAMPBELL: “Mr. President, I present Fred Noel Spiess for an award.
Fred Noel Spieas
“Dr. Spiess, of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography’s Marine Physical Laboratory, initiated and directed the successful development of a unique Floating Instrument Platform, better known as FLIP, which permits more precise deep water, acoustic research than previously had been feasible. The project was based upon his comprehensive proposal to the United States Navy in 1960, and subsequent financial support by the Office of Naval Research. “FLIP, a 355-foot vehicle resembling a slender cylinder, is positioned horizontally as a conventional vessel for tow between work sites in the Pacific, and vertically, as an 85 per cent submerged spar buoy, for actual research operations. Rotation between horizontal and vertical attitudes is effected by appropriate sea-water ballast control. This spectacular performance has become routine even in high seas. “Performance of stern-mounted hydrophones is optimized in the vertical attitude by their consequent submergence at 300 feet into comparatively quiet water, their substantially stable support regardless of the sea-state, and by complete orientation control. FLIP permitted, for the first time in deep water, the establishment of simultaneous fixes on a distant sound and radar source with rigidly coupled hydrophone and radar receivers. By comparison of these observations, a reliable measure of sonar bearing accuracy can be obtained. “FLIP has demonstrated exceptional capability in underwater acoustic research, to the end that its basic principles were incorporated into a second generation oceanographic acoustic buoy recently activated by the Naval Ordnance Laboratory for Atlantic service. “I present Fred Noel Spiess, of La Jolla, California, as a candidate for a John Price Wetherill Medal, ‘In consideration of his long and distinguished
56%
Journalof
The Franklin Institute
Medal Day Proceedings record of individual accomplishment in the field of oceanography, but specititally for the skill with which he combined known with unconventional concepts in the successful development of the Navy’s pioneer Floating Instrument Platform for underwater acoustic research.’ ” DR. LEPAGE : “Thank you, Mr. Campbell. “Dr. Spiess, by the same authority, I present to you this John Price Wetherill Medal and the Certificate and Report which accompany it.” Presentation
of the Walton
Clark Medal
(Founded in 195’6)
This Medal is awarded to the “author of knowledge or improvement in apparatus, science or the art of gas manufacture or the production of illumination, or of heat, To Frederick J. Dent, Gas Council Solihull, Warwickshire, England.
the most notable advance in or in method concerning the distribution of utilization in or of power.
Midlands
Research
Station,
DR. LEPAGE : “The Chair recognizes Mr. John W. Carroll, who has kindly consented to act as Sponsor for Dr. Dent in place of Dr. William G. Schmidt, who is unable to be with us tonight on account of illness.” MR. CARROLL: “Mr. President, I present Frederick J. Dent for an award.
Frederick J. Dent
“AS a well-known scientist, heading an extensive research facility associated with the nationalized gas industry of Great Britain, Dr. Dent has evolved throughout the last four decades an aggressive technique for the solution of a number of pertinent problems inherent in an advancing gas technology. “Dr. Dent’s investigative interests have ranged constructively over a number of fields-from the Hydrogenation of Coal to Gaseous Hydrocarbonsthrough Pressure Gasification Engineering-to the Hydrogenation of Oils to Gaseous Hydrocarbons. Although other investigators have also contributed to the scientific and the technical development of gas production abroad, yet Dr. Dent’s boundless zeal and scientific acumen have undoubtedly spearheaded the pragmatic application of many recent researches in gas manufacture.
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“1 present Frederick J. Dent, of Leeds, Yorkshire, England, as a candidate for the Walton Clark Medal, ‘In consideration of his prolific contributions to the Gas Industry, and particularly for his contributions to solution of the fuel problem in England in the absence of natural gas.’ ” DR. LEPAGE: “Thank you, Mr. Carroll. “Dr. Dent, by the same authority, I present to you this Walton Clark Medal and the Certificate and Report which accompany it.” Presentation
ofthe
Frank P. Brown Medal
(Fvmded in 19.38)
This Medal is awarded to inventors for discoveries and inventions involving meritorious improvements in building and allied industries. To William J. Levitt, President, Levitt and Sons, Incorporated, Lake Success, New York. DR. LEPAGE: “The Chair recognizes Mr. Charles H. Topping.” MR. TOPPING: “Mr. President, I present, in absentia, William Jaird Levitt for an award.
William
J&d Levitt
“He and his firm have for twenty years led a revolution in house construction, a revolution which ended an acute housing shortage representing an accumulation of a nearly equal period of inactivity. His pioneering methods have been adopted in whole or in part by thousands of merchant builders who have increased the nation’s stock of houses by 50 per cent. The increase has changed the status of the nation’s population from predominantly renters to predominantly proud home ownem. It is estimated that more than a quarter million people live in the approximately sixty-five thousand Levitt houses built on Long Island, New York; in Bucks County, Pennsylvania; near Camden, New Jersey; in suburban Washington, D. C. ; at Cape Kennedy, Florida; in northern New Jersey; and near San Juan, Puerto Rico. Apartments have been built in France, and more buildings are under construction there. It has also been estimated that more Levitt models have been built by others than by Levitt and Sons. “I present, in absentia, William Jaird Levitt, of Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania, as a candidate for the Frank P. Brown Medal, ‘In consideration
Medal Day Proceedwags
of his early development of successful methods for large-volume, high-e5ciency on-site construction of houses, which established him as the pioneer of the large merchant builders, his continuing development of improved construction techniques, and his early provision of major community facilities in his very large developments.’ ” DR. LEPAQE: “Thank you, Mr. Topping.” “I cell upon Judge Mitchell H. Cohen, friend of Mr. Levitt. It gives me greet pleasure to hand you this Frank P. Brown Medal and the Certificate and Report which accompany it with the request that you expedite delivery of them to Mr. Levitt with our congratulations.”
Presentotioti
of the Francis
J. Clamer
Medal
(Fmmdei in 1943)
This Medal is awarded at least once in five years for meritorious achievement in the field of Metallurgy. To Alexander
L. Feild, Consultant,
Baltimore,
Maryland.
DR. LEPAGE: “The Chair recognizes Professor A. W. Grosvenor.” PROFESSORGROSVENOR:“Mr. President, I present, in absentia, Alexander L. Feild for P.IIaward.
