219##1978
A monthly publication forCSIRO staff January 1978 119
Bushfires in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales, withll tragieJoss:qflife, have brought home to most people just how serious the situation is this summer.. Coreseareh is therefore highlighting some of CSIRO's research into the predictiIjg of bushfire potential and frequency, and what to do if a fire threaten~you or yoUI' home.
In the Canberra Division of with this research program, Mr Victoria and Australia Post which Forest Research for example, Alah Phi! Chcney, has found that the gives some serious: advice .·on McArthur has designed a pocket coastal strip from Bairnsdale staying alive if a· bushfire should sized cardboard meter which is in Victoria to Newcastle in threaten your home. the basis for most bushfire warn NSW is the most hazardous Entitled 'InCase of Firc',,:the ings on press, radio and tele area for fires in Australia. The brochure provides information vision in Australia. zone includes the area west of which may be . of interest to The meter, which is simple, Sydney to the Blue Mountains. CSIRO",:staff and friends and easy to use and can accurately 'The most devastating fires in neighbours. show how quickly a fire will terms of monetary damage and On a day of total fire ban..• spread, is soon to be used by lives lost have been the high On .' a.:day of total fire ban; or Mediterranean countries. intensIty forest fires which have A special panel has recommen when hush or grass fires are burnt into the suburban fringe burning in your district... ded the testing of the metcr to a Drought conditions have increased the risk of bushfires. developments of the major cities,' · Check that rubbish and other United. Nation's FAO/UNESCO he said. meeting on forest fires in that burnables including leaves, twigs region. 'We expect that the number ot and fallen branches have been The meter works on a series of fire disasters in urban/forest areas cleared from around the house. "'pJYQ,~~,Q_ _~ar
The CSlRO Staff DeVelopment Group is planning a regular journal this year to keep all staff in touch with its programs.
Thesc include a wide ranging or other leading personality. technical and trade staff deve The first issue will appear April/ lopment program, senior and May but after that it should be middle managemcnt conferences, produced eacb March, July and counselling and selection inter November. viewing, group dynamics scmi~ The publications committee in lUlrs, public speaking, letter and cludes the head of the Group, report writing and clerical Don Gwynnc, his offsider lan induction Jackson. editor of the journal, While the title of the journal bas Ron Murnain, Development not yct becn officially conferred, Group Staff Section, Dorothy ·Siro.stad' i.s the current favourite, Braxton, CCU, and Heather KiJtl, the last letters standing for CILES. Staff Training and Development. The Regional Committees con~ No prizcs will be awarded to uuering Technical and Trade Staff those who suggest alternatives for Developmcnt also puolish news· the 'a'. letters on their activities. The The journal will include articlcs journal is not intended to diminish and features on staff development, the purpose of these m:wslctters. reports on programs and appro 'Sirostad' will include material priate news from round the ridges. from the regions and provide a Each issue will feature a lead co-ordinating media for all staff article by an outsidc consultant developmcnt activities. Study Awards NML
Application forms and infor~ Most of the staff of the National mation sheets for the 1978 Me:lsurcment Laboratory have The Regional Administrative Office, Perth has begun accounts payable activities, Previously the RAO Mel now moved to their new address bourne paid all accounts in WA. The new system will allow for faster processing and payment of claims. CSI R0 Study Awards are now available. The applications at Bradficld Road, LindficlJ, NSW, Or Norman Adams (right) of the Division of Animal Health receives the first check produced in Western 1'0 Box 218, Lindficld, NSW Australia from Tlm Dean, Head Office. On the left is John Brophy, Regional Administrative Officer, and must reach Head Office on or before 1 March. 2070. The telephone number is seated Is Ken Turner from the RAO Brisbane. 4676211 STD 02.
219-1978 Obituaries Fellowship Annual Pye Dinner award Mr Eric West Ur Robcrt Adler of the Division The rye Field Environment of Mathematics and Statistics in F.e. The founder of the Division of Labomtory of the Division of Sydney is one of seven Australian Irrigation Itescarch, Mr Eric West, Environmental Mecha.nics at Can has died at Griffith at the age of scientists awarded a Queen Eliza berra held its 1977 Dinner late 81. lIe was Officer-ill-Charge of beth 11 Fellowship. The fellowships, which arc open last year. The function is an the Division for 34 years. annual event in honour of Mr If.C. to young Australian or British A pioneer in his field of agri Pyc the NSW grazier whose gifts scientists of exceptional promise l cultural technology, Mr West en to eSI HO enabled, among other and proven ability for original re couraged and developed a more things, the building of the Labora search, provide for two years of scientific approach to the prob full-time research in the physical tory. Unfortunately, Mr and Mrs lems in this field. For example, Pye were unable to attend the he advocated banding of fertili and biological sciences at an ye~1.t· Australian university or approved dinner this but the show still sers in the soil for orchard and went on, field crops, and only recently research institution. Or Adlcf will carry out investi~ (n addition to the staff of the has this oecome common practice. gations into probability and sto Division, the guests included three Hc not only had a brilliant career chastic processes at the University members of the Executive, Dr in agricultural technology and of New South Wales. N.K. 13oardman, Dr A.E. Pierce, applied science, but he was and Or H.W. Warner, and their highly regarded oy those who wives; Mr. ll.E.. Butler, retired Now what did Dr John Philip,Chief of the Division of Environmental worked with him and under his O-i-C, Canberra Labs, Division of Mechanics -(standing) say to Dr I 219-1978 jections as those raised by Or Mills. Until recently the amount of Si,ofo,um technical assistance available [n CSLRO probably allowed some sort of cspring cleaning' to be I was also delighted that Fred carried out, perhaps once a year, Meal money Lehany and his colleagues set bur with the current drastic re about the exercise in· such a duction in the number of TA Recently I was requI'red to travel thoroughly professional way, positions even this is likely to be The self-appointed critics within neglected. Many of us arc al to Sydncy all urgent CSIRO the NML who do not like the ready the highest plliu washers-up business, at one hour's notice. works would be very upset if a in the business and are disinclined Money was provided from pctty sculptor walked into thdr labora. to add laboratory cleaning to our cash for incidental expensesi I tory and told them that their rc list of chores. was met at the airport so that my search work was of a poor stan I have discussed this problem expenses amounted to a taxi fare tlard. They would be quite CIl with colleagues.. anu many feel, to Sydney airport and my lunch titled to ask the sculptor what as I do, that a return to a system there, which I managed to take his qualifications were that en whereby cleaning is done by at 3 pm. The receipts for both allied him to make such a value and the remaining money were judgment. trained staff who arc employees of CSIRO is long overdue. returned to petty cash the next May not the sculptor ask the Such cleaning staff would be day. scientist what his <]ualifications capable of thoroughly cleaning I have now been asked to return arc that permit him to make such all laboratories at suitable inter the amount spent on my lunch a disparaging aesthetic judgment since all my travelling fell within about a work of art? vals by arrangement Wilh, and under the supervision of, the normal working hours. If such exercises arc left to rank research staff involveu. (n I realise that undcr CSIRO's amateurs the results arc usually addition, the routine day-to-day Terms and Contlitions of Em~ appalling kitsch. The suggcstcd cleaning would be more capably ployment I am required to travel logos for CSIRO printed in Co Vern Dawson (right) presents Jack Cavanagh with the 'Vern Urn', a carried ouf. inter-State when necessary ano' research this year indicate what perpetual golf trophy that Vern organised and donated. The third D.j. Cosgrove I accept those Terms, but I wish happens when amateurs attempt annual winner, Jack had a round of 70, two over par. Chairman, to voice my protcst at the regula- to do a professional designer's Safety Committee, tion which states that meal allow- job! 'Tender therefore unto Division of Plant Industry, ances are not paid, when travelling Caesar the things that are Caesar's; Canberra Farewell at LUH ~ ... inter~State on CSIRO business, and unto God the things that are Juring normal working hours. God's'. Vern Dawson, the man who has On the northern Australian In similar circumstances to those .B. Davenport J spent much of his career organi~ survey trips the rufe was that all described above, an officer may Division of Food Research Portrait sing the logistics for CSIRO vehicles must return to camp by find him or herself under some North Ryde survey tcams going off to remote hardship or discomfort and I fccl nightfall. If they didn'r rhe A simple ceremony was held at strongly that the least CSJRO can areas of Australia and Papun. New party was assumed lost and CILES, East Melbourne, in Decem Guinea, has retired after 25 years searchers were scn t out. do is to allow provision for a ber to mark the hanging of a mcal allowance at such times. Cleaning with the Organization. photographic portrait of the late He joined the Division of Land Vem didn't know that this rulc Inquiries have shown that my Miss Betty Doubleday, former did not apply in PNG. Sudden experience is not an isolated one, Use Research as Supply and contracts Chief Librarian of CS1 RO. heavy rains often caused flooding indeed it is mild compared to Transport Officer for the North The ceremony was attended by which madc it impossible to re some. 1 feci it is time CSIRO In the December issue of ern Australian Survey tcams. It a number of her former friends turn by evening. had a closer look at this problem. 'Chemistry in Australil.1' there is was up to V crn to arrange for and colleagues now retired, as David M arshall an obituary notice of Dr John A. gear, supplies, food, transport and well as present staff. On his first day in the field Head Office Mills, a former CSIRO scientist. necessary back-up. there was just such a rain and hc Included among the former were Dr Mills died of cancer of the Later he transferred to. the tried to get back through the Jeannette Dunstone, Stella Gil lung !lnd alongside his obituary Papua New Guinea Resource mud and water. bert, Ann Forbes, Maude Bridges, notice is printed an article 'Cancer Survey team and had to learn a The 'funnel' Marjorie Simpson, Gwen Pike and in the Chemical Laboratory' whole new bag of tricks, includ~ About 9 pm. his friends realised Sir Robert Price. I feel I must comment all the which he wrote a short time before ing how to walk rather than drive. what might have happened and Peter Judge, Peter Dawe, Jean nature and substance of a brief his death. Onc of the stories told about went to 1001< for him. They Conochie. Clyde Garrow and Sir article 'NML "funnel" • is not In this article he discusses the Vern concerns his first survey in found him-up a trec, surrounded Robert Price spoke of Betty's appreciated (Corcscarch No. 217). hazards of droplet-borne infection PNG. by flood water. contribution to CSIRO and to the The article refers to the works and dangerous dusts. The latter Australian Library and informa commissioned by eSI RO for the are well suited to absorb a wide tion community. A mcssllgc from Bradfield Park Laboratory from range of chemicals from the Sir Frcdcrick White was also read leading young Australian laboratory atmosphere and thus to to the gathering. .... and at HAD sculptors. have their toxic properries The writer of the article ob enhanced. Over 100 well-wishers and fric~ds The girls that trained under viously does not know the meaning Or Mills was very critical of the gathered to say farewell to Molly Molly's experienced eye are in of the phrase 'objcts d'art'. It is methods lIsed to clean labora~ Misdirected Aiken when she retired from the debted to her for the opportunity not sufficient to literally trans tories, and recalls that every Staff at the Cooper Laboratory Melbourne Regional Administra to learn the 'tricks of the tradc·. late French and large sculptures laboratory he ever worked in was have been su ffering from stiff tive Office in November, To wish Molly a happy retire are certainly not 'objcts d'net'. cJeaned by sweeping and dusting necks since the recent completion Molly joined CSIRO in 1964 ment and to thank her for her CSIRO, on commissioning these rather than by vacuum-cleaning. of the World Paracllllting Champ and took over the task of Typist serviccs and friendship, her col works, sought the help of the In reccnt years there seems to ionships. in-Charge of the Typing Section leagues presented her with a Public Works Committee of the have been a policy to contract out The Laboratory scored a number at 314 Albert Street. silver tray and six silver goblets. Visual Arts Board ofthe Australian the cleaning of CSIRO buildings of embarrassed competitors Witll Council. I was a member of the to operators whose methods are onc in the meteorological station Board at that time and know the probably adequate for offices, but paddock, three in the lucerne cafe with which the exercise was when used in laboratories arc experiment and four across the Soil scientist visits Australia carried out. certainly open to the same ob- driveway of the O-i~C's residence. Professor Miroslav Kutilek, from parallel onc of the Division's re the Soil Scicm::e Laboratory, De search programs, concern soil partment of Irrigation and Drain water, particularly solid-liquid Science at work age, Czech Technical University, interface relationships and the Praguc, Czechoslovakia, has been flow of water in swelling and visiting the Division of Environ cracking soils. mental Mechanics, Canberra, for six weeks undcr the DiVision's Pye Fellowship scheme. Professor Kutilck is onc of the 'Coresearch' most eminent active East Euro 'Coresearch' is produced pean soil physicists. His major by the Central Communica· research intcrC:iLS, which closcly tion Unit for tSIRO staff. It is also circulated to some people outside the Organ· ization who have a pro fessional interest in CSIRO activities. Members are invited to con tribute or send suggestions for