Friday, 20 February 1987 Washington, DC
1.
THE SCIENTIFIC FREEDOM AND RESPONSIBILITY AWARD
of the American Association for the Advancement of Science was presented
this week to three champions of evolution. Francisco J. Ayala, a
geneticist at the University of California at Davis, has
contributed to the documentation of evolution at the level of the
gene, and has been an effective force in countering the challenge
of the creationists; Norman D. Newell, a paleontologist at the
American Museum of Natural History in New York, waged an early
and persistent campaign to alert scientists to the threat of
creationism to academic freedom and scientific education; Stanley
L. Weinberg, a retired high school biology teacher, organized the
Committees of Correspondence, which provide local grass-roots
opposition to creationist attempts to corrupt the teaching of
science. Nevertheless, the Philistines have made serious
inroads. The Louisiana "equal time" law is currently before the
Supreme Court (WN 12 Dec 86, and 22 Aug 86).
2
. ALVIN W. TRIVELPIECE WILL BECOME EXECUTIVE OFFICER OF AAAS,
replacing William D. Carey who is retiring. This has been an
open secret in Washington, where most secrets are open, for more
than half-a-year. The formal announcement had to await the
Administration's decision on the Supercollider. As Director of
the Office of Energy Research of the DoE, it was Trivelpiece who
first had to sell Secretary of Energy Herrington on the project
and then personally sell it to President Reagan. A plasma
physicist, Trivelpiece was professor of physics at Maryland
before he joined the Division of Controlled Thermonuclear
Research of the AEC in '76. After an interlude in private
industry he became Director of Energy Research in 1981.
3. THE "BROAD" INTERPRETATION OF THE ABM TREATY,
or as Defense
Secretary Weinberger insists on calling it "the legally-correct
interpretation," is reportedly needed in a hurry by DoD to meet
a scheduled April test of the "Delta 181" rocket carrying a
"kinetic kill" interceptor stage. They want to go after a live
Minuteman or Titan booster, which would be barred under the ABM
treaty unless "new physical principles" are involved. This may
seem far-fetched since "kinetic energy weapons" date back to the
first of our simian ancestors who learned to throw a rock. What
DoD will presumably claim, however, is that the use of infra-red
guidance rather than radar qualifies it as exotic enough.
4. THE DIRECTORATE FOR MATHEMATICAL AND PHYSICAL SCIENCES AT NSF
is experiencing a number of defections by Division Directors.
This is at least partly the result of unhappiness at the
priorities of Eric Bloch. Marcel Bardon, who headed the Physics
Division, was the first to go (WN 22 Aug 86). His replacement,
Harvey Willard leaves this summer, as does John Polking, Director
of Mathematical Sciences. Lew Nosanow, Director of Materials
Research, departs for UC Irvine on 28 Feb, to be Research VP.
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