AlexanderL. Feild “One of the outstanding metallurgical accomplishments of the first half of the present century has been the discovery and development of the stainless steels. Early in the period of commercial production it was found that the carbon content could seriously decrease the resistance to corrosion of these alloys. The commercial production of an alloy having a high chromium content, with a carbon content of only a few hundredths of one per cent imposes a paradox: To eliminate carbon from the molten alloy requires a strong oxidizing condition, but to prevent a costly waste of chromium, oxidation must be avoided. “Dr. Feild’s approach to this problem was based on his application of thermodynamics to the practical problems of the blast furnace and open hearth steelmaking over a period of many years. He evolved a two-stage process that accomplished both objectives in the discovery that a very high initial temperature promoted the selective oxidation of carbon, and that chromium could
Medal Day Proceedings
afterwards be reduced to metallic form by silicon, at a lower temperature. Finding that this combination process rapidly eroded the refractory lining of the electric furnace, he developed a satisfactory lining from chromite. His overall method of making stainless steel, known as the ‘Rustless Process,’ became the standard method. “I present, in absentia, Alexander L. Feild, of Baltimore, Maryland, as a candidate for the Francis J. Clamer Medal, ‘In recognition of his unique application of thermodynamics to the art of steelmaking and especially to the production of stainless steels in the basic electric furnace.’ ” DR. LEPAGE : “Thank you, Professor Grosvenor. “1 call upon Mr. Alexander L. Feild, Jr. Mr. Feild, as President of the Franklin Institute of the State of Pennsylvania, it gives me great pleasure to hand you this Francis J. Clamer Medal and the Certificate and Report which accompany it, with the request that you expedite delivery of them to your father with our sincere congratulations as well aa our regrets that he was unable to be present tonight. Presentation
ofthe
Stuart Ballantine Medals
(Founded in 1946)
This Medal is awarded in recognition of outstanding achievement in the fields of Communication and Reconnaissance which employ electromagnetic radiation To Homer Walter Dudky, Summit, New Jersey; and Alec Harley Reeves, Standard Telecommunication Laboratories Limited, British A$lliate of Intmational Telephone and Telegraph Corporation, Harlow, Essex, England. DR LEPAGE : “The Chair recognizes Mr. William H. Forster.” ME: FORSTER: “ Mr. President, I present Homer Walter Dudley award.
for an
Homer Walter Dudley “Homer Walter Dudley is one of the true innovators of our era. During the twenties and thirties, while working on the improvement of speech trsnsmission by wire, cable and radio systems, he recognized the possibility of transmitting speech through channels much narrower than its spectral bandwidth. “He reasoned that speech is produced by air emanating from the lungs,
Medal
Day Proceedings
chopped into a quasi-periodic sequence of pulses by the vocal chords, rtnd ‘articulated’ in transmission through the vocal tract by the shape and position of the tongue, lips, and other ‘articulators.’ If one assumes five significant articulators, each one moving with a maximum frequency of 20 cycles per second, it should be possible to transmit speech in a 100 cps band-one thirtieth of ordinary telephone circuits. “Based on thii insight, Dudley proceeded to invent a great variety of voice coders, or voccders, that make possible bandwidth compression of between 10 and 100 to 1. “Equally important, his pioneering work and ingenuity have been responsible for opening up an entire field of research in speech communications. “Today, made practical by the development of the transistor, the basic vocoder inventions of Homer Dudley are being used by the United States Government around the world and commercial application is within sight. “I present Homer Walter Dudley, of Summit, New Jersey, as a candidate for the Stuart Ballantine Medal, ‘For his fundamental contributions to the understanding of human speech and hearing, and specifically for his invention of the Vocoder, which opened the door to encoding for the purposes of speech bandwidth compression and of encryption in electrical communications, and also for his stimulation of research in speech communications, speech perception, phonology and linguistics.’ ” DR. LEPAGE: “Thank you, Mr. Forster. “Mr. Dudley, by the same authority, I present to you this Stuart Ballantine Medal and the Certificate and Report which accompany it. “The Chair recognizes Mr. C. Raymond Kraus.” MR. Khans : “Mr. President, I present Alec Harley Reeves for an award.
“As the technology of our civilization becomes more sophisticated, the demands for the transmission of information continue to increase at sstonishing rates. These demands include new and changing requirements for transmission with regard to quantity, speed and distance. We are approaching a billion telephone conversations daily and, at the 8arne time, insist upon the transmission and reception of discrete signals to and from our space vehicles millions of miles awey.
Medal Day Proceedings
“Pulse code modulation, a method for encoding analogue information in digitalized form, was invented in 1938 by Alec Harley Reeves as a culmination of a series of efforts to cwercome the denigrating effect of distance (largely in the form of noise) on voice signals. There were attempts made to telegraph speech and music one hundred yeem earlier. Though invented several decades ago, pulse code modulation is now only coming into widespread use. It required the pulse technology of the radar systems in the early 1940’s, the computer technology of the early 1950’s and the semi-conductor components of the late 1950’s to give it full impetus. The superior transmission properties of PCM in the presence of noise, as well as other advantages which stem from its digital form, have opened up new horizons in the transmission of information. “I present Alec Harley Reeves, of Harlow, Essex, England, ‘For the invention of pulse code modulation, a concept which established a unique means for the transmission of voice by digital techniques and for the first time eliminated progressive deterioration of speech signals caused by noise and distortion in the successive stages of long-distance transmission.’ ” DR. LEPAGE: “Thank you, Mr. Kraus. “Mr. Reeves, by the same authority, I present to you this Stuart Ballantine Medal and the Certificate and Report which accompany it.” Presentation
of
The Franklin
Medal
(Fmmded in 1914)
This Medal is awarded annually to those workers in physical science or technology, without regard to country, whose efforts, in the opinion of the Institute, acting through its Committee on Science and the Arts, have done most to advance a knowledge of physical science or its applications. To Frederick S&z, President, National Academy of Sciences, Washington, D. C. DR. LEPACE : “The Chair recognizes Mr. William E. Bradley.” MR. BRADLEY: “Mr. President, I present Frederick S&s for an award.