articles. The deadline for material is normally the first day of the month pre ceding publication. Material and queries should be sent to the Editor, Box 225, Dickson, A.C.T. 2602, Te!. 48 4476 Editor: Dorothy Braxton Slrosam, the bionic ram, who managed to match the pace of Australia's fastest artlf.icial inseminator for six Assistant Editor: Barbara days before giving up ewes altogether. He has since been put down because of Improper advances to a Hflrtley champion stud ram. Professor Kutilek 219-1978 220##1978 A monthly publication for CSIRO staff February/March/April 110 Former staff for UN posts Two former CSIRO staff have been appointed to senior positions with the United Nations. Professor Ralph Slatyer, for merly a senior scientist at the Division of Land lJse Research and presently of the Institute of Advanced Studies at ANU, will take up the position as Australia's ambassador to UNESCO after the middle of the year. Mr Guy Gresford, senior advisor on science, technology and en vironment to the Department of Foreign Affairs, has been appoin ted deputy secretary-general of the UN Conference on Science and" Technology Development ftom 3 April. Mr Gresfotd had been seconded from Head Office to the Department since 1973. He joined CSIRO in 1942 and was Secretary of the Organization from 1959 to 1966. He was then appointed Director of Science and Technology in the United Nations' Department of Economic and Social Affairs and headed the secretariat of the Advisory Com mittee on the Application of Science and Technology. Staff changes Workj;begins;ohiirhportantnew CSIRO at Longpocket laboratories laboratory>atuiGeelong Substantial changes have taken place among senior staff at the Long Pocket Laboratories at InM The Prime Minister, Mr Fraser, sat at the controls of a front-end loader and took a large scoop of earth out of dooroopilly in Brisbane. the ground in an area at Geelong where the old rifle range was once located. With this mechanical method, The Officer-in-eharge (Ento mology), Or R.H. Wharton, has the Prime Minister 'turned the first sod' and marked the start of site work for what will be CSIRO's biggest been appointed Officer-in-Charge building project yet-the Australian National Animal Health Laboratory (ANAHL). of the Centre for Animal Re search and Development, Bogor, Indonesia, for a period of three ment was taking a major step to The LaboratoryI which will be The construction of ANAHL markets would be close to $50 years. minimise such losses. administered and operated on should be complete in about six million a month'. The Officer-in-Charge (Animal 'Unfortunately, the risks of such behalf of the Commonwealth years. It will then take a further Mr Fraser said that in building Health), Mr Peter Dude, has diseases entering the country are Government by CSIRO is designed year for testing and com the Geelong facility the Govern- retired. increasing with greater inter to provide a valuable insurance missioning. Dr Wharton will transfer to national movement of people, against the devastating effects ANAHLis expected to cost Indonesia in June when Mr A.F. livestock and livestock products,' that the accidental introduction about $83 million and the Govern Curnett-Smith, who has been he said. of an exotic livestock disease, ment's decision to spend that Officer-in-Charge of P4 for the such as foot and mouth disease, much money on the project was, 'In recent years, three exotic past two years, returns to Aust could have on Australia's anhnal aCt:ording to Mr Fraser, 'not diseases affecting horses have ralia. industries. taken lightly'. been detected in Australia. The position of Chairman, Com Following Government approval 'In providing funds, we were 'llmcrgency action was required mittee of Management, alternates for the project in 1974, a large conscious ofseveral major factors', to prevent devastation of the every two years between Animal team, including engineers, archi~ he said, speaking at a function poultry industry by fowl plague Health and Entomology. Under tccts and scientists from the held to mark the occasion. and a strain of bluetongue was the new arrangements this posi Department of Construction and 'Firstly, the dependence Aust discovered in northern Australia'. tion will be held hy Dr D.F. CSI RO, have been engaged in a ralia has on primary industries The Minister for Science, Senator Mahoney who has been appoin period of intensive research and for almost half of our export Webster, was also a speaker at ted Officer-in-Charge (Animal design. income; secondly, the vulnerable the function. The laboratory, he Health). The sight of the Prime Minis· position of' livestock industries said, was designed to provide a Dr J. Nolan is Acting Offieer ter digging the front-end loader from the introduction of exotic facility for the diagnosis of dis in-Gharge (Entomology) until Dr into the soil was therefore par diseases to Australia. eases that managed to penetrate K.L.S. I-larley returns from over ticularly gratifying to the mem Australian quarantine harriers, to seas in May. bers of' the ANAH.L team, and to 'If II disease such as foot and assist in their control and eventual Another change involves Mr senior officers of the Depart mouth were to become established eradication and, most importantly, Stan Came, Divisional Adminis ment of Primary Industry who in Australia, apart from the direct to allow research into these dis trative Officer, who has been have been closely associated with costs of eradication measures, the eases to be carded out in com seconded to the Centre for Re the project. loss in export trade to overseas plete safety. search and Development, Bogor. This is the way it works-the Minister for Science, Senator Happiness is a successful joint venture-Brian Q'Nail! Jock Buselli (lefd shows Or John Nixon, President of J.J. Webster (right) gets a lesson in o~a detection with !Ieftl and Jock Buselli (right) sha'e a proud moment with AMI RA, the on-site computer print-out from the Sirotem from Brian O'Noill, Jock Buselli and the Chief of the Chairman of CSIRO, Mr Victor Burgmann and the demonstration. Mineral Physics, Dr Ken McCracken. Managing Director of GeoBx, Mr Ed Burnside. Ore detector handed over Management changes announced to Australian industry Members and Associate Members of the Executive have been given an increased tange of individual responsibilities under The Sydney team of scientists who developed Sirotem, an instl'Ument which will detect hidden new interim management arrangements announced last month. ore buried beneath the surface of the earth, last month saw the culmination of many months These changes follow a review by the Executive over the last of hard work when they were present at a function to watch the first commercially manu few months of its methods of working. factured model of the instl'Ument handed over to industry. The men were Dr Ken MeCracken, Chief of the Division of Mineral Physics, and his colleagues, Commenting on the new arrangements, the Chairman, Mr Victor Dr Jock Buselli and Mr Brian O'Neill. Burgmann, said that although the Executive could not predict what decisions the Government might make on the future management structure of the Organization, the changes should prove a helpful step The licence to manufacture Siro Russian-made TEM instruments compact in size-it fits into two towards longer-term propQsals as well as having merit in their own tern was awarded to the South have been used in Australia but suitcases-and light in wcight tigbt. Australian companyI Geoex Ply thc results were unsatisfactory be it weighs only 16kg. This makes The.arrangements,inc1udc,: Ltd which has already had cause unlike other countries, it ideal for using in outback areas. · The allocation of- additional responsibilities to Members and Assoc models working in the field in a Austral1a is covered with salty The portable unit .is simple to iate Members of the Executive towards those Divisions with which number of places in Australia. soils. operate, produces a printout on they already have It special relationship. The first commercial model has These soils, known as conductive the site from its microprocessor, · The work of the Program Committee_ and the interim Executive been bought by BHP for use in overburdens, mask the detection and is far more sensitive than meetings will now be handled by two types of Executive meetings base metal exploration in Aust of ore bodies and it seemed for a other methods of ore detection. the Executive Committee (Operations), chaired by Mr Burgmann, ralia. The cost of ea.ch instrUM time that TEM would not work Geoex is already negotiating and the Executive Committee (Policy Development), chaired by ment is $19 000. usefully in this country. other sales of Sirotem in Australia Or A.E. Pierce. The ceremony, held at the Aust The scientists at Mineral Physics, and is hopeful that overseas mining · Each full-time Member .and Associate Member of the Executive has ralian Mineral Foundation in however, decided that perhaps the companies will also be in the been allocated a senior personal assistant to help with the additional Adelaide, was jointly hosted by peculiar Australian difficulties purchasing queue. responsibilities., These positions have been filled by the five assistant CSIRQ and Geoex, and was at~ could be overcome and set to secretaries of the Science Branch. They will continue to retain their tended by representatives of the work to find a way. other duties as well. mining industry from many parts The instrument detects the ore Possum study The appointments are: of the country, by State and bodies by analysing decaying Executive SPA Federal politicians, and guests eddy currents within the ore. Or H.W. Wornet Or J.B. Alien from 5 tate and Federal Govern The unit drives an electric cur"' Dr A.E. Pierce Mr A.W. Charles ment departments and, authori rent through a large transmitter Dr N .K. Boardman Mr K_ Avent ties, and from universities. loop of wire (up to 100 metres Or J .P. Wild Mr H.R. Webh The Ministcr for Science, Senator across) which is laid out on the Or K.A. Ferguson Dr ].R. Vates J.J. Wch"er. formally handed the ground. When tht;: current is The responsibilities of Mr Peter Butler and Mr Paul Grant remain instrument over to the BHP re passed through the loop it creates uncha.ngcd. presentative, Mr R.].Burgc, saying a magnetic field that extends into At the same time as these arrangements took effect it was announced it was 'the best tool of its kind in the ground below. that Mr Burgmann and Dr Boardman had agreed to their terms of the world...and a valuable aid for When the current is switched appointment to the Executive being extended to 24 September. Dr mineral research, both in Aust off, the magnetic field collapses Wild has also agreed to continue serving as an Associate Member of the ralia and overseas.' and in so doing, induces eddy Executive for the same period. Other speakers included the currents of electricity in the Chairman of CSIRO, Mr Victor ground which then decay within Burgmann, the Managing Director a fraction of a second. of Geoex, Mr Edward Burnside, A second receiving loop is used Mrs Alice Fitzgerald of the New the President of the Australian to detect and measure the mag Zealand DSI R Ecology Division Mineral Industries Research netic fields generated by the eddy has been awarded an ANZAC Association (AMIRA), Dr John currents. Fellowship to study the feeding Pleasing preview Nixon, and Or McCracken. The strength and rate of decay behaviour of the opossum in its Following the formal part of the depends on how well the ground original habitat, Australia. When the Gallery Huntley in Can wildlife which is refreshingly dif function, the guests were able to conducts electricity. Mineral She will be based with the berra hosted a preview of wildlife ferent from the work of many see how Sirotem would worl< if deposits are usually good con Division of Wildlife Research, paintings by Frank Knight, it was other artists. it were in the field and had the ductors, most rocks arc not. Canberra, and hopes to spend a quiedy pleased artist who The animals (and that includes lawns of the AMF building been For this reason TEM instru~ some time working in the Phy received dle congratulations of birds) are painted with scien hiding any secret resources of ments can detect orebodies by siology Department at ANU. guests. tific accuracy. As well, Frank uranium, gold or nicl 220-1978 100000 people Students visit scientists at field site have'Listened During the recent field survey to the Stars' to Western Australia on which The number of people who have the 'fossil' ant, Notbomynnecia seen the three-screen audio visual macr-ops Clark j was redis pfllduction 'Listening to the Stars' covered, the taxonomists from at the l)arkcs Visitors Centre has the Division of Entomology's now exceeded the 100000 mark. Ausnalian National Insect Col The Canberra family that wOn lection found themselves in a the honour werc given special new role. treatment which included a VIP While working in the Thomas tour of the radio telescope. River area east of Esperance they were asked by Mr Tany The audio visual presentation is Maore, manager of Orleans an integral part of the Centre's Farms, if they would give a activities. 