AAAS COMMITTEE SYMPOSIA
Norman Bauer Memorial Symposium on the

Hazards of Todine-131 Fallout in Utah (27 Dec.)
Arranged by E. W. Pfeiffer (University of Montana).

Studies now being conducted in Utah and elsewhere by
the U.S. Public Health Service, the University of California, and other agencies are contributing significantly to the
understanding of certain biomedical effects of radioactive
fallout. It is the purpose of this symposium to bring to the
scientific community and the lay public results of studies
on the biomedical effects of acute and chronic exposure to
radionuclides emanating from nuclear explosions and other
sources of radiation.
The need for such studies was first brought to public
attention in Utah in 1957 by the late Norman Bauer, Professor of Chemistry, Utah State University. This symposium

is held in honor of the memory of Bauer and will emphasize
the responsibility of such independent scientists to increase
public understanding by providing factual information on
these and other hazards which result from our advanced
scientific technology.

Lytt I. Gardner, Barry Commoner, Arthur R. Tamplin,
Edward Weiss, Marvin L. Rallison, Robert A. Conrad,
Oliver Johnson, Martin Sonnenberg, Herman T. Blumenthal,

in 1946 when they spread dry-ice on a cold box cloud
and observed snow falling to the bottom will remain memorable in the annals of progress.
The great possibilities of weather modification almost
immediately occurred to people working in arid lands.
Companies offering rain for sale mushroomed. It seems
inevitable to us now that a charlatan or two would be involved with anything that appealed to the popular fancy

so well and offered opportunities for financial gain. The
publicity of these few mixed with the reliable information
from the preponderance of the industry resulted in public

concepts based on confusion and even misinformation. Such

a state of public knowledge has resulted in proposed state
laws which prohibited cloud seeding because it caused
droughts on the one hand and repetition because it caused
floods on the other hand.

It is the purpose of the symposium on “Weather Modification in Arid Lands” to acquaint scientists in other fields and
through them the general public with a true picture of

the facts and state of development of the science of weather modification as applied to arid lands.

Joel E. Fletcher, Vincent J. Schaefer, Roscoe R. Braham,
Jr., Eugene L. Peck, Lyle D. Calvin, Charles F. Cooper,
Emery N. Castle, J. B. Stevens, Robert B. Ellert, Archie M.
Kahan, and Werner A. Baum.

and Yook C. Ng.

Secrecy, Privacy, and Public Information (28-29 Dec.)
Arranged by Margaret Mead (American Museum of

Natural History).

The first two sessions will focus on some of the complex
relationships exemplified by the following questions: Is
secrecy in any guise compatible with the education of students and with the practice and function of science in our
society? What legal and ethical problems arise, and what

actions should be considered to safeguard the individual’s

rights of privacy in a democracy, particularly when human

beings are the subjects of research?

The third session will deal with the scientist’s responsibility to bring scientific information relevant to social fields
to the attention of the public. Case histories of severe air
and water pollution in two Americancities will be presented
as illustrations of the current environmental crisis, and of

interaction between scientists’ information groups and the
local community.

Detlev W. Bronk, Philip E. Mosley, Robert L. Sprouil,
Margaret Mead, Oscar Ruebhausen, Peter Rossi, Rene
Dubos, Barry Commoner, David Wilson, George Berg, and
C. C. Gordon.

Weather Modification in Arid Lands (30 Dec.)
Arranged by Joel E. Fletcher (Utah State University,

Logan).

Man has dreamed of controlling his environment for
hundreds of years, Great strides have been made through
the creation of air conditioning, heating, and housing but

it remained for Vincent J. Shaefer and his associates to

Prove that man could influence the weather. That July day
& DECEMBER 1967

i

AAAS GENERAL SYMPOSIA
Michael Faraday—-Natural Philosopher (26, 29 Dec.)
Arranged by Raymond

J.

Seeger (National

Science

Foundation).
August 25, 1967, marked the 100th anniversary of the

death of Michael Faraday. Despite his lack of formal education, this amazing man made many significant contributions to the intellectual history of mankind in the 19th

century. The present symposium regards him from the

vantage points of different professions today: a historian of
science,

a physical

chemist,

a theoretical

physicist,

an

engineer, and a teacher of physics. In addition, the symposium will have a lecture demonstration, utilizing some of the

original Faraday equipment, by Ronald King of the Royal
Institution of London, where Faraday devoted his life to
understanding physical phenomena. Faraday materials are
being arranged for a public exhibition in the Abbey Rocke-

feller Hall of Rockefeller University.

William W. Havens, Jr., L. Pearce Williams, Ralph E.
Gibson, Richard M. Bozorth, Nathaniel Frank, Ernest
Weber, Raymond J. Seeger, and Ronald King.

Is Defense against Ballistic Missiles Possible?
(26-27 Dec.)
Arranged by Leonard S. Rodberg (University of Maryland).

The nature and potential effectiveness of currently proposed antiballistic missile systems will be discussed.
The desirability of a defense against ballistic missiles will
be discussed. Its impact on strategic stability and the nuclear
arms race, upon U.S. foreign relations, and upon future

world security will be analyzed.

Richard L. Garwin, Hans A. Bethe, Daniel Fink, Freeman
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