“One of the most valuable accomplishments of our century has been the discovery of the 1aW8 and mechanisms governing the structure and behavior of solid materials. This new understanding of the solid state has already reiw-
MedalDay Proceedings lutioniaed the electronics industry and has made possible new approaches and important practical results in metallurgy, to mention only the most outstmding short-term consequences. “For more than three decades Dr. Seitz has occupied a central position in the field of solid state physics. His book, ‘Modern Theory of Solids’, published in 1940, was the first comprehensive exposition of the basis of the subject, and in the years since then he has steadily extended the frontiers of the field and taught a generation of physicists and engineers to apply it and extend it further. “He has conducted research and analysis in many parts of the subject. He explained from first principles the physical properties of the alkali metals; he developed a unified theory of crystallographic groups; he did much original work ,applying the new theory to luminescent materials and semiconductors; and he published important studies of the effects of various kinds of crystal defects on the properties of solid materials. “Dr. Seita received his undergraduate degree from Stanford University and his doctorate from Princeton University in 1934. After teaching at the University of Pennsylvania and Carnegie Institute of Technology, he was for many years associated with the University of Illinois, becoming head of the Department of Physics in 1957. “In addition to his productive career as a research scientist, teacher and writer, he has served on many scientific advisory bodies for the United States Government ; he was Science Advisor to the North Atlantic Treaty Organiaation in 1960, he is a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee of the President of the United States, and at present, he is President of the National Academy of Sciences. “I present Frederick Seitz, of Urbane, Illinois, as a candidate for The Franklin Medal, ‘For his contributions to the understanding of the structure and properties of solid materials, for his extensive and clear exposition of the new theory of the solid state and its applications, and for his service as a leader of science in national and international a&ifs.’ ” DR. LEPACE : “Thank you, Mr. Bradley. “Dr. S&a, as President of The Franklin Institute of the State of Pennsylvania, it is a great honor to me and also a great personal pleasure to present to you this highest award of The Franklin Institute-The Franklin Medal for the year 1965 and the Certificate and Report which rtccompany it, with my warm congratulations, and those of the Board of Managers, the Committee on Science and the Arts, and all the members of the Institute. DR. LEPAGE: “Now, I call upon our distinguished Franklin Medalist for 1965, Dr. Frederick &its, who will speak on ‘Benjamin Franklin and Twentieth Century Science.’ ” Address
by Frederick Seitz
(Seepage@3 of thti Journal fm the fat of Dr. Seilr’s addwa.) After Dr. S&z delivered his talk, Dr. LePage conveyed to him the thanks of the Institute and declared the meeting adjourned.
Reception
and Dinner
On Wednesday, October 20, 1965, approximately 360 Institute members and guests gathered to pay tribute to the men whose achievements had been recognized by the Committee on Science and the Arts during the past year. A reception honoring the 1965 Medalists was held at 6:15 P.M.in the lobby of Franklin Hall, and at 7 :00 P.M. the guests assembled for dinner in the Hall. The Reverend Ernest A. Harding, D.D., Rector of Christ Church in Philadelphia, gave the invocation. * * * * During dinner, Wynn Laurence LePage, President of the Institute, proposed the following toast to Benjamin Franklin: “Ladies and gentlemen, we dine tonight beneath the wise and benevolent gaze of one of the greatest of Americans-a man of such qualities of mind and spirit that he left the world the better, and the sciences and humanities the richer, for his having lived and worked among US. “To this universal man all of us in this room, and all the generations which have since reaped where he so freely sowed, owe a deep debt of gratitude. I ask you to raise your glasses in affectionate salute to our distinguished ancestor, Dr. Benjamin Franklin !” * * * * DR. LEPAGE : “Ladies and gentlemen, one of the most pleasant aspects of Medal Day is the circumstance that we are usually fortunate enough to have with us a number of distinguished past receipents of these awards. We are so honored tonight. “Gentlemen, it is good to have you here ; and as you must know, you are always welcome. In order that all of us may see and recognize you, I shall call on Professor George W. Patterson, 3rd, Chairman of the Committee on Science and the Arts, to present you. PROFESSOR PATTERSON: “Ladies and gentlemen, will you kindly applaud only after all the names have been read. Will each former Medalist rise as his name is called and remain standing until the last one has been read.” Former
Medalists
Attending
Day, 1965
Year
Year Awarded
Medal
MedaM
CERTIFICATE OF MERIT (1882) 1921 Dr. Joseph S. Hepburn Dr. E. Burke Wilford 1939
Awarded
Medalist
LONGSTRETH MEDAL(1890) 1911 Dr. Joseph S. Hepburn 1927 Mr. James F. Smathers
557
Medal Day Proceedings LONGSTRETH MEDAL (1890)-Cant. Mr. Nicholas F. Arone 1948 Dr. J. B. Johnson 1957 Dr. Herman Epstein 1963 POTTS MEDAL (1906) Dr. John W. Mauchly 1949 Mr. W. Nelson Goodwin, Jr. 1958 Dr. Charles Stark Draper 1960 Professor Erwin W. Mueller 1964 THE FRANKLIN MEDAL (1914) Dr. Detlev W. Bronk 1961 LEVY MEDAL (1923) Mr. Stewart S. Kurtz, Jr. 1938 Dr. George C. Southworth 1946 Mr. Ezra S. Krendel 1960
HENDERSON MEDAL (1924) 1954
Mr. C. Levon Eksergian
WETHEFULLMEDAL (1925) 1955 1955 1960 1964 1964 BROWN 1962
Mr. Mr. Dr. Dr. Dr. MEDAL
Rene A. Higonnet Louis M. Moyroud Walter Juda John K. Hulm John Eugene Kunzler
(1938) Mr. Edmund N. Bacon
BALLANTINE MEDAL (1946) 1947 1956
Dr. George C. Southworth Mr. Kenneth Bullington
DR. LEEPAGE : “Thank you, Professor Patterson; and thank you, gentlemen, for joining us here this evening for the presentation of the 1965 Franklin Institute awards. “Ladies and gentlemen, the Committee on Science and the Arts is the oldest committee of the Institute; and from its beginning has been composed of outstanding men in the fields of science and engineering who have given generously and freely of their time throughout the year in order to ensure that the various Medals of The Franklin Institute shall be awarded only on the basis of the most exceptional and valuable achievement. “To this Committee and its distinguished Chairman, The Franklin Institute owes a debt of gratitude. I shall now call upon all the members of the Committee to rise and receive our thanks. There are about sixty to sixty-five members. 1 might add that I am extremely proud of having been a member of this Committee for the past thirty-three years. “Thank you very much.” Stated
Meeting
DR. LEPAGE : Wednesday, October 20, 1965, marks the first Stated Meeting of The Franklin Institute for the 1965-1966 season, and the first Stated Meeting since May nineteenth, last. The minutes of that meeting were published in the June, 1965 issue of the Journal of The Franklin Institute. If there are no corrections or additions to those minutes-I declare them approved as published. Here, as now, they are approved. “It is the custom of The Franklin Institute to welcome into membership each year the recipient of The Franklin Medal for that year. At the June 16, 1965 meeting of the Board of Managers, Dr. Frederick Seitz, President of the National Academy of Sciences, the Franklin Medalist for 1965, was elected to Honorary Membership in The Franklin Institute effective as of the present moment. “Dr. Seitz, it is a great pleasure to present you with your card and Certificate and to welcome you into membership in The Franklin Institute, an organi-