1t was installed in talk to the pupils of the local May 1975 a' a cos, of $34 000 Condingup Primary School. (including equipment). Rather than have some of From the outset the Executive the tcaln 'go to school' so to agreed to a charge being made for speak, Mr Moore asked if the the theatre. Visitors are also children could visit the camp able to buy souvenirs and books site in the school bus. about astronomy. This was agreed to and on The revenue of the Centre since the appointed day about 20 the opening now exceeds $82 000 children and the head teacher of which $39 000 represents en arrived at the site some 30 trance fees to the theatre. miles from their school. The Not all visitors see the show, weather was fine and hot, a but most who have the time to fortunate change from that stay for it, UO so (the presentation which had bogged 'he party lasts 27 minutes). down at Mt Ragged a few days Later [his year it is hoped to earlier. start installing un impressive new Don CoHess, the dipterist display at the Centre, adding to with the ANIC, spoke on the the attraction it already has for reasons for the taxonomic the travelling public. study of insects and explained these beetles were trapped and ofsmall beetles being cultured. Students from theCondingup what the ANIC was all about. the beneficial effects they The entire collection of in Primary School. SA, enjoy the Murray Uptoo, the survey have on the pastures. sects made by the team was opportunity to see CSIRO en leatler, discussed the methods Following these talks the aIso on display in the tomolooists ,at work in the New FRS used to collect insects, demon children, in small groups, were laboratory field. On the right is Or John Dr Keith Boardman, a member of Lawrence and standing next to strating the equipment act shown through the field labora judging by the questions the Executive, has been elected him is Or Don ually being used in the field. tory where John Lawrence, asked and the difficulty exper coness. a Fellow of the Royal Society of John Feehan, from the Dung the coleopterist with the ienced in getting the last they obviously enjoyed their London in recognition of his out Beetle Section, showed how ANIC, showed them specimens children out of the laboratory visit. standing contribution in bio chemistry. Industry scores CSIRO walking 'data bank' Lab'useful' became leader The Minerals Research Labora tories have just performed a high level technology transfer to in in scientific photography dustry. Not a process, an instru ment or a patent but the man himself, a walking data bank on Eric Smith, the man who is re~ from photographing the world of fossil fuel energy. gardcd as the father of scientific science, he turned to photograph Or R.A. Durie has left the Divi and technical photography in ing people, the ordinary ones he sion of Process Technology to be Australial has retired. saw around the back streets of come Chief Scientist for R.W. His last day at work was 13 Melbourne, a change from the Millet (Holdings) Ltd. In his April, the day he received his famous who were also in his newly created position, he will be BEM from the Governor of gallety. advising the company in many Victoria. In 1945, Eric was seconded to areas of its coal interests, including Few people can look back over the Film Unit and with Stan the planning of future mines as so much of the history of CSIRO, Evans, then its Officer-in-Charge, well as ensuring high quality pro~ and know they were personally visited every Division and Section duction and preparation. associated with it, as Eric. He making films for post-war showing Through personal projects within not only grew up with much of in England. the company and his membership that history as it was happening of several national bodies such as but he made a photographic record Eric however, decided that still the Institute of Energy, the In of it. photography was more to his stitute of Engineers and the liking and he returned to Forest Or Bob Durie Australian Academy of Tech Eric joined the Division of Products. In 1948 he transferred Eric Smith nological Sciences, Dr Durie will Forest Products as a boy of 14 to the Division of Building continue his activities in world in 1931 when the Division had its Research while for the last 11 coal affairs and research. Name changes headquarters in the stables and years he hlls been the photo US honour As leader of the Fuel Chemistry kitchens at the back of what was grapher at Animal Health. Section in Process Technology, then Head Office at 314 Albert Eric is also a Fellow and past Dr C.H.B. PriestleyI Chairman of Bob has been one of CSIRO's for two Street, Melbourne. President of th(~ Institute of the Environmental Physics Rc most-consulted experts on fossil In those days he was a 'lab Photographic Technology. selU'ch LaboratoriesuntilhisrctircM fuels for many years. useful' but before long he moved Looking back over 47 years, ment last year, has been elected Since 1954 he has been involved Divisions into photography. He was to Eric feels he has been privileged an Honorary Member of the in most aspects of coal research in develop those skills to a high to have :-pent his life working in American Meteorological Society, the laboratories at North Ryde The Division of Tribophysics has degree, setting a pattern and a research 'among sincere, dedicated an honour which is reserved for and in recent years has directed a been renamed and will be known level of efficiency for every other and intelligent people and en persons of acknowledged pre major part of CSIRO's oil from in future as the Division of CSIRO pho'ographer who fol gaging in photog runs for 10 years from 1978 to Mal left behind a wife l Rhonda open days for the benefit of staff December, when the Division's Cotton and Jeff B&um. 1988. It is centred about the and two children and to them, only. dyeing, printing and finishing biology of !trill which appears to CSIRO has extended itssympathy. Every two or three months, a section was open to viewing. 4 220-1978 DOR has advice He'sthe top apprentice Divisional &review' at for home handyman Chemical Technology With a bewildering array of cera mic or clay based tiles on the market, the home handyman's biggest problem is to decide which tile matches the use he has in mind for it. And, according to the Division of Building Research, making that choice is where many home owners make mistakes. Mr Max Murray of the Division's Ceramics Section in Melbourne says that too mony people choose tiles on appearance rather than on their ability to do the job ex pected of them. IFor example, earthenware tiles are simply not suitable for very Grag Mulder kentre). formerly of the Division of Textile Industry. heavy duty paving, for outside or Geelong, has been awarded the 1976 Arthur Frost Memorial Award. for very wet areas although they The $100 award is made annually to the apprentice trained by the are quite suitable for internal walls When you talk about Divisional reviews at Chemical Technology. you Organization who is judged to have achieved the most significant im if they carry a quarantee against need to make quite sure that everyone is on the same wavelength. The provement in overall performance in the final year of his apprenticeship. crazing,' he said. phrase 'Divisional review' can apparently have two meaning if this Grag left the Organization on finishing his apprenticeship and is now 'Our investigations indicate that picture proves anything. working in Dampier, WA but returned to Geelong for the presentation. too often the choice of tiles is This review, staged by the staff, was appropriately known as 'Don's This was made by the Chief of the Division, Dr Don Taylor (left), on based on how they look and what Party'. It's a bit difficult to tell who got their gear on and who got it behalf of the President of the Laboratory Craftsmen Association, they cost, and performance data off, but the staff sang their way through the most successful show the David Alexander. arc ignored. Division has yet produced. Even Fifi D'Amour, the message parlour On the right is Di Williams, the Geelong Divisional Representative 'It is inevitable that failures will girl, put new pinMups round her message board for the occasion. of the Laboratory Craftsmen Association. occur, even though they may take some years to become evident.' Mr Murray suggests that home owners considering buyingceramic dies should follow this guide: NeVipublication will be · Low risk areas-in dining rooms, LRM and ARC produce bedrooms and other areas which are not exposed to moisture or heavy traffic, glazed and decoraM guide for special events documentary on WA ted earthenware tiles and glazed quarry tiles are suitable. The Division of Land Resources Collie, both from the ABC in · Medium risk areas-in kitchens, When Divisions, RAOs or Head The working party has as its Management in Perth is soon to Sydney. rumpus rooms and other areas Office staff are confronted at chairman, Dr Brian Stacy, Assist take to the nation's electronic It will concentrate on the major subjected to heavy traffic, use some time in the future with the ant Chief, Division of Animal media. It has co-produced a environmental issues in the region earthenware tiles if they are laid task of planning the opening of a Production. The members are: 50-minute environmental docu known as 'System 6'-an area of on a concrete floor, but use new laboratory, holding open Stan Boston (Textile Industry), mentary in collaboration with the the southRwest which extends either glazed or unglazed stone days, staging a conference, sym· Dorothy Bl'axton (CCU), Bob ARC and the Western Australian from the Maore River (north of ware or quarry tiles if the floor posium or seminar, or organising Couper (BuilJing Research), Peter Environmental Protection Perth) to around Busselton in the is wood. a field day or some other special Thompson (Tropical Crops and Authority. south and runs inland to the · High risk areas-in laundries, function, they soon will no Pastures) and Maurie Woodward forested Darling Range. shower recess floors, outside The documentary is scheduled lcmger have to saY:'~Rutwhere (Land Resources Management). System 6 is of particular interest patios and verandahs where tiles for screening on 16 May in do we start?' Mr George Williams, Manager of because the vast majority of are exposed to excessive mois NSW, ACT and SA, 24 May in Last year an ad hoc working the Central Communication Unit, Western Australia's one million ture (including the weather), the WA, and 30Mayin NT, Qld., Vie" party was set up to produce a has also been closely involved people live there and consequently use of stoneware and good grade and Tas. guidelines publication to cover with the group. many of the major environmental quarry tiles is recommended. just that question. It is now in When the working party has The script, written by Robin issues and problems occur there Mr Murray warns however, that the process of being edited and been together it has taken the Juniper of the ABC and Justin problems like stream and gl'Ound strong detergents, sugary liquids hopefully it will be printed and opportunity to meet other people Murphy of LRM's Communicat water salinity, j arrah dieback, and fruit juices can cause rapid distributed later this year. in the area involved in communi ions Unit, was directed by Jeni urban waste disposal and wetland deterioration of the grouting bet The publication will give helpfui cation work within CSIRO and it Kendall and produced by Craig management. ween tiles. suggestions on many aspects of was out of those discussions that such projects, from the initial the idea grew of setting up the stages of planning an event, the wider Communication Resources protocol it may involve if Minis Coordinating Group (sec page 7). ters and other politicians arc invited, catering, preparing eXM T-shirts for Melbourne Division hibits and manning them, the complete how-to-organisc-a Can you help? conference, a suggested timetable for the preparation of partici There is a small but steady de pating in a metropolitan or coun mand for sets of the 'CSIRO try show, suggested security arM Author Index', published in 14 rangements, and a whole host of bluc paper·bound volumes be tween 1964 and 1967, which is other ideas. now completely out of print. At Much of it has been planned as least two copies are needed a check list, starting with ideas urgently. on choosing the day. No onc is recommending that a horoscope Spare sets would be gratefully be consulted for the choice of an received by the Chief Librarian, auspicious occasion, but when 314 Albert Street, East Mel VIPs arc to be invited, there are bourne, Vie. 3002. calendars and programs which can be consulted to sce if there is at least a chance that they might be available. Social Each section of the publication has been prepared by different members of the working party activities but the members don't regard it The 'newly reformed' 314 Social as the complete bible for such Club at C1LES has been enjoying functions. a busy round of social activities They believe it will be the ethnic dinners, film screenings, starting point-and a good deal afterMwork get-togcthers and more-for such cvent:o; but those raffles. using it can later add their own The latest happening was a particular requirements to it since l13ushwackers Night' with an aUM all areas differ at least slightly. Australian tlavour of roast meat, By making it a IOOSCM leaf publi bush band and an early Australian Staff from the Division of Chemical Technology, Meibourne, proudly displey the Division'. new T-shirt. cation, Divisions and Offices can feature film. Mrs Margaret Skukies won the competition heid to find a suitable design. It features a test tube with bubbles add their own notes to it as re~ Guests mixed in an authentic in the form of the Southern Cross with the words CSiRO and Chem. Tech. prominently displayed. The commendations for future events atmosphere of gum leaves and Division hes sold ebout 100 of the T-shirts to date. they might stage. hurricane lamps. 5 220-1978 CSIRO says goodbye to more retiring members ofstaff Mr AI~n P~tterso? the Regional struetion of .the excellent lab~ra- AdmInIstrative OffIcer, Melbourne, tcry and animal accommodatIOn 'liemporary'clerk has retired after having given facilities which Animal Health en more than 44 years service to joys at Long Pocket. Due largely Keith Wenham, DAO at the Divi CSIRO and its predecessor-CSHe to his drive, the sophisticated sion of Applied Geomcchanics, Alan began his career as a tem- insect-proof accommodation for has retired after 31 years of porary messenger in the Head cattle at Indooroopilly was com service with the Organization. Office of CSIR at 314 Albert pleted just in time to meet the He joined the then CSIR in 1946 as a temporary clerk in the records section. In 1958 he transferred to the Soil Mechanics Section of the Division of Soils and when the Peter Durie and his wife Betty enjoy a joke with a group of friends at Section gained independence his farewell barbecue. shortly after, he became its first Administrative Officer. During the following 19 years Keith saw the Section become the Division of Applied Geomechanics and its staff grow from four to 101. Keith was a strong supporter of credit societies in CSIRO. He was also a foundation mem ber of the CSIRO Benevolent Fund in Victoria and retained that position until his retirement. Keith will be remembered for the warm relationships he estab lished with all members of the Organization that he worked with and for the wise council and guid~ ance given in his administrative capacity. Some of the 'oldies' of the CSIRO familv turned out to help Alan Patterson celebrate his retirement-from left: Ray Viney, Jeff Faley. Keith Wenham and the then Chief of the Division of Applied Geo Alen Patterson and Rav McVillev. Solar engineer mechanics, Or G.K. Aitchison, share a laugh at the Division's farewell Bob Dunlde, Chief Research to Keith. Street, East Melbourne, in Dec challenge posed by the Division's Scientist at the Division of ember 1933. recent isolation of bluetongue Mechanical. Engineering, retired in Later he serveu· for a number of virus in Australia. Decembcl'. He joined the Division, years as Divisional Clerk at the Cattle are productive creatures then the Engineering Section, in Division of Industrial Chemistry in more ways than one, and Dr 1959. at Fishermen's Bend, and sub Dude gained some notoriety in Bob came to Australia from Nat~ sequently he moved to the select circles by constructing the California, where he had been ional Standards Laboratory in 'Durie Faecal Disposal Unit' at Associate Professor of Mechanical Sydney. Long Pocket, an essential labora Engineering at the University of A few years later he returned to tory facility, known there by a California at Berh:dey. Head Office in East Melbourne pithier apellation. Wllite he was with CS1RO, Bob and when the RAO was estabH However, it is for his warm and led the Solar Energy Utilisation Iished in 1963, he was appointed friendly personality that he will and later the Heat and Mass Trans as the first Regional Adminis be remembered best. Scientists fer Groups in the Division. trative Officer. are not easy people to administer Now, on retirement, Bob is Alan was keenly interested In and the harmony which has pre farming nuts at his Gembrook the welfare of the staff, and he vailed among his staff was due to property and continuing attempts was a Director of the CSIHO Co his wisdom, tolerance arid sense to reduce his golf handicap. operative Credit Society from of humour. (-le is also an Honorary Research 1965 to 1976. Fellow at the Division, and from A farewell function for him time to time he visits Highett was attended by more than 100 maintaining his interest in the Bob Dunkle (left) and his wife, Margaret, talk with Or Barrv Rawlings, fellow officers and friends from research activities there. Chief of the DIVision, at Bob's farewell. various offices and laboratories. Only briefly All paid tributes to his contribu tion to the development of Norman Sanders, Scientific Assis CSIRO, and to the friendships he tant to the Chief at the Division made during his long career. of Animal Health for 14 years, Alan plans to spend some time has had one of the shortest re~ fishing and relaxing by a parti Bushfire book is published tirements in CSIRO. cular river in East Gippsland. He Leaving the Organization in also intends to travel overseas September he was reengagcd with~ A new book entitled 'Bushfires in Australia and has been written Alan McArthur. Alan, with the again with his wife, Rannie. in a few weeks to write a special Australia' has just been published particularly for volunteer bushfire Division of Forest Research, is report for the Executive and the by the Australian Government brigade members. perhaps best known for designing Minister for Science, Senator J.