558
Journalof The Fmklin Institute
Medal Day Proceedings zation of nearly ten thousand science-oriented and public-spirited persons in this community and the nation. We, needless to say, hope that you will use this card to visit us often. Presentation
of Awards
DR. LEPAGE: “Ladies and Gentlemen, the time has come to welcome distinguished scientists and engineers for the presentation of The Franklin Institute awards to them, each of whom has been selected by our Committee on Science and the Arts as outstanding in his field because of notable professional attainments. “But first I believe it may be appropriate to place before you the context in which these awards are-and for a great many years have been-made. “Since its founding in 1824, one hundred and forty-one years ago, in memory and in honor of Benjamin Franklin, one of the most imaginative scientists in all history, The Franklin Institute has sought to serve the public interest as a science education and research institution. Even in 1824, at the very dawn of our present technological era, the need for improved science education was recognized. And simultaneously it was perceived that research, the process of systematic inquiry into the secrets and laws of nature, was basic to human progress and development. “It is a matter of great pride and significance to us that in 1831 The Franklin Institute, still young in years but already possessed of an enviable scientific reputation, was selected to receive the first research contract ever placed by the United States Government. As a result of that contract, The Franklin Institute designed and built an ingenious testing machine which now stands on permanent exhibit within thirty feet of this hall. I hope that some of you, later in the evening, may take a moment to look at this machine. “Today, more than a century later, we are engaged in a vastly expanded program of research for the Federal Government, as well as for industry. Within a few months we shall be moving many of our research operations, those based in Philadelphia, into the splendid new Laboratories Building which is now nearing completion on Twentieth Street, adjacent to this building, Our other research facilities in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania; Thule, Greenland; and in the southern Arctic region ; in Washington, D. C. ; and in Cambridge, Massachusetts, will remain where they are. “In the past one hundred and forty-one years there has been an equally phenomenal development of our science education program. Our unique pushbutton science museum, whose three floors of exhibits are all around you, is a fabulously effective teaching tool, visited by nearly 400,000 school-age youngsters every year, not to mention the LLyoungsters” of your and my age who also enjoy visiting this museum. By this means, and by our many science courses, workshops, and educational broadcasts, we seek to ‘light the spark of science in young minds’, and thus to inspire gifted young people to embark, while
Vol. 280, No. 6, December 1965
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Medal Day Proceedings they still have time, upon fruitful careers as qualified scientists, engineers or science teachers. “During this past year, indeed, we have continued to pioneer in education by sending our demonstration van, known as Expeditions in Science, to bring to school children in depressed areas across the States the same sort of science teaching they would enjoy if they were able to come to The Franklin Institute in Philadelphia. We expect to greatly expand this operation with more vans. “Finally, we feel it to be our duty not only to take an active part in the discovery and dissemination of scientific knowledge, but to honor scientific research and discovery everywhere. It is for this reason that we keep a constant year-round, global watch, through the Committee on Science and the Arts, and on all of the significant work being done in the physical sciences and engineering, and pay tribute to outstanding scientific achievement by means of the annual Franklin Institute awards. “The roster of those so honored is a distinguished one. I need only mention such names as Einstein, Bohr, Rutherford, Planck, J. J. Thomson, Orville Wright, Langmuir, Fermi, Curie, Edison and Marconi, or those present, to say nothing of Sir Geoffrey Taylor, Glenn Seaborg, James Van Allen, Wernher Von Braun, Donald Douglas and Detlev Bronk, to show that the holder of a Medal from The Franklin Institute is indeed in good company. “The recipients of the awards of The Franklin Institute are sponsored usually by the Chairmen of the Sub-Committees of the Committee on Science and the Arts which recommend them for the awards. “Before calling on these Sponsors to present their candidates, I should like to present my associate, Mr. J. G. Richard Heckscher, Executive Vice President of The Franklin Institute, who will assist me in presenting the awards. “I now call upon the Sponsors to present their candidates for awards, and to read their citations.” Presentation
of the Elliott (Founded
Cresson
Medal
in 1848)
This Medal is awarded for discovery or original research, adding to the sum of human knowledge, irrespective of commercial value; leading and practical utilizations of discovery; and invention, methods or products embodying substantial elements of leadership in their respective classes, or unusual skill or perfection in workmanship. To Donald D. Van Slyke, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, Long Island, New York. DR. LEPAGE : “The Chair recognizes Dr. Joseph S. Hepburn.” DR. HEPBURN: “Mr President, I present Donald Dexter Van Slyke for an award.
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Journal of The Franklin Institute
Medal Day Proceedings
Donald Dexter Van Slyke “Since 1907, Donald D. Van Slyke has been a diligent and prolific research worker at the Rockefeller Institute, its Hospital, and the Brookhaven National Laboratory. His studies have involved the application of the analytical procedures of chemistry to the determination and measurement of the chemical changes produced in man by disease. The results have been of great value to the physician in the diagnosis or determination of the disease and its severity, and in following its progress under treatment. Frequently, new apparatus and new procedures were devised. These procedures have also been of value in the study of the normal biochemical processes in the animal body. His assistants have later become eminent in this field. Through his researches, his publications, and the men whom he trained, Van Slyke has become the major American contributor to the growth of clinical chemistry, and to its recognition as an important link between chemistry and medicine. In fact, he is the dean of American clinical chemists. “I present Donald Dexter Van Slyke, of Port Jefferson, New York, as a candidate for an Elliott Cresson Medal, ‘In consideration of his extensive biochemical researches which have resulted in the discovery of new analytical procedures and the invention of laboratory apparatus, both of which have found wide application in clinical chemistry, and thereby facilitated diagnosis and therapy.’ ” DR. LEPAGE: “Thank you, Dr. Hepburn. “Dr. Van Slyke, by virtue of the authority vested in me as President of The Franklin Institute of the State of Pennsylvania, I present to you this Elliott Cresson Medal and the Certificate and Report which accompany it.” Presentation
of The Certificate
of Merit
(Founded in 1882) ,4 Certificate of Merit is awarded to persons adjudged worthy thereof for meritorious inventions, discoveries or improvements in physical processes or devices. To Joseph D. Christian, Christian Manufacturing Trade Center, San Francisco, California.
Engineers,
World
DR. LEPAGE: “The Chair recognizes Mr. Walter J. Kinderman.” MR. KINDERMAN: “Mr. President, I present Joseph Dennis Christian an award.
Vol.280.No. 6, December 1965
for
561
Medal Day Proceedings
Joseph Dennis Chriiian
“The history of industry is closely related to the art of transmitting and of controlling the application of power to perform man’s daily tasks. “The pictures of old factories are literally characterized by jungles of belts and pulleys. It was through these belts and pulleys that power from engines was transmitted to the machines that fabricated textiles or formed metal and other materials into the many articles of commerce. By today’s standards however, these means of mechanical power transmission were extremely cumbersome and inefficient. “The concept of individual gear transmission units changed all this and two important forms of these transmissions are the shaft-mounted transmission and the combined electric motor and gear reduction power unit invented by our candidate. “Along with the development of the power transmission art has come the development of the material transfer art. The moving of material automatically from one place to another to facilitate its processing to meet a human need is symbolic of the automation trend of modern industry. Included in this broad area is the concept of transporting and heating materials in hollow conveyers of the type invented by our candidate. “I present Joseph Dennis Christian, of San Francisco, California, as a candidate for The Certificate of Merit, ‘For his meritorious inventions and improvements in the ‘Holo-Flite’ Processor, motorized speed reducers, and particularly for his conception and continuing practical development of shaftmounted speed reducers.’ ” DR. LEPAGE: “Thank you, Mr. Kinderman. “Mr. Christian, by the same authority, I present to you this Certificate of Merit and the Report which accompanies it.” Presentation
of the Howard
N. Potts
Medal
(Founded in 1906)
This Medal is awarded for distinguished work in science or the arts ; important development of previous basic discoveries, inventions or products of superior excellence or utilizing important principles. To C. X. Cockerell,
Bassett, Southampton,
Hampshire,
England.
DR. LEPAGE : “The Chair recognizes Mr. Robert P. Haviland.”
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Journal of The Franklin Institute
Medal Day Proceedings
MR. HAVILAND: “Mr. President, I present in absentia, Christopher Sidney Cockerell for an award.
ChristopherSidneyCockerell “The development of transportation is a significant factor in this modern rapidly moving world. Several of the awards of The Franklin Institute recognize the importance of this field. However, it is a rare event for the Institute to be able to recognize the development of a completely new mode of transportation. “Early transportation techniques involved motion along the surface of earth, or motion along the surface of water. These vehicles, the travois, the wagon and the boat, formed the basis of all transport for many centuries, and their descendants form the core of many modern transportation systems. “In recent years, a new form of surface transportation has appeared, which is fundamentally different in principle from these early vehicles. A true aircraft, this new vehicle rides on a captive bubble of air : Because it moves in the air, the vehicle escapes the need for roads, rails and charted waterways. This vehicle is often called a Ground-Effect Machine in this country, but overseas it is usually known by the name Hovercraft. “As in all modern developments, many people have contributed to this project. However, it is clear that the basic concepts of a workable vehicle are due to one man, and it is equally clear that his vision and enterprise have been responsible for the acceptance of the concept and its reduction to practice. “I present, in absentia, Christopher Sidney Cockerell, of Bassett, Southampton, Hampshire, England, as a candidate for a Howard N. Potts Medal, ‘In consideration of his invention of the annular-jet ground-effect machine, which captures a low-pressure air cushion by a thin curtain of high-pressure air, his additional contributions in the field, and his efforts in securing acceptance of these developments, thereby opening for exploration a totally new form of transportation.’ ” DR. LEPAGE: “Thank you, Mr. Haviland. “In the absence of Mr. Cockerell, I call upon Mr. Terence Grady, Consul in Philadelphia for Her Britannic Majesty. “Mr. Grady, on behalf of The Franklin Institute of the State of Pennsylvania, I present to you, for Christopher S. Cockerell, this Howard N. Potts bledal and the Certificate and Report which accompany it. I know that you will see that our honored Medalist receives it with our sincere good wishes.”
Vol.
280,
No.
6,
December 196.5
563
Medal Day Proceedings Presentation
of John
Price
Wetherill
Medals
(Founded in 1926)
This Medal is awarded for discovery or invention in the physical sciences or for new and important combinations of principles or methods already known. To Wendell F. Moore, Technical Director, Bell Aerosystems Company, Buffalo, New York ; John H. Reynolds, Professor of Physics, University of California, Berkeley, California ; Frederick D. Ross&i, Dean of the College of Science, Associate Dean of the Graduate School, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana; Eugene M. Shoemaker, Chief, Branch of Astrogeology, United States Geological Survey, Flagsta$, Arizona; and Edward Ching-Te Chao, Arlington, Virginia; and Fred Noel Spiess, Professor of Oceanography and Director of the Marine Physical Laboratory, Scripps Institution of Oceanography of the University of California, San Diego ; San Diego, California. DR. LEPAGE: “The Chair recognizes Mr. Harry L. Decker.” MR. DECKER: “Mr.
President, I-present Wendell F. Moore for an award.
WendellF. Moore
“During the autumn of 1963, Mr. Harold Graham propelled himself through the air, from the deck of an off-shore amphibious vehicle, and landed on shore in front of the late President John F. Kennedy, saluting as he landed. This was the most memorable of over 800 successful flights of a controllable jet device, or rocket belt, which could be afixed to a man’s body, be wholly supported by him, and made him capable of complete maneuverability in the air without the use of wings or other lifting devices. “This achievement was the work of Wendell F. Moore, a rocket engineer, who is presently technical director for Bell Aerosystem’s rocket belt program. Mr. Moore began serious work on the project in 1953, and after eight years of research and development, he witnessed the first flight when his device transported its pilot 18 inches above the ground for a distance of 112 feet. Much of the early testing in the tethered flight category was performed by Wendell Moore until an injury suffered in a test of the device forced him to select another test pilot.
564
Journal of The Franklin Institute
Medal Day Proceedings “While the United States Army has already attested to the fact that the device has definite military applications, there is no question that further unlimited uses for the rocket belt will be found in everyday life, as its versatility becomes more widely recognized. Its application as a ready means of transport for a human being will be increasingly obvious as its effectiveness is improved by research and technological development. “I present Wendell F. Moore, of Youngstown, New York, as a candidate for a John Price Wetherill Medal, ‘For his conception, design and development of the Small Rocket Lift Device that gives man the capability of free flight and has demonstrated, therefore, important applications for military and commercial usage.’ ” DR. LEPAGE: “Thank you, Mr. Decker. “Mr. Moore, by the same authority, I present to you this John Price Wetherill Medal and the Certificate and Report which accompany it.
“The Chair recognizes Dr. George M. Karns.” DR. KARNS: “Mr. award.