}. Publishing Service fot the Forestry It is also seen as being useful to the forest and grassland fire Webster, concerning the blue and Timber Bureau and the CSIRO any person who resides in an area danger meters, the basis for most Colourful career tongue crisis. Division of Forest Research. which is likely to be affected by fire danger ratings throughout Norman graduated Bachelor of It deals with the many facets of bushfires. Australia. Long Pocket staff held a bar Veterinary Science, University of fire control and fire behaviour in The authors are Harry Luke and The book brings together de becue to say farewell to Dr Durie Sydney, in 1936 and after two tailed and practical information who was a member of CSIRO for post-graduate years working with on fire control and fire behaviour. 31 years. the Australian Wool Board, joined It includes a futl chapter on His career was a colourful onc. the Colonial Veterinary Service, safety and survival that is of vital After graduating from university, Department of Agriculture, Fiji in interest to all readers. he served with the Army, the 1939 and remained there until Munitions Department and the transferred to the Department of Picture: Co~authors Harry Luke Air Force. He claims the time Veterinary Services and Animal (right) and Aian McArthur sign a spent supervising 200 women Industry. Uganda, East Africa, in presentation copy of their new munitions workers was the most 1948. book 'Bush fires in Australia' at a dangerous of his wartime service. He retired as Director of Veterin book launching. In 1946 he received CSIRO's ary Services and returned to first lan McMastcr scholarship Australia at the cnd of 1963. while later his research work was Norman was fareweIled by his recognised when he was elected colleagues at functions in both as a Fellow of the Australian Sydney and Melbourne. He re Winners Society for Parasitology. cently built a home at Saratoga The Division of Forest Research Or Durie was appointed Officer near Gosford, NSW, and when he recorded another achievement last in-Charge of the Animal Health finally has the opportunity to month-its 'Allstars' football tcam group in Queensland in 1967. retire he plans to pursue his two won the ACT 2nd Division Touch He has always been a builder at most favoured hobbies, gardening Rugby Comperition for 1978 heart, and supervised the con- and fishing. (Waiter Burley Griffin Shield). 6 ------_._220-1978 ~ .. High flying staff make solid touch downs Two members of CSIRO's staff Brian, who walked away from A routine search was started have been involved in aircraft the crash with only n headache, when the plane failed to return to accidents in recent weeks and tends to agree with one of his Weipa at the scheduled time. both have survived to tell their instructors who later made the Just as two young people driving stol'ies. laconic comment: 'You were along a nearby road saw the The men were ndan Leaver, a lucky, buddy.' wreckage a search plane flew over~ member 0 f dIe Internal Audit The third pilot radioed the con head and spotted it. Group at Head Office in Can· trol tower at Canberra airport tD Derck and the pilot were taken ben-a, and Derek Staples, of the summon the emergency services by air ambulance to Cairns Hos research staff of the Division of but little assistance from the pital after being trea.ted at Weipa Fisheries and Oceanography locaR ambulance teams was nceded, the Hospital. tcd at Cleveland. other pilot escaping with only The pilot is now all right and a cut forehead and a sprained Brian escaped serious injury Dcrek is up on crutches after ankle. when he crash-landed his Piper being critically ill for eight days. Undaunted by the experience, Cherokec after a mid-air collision His wifc Judith was tlown to Brian took part in the Canberra during formation exercises north Cairns to be with him while he Week's Air Show last month west of Canberra. was in the intensive care unit. when he piloted one of the two A member of Canberra Acro planes used by the Canberra Sky Derek Staples-happier in his Club's formation flying team, he Divers for their formation display. laboratory. was training for this year's nat ional championship competition Derek Staples was not as lucky as Brian and was badly injured which was to be held mid-March. Obituary As Brian told his story: 11 was when the amphibian plane in flying as No 3 in a three-ship V which he was a passenger crashed formation. 1 broke off during a jn thick bush soon after takeHoff slow steep left turn and then, from Weipa, on the eastern coast Mr Jock Hebron while I was searching above the of the Gulf of Carpenteria. The plane was on a charter horizon over my right shoulder The death occurred recently of for my leader (No 1), I made an flight for the Division of Fisher Mr Jack (Jock) Hebron, a member unexpected spectacular rejoin. It ies and Oceanography's prawn of the maintenance staff of the ended with my ramming him sampling survey in the region's Division of Chemical Technology, under his right wing. remote rivers. Melbourne. 'Pieces of aircraft hurtled out of It appears that the plane lost Jock started duty with CSIRO a cloud of dust, No 1 bounced engine power soon after leaving in 1947 as a sheetmetal worker; forward, pitched up and turned Weipa. The pilot was able to bring later he became supervisor of through 180 degrees to pass under it down to tree level before hitting sheetmetal and associated works. No 2 in a spin.' the trees and somersaulting engine Jock was recognised as having 13rlan's cabin roof was crushed first into the ground. assisted with and contributed to seat level behind the pilot's Derek managed to push himself greatly to projects throughout the scat, and the left engine mounts, clear of the wreckage with his un Division during his 30 years with a magneto, ignition harness, fuel injured leg but was then pinned CSlRO. line and oil line were cut away. down among some branches and Most staff would have had cause, Both pilots made successful lay in the tropical sun for five at one time or another, to thank emergency landings despite the hours before rescue. The pilot was him for his'assistance and for his damage to their aircraft. also severely injured. Brian Leaver walked away from this mess. friendship. Communication Officers III in III Charge of Adelaide resources to be laboratory built on change over In an effort to maximise the uses The recommendation to estab There has been a change of of the communication resources lish the group grew out of a Officers-inHChargc at the l)roH available within CSIRO, parti& meeting of an ad hoc working duction Technology Laboratory cularly for shows, exhibitions, party which has been preparing a in Adelaide. The lahoratory is visitors centres, and open days, guideline publication for Offices now part of the Division of the Executive has set up a ComH and Divisions which plan to hold Materials Science, more familiarly munications ResoW'ces CoordinaH open daysl open new laboratories, known as the old Division of tiug Group. participate in shows or establish Tribophysics. visitors centres. The group consists of 11 mem Mr John McNeil proceeded on bers drawn from Divisions, Head Members of the working party sick leave in February, prior to his Office and the Brisbane RAO felt that no one communication retirement later in 1978. He has who have an interest and involve unit or information section had been replaced by Dr Colin Perrott, ment in the preparation of dis the staff and financial resources a member of the Division's staff plays and exhibitions. to easily cope with the presen in MelbDurne. Retiring Officer-in-Charge, John McNeil (right), welcomes incoming While they by no means include tation of a major display in a fully Officer-in-Charge, Colin Perrott, to the Production Technology Lab 10110 first went to the labora everyone in the Organization who professional manner. Yet there oratory in Adelaide. tory in 1947 when it was the could contribute. information and existed considerable experience South Australian branch of the assistance in this work, they re and knowledge within the Organi Materials Research Laboratories electronic properties of metals at processing industries-mainJy in present a range of staff from all zation if this could only be of the Department of Defence. low temperatures. volving the control of wear and States except Tasmania. coordinated. Over the years he guided it Another change of emphasis failure. All have been involved with the At its first meeting in Geelong through a dual role-that of ser occurred when Culin joined TriboH His recent research papers deal physics in 1971. Since then he with various aspects of welding, organisation of such events, most at Textile Industry, the group ving defence needs and the vital has been concerned with the ferrous casting, tooling for mech have had considerable experience decided its initial assignment part it played in giving assistance utilisation and optimisation of anical excavation of rock and in 'crowd handling' and they are would be to make an inventory to industry in the State, especially all familiar with a wide range of of what display material is avail~ in the early years when manu materials used in mining and economic theory. CSIRO activities. able for loan in esIRO, the size facturers in South Australia were The members arc: George of the display and its nature, trying to resume peacetime Williams, chairman (Manager, and what plans Divisions and activities. Central Communication Unit), Offices have for participation in Poetry Robin Austin (Fisheries and events during the next two years. eoHn, who expects to move Awards with his family to Adelaide in a Oceanography), Stan Boston The group will have a special (Textile Industry), DorDthy few weeks, was the holder of The services of two CSIRO staff interest in any corporate compon CSIRO prize Braxton (CCU), Bob Couper studentships for both were recognised in the recent ents of displays and will be under-graduate and postHgraduate (Building Research), Anne Frods Australia Day Awards. Franl~ McMahon, E-Iead Office, asking what is planned along studies. ham (Horticultural Research), those lines when it makes the Officel's in the General Division of Canbcrn, won the 10hn Shaw Australia~AO Jcony North (Process Tech inventory. His thesis was concerned with the Order of Neilson Poetry Award, one of a nology), Wendy Parsons (Forest the thermodynamic properties of Frederick John Lehany, Hunters number of awards announced by Research), David Thomas (RAG, It will also be looking at handout ionic solids. Hill, NSW I science and industry. the Victorian Fellowship of Aust BrisbaneL Peter Thompson material, give-aways and so on in On moving to the Division of (Director, NML) ralian Writers. His poem 'Late (Tropical Crops and Pastures) and an effort to make the widest use Physics at the National Research Michacl Vincent Tracey, Gordon, Getting Home', won the award Maurie Woodward (Land He of anything that is produced for Council of Canada in 1969, he NSW, science, research. (Chief, and his '1£ I Could Write' was sources Management). llny one particular event. switched his interest to the Division of Food Research). commended. 220-1978 Si,ofo,um,, 'Tender unto Caesar that which ture, comparing it to science: The funnel is Caesar's and to Davenport that "t hasn't the same automatic Mistake [ am grateful to J.B. Davenport which is Davenport's.' If Mr corrective, and so its misguided (Coresearch No.219) for his reply Davenport will send his address I periods are longer'. I have just received my copy of to the criticism of the sculptures feel sure that I will be able to Might this not describe the Coresearch 219 (January 1978), commissioned for the new NML raise sufficient funds from NML other contemporary arts as well? and am perturbed to find the site at Bradfic1d Park. employees to pay for the trans 'Funnel' may well be a lasting legend to the map, bottom left In questioning the ability of port of this load of scrap iron to work of art, but the NML attitude on the front page, to include the scientists to criticise works of art, his home where he can set it up in towards it (perhaps described best statement'Unshaded areas: large he counsels us to 'render unto his back garden and spend all his as good-humoured resignation) fires occur at a frequency greater Caesar...' etc., but does not make spare time appreciating it, that is, must be expected when people, than once every 20 years.' it clear who is Caesar and who is until the neighbours complain. working in a field where skill can Once every 10 years is a greater God in this casc. The most we can hope for is be sharply distinguished from frequency than once every 20 The bestowal of the 'Funnel' that the perpetrators of this act its opposite, view the product of years; once every 5 years is greater upon NML certainly resembles of desecration will be permanently a different field where the dis still. What was intended was the act of a vengeful god upon recorded on a plaque firmly fixed tinction often appears (perhaps lsmaller' rather than 'greater'. this uncomprehending flock. to this monument to their bad unjustly) to be blurred. Also it should perhaps have Would some prophet kindly en taste so that future generations R.B. Frenkel. been pointed out that the fre lighten our ignorance as to the will know who to blame. NML quencies given are average fre hidden message? P.W, Smart, quencies. John Macfarlane, NML B.I-I. Neumann NML, Mathematics and Statistics Bradfield Park, NSW Canberra The Division of Forest Research As one Wlho is puzzled by much has acknowledged the mistake in ** the legend referred to and has J .B. Davenport (Coresearch No. modern art and has made desul 219) suggests**that NML staff who The picture above shows a model asked lis to advise readers that the tory but unavailing attempts to I am aware that a great deal has express resctvc about the IFunnel' understand it, I was interested that was made of the 'funnel' table will be altered in future been said and**written about the are behaving as improperly as a in Mr Davenport's perfervid two years ago. Coresearch has releases.-Ed. 'Funnel' but I feel compelled to sculptor would be who disparaged defence of the NML 'funnel' been unable to get a photograph reply to Mc Davenport's letter. the work of NML. Surely the two (Coresearch 219). of the sculpture as it has not yet It is to his credit that he is pre· cases arc incompatible. He suggested that a non-artist been erected but promises to do pared to defend his selection of Suppose the sculptor said: 'If is no more entitled to pass judg sO as soon as possible. 'Coresearch' you do this instead of that, you'Il 'art works' for the NML labora ment on a work of art than is a 'Coresearch' is produced tories but the fact remains that greatly improve the precision of non-scientist to judge science. bV the Central Communica the majority of NML employees your measurements'. A good try, but it won't clol Peter's is tremendously moving. tion Unit for CSIRD staff. Nowadays a publicly-funded My problem is that I seem to do not want what can only be The point is, not that this It is also circulated to some described as the ultimate in advice may be resented, but that scientist is expected to be able to have been born a few centuries people outside the Organ obscenity. in principle it can be tested to the explain in layman's terms the ob· too late to appreciate the con ization who have a pro Despite the opposition to its in satisfaction of both parties. jectivcs of his research, and how temporary scene. fessional interest in CSIRO stallation it would appear that we Eventually, one of them will it will contribute to the advance For example, my impression activities. are still going to have it forced have to admit that the other is ment of science or the solution of from the photographs ( have seen Members are invited to con upon us, presumably because Mr right. a problem. of'Woman V'is that it would not tribute or send suggest ions Davenport and his friends have Is it not reasonable similarly to stand out in any pre-school !ine per~ for articles. The deadline decided that they know best what Would the reverse situation ask an artist whose works. the tax up of drawings of 'My mum'. mit this happy outcome? for material is normally the we should like. payer is funding why his work is Only the fond mum would look first day of the month pre I may be wrong, but a feature of True, if the exercise had been good and what it contributes to at it twice. ceding publication. many modern works of art is the left to the members of NML the art? Can anyone tell my why it's Material and queries should apparent irrelevance of standards ff.'sult might have been regarded 1- don't thinl{ ] am totally in good? If not, I side -with the be sent to the EditOI, of excellencc. Some seriolls mod as 'appalling kitsch' by Mr Daven sensitive to the visual arts. philistines who don't appreciate Box 225. Dickson, A.C.T. port but at least it would have ern music sounds like noise that On several visits to Rome I have the 'funnel' and feel we are quite 2602. Te!. 48 4476 anybody could invent and make, been self-inflicted and might have never failed to visit the Church of entitled to express our views. Editor: Dorothy Braxton turned out to be less offensive and so On. San Pietro in Vincoli just to A.W. Charles Assistant Editor: Barbara than the piece of visual pollution In 'The Two Cultures', C.P. admire again MicheIangelo's Head Office Hartley that is being inflicted on us. Snow said of contemporary litera- 'Moses', and his Picta in St. Canberra Science at wo'k Interest rate drops The CS1RO CreditSociety Limited The money on deposit rates will Cooperative has celebrated its remain unchanged at present. move from Albert Street, East These are: Melbourne, to 9 Queens Road, Class 1: Amounts deposited by Melbourne, 3004, with the an fortnightly deductions from sal nouncement that as from 1 March ary-9% the basic interest rate for loans Class 2: Fixed amounts deposited will be decreascd by .5% to for 12 months or Icss-9% 10.5% pal still calculated on Class 3: Fixed amounts deposited quarterly rests. for more than 12 months-10%. Shame on our sham ram Scientists arc usually painted as a But no, a lady from Tbe Allst~ deadly serious lot, but the media ralian rang and inquired where she people who promote that popular might learn more of this lately image arc pretty po-faced them departed mutton~making miracle. selves if the events of recent weeks Learning it was It hoax, she put it arc a guide. in her paper. It began with January's Undeterred, Sydney's Daily 'Science at work' photograph in Telegraph also rang with a similar Coresearch (219), showing Siro request, and finally a Sydney sam, the Bionic Ram. based wire service picked up the Sam, we said, had paced Aust story and sent it to subscribers. ralia's fastest artificial inseminator The I-lobat·t Me1'cury printed it, for six days before giving up ewes telling its readers 'CSIRO was altogether imd making improper yesterday inundated with tele advances to a champion stud ram phone calls from pet lovers ob a deed for which he was duly jecting to the killing of Sirosam, despatched. a champion bionic ram.' The It's not the first time the same article revealed the hoax. 'Science at work' photo has been Which raises certain questions, taken seriously, but it was thought for instance-how did all those people would recognise that Siro pet lovers get hold of Corescarch? sam, bless his nuclear little heart Do two telephone calls make an (and other unmentionable atomic inundation? appendages), would be seen for Or is bionic fertility enjoyed by what he really was-a sham ram. media minds as well as ramsr 8 220-1978 221##1978 A monthly publication for CSIROstaff May/June/July 1978 III Act to bechangediin August The Budget session of Parlia interested in the composition of ment beginning in August is the Institutes, but no information is available. expected to provide a green For speculators, some clues may light for fundamental changes be found in the number of re~ recommended for CSIRO by search Institutes recommended the Birch Committee. a maximum of six-and the present Amendments to the Science and mainstreams of research in CSIRO. Industry Research Act 1949 under Rough groupings can be arrived which CSIRO operates cannot be at in this way, but it will remain made until Parliament reconvenes. a guessing game at least until but mC1U1while groundwork for August, and probably longer. change is being laid. The lack of information about proposed changes stems partly However, many of dIe GovernM from the fact that planning is still ment's recommended changes are ata basic stage, and most of the not dependent on legislation being fine detail has not been touched. amended. It is also due to the fact that A Steering Committee has been present Executive, to which formed to study the Government Steering Committee is decisions on the Birch Committee is near the end of its term Report. would not want to pre~empt:deci~ It comprises. the. Chairman, Mr sions of the new Executive which V.D.. Burgmann, DrN.K. Board will guide CSIRO through the two man of the Executivc, Or J.R. or three years it will take to put Andersoll, ·Chief of.. Materials most ofthe decisions into effect. Science,··· Mr .L.G.WilSQnr,CSIRO Similarly, m'itters.,s'lic:;hasan'in Secretar",Mr,Jt,,~Q9~bel,-Assist~ crea$e in CSIRO's fund.nganda :;ntto the Chairman, and Mr K.J. rais.ngof staff ceilingsmustawl,lit The Prime Minister, Mr' Malcolm Fraser. congratulating Or Paul Wild after the announcement that he would Thrift, who -isthe',Oommittee's decisions on fine detail. be the nexfChairman ofCSIRO. Photo: Ross Mackenzie e.xecutivc,officer. The Committ~e studying th~ Although the major thrustoE Report's" ,'recQmrnendatiOIJ,s,.and the ·.Birch··..·.COIUmittee's .·recom mcndationsi~ "fl~irnProving planning '''their implementation, .. aimed which in many cases will require .CSIR9's efficiency,:,th~·g~~entof changes.,wouldappearto, 221-1978 Cotton research has spin-off for woollen industry Mention textile research and CSIRO in the same breath and usually wool and the Division of Textile Industry come to mind. The association will, of course, be correct most of the time, but in recent years the Division's research programs on another Australian natural textile fibre-cotton-have grown significantly. Work on cotton was started in 1968 when a small service group was set up at the Division to test the textile performance of new breeds of Australian cotton. Since then the cotton-growing without the need to cut or break Textile chemist John RippoD is industry has expanded to such nn the tibres to bring their length looking for ways of overcoming extent that this year, for the first nearer to cotton's. this problem. 'One way is to mercerise the time, Australia will be exporting 'Several mills have adopted the cotton-a treatment with sodium more cotton than is consumed modification, and it is helping hydroxide, which swells the fibres domestically. the Australian Wool Corporation and so eases dye penetration. With this growth, specific prob in a wool promotion campaign in Unfortunately, this is an expensive lems with the use of Australian Indonesia, a country with no wool cottons have become increasingly processing equipment,' said Gary. process, so we are trying to find apparent, and sInce 1972, the As for 'spin-offs' for cotton from cheaper treatments that act in a unit has become more and more wool research, scientist Grahame similar way,' said John. involved in cotton research. Abbott is attempting to apply John is also interested incol~ Jill Trevaskis and Gary Robinson discuss results of strength measure· Testing, however, is still a very some of the principles of self During cotton by transfer printing, ments on a series of cotton-fibre samples. important function of the section, twisting to improve cotton that is, printing a design on paper providing the necessary link be· processing. and, at a later stage, transferring tween the cotton growers and the Another improvement to cotton it to the textile by hot pressing. textile manufacturers. spinning could result from 'Use of this technique for poly~ 'We now tcst 5000 samples of Grahame's studies of the effect of esters has grown tremendously cotton a year,' said Gary Robin high-voltage discharges (corona) OVer the last decade, but so far the son, who supervises the testing on cotton fibres using techniques results on cotton are not satis~ service. earlier investigated with wool. The factory,' said John. 'Our samples come to us from discharge doesn't damage the fib the Division of Plant Industry's res but increases the friction bc The dyes suic:able for polyesc:er Cotton Research Unit at Narrabri, tween them! so that they form a have poor attraction for cotton, NSW, and we worl! closely with stronger yarn. s6 are readily washed out, which the scientists there. of course i!> unacceptable to 'We test the quality of the cotton Nature makes it difficult consumers. they produce! and so are able to As with other crops, nature is 'We're trying to develop treat advise on whether it will be suit~ not always kind to Australian ments for cotton which will im~ able for the textile market or on cotton, with flooding or insect prove its attraction for the con what properties need to be infestation often drastically af ventional dyes and we're also improved. fecting the quality of the product. investigating~ the synthesis of new 'We arc also looking at the con One result is the high percentage dyes.' sequences for Australian cotton of immature and thel'cfare weaker Grahame Abbott sets up the Division's small open-end spinning of the widespread introduction of fibres in the crop. Another area of John's rcsearch machine, Photos: .Iohn Card new spinning technology', said These fibres break. and agglo is the improvement of the easy Gary. merate during processing, causing care properties of.. wool"cotton says: produce better fabrics of both 'We suspect that open-end spin surface 'neps' which dye a lighter blends, in particular their wrinkle The cottOn research unit is help cotton and wool, and helpi~)g ning~a Czechoslovakian develop colour, giving an uneven appear recovery. ing farmers produce better cotton, consumers obtain a better product ment that increases the speed of ance to the fabrics. To sum up the work the Division helping the textile manufacturcr for their money. conventional cotton spinning three to five times~wiH require dif ferent cotton qualities, that is, a stronger fibre but possibly with a shorter leogth. WheatResearch Unit exports first protein analyserto S.Africa The first overseas order for a protein analyser developed by the Wheat Research Unit and manufactured under licence to CSIRO by Labtest Instruments, NSW, was despatched last month to the South African Wheat Board. Sixty of the machines already have been sold in Australia. Separating wheat of differing is automatically pumped over protein content is an annual into a filter funnel. headache at Australian silos An inbuilt colorimeter mea when harvesting is in full sures the absorbance of the John Rippon mixes an experimen swing. coloured filtrate and converts MichelJe O'Connor runs some tests on the Labtest rapid biuret tal transfer-print paste for cotton. The standard protein test it automaticlllly into percent protein analyser. 