President, I present John Hamilton
Reynolds
for an
John Hamilton Reynolds “John H. Reynolds has made an important contribution to the catalogue of cosmological facts by determining with new precision the length of the epoch during which earth elements were available in space but were not yet assembled into solid bodies. “This he accomplished with ingenious mass spectrometric instruments and techniques of his own devising, which were capable of detecting and measuring anomalies in the xenon isotope population of meteorites. “These xenon inclusions, amounting to fractions of billionths of a cubic centimeter of gas per gram of meteorite, constitute a record of the decay history of Iodine-129 in undifferentiated space, which began when the element was born, continued for about two hundred million years, and ended when the earth and meteorites were formed. “Professor Reynolds’ estimate of the length of this period in our solar system is much shorter than before thought probable. In consequence, it supplies a revised and more accurate framework within which cosmologists
Vol.
280,No. 6, December
1965
565
Medal Day Proceedings can consider the timed sequence and mechanism by which other sun systems are being born or are decaying to extinction. “I present John Hamilton Reynolds, of Berkeley, California, as a candidate for a John Price Wetherill Medal, ‘For his contributions to the precise mass spectroscopy of xenon and especially for his studies of xenon isotopes in meteorites, which contribute to the understanding of the nature and sequence of events before the earth was formed.’ ” DR. LEPAGE: “Thank you, Dr. Karns. “Professor Reynolds, by the same authority, I present to you this John Price Wetherill Medal and the Certificate and Report which accompany it.
“The Chair recognizes Dr. Percival Theel.” President, I present Frederick Dominic award. DR. THEEL: “Mr.
Rossini for an
FrederickDominicRoasini
“Dr. Rossini’s work over many years as scientist, analyst, lecturer, director, author, teacher and dean has demonstrated his broad experience and knowledge of the field of petroleum hydrocarbons. He is particularly eminent as an authority in such areas as the chemistry, the thermodynamic properties, the thermochemical equilibrium, and the classification of the properties of all hydrocarbons. “An additional recognition of his high stature in his chosen field is the number of special lectures that he has given at the universities of Harvard, and Notre Dame, the Carnegie Institute of Technology, and the National Bureau of Standards. Of especial significance is the fact that he was invited to give the Marburg Lecture at an annual meeting of the American Society for Testing and Materials. “Dr. Rossini has published a number of books and many scientific and technological papers on petroleum hydrocarbon chemistry, which have become the ,authoritative reference works for this field. Of outstanding importance has been his direction of the gathering and correlating of data for relating hydrocarbon structure and properties, so that it is now possible to predict the properties and thermodynamic functions of various hydrocarbons. “I present Frederick Dominic Rossini, of South Bend, Indiana, as a candidate for a John Price Wetherill Medal, ‘In consideration of his extensive
566
Journal
of The Franklin
Institute
Medal Day Proceedings and detailed contributions over a period of thirty-six years to the chemical equilibrium, thermodynamic, thermochemical and other properties of petroleum hydrocarbon chemistry and engineering; for his precision methods of analysis; for the assembly of fundamental data and for his extensive service as editor, teacher, and lecturer.’ ” DR. LEPAGE: “Thank you, Dr. Theel. “Dr. Rossini, by the same authority, I present to you this John Price Wetherill Medal and the Certificate and Report which accompany it.
“The Chair recognizes Mr. John H. Neher.” MR. NEHER: “Mr. President, I present Eugene M. Shoemaker and Edward C. T. Chao each for an award.
Eugene M. Shoemaker
Edward C. T. Chao
“Since the invention of the telescope and the subsequent discovery of the craters of the moon, scientifically-minded men have speculated on their origin. Were they, and also the craters of the earth, caused by volcanic activity or meteoritic impact? “One terrestrial crater in particular, the Barringer Meteorite Crater in Arizona, has long been the subject of such a controversy. After the hitherto unknown minerals coesite and, later, stishovite had been produced artifically in the laboratory by subjecting silica to extremely high pressure at elevated temperatures, Shoemaker and Chao reasoned that since minute diamonds which are produced from carbon under similar conditions had been found in the meteoritic fragments around the Barringer crater, these minerals in their natural state might be present there as well. And if this were so, the meteoritic origin of the crater would be more definitely established. Not only did they find them there, but they have found coesite in a number of other terrestrial craters formerly thought to be of volcanic origin. “I present Eugene Merle Shoemaker, of Flagstaff, Arizona, and Edward Ching-Te Chao, of Arlington, Virginia, each as a candidate for a John Price Wetherill Medal, ‘In consideration of their outstanding contributions in the field of geology, particularly in respect to their discovery of natural coesite in large terrestrial craters, as prima facie evidence of their formation by meteoritic impact.’ ”
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6, December
1965
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Medal
Day Proceedings
DR. LEPAGE: “Thank you, Mr. Neher. “Dr. Shoemaker, by the same authority, I present to you this John Price Wetherill Medal and the Certificate and Report which accompany it. Dr. Chao, it is my pleasure to present to you also this John Price Wetherill Medal and the Certificate and Report which accompany it.
“The Chair recognizes Mr. Clarence B. Campbell.” MR. CAMPBELL: “Mr. President, I present Fred Noel Spiess for an award.
Fred Noel Spieas
“Dr. Spiess, of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography’s Marine Physical Laboratory, initiated and directed the successful development of a unique Floating Instrument Platform, better known as FLIP, which permits more precise deep water, acoustic research than previously had been feasible. The project was based upon his comprehensive proposal to the United States Navy in 1960, and subsequent financial support by the Office of Naval Research. “FLIP, a 355-foot vehicle resembling a slender cylinder, is positioned horizontally as a conventional vessel for tow between work sites in the Pacific, and vertically, as an 85 per cent submerged spar buoy, for actual research operations. Rotation between horizontal and vertical attitudes is effected by appropriate sea-water ballast control. This spectacular performance has become routine even in high seas. “Performance of stern-mounted hydrophones is optimized in the vertical attitude by their consequent submergence at 300 feet into comparatively quiet water, their substantially stable support regardless of the sea-state, and by complete orientation control. FLIP permitted, for the first time in deep water, the establishment of simultaneous fixes on a distant sound and radar source with rigidly coupled hydrophone and radar receivers. By comparison of these observations, a reliable measure of sonar bearing accuracy can be obtained. “FLIP has demonstrated exceptional capability in underwater acoustic research, to the end that its basic principles were incorporated into a second generation oceanographic acoustic buoy recently activated by the Naval Ordnance Laboratory for Atlantic service. “I present Fred Noel Spiess, of La Jolla, California, as a candidate for a John Price Wetherill Medal, ‘In consideration of his long and distinguished
56%
Journalof
The Franklin Institute
Medal Day Proceedings record of individual accomplishment in the field of oceanography, but specititally for the skill with which he combined known with unconventional concepts in the successful development of the Navy’s pioneer Floating Instrument Platform for underwater acoustic research.’ ” DR. LEPAGE : “Thank you, Mr. Campbell. “Dr. Spiess, by the same authority, I present to you this John Price Wetherill Medal and the Certificate and Report which accompany it.” Presentation
of the Walton
Clark Medal
(Founded in 195’6)
This Medal is awarded to the “author of knowledge or improvement in apparatus, science or the art of gas manufacture or the production of illumination, or of heat, To Frederick J. Dent, Gas Council Solihull, Warwickshire, England.
the most notable advance in or in method concerning the distribution of utilization in or of power.