'If this were so then there could takes at least 20 minutes re protein which is displayed in be far-reaching effects on agri sulting in costly transport digital form. This method is cultural practices.! delays. Faster methods have accurate ro within .1 per cent been developed overseas, but protein. Chief awarded D.Sc. Mutual benefits the apparatus is very expensive. The protein content of Aust The mixing of cotton and wool Now CSIRO has come up ralian wheat varies between Dr John Possingham, Chief of the research on one site has broughL with a solution-a relatively eight and 16 per cent. Hard Division of Horticultural Research, benefits for bo~h fibres. simple, inexpensive analyser wheat of high protein content has been awarded the degree of In particular for wool, the ready capable of measuring a wheat is in demand in Western coun~ Doctor of Science from Oxford availability of cotton-processing samplels protein content in tries for bread lnaking, nnd in University. equipment has greatly facilitated six minutes. Asia for making certain types The degree was conferred in investigations of the pOSSlbllities As Australian wheat is now of noodles. recognition of Dr Possingham IS of processing wool on this sold according to a guaranteed Wheat of lower protein con contribution to plant research equipment. protein figure, it is important tcnt is required for hiscuits, over the period of his working Success in this sort of work to segregate the crop according cakes and Japanese white career which began in 1957 as a could dramatically increase the to protein content quickly! noodles. I-lard wheats of low member of the Division of Plant market dcmand for wool, as 90 efficiently and reliably under protein content have very limi Industry in Canberra. per cent of the spinning and assOC hot, dusty silo conditions, ted market value. In 1962 Dr Possingham was iated machinery currently in use After weighing a ground Hard wheat of high protein made Officcr-in~Charge of the throughout the world is designed sample, the 'start' button is content commands high pricesl CSIRO Research Station at Mer for cotton. pressed on the Labtest instru and the CSIRO-Labte't analy bein, Victoria, In 1967 whcn One early result of the worlds a menC: and a reagent is added ser will allow high, medium the Division of Horticultural Re simple modification to cotton to the sample. After a reaction and low-protein grain [Q be search was created from the equipment which enables certain time of five minutes, a small segregated at silos for opti~ CSIRO horticultural laboratories types of Australian wool to be sample of the reaction mixture mum market prices later on. at Adelaide and Merbdn, he spun on the modified equipment, became its first Chicf. 3 221-1978 from radarto Stars and navigation linked from earliest times There is, if you like to take At the end of the war, aviation The discussions focussed on the the long view, a certain his began its rapid expansion. present.VHF (very high frequency) toric inevitability about Aust Air transport has always been of landing systems, which arc basic major importance to Australia ralia's new Interscan develop ally 1940's technology. because of its internal distances These have served the aviation ment. and the even greater distances world wdl but have drawbacks. from its cities to the northern It was the establishment 0 f These instrument landing sys· astronomy as a science that hemisphere countries with which terns (ILS) create in effect a led in the late renaissance to it is linked by trade and culture. sloping narrow track in the sky, the development of navigation Moving into peace, the Division extending from the touchdown point on a runway. Indicators on and this in turn to the age of began to focus not just on radio sourceS in space but also on air the flight deek tell the pilot if he European sea exploration craft navigational aids, the basis is above or below or to the left that opened up the modern of a safe and efficient air trans· or right of this narrow radio world as we know it. port network. signal. By 1945 an experimental dis This means that for every run Australia, particularly, can trace tance measuring equipment (DME) way there is only a single approach its origins as a nation to astron set had been built and was opera path. This limits runway capacity omy. Two centuries ago Captain ting commercially by 1947. at peak times. It also means James Cook's Royal Navy exped ition to study dlC transit of Venus-as vital for astro-navigation Installation and alignment of the compact torus antenna at Sydney's Kingsf( as it was for astronomy-had as B This m·ticle was specially writtell for 'COI'esearcb' by the secondary objective the search for well-kllown Australiall journalist, Jobn Stackbouse, announcement of ICAD's choice of Australia's system as the world standard. the rumoured (and possibly found and forgotten) southern continent. For centuries navigators have While an Australian DME net that residential areas underneath beam sweeping up and down. studies carried out by the Uni determined their position using work became established in the are unfairly inflicted with noise. Equipment on the aircraft times versity of Sydney), developed and observations of the sun and the 1950s it was not until 10 years Another disadvantage is that the the intetval between the up and proved a reflecting antenna (again stars. These old navigators relied later that a similar system was signals can be distorted by build down sweep and in the other a bonus from radioastronomy). on information provided by the operating in the United States. ings and terrain. plane, the right and left ones. This was much simpler and could classical astronomers. Because of commercial lobbying Moving up the frequency spec They combine this with the in be patented. and pressure, a different-and less trum from very high to micro~ formation from an advanced and Later as the MLS developmellt It seems appropriate that modern efficient-frequency for their wave irons.·· out .... the . latter .... dis highly accurate DME to locate continued, they came up with the navigational aids for aircraft, create~ th~ the approaching aircraft precisely. operating at radiofrequencies, DME system was chosen. This adVfintage and.·. also. .• was a lesson that was not to be Its computers can then be pro have been proposed by scientists possibility of linking a broader grammed to bring it down for an at the CSIRO Division of Radio· forgotten. path 'of racliosignals with io exact touchdown in any weather. physics, a leader in the field of The Division of Radiophysics flight, automated guidance sys went on to establish Australia as tcms in aircraft so that approa.ches, American scientists had also radioastronomy. a leader in radioastronomy and to curved in horizontal angle and in been working on the same idea. The Division had its origins on develop radical new techniques slope, can be flown. One version was a mechanically the eve of World War 11 when and equipment to observe This gets away from the string swept antenna that awed with its Britain shated its radio location phenomena such as pulsars, which of beads problem with today's complexity the first Australians and ranging secrets with Australia. up to then hadn't been known to lLS. who saw it. There were rapid and independw exist. Dr Wild, applying radio-astron Another was a phased array ent developments in radar in But its origins in the problems omy experience, suggested a time antenna system, which is all Australia during the war years of locating aircraft by radio referenced scanning beam system electronic and which the Ameri for defence against ships and means had not been forgotten. as the most suitable. cans have developed to a high aircraft attack. When a new Chief of the Divis Airport transmitters put out a degree for defence purposes, but Some of the equipment deve iml, Dr Paul Wild, took over in fan·shapcd sweep of signals in is relatively complex. loped by what was then CSIR 1971, a dialogue began with both the horizontal and vertical Dr Wild and his CSIRO team, was acknowledged as the best of what was then the Department of planes, in essence like the light in association with Department its kind available in the world. Civil Aviation (now Transport) from a lighthouse which has of Transport engineers (with It played a prominent part in the about new equipment that was been made to sweep from right to Amalgamated Wireless (Aust war effort. believed necessary. left and back again with a second ralasia) Ltd. and with modelling Radar projectwas.clandestine work Somewhere around the year 2000, upon he would be briefed on a As he said later: 'It was an inter if aircrafthave not by then become secret new defence development. esting moment when I connected obsolete, other researchers and 'Utmost secrecy is essential and it to the mains for the first time The most recently developed antenna i engineers will be looking for the the choice of the man of greatest and switched it on, hoping I shown undergoing flight tests at Sydney a next development from Interscan. discretion possible...' read the wouldn't destroy the first ASV And if someone from CSIRO cable. set in the southern hemisphere.' if it still exists-is writing a story Martyn returned with the sec· from radar to space travel they rets of radar and to attract as Soon afterwards with the help of a PMG technician, he installed will turn back the yellowing pages little attention as possible to the of wartime days and read about group which was set up to work the first set in a DC 3 aircraft and t.hose early yeBn when radm;. was on the new project for Australia, Australia received its first echoes very much on the secret list. it was attached to the new from a real target-a merchant Perhaps one of the most inter CSIR National Standards Labora ship steaming down the coast. esting sidelights of the story as it tory then being built in the Shortly after the outbreak of can be told to date, is that the grounds of Sydney University. war I Frcderick White, then a Division which did the work In those covert days of 1940 Professor of Physics at Canter~ Radiophysics-was to produce when the staff went to work bury University College in New some of Australia's most distin A World War 11 hellcally ",anning through security-guarded gates, the Zealand, was recruited to assist guished physicists and radio microwave early warning radar present Chairman, Victor Burg with the research and develop astronomers. Some have Won installad end being tested by manu, was an electrical engineer. ment of radar in CSIR, In 1942 world acclaim. Radiophysics staff ut Collaroy, He was given a radar set known as he became Chief of the Division. It has also produced three of NSW. air-ta-surface vessel (ASV) which CSIR/CSIRO's seven Chaitmen had been sent out from England Under his leadership a group of Sir Frederick White, Mr Victor then Prime Minister,]oseph Lyons, without instructions. His task physicists including names like Burgmann and now Dr Paul Wild. to go on a clandestine mission to was to get it going. Knowing the Joe Pawsey, Jack Piddington and The first person to be involved Gov~ England after the Australian broad principles of radar he was Fred Lehany to mention but a The service groups of Radiophysics were was a physicist, David FoliPes ernment had been asked to send able to trace the circuit and few, went on to make significant gram. One of their staff, Domenic Delv' Martyn, who was chosen by the its top physicist to London where deduce how it worked. contributions to the war effort. an experimental jig for microwave couplh 4 221-1978 'per ardua ad astra' The people behind Interscan The credit for the basic concept Dennis Cooper: development and Don Yabsley: developed reflector of Interscan goes to Dr Paul Wild. systems analysis. Represented panel manufacturing techniques He had the foresight and drive to CSIRO with Or Wild at inter for first torus antennas. get the project going and keep it national meetings. moving both in Australia and Frank Tanking: microwave fer Doug Cole; experimental receiver/ overseas. rite component developments for But if he •fathered, the project processor development and an landing systems. tenna monitoring. it has since been mothered and GJynn Rogers: originally worked Don DiIlon: logic design for scan~ nurtured by an enthusiastic group on Interscan engineering at AWA. ning antennas, monitoring and of colleagues. In 1976 joined Radiophysics to There has been a lot of input recclver design. develop microwave lens tech· from people outside CSIRO-from Zain Kachwalla: exp~rimental nology and modulation systems. the Depattment of Transport and work on airborne receiver pro from Amalgamated Wirdess cessor and microwave stripline Geoff IJoulton: joined program in 1977 to develop folded micro (Australia) Ltd-but within the component development. Division of Radiophysics there is wave lens technology. Expert on John Brooks: mfcrowave engin a strong team which has already reflector antenna design. eering of original feasibility torus put in many long hours on the Geoff Lee and Mark van Hemel project. And' there is little antenna. John Craggs: hardware develop· ryck: technicians assisting with slackening of work for now they experimental programs and hard have the responsibility of refining ment and· initial field evaluation ware development. the system and maldng sure that of antennas. Australia will benefit. Charles Monticone: static an Behind the team there has, of The main people in the team tenna measurements, digital design course, been a Jot of ..support include: for antenna sub-systems, antenn~ from others. There have been )rd Smith Airport. This photograph was taken shortly before the Mr Harry Minnett (Acting hardware development. the service groups, photographers Photos: John Masterson Chief): overall project manage Diet Ostry: applied mathematical/ and drafting personnel, clerical ment and technical leadership in physicist-assisted in systems staff and secretaries who have antenna development. analysis and fundamental antenna worked long hard hours to get lnterscan family of antennas that With memories of the original Brian Cooper (leader of the Ap analysis. essential service work completed provide the accurate swept beam DME change of frequency gauge, plied Research Group): systems Bruce Thomas: developed re on time. Along with the wives of required without moving parts. the CSIRO and Department of analysis especially for new lens ftectorlfeed systems for first the tcam members, they have Transport teams began close COR designs and modulation systems. torus elevation antenna. shared the pressure and the pride. Once the Australian system was operation with the Americans. invented and tested. the problem Having originally gone cold on was to get it adopted as an intefR time referenced scanning beam national system" (TRSB), the Americans now saw its virtues and threw their own efforts behind it. Other countries such as the Soviet Union backed it so that when the International Civil Aviation Organization's specialists made the eventual choice in Montreal this year, it won by a majority vote from a BritishM developed Doppler system. The position now is that Aust ralia holds some key patents for antennas which may be used in MLS installations. These patents arc seen as being the basis for an Australian launch into the MLS equipment market. When it was all over tha Division took time out for a celebration-from left: M Harry Minnatt, Or Paul Wild The Australian ,Government j and Mr Brian Cooper. through the Department of Pro ductivity, has established a joint venture company with industry culled Interscan Australia Pty Ltd, which will require about $15 m to develop the Australian concepts and put them on to the world market. Discussions are taking place with a leading United States 5 the conical elevation lens fed array, supplier of aircraft navigational irport. aids in -the hope that this will give AustraHa a share of the big US market. But on top of this, there are possibilities for Australian con tracts in other arcas such as the Middle East and Asia where complete lturnkey' installations will be required. Government Ministers and spol(csmen have pointed to one lesson from Interscan develop ment. This is that big oppor tunities exist for Australia in areas of high technology exports where the Ingenuity and versatility of Australian scientists and engineers give it an edge that labour~ intensive products do not have. High technology cun only begin with basic research and innova tion. It is by such techniques as heavily committed to the Interscan pro keeping its eyes-and its radio ecchio, mills to extremely high accuracy antennas-on the stars that these 19 measurements. opportunities arise. Charles Monticone and John Craggs adjust an acourate template used for setting the reflector panel surfaces. 5 221-1978 Lexie rescues aisickiRlOUntain duckiinWA ~~ijStDtp A Western Australia.n 'moun Gommittee tain duck which has been an inhabitant ohhe 'Perth Medica.l secretary Centre for some .time,· owes its Iife~like a lot of WA retires birds"-'-to Lexie Nicholls, a technical officer at the Helena Mr Doug Dewey, who was closely Valley Laboratory of the involved with 'the work on trace Division ofWildlife Rcsearch. elements which ultimately led to Lexic, who has already been the production of the cobalt pel honoured for her wildlife res~ let, has retired. cue work j was asked to help For the past 11 years Doug has the bird when it was found been secretary of the South Aust suffering from botulism in an ralian State Committee but before ornamental lake; that he spent about 30 years Respiratory massage for 26 working in the Divisions of hours kept it alive. Animal Health and Human 'When' the duck arrived it Nutrition. hadalmost stopped- hre'athing,' It was in 1939 that he joined she said. the team working with Dr Bedley IIts beak was too long for Marston at the Animal Nut mouth-to~mouth resuscitation rition Laboratory of Animal so I tried respiratory massagc, Health and Doug'·recalls that this a gentle version of 'cardiac was a time when CSIRO was stimulation. small enough for the Chairman, 'My mother and I continued Sir David Rivett, to know all the the treiltment every two sec~ professional staff personally. onds for the next 26 hours. Adelaide staff and colleagues 'We did not dare stop be paid tribute to his work for the cause. every time we tried the Organization at various farewell duck's eyes WQuld roll up and functions. In his retirement Doug it would begin to asphyxiate.' has a .special ambition-"ta play golf eight days a week.' texis with the mountain duck she and her mother saved. Photo': Courtesy West Aust~ Honours for ralian Newspapers Ltd., Perth. staff members Seven CSIRO scientists have been Asian>food projects get honoured by the Australian Academy of Science. RMlTaward Dr Lloyd Evans, Division of Plant Industry, has been elected help from CSIROscientist Mr Des Barber of the Printing President of the Academy for a Unit, Melbourne. has been awarded four-year term. Or Alex Buehanan who has spent the last five years on second the certificate of Printing arid A member of the Executive, Dr N.K. Boardmal1, has been elec ment to the Australian Development Assistance Bureau Graphic Arts and the. Planning and Estimating Award from t1,e ted Treasurer alld Dr H.J. Frith. (ADAB) in Asia, paid a flying visit back to Australia last Royal Melbourne,' Institute of Chief, Division of Wildlife Re month. Technology. search, was elected to the Acad While he was here he was. presented .. with the Australian His thesis topic was terminology emy's Governing Body. Institute of Food Science and Technology Award of Merit used in photocomposition and Dr L.M.Clarebrough, Division of supporting functions. Chemical Physics, Dr R.D.B. for 1978 for meritorious contributions to food science and Frascr, Division of ProteinChemis· technology, particularly in relation to the nutritional needs of try, and Dr W.T. Williams, Divi the developing world. sion of Tropical Crops and Australian paper Pastures, were eJected Members Before going to Thailand in collaboration with Lever Bros. of the Academy. August 1973, Alex had spent a It is also being test marketed in Edmund Layton, National Mea Dr R.N. Manchester. Division of Radiophysics was awarded the number of years working at the other countries in Asia. surement Laboratory. was invited , Academy's Pawsey Medal for dis..; Dairy Research Laboratory at This was by no means thc first to present his paper"Photo~ Highctt on the development of attcmpt to produce such a food. grammetry in Metallic· Hardness tinguished research in experi new products from milk and its The. failure of other schemes to Or Buchanan Measurement Instrumentation' at mental physics by scientists not over the age of 35. Or Manchester constituents. succeed has generally been attri the 2nd International Measure· lie had a particular interest in buted to narrow vision in the hadn't been for his enthusiasm, ment Confederation (IMEKO) has an international reputation high protein foods for use in overall planning whereas, accortl~ scientific capabilities and realistic Symposium in Stuttgart in May. for his work on pulsars. devdoping countries and thb led ing to ADAB, an essential factor approach, the progress of some of He is the first Australian to pre to the successful Australian milk in the success of this project was the sub-pl'ojects would have been sent a paper at this international com~ biscuit which was produced tllc wide experience a.nd exper severely hampered. venue since it started in 1952. merciaily in a number of coun tise Alex had had inaU the re Sir William tries, especially Zambia. lated fields. When the Thai Government re In 1974 Alex was appointed the Vines retires quested Australian assistance for Australian Liaison Officer to the Sir WilIiam Vines, Chairman of help in the development of A-SEAN, sub·Committcc on Pro Dalgcty Australia Ltd., has re weaning foods for infants, Alex tcin,'rhe Australian Government Apprentice given aw"rd tired froin the Executive of was ask€d to undertake the Pl'O~ has committed $S.5 million to its CSlRO. jeer in association with a research Protein Project and Alcx has He was first appointed in March team at Kasetsart University. been an advisor to various national 1973, the term of appointment The project wasn't simply a committee-s, being subsequently extended matter of producing a baby food. The initial rescarc11, wellilnder three times. It had to be ba~ed as much as way, includes the identification. In his capacity as Acting Chair· possible on local raw materials, development ,and utilisation 'of man of the Australian Wool it had to suit the eating habits of low cost, ,proteinfoads, the pro Commission, member of the Aust~ Thai childrcn and the ability of ccssingand utilisation of full fat ralian Wool Board and the Inter Thai parents to pay for it. soy flour, improvement or soy national Wool Secretariat Board. Consideration had to be given fermentation technology and and Chairman and Director of to packaging for while it might nutrition and metabolic various other companies he be cheaper to buy the com evaluation, brought·to CSIRO a wide range modity in the 'large economy Last year'l\lcx wasalso"appoin of managerial skillsandanin~depth size', Thai parents living ana ted Australian LiaisonOffi(~cr to knowledge of primary and .secon day-ta-day existence would not the ASEANFood Handling l'rojec\ dary industry. be able to buy in quantity, More which covers,', a ,range of'-problems Replying to a speech made by over, village women seldom have related ·to h~hdling, food'pl'd,:: the Chairman,. Mr V.D.Burgmann. the ability to store food safely ducts after harvcst,,:inc:ludinggrass, at a recent· Advisory Council for any length of time. fruit"vcgctttblcs; ·fi!lh·andJivc dinner, Sir Willlam prilised.,the With aU those constraints upon stock. Australia is ··also ..... con findings of the Government .Com~ them. the tcam still succeeded tributingstibstantially to the cost Stephen DOwning from the Division of Entomology In Canberra holds mittee of Inquiry and told·. the in producing a. commercially of this program. the Principal's Trophy whIch he was awarded along with the ACT gathering that the 'recommenw viable product and a dry prc~ Alex.who now lives in Kuala Employer1sFederation Prize for his outstanding, performance in the dations only substantiated; his cooked powder, similar in appear Lumpur with· his family, rctains Fitting and Machine Trade Course he completed last year at the Can 4 feeling that CSIRO was an organi 1 ancc to 'Farex , is now being hls dynamic interest in this work bene College of TechnIcal and Further Education. Steve was also sation he had been proud to be manufactured by the university in and, according to ADAB. if it ACT Apprantice of the Year. associated with. 6 221-1978 Divisions farewell two distinguished Chiefs Two of CSIRO's best known Chiefs, 01' Roy Munccy of Building Rcsearch and 01' Lloyd Rccs, Chcmical Physics, havc retircd. Thcre havc becn various farcwell functions for thcm and staff hopc that they willrctain somc association with thcm in the years to comc. 'Think Change'-those two words As advocate for the CSIRO chemical physics group to be set displayed prominently in the Officers' Association, he suc up in any government-financed office of Dr Muncey represent cessfully presented the research laboratory in the world. a personal belief that guided him scientists' case before the Arbi The function of the Section was through his 34 years with CSIRO. tration Court in 1963. to meet the urgent demand for In 1965 he investigated super the introduction into Australia And for Dr Muncey who retired annuation problems on behalf of of a number of major chemico- at the end of May, those words the High Council of the Com~ physical methods including will be acted upon. monwealth Public SelVice elcctron-microscopy, electron Organizations. diffraction, X~ray structure His new activity as a farmer at lie has been Chairman of analysis, mass specrroscopy and Hamilton in Victoria's Western Directors of the CSIRO Cooperaw infrared spectroscopy. District is a far cry from his first tive Credit Society Limited since A chemist by training and a days with CSIRO when he 1968 and during his term the physicist by inclination and joined the Division of Tribo~ society has grown by a factor of adoption, Lloyd Rees was the physics in 1944 and undertook four. ideal man for the job. a war time task of measuring the Dr Muncey has also been 11 In 1958 the Section that he had built up became the Division of Chemical Physics with Dr Rees as its Chief. A firm believer that the best ,. way to help industry is through Dr L10yd Rees and his wile Marlon look at a presentation book of fundamental scientific research, photographs showing highlights of Dr Rees' career. Dr Rees has seen many of his Division's inventions and tech niques become commercially viable, not the least of which is the atomic absorption spectro photometer. Obituary Active in the affairs of both national and international scien~ tific organisationsl in 1969 Dr Senior administrative Rces became the only Australian to be elected president of the officer dies International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry, the largest of Mr John Warwick, Assistant Scc~ Never one for the hasty or ad all international scientific unions. retary (Administrative Services) hoc solutionI he preferred to anal~ lie held the post until 1972. yse all the options-usually in a Dr Rees was awarded a CBE in since 1975, died in hospital in Canberra in May following a smoke~filled room which occas 1977 'for services to the science ionally had to be vacated while of chemical physics.' serious operation. John originally joined the someone put out the wastepaper As a measure of the esteem in Organization as a clerical assist~ bin fire, lit by flying ash from a which he is held, Dr Rees' portrait ant in Sydney in 1951. In 1957 very active pipe. will hang alongside that of Sir Or Roy Muncev !left) and Peul Dubout. leader 01 the Acoustics Group, herct had done more than anyone else w He is also a member of the Frank first joined the Organi The move to a permanent loca However, he will best be re~ Australian Housing Research to establish Australia as a force on tion at Aspendalc heralded busy zation as a clerk in 1947, trans~ membered for his interest in Council and the Building Research the international scientific scene. fcrring to the Section of Meteoro~ years of growth in the 19505 people and their problems. In 1944, Sir 1an Wark. Chief and Developmcnt and Advisory logical Physics (as it was then) and a spate of extended field To mark the occasion of his Council. of the Division of Industrial expeditions in the early 60s. atte~ded in 1951. retirement, a well fare Besides his scientific achicve~ Chemistry, asked Dr Rees to Despite this activity, Frank was well dinner was held for him at a ments, Dr Muncey has distin return from the VI< to Australia He is well able to recall the early bent on acquiring a degree and local bostelry. guisned himself in several cxtra~ to set up a Chemical Physics days when the Division numbered later was awarded a BA from the He leaves with the Division's curricular activities. Section in the Divisionl the first a handful of scientists, and was University of Melbourne. warmest wishes. 7 221-1978 No increase in This is it... NML's 'funnel'installed Benevolent Funds rate warranted The income of all the CSIRO Benevolent Funds exceeded expenditure for 1977 although in all but one Fund expenditure rose during the year. It was agreed at the anllual general" meeting of the Funds in Canberra that there would be no increase in contribution rates as the combined assets of the Funds were over $60 000. In their fifth annual report, the Chairmen of the Funds recorded their thanks and appreciation to Mc M.Puttod<., NML, for his guidance and council over the past years. Mc Puttock retires this year from the Chairmanship of the NSW Fund, having played an active role in it for many years. Finance The financial situation of each of the Funds is shown below. Figures in brackets arc for 1976. Ineome and Expenditore Fund Income Expenditure $ $ Brisbane 2636 (1724) 1540 (1718) Photo: Harry Gillett NSW 5871 (6020) 2592 (2321) Canberra. 