Midlands
Research
Station,
DR. LEPAGE : “The Chair recognizes Mr. John W. Carroll, who has kindly consented to act as Sponsor for Dr. Dent in place of Dr. William G. Schmidt, who is unable to be with us tonight on account of illness.” MR. CARROLL: “Mr. President, I present Frederick J. Dent for an award.
Frederick J. Dent
“AS a well-known scientist, heading an extensive research facility associated with the nationalized gas industry of Great Britain, Dr. Dent has evolved throughout the last four decades an aggressive technique for the solution of a number of pertinent problems inherent in an advancing gas technology. “Dr. Dent’s investigative interests have ranged constructively over a number of fields-from the Hydrogenation of Coal to Gaseous Hydrocarbonsthrough Pressure Gasification Engineering-to the Hydrogenation of Oils to Gaseous Hydrocarbons. Although other investigators have also contributed to the scientific and the technical development of gas production abroad, yet Dr. Dent’s boundless zeal and scientific acumen have undoubtedly spearheaded the pragmatic application of many recent researches in gas manufacture.
Vol. 280. No. 6, December 1965
569
“1 present Frederick J. Dent, of Leeds, Yorkshire, England, as a candidate for the Walton Clark Medal, ‘In consideration of his prolific contributions to the Gas Industry, and particularly for his contributions to solution of the fuel problem in England in the absence of natural gas.’ ” DR. LEPAGE: “Thank you, Mr. Carroll. “Dr. Dent, by the same authority, I present to you this Walton Clark Medal and the Certificate and Report which accompany it.” Presentation
ofthe
Frank P. Brown Medal
(Fvmded in 19.38)
This Medal is awarded to inventors for discoveries and inventions involving meritorious improvements in building and allied industries. To William J. Levitt, President, Levitt and Sons, Incorporated, Lake Success, New York. DR. LEPAGE: “The Chair recognizes Mr. Charles H. Topping.” MR. TOPPING: “Mr. President, I present, in absentia, William Jaird Levitt for an award.
William
J&d Levitt
“He and his firm have for twenty years led a revolution in house construction, a revolution which ended an acute housing shortage representing an accumulation of a nearly equal period of inactivity. His pioneering methods have been adopted in whole or in part by thousands of merchant builders who have increased the nation’s stock of houses by 50 per cent. The increase has changed the status of the nation’s population from predominantly renters to predominantly proud home ownem. It is estimated that more than a quarter million people live in the approximately sixty-five thousand Levitt houses built on Long Island, New York; in Bucks County, Pennsylvania; near Camden, New Jersey; in suburban Washington, D. C. ; at Cape Kennedy, Florida; in northern New Jersey; and near San Juan, Puerto Rico. Apartments have been built in France, and more buildings are under construction there. It has also been estimated that more Levitt models have been built by others than by Levitt and Sons. “I present, in absentia, William Jaird Levitt, of Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania, as a candidate for the Frank P. Brown Medal, ‘In consideration
Medal Day Proceedwags
of his early development of successful methods for large-volume, high-e5ciency on-site construction of houses, which established him as the pioneer of the large merchant builders, his continuing development of improved construction techniques, and his early provision of major community facilities in his very large developments.’ ” DR. LEPAQE: “Thank you, Mr. Topping.” “I cell upon Judge Mitchell H. Cohen, friend of Mr. Levitt. It gives me greet pleasure to hand you this Frank P. Brown Medal and the Certificate and Report which accompany it with the request that you expedite delivery of them to Mr. Levitt with our congratulations.”
Presentotioti
of the Francis
J. Clamer
Medal
(Fmmdei in 1943)
This Medal is awarded at least once in five years for meritorious achievement in the field of Metallurgy. To Alexander
L. Feild, Consultant,
Baltimore,
Maryland.
DR. LEPAGE: “The Chair recognizes Professor A. W. Grosvenor.” PROFESSORGROSVENOR:“Mr. President, I present, in absentia, Alexander L. Feild for P.IIaward.
AlexanderL. Feild “One of the outstanding metallurgical accomplishments of the first half of the present century has been the discovery and development of the stainless steels. Early in the period of commercial production it was found that the carbon content could seriously decrease the resistance to corrosion of these alloys. The commercial production of an alloy having a high chromium content, with a carbon content of only a few hundredths of one per cent imposes a paradox: To eliminate carbon from the molten alloy requires a strong oxidizing condition, but to prevent a costly waste of chromium, oxidation must be avoided. “Dr. Feild’s approach to this problem was based on his application of thermodynamics to the practical problems of the blast furnace and open hearth steelmaking over a period of many years. He evolved a two-stage process that accomplished both objectives in the discovery that a very high initial temperature promoted the selective oxidation of carbon, and that chromium could
Medal Day Proceedings
afterwards be reduced to metallic form by silicon, at a lower temperature. Finding that this combination process rapidly eroded the refractory lining of the electric furnace, he developed a satisfactory lining from chromite. His overall method of making stainless steel, known as the ‘Rustless Process,’ became the standard method. “I present, in absentia, Alexander L. Feild, of Baltimore, Maryland, as a candidate for the Francis J. Clamer Medal, ‘In recognition of his unique application of thermodynamics to the art of steelmaking and especially to the production of stainless steels in the basic electric furnace.’ ” DR. LEPAGE : “Thank you, Professor Grosvenor. “1 call upon Mr. Alexander L. Feild, Jr. Mr. Feild, as President of the Franklin Institute of the State of Pennsylvania, it gives me great pleasure to hand you this Francis J. Clamer Medal and the Certificate and Report which accompany it, with the request that you expedite delivery of them to your father with our sincere congratulations as well aa our regrets that he was unable to be present tonight. Presentation
ofthe
Stuart Ballantine Medals
(Founded in 1946)
This Medal is awarded in recognition of outstanding achievement in the fields of Communication and Reconnaissance which employ electromagnetic radiation To Homer Walter Dudky, Summit, New Jersey; and Alec Harley Reeves, Standard Telecommunication Laboratories Limited, British A$lliate of Intmational Telephone and Telegraph Corporation, Harlow, Essex, England. DR LEPAGE : “The Chair recognizes Mr. William H. Forster.” ME: FORSTER: “ Mr. President, I present Homer Walter Dudley award.
for an
Homer Walter Dudley “Homer Walter Dudley is one of the true innovators of our era. During the twenties and thirties, while working on the improvement of speech trsnsmission by wire, cable and radio systems, he recognized the possibility of transmitting speech through channels much narrower than its spectral bandwidth. “He reasoned that speech is produced by air emanating from the lungs,
Medal
Day Proceedings
chopped into a quasi-periodic sequence of pulses by the vocal chords, rtnd ‘articulated’ in transmission through the vocal tract by the shape and position of the tongue, lips, and other ‘articulators.’ If one assumes five significant articulators, each one moving with a maximum frequency of 20 cycles per second, it should be possible to transmit speech in a 100 cps band-one thirtieth of ordinary telephone circuits. “Based on thii insight, Dudley proceeded to invent a great variety of voice coders, or voccders, that make possible bandwidth compression of between 10 and 100 to 1. “Equally important, his pioneering work and ingenuity have been responsible for opening up an entire field of research in speech communications. “Today, made practical by the development of the transistor, the basic vocoder inventions of Homer Dudley are being used by the United States Government around the world and commercial application is within sight. “I present Homer Walter Dudley, of Summit, New Jersey, as a candidate for the Stuart Ballantine Medal, ‘For his fundamental contributions to the understanding of human speech and hearing, and specifically for his invention of the Vocoder, which opened the door to encoding for the purposes of speech bandwidth compression and of encryption in electrical communications, and also for his stimulation of research in speech communications, speech perception, phonology and linguistics.’ ” DR. LEPAGE: “Thank you, Mr. Forster. “Mr. Dudley, by the same authority, I present to you this Stuart Ballantine Medal and the Certificate and Report which accompany it. “The Chair recognizes Mr. C. Raymond Kraus.” MR. Khans : “Mr. President, I present Alec Harley Reeves for an award.
“As the technology of our civilization becomes more sophisticated, the demands for the transmission of information continue to increase at sstonishing rates. These demands include new and changing requirements for transmission with regard to quantity, speed and distance. We are approaching a billion telephone conversations daily and, at the 8arne time, insist upon the transmission and reception of discrete signals to and from our space vehicles millions of miles awey.
Medal Day Proceedings
“Pulse code modulation, a method for encoding analogue information in digitalized form, was invented in 1938 by Alec Harley Reeves as a culmination of a series of efforts to cwercome the denigrating effect of distance (largely in the form of noise) on voice signals. There were attempts made to telegraph speech and music one hundred yeem earlier. Though invented several decades ago, pulse code modulation is now only coming into widespread use. It required the pulse technology of the radar systems in the early 1940’s, the computer technology of the early 1950’s and the semi-conductor components of the late 1950’s to give it full impetus. The superior transmission properties of PCM in the presence of noise, as well as other advantages which stem from its digital form, have opened up new horizons in the transmission of information. “I present Alec Harley Reeves, of Harlow, Essex, England, ‘For the invention of pulse code modulation, a concept which established a unique means for the transmission of voice by digital techniques and for the first time eliminated progressive deterioration of speech signals caused by noise and distortion in the successive stages of long-distance transmission.’ ” DR. LEPAGE: “Thank you, Mr. Kraus. “Mr. Reeves, by the same authority, I present to you this Stuart Ballantine Medal and the Certificate and Report which accompany it.” Presentation
of
The Franklin
Medal
(Fmmded in 1914)
This Medal is awarded annually to those workers in physical science or technology, without regard to country, whose efforts, in the opinion of the Institute, acting through its Committee on Science and the Arts, have done most to advance a knowledge of physical science or its applications. To Frederick S&z, President, National Academy of Sciences, Washington, D. C. DR. LEPACE : “The Chair recognizes Mr. William E. Bradley.” MR. BRADLEY: “Mr. President, I present Frederick S&s for an award.
“One of the most valuable accomplishments of our century has been the discovery of the 1aW8 and mechanisms governing the structure and behavior of solid materials. This new understanding of the solid state has already reiw-
MedalDay Proceedings lutioniaed the electronics industry and has made possible new approaches and important practical results in metallurgy, to mention only the most outstmding short-term consequences. “For more than three decades Dr. Seitz has occupied a central position in the field of solid state physics. His book, ‘Modern Theory of Solids’, published in 1940, was the first comprehensive exposition of the basis of the subject, and in the years since then he has steadily extended the frontiers of the field and taught a generation of physicists and engineers to apply it and extend it further. “He has conducted research and analysis in many parts of the subject. He explained from first principles the physical properties of the alkali metals; he developed a unified theory of crystallographic groups; he did much original work ,applying the new theory to luminescent materials and semiconductors; and he published important studies of the effects of various kinds of crystal defects on the properties of solid materials. “Dr. Seita received his undergraduate degree from Stanford University and his doctorate from Princeton University in 1934. After teaching at the University of Pennsylvania and Carnegie Institute of Technology, he was for many years associated with the University of Illinois, becoming head of the Department of Physics in 1957. “In addition to his productive career as a research scientist, teacher and writer, he has served on many scientific advisory bodies for the United States Government ; he was Science Advisor to the North Atlantic Treaty Organiaation in 1960, he is a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee of the President of the United States, and at present, he is President of the National Academy of Sciences. “I present Frederick Seitz, of Urbane, Illinois, as a candidate for The Franklin Medal, ‘For his contributions to the understanding of the structure and properties of solid materials, for his extensive and clear exposition of the new theory of the solid state and its applications, and for his service as a leader of science in national and international a&ifs.’ ” DR. LEPACE : “Thank you, Mr. Bradley. “Dr. S&a, as President of The Franklin Institute of the State of Pennsylvania, it is a great honor to me and also a great personal pleasure to present to you this highest award of The Franklin Institute-The Franklin Medal for the year 1965 and the Certificate and Report which rtccompany it, with my warm congratulations, and those of the Board of Managers, the Committee on Science and the Arts, and all the members of the Institute. DR. LEPAGE: “Now, I call upon our distinguished Franklin Medalist for 1965, Dr. Frederick &its, who will speak on ‘Benjamin Franklin and Twentieth Century Science.’ ” Address
by Frederick Seitz
(Seepage@3 of thti Journal fm the fat of Dr. Seilr’s addwa.) After Dr. S&z delivered his talk, Dr. LePage conveyed to him the thanks of the Institute and declared the meeting adjourned.