3654 (3866) 2262 (1309) Southern 7403 (7209) 4880 (4509) Assets Fund Investments and cash Outstanding loans Joint symposium for Divisions $ $ Brisbane 8499 (7403) 315 (315) The Divisions of Food Research cription of a project which al of Human Nutrition, Sydney NSW 21 150 (17870) 458 (610) in Sydney and Human Nutrition ready involved active collabora~ University; Professor M.Wahlqvist, Ca.nberra 14061 (12668) 2214 (1524) in Adelaide recently held a joint tion between the scientists, namely Professor of Human Nutrition, Southern 18479 (15966) Nil (Nil) symposium at North Ryde when the effects of dietary fibre and Deakin UniversitYi Professor F. topics which are of interest to saponins on bile salt excretion Annison and Dr D.Balnave of the 62189 (53970) 2987 (2449) both groups of researchers were and scrum cholesterol. Department of Animal Husbandry, discussed. Othcr topics presented were University of Sydney; Or I. The symposium grew out of a studies on zinc and iodine defic· Hanson, University of Western realisation that the two Divisions iency, biotin in nutrition, Australial as well as about 20 Overseas visitor for NML had many areas of common in 3-methylhistidine as an indicator scientists from CSIRO. terest in their research programs. of muscle protein, gut microflora, The day finished with a 'res· At the end of last year the Chiefs linoleic acid-enriched rumin ant torative collation' in the Labora and Assistant Chiefs of both Divi foodstuffs and the use of isolated tory's cantcen which further sions agreed that it was desirable liver cells in studies of carcinoma. to exchange information and to Among the participants werc helped to ccment cordial relation establish co-operative research Professor A.S. Truswcll, Professor ship between the two Divisions. projects. The symposium, which was also attended by people outside the Organization, started with a des- CAA 'Walk against Want' Fun run in Canberra The second annual CSIRO Fun Run for 'The Black Mountain Surprise and envy at the extent Cup' will be held on Wednesday and quality of NML's optical pro 19 July in Canberra. duction capability were expressed Change of It will start in the Environmental by Mr Eckhard Potulski, an an Mechanics car park at 12.45 pm, glneer from the Physikalisch scene and cover the same 5.6 km course Technichse Bundesanstalt, Braun~ as last year. schweig, West Germany, when he Bob Marshail, staff development Entomology cleaned up the visited NML. Mr Potulsl ·,.arciT- .'~ ~ A publicationfor CS/RO st t.;', ~ Aug/Sept 1978 M~~""'NJ -·-lLI'B!;»Al'flf I Budget : Another cFUroVvth year ahead Staffceiling cut by 50 CSIRO staff ceilings will be reduced by 51 funded by CSIRO's allocation from the may be further adjusted by the Government Defence's Material Research Laboratory. positions to a maximum of 5700 as a result Federal Budget. before the next Budget. Additional funds nf $301 000 have been of the Federal Budget. It does not take into account any current Chiefs of Divisions have alrea.dy been provided to meet the cost of a full year's The reductions, which will be achieved by or future staff cuts resulting from a reduction notified of the new staff ceilings, which operation. natural wastage-retirements and resig~ in industry funds for research, and still must be achieved by the endof June 1979. The Government's decision to allocate nations-relate only to those positions leaves open the possibility that staff ceilings In general the 51 positions will be lost by $656 000 tn CSIRO to provide additional Divisions and Head Office on a pro-rata research support for the Department of basis according to size, with a maximum loss Primary Industry in its role of monitoring A year ago, this photograph would have been an entomologist's dream. The of three positions in anyone Division. and managing the resources of the 200 world's most primitive living ant, Nothomyrmecia macrops, still remained However, the Executive has made some nautical mile Australian Fishing Zone. elusive after a 40·year quest which followed the discovery oftwo adjustment to the pro-rata formula to AdditionallyI in accordance with the specimens by flT1 amateur naturalist. Rediscovered by Division of ensure high priority research areas are Government's decision on the recommenM Entomology ant specialist Dr Bob TayJor in South Australia last year, appropriately supported. clations of the Independent [nquiry, that these Jiving fossils are now thriving under laboratory conditions. The ceiling figure of 5700 staff funded by the CSIRO Budget should not be used as a This photograph. by Peter Hay, Sb01VS a worker attending two young the Budget includes a figure of 40 casual channel for Government contributions to queens, with pupae and Cl hatched }al"Va. Only the wor}ur caste bad positions for seasonal work or other similar the Standards Association of Australia and been described previously. purposes. the National Association of Testing Auth Overall, the 1978/79 Budget means a orities, $2 711 000 which in the past would slight contraction in total research activity have been included in CSIRO's Budget for and some re·deployment of staff or 1978/79, will instead be channelled through positions. the Department of Science. The Budget provided $144 344 000 to In commenting on CSIRO's Budget allo CSIRO, comprising $141 244 000 for salar cation l the Minister for Science, Senator iesandoperationaJ activitiesand$3 100000 J.J. Webster, said there would be a reM for major items of equipmentl minor build deployment into the following areas of ings, works and developmental expenditure. national importancel While CSIRO's appropriation represents a · Fisheries research I in support of the nominal increase of 6.6 per cent over last management and monitoring of resources year's figure, the increase from the viewpoint of the Australian fishing zone by Primary of existing activities is only five per cent. Industry. Several factors tend co obscure the real · Breeding aphid-resistant lucerne to com~ nature of. the in CSIRO's Budget bat the threatto Australia's lucerne crops aH6cado-ri:'- by exotic aphids. . Changed funding arrangements from 1 · Investigations into the link betv.reen January 1978 for CSIRO's sheep and wool insects and the livescock disease bluetongue research, where the Government has in Australia. directly provided CSIRO with funds for · Planning and documentation of the AustM 60 'per cerit'ofthc research previously ralian National Animal Health Laboratory funded from the Wool Research Tru!>1: now being built at Geelong, Vic. Fund. This meanS an increase of $4.4 · Establishing an international research co milliun in CSIRO's 1978/79 appropriat operation group to generally co-ordinate ion over 1977/78. CSIRO's research assistance for developing . The transfer to CSIRO in September 1977 countries. of the Adelaide branch, Department of New Chief appointed for Irrigation Research Division will retain autonomy From left. new ChiefDr Paul Kriedemann, Executive Member Dr Alan Pierce and former Acting Cbief, Dr Henry Barrs. The Division of Irrigation Research at During this period, the Executive's first Griffith has a new Chief-plant physiologist policy decision was that CSIRO would retain Dr Paul Kriedernann. currently a Senior a research group at Griffith. Principal Research Scientist worldng at the However, it was not until organisational Mcrbein laboratory of the Division of aspects had been looked at in more detail Horticultural Research. that the Executive decided in December Dr Kriedemann's appointment was announ 1977 that the group would continue to have ced in July, and he will take up his new frec~standing Divisional status, rather than position in October. being combined with another Division. He replaces the Division's acting Chief, Dr Pierce described Dr Kriedemann as the Dr Henry Barrs, who has guided research at outstanding applicant in a splendid field of Griffith since the retirement of Mr Eric applicants, and onc who exactly matched I-Ioare more than a year ~go. the requirements for Chief of the Division In announcing Dr Kriedemann's appoint as defined by the Fowden Committee. ment to the Division's staff, Executive He had graduated B.Agr.Sc. (Hnns) from Member Dr Alan Pierce, said the move Queensland University in 1960 and was. reflected the Executive's view that CSIRO awarded his Ph.D. by the University of needed a Division to deal with the problems Melbourne in 1964 for research on crop of intensive production under irrigated con~ physiology. ditions, and that the Division would need to Between 1964 and 1966 hc held a post develop stronger links with other research doctoral fellowship with the Department of groups because of its relatively small size Biological Sciences at Purdue University in but multi-disciplinary nature. the US, and upon returning to Australia in Dr Pierce paid tribute to Dr Barrs for his 1966 he joined the Division of Horticultural able and expert guidance of the Division Research at Merbein. during his caretaker period j and thanked Author of morc than SO publications, Or staff members for their co·operation during Kriedemann at 41 had already gained an what he described as 'a very trying time'. international reputation in plant physiology. This period had extended from the initia Dr Pierce, referring to the announcement tion by the E.xecutive of an independent in December that Irrigation Research's cutbacks and restrIctions for CSI RO as a future of the Division, in Paul's ability to review by the Fowden Committee in DecM scope would be widened to include specific wholc, to provide additional resources to lead it effectively and imaginatively t and in ember 1976, in preparation for Mr Hoare's studies into soils and water management, start the Division off on its new course. the support he can expect from his staff,' retirement, until the present. said the Executive hoped, despite general 'The Executive has every confidence in the Dr Pierce said. ------New times, new look for CoResearch CoResearch comes to you this month CSIRO. Add to this the inevitable feature 'Perspective' CoResearch hopes Research will publish the occasional with some changes in appearance and tensions associated with rapid change to become a forum for people to con cartoon-borrowed or contributed by content, the result of a change in and financial stringency and the need tribute to, or bring perspective to staff-to leaven the heavier material, editor (see this page) and a re-working for mechanisms to maintain a sense of internal or public debate, within the while continuing its 'Science at Work' by David Marshall of the Central unity becomes urgent. guidelines set down for public state photographs. Communication Unit's graphic design CoResearch needs to reflect the fact ments by CSIRO staff. CoReseareh welcomes other people's section. that we work for O>1e organisation, and If there are enough contributors, ideas 011 how it can be improved, and Over the years, CoResearch has tbat we should know what goes on it either voluntary or by invitation, will continue to seek contributions evolved with CSIRO, and the changes it, whether it affects us directly or not. 'Perspective' will carry state-of-the-art fram all Divisions-articles, suggestions to this issue reflect a reappraisal of CoResearch has always been a staff features, expert views on topical issues for articles, and photographs. the magazine at a time of fundamental journal, and will continue in this role. and perhaps an occasional exercise in Photographers are invited to con CoResearch would like to encourage crystal ball gazing. change in the Organization. tribute pictores illustrating research all staff to become interested in CoRcsearch would like to bear about CoResearch has always sought to in as well as people, and both pre science, which ultimately employs us the leisure interests of CSIRO staff form and entertain, but underlying ference and due credit will be given to all. Science needs advocates in Aust painting, pottery, poetry, hang-gliding, these two aims has been the more imaginative shots-given that this is ralia, and we have more than 6000 gardening or any other pursuit which basic objective of fostering a sense of not always possible for some subjects. community in a diverse and highly potential advocates within the might interest others, particularly dispersed organisation. Organization. those looking to enrich the years after The correspondence column seeks The 'them-us' syndrome occurs in CSIRO employs some of the best retirement. brief, pithy or witty views frain staff. any large organisation, and is accen minds in Australia, both in research Science and its administration tend For a start how about something tuated in decentralised bodies such as and administration. Through the new to be deadly serious matters, and Co- effusive or abusive about this issue? .. . and a new editor There has been a change in the editorship of Co ReseaI'ch. Dorothy Braxtoll, who has been in the editorial chair fm' dle past 5 VI years, had handed over to Graeme o 'Neill, formerly of the Media Group. After putting her final edition Ita bed', Dorothy claimed that editing CoRcsearch had been onc of the most difficult tasks she had undertaken in a long career in journalism. This was because she found she had to cater for a very wide range of people living across a huge expanse of country and somehow satisfy the interests of all ofthcm in four pages. ICoResearch is not for anyone particular group of people,' she said. 'It belongs to the scientists, the typists and secrctaries, the tca ladies,administrators, laboratory craftsmen, engineers and technical staff. 'Some want it produced like uThe Times'" others the "Financial Review", while others again see it as being anything from "Truth" to "Nature". 'The best part about being editor has been meeting so many people. 'I've had tremendous co-operation from Divisionnl staff, especinUy photol:.rraphers and those in the communication game and I'd like to thank them for that help.' Graeme O'Ncill, the new editor, spent 3th years with the Media Group and will be known to many Divisional staff already. At 30, he has had 14 years in journalism, David Marshall, Cbief Graphic Designer with the Central Communication Unit, discusses tbe Hew format for CoResearcb witb new both as a writer and sub-editor. editor Graeme 0 'Neill. David also designed tbe '11lOtif for tbe T-sbirt, whicb will be sold from the Parkes radioteIe.<;cope visit-ors' centre. CSIRO band recovered in China Vitalfeather in scheme's cap History was made in June when the CSIROM In 1976 the Ambassador of the People's from Canton. 2339 palaearctic waders banded by mem administered Australian Bird-Banding Republic of China l His Excellency Chou Mr Wu said the curlew sandpiper had been bers of the Australian Bird-Banding Scheme Scheme received its first bird band back Chiu-Yeh, accepted an invitation to visit caught in the fields along with several in 1976-77. from the People's Republic of China. the Division of Wildlife Research at others. It was seriously injured, and he had The return of the band from a curlew Gungahlin. attempted to nurse it back to health after sandpiper, Calid11s [erruginea, may be a The opportunity was useJ to explain to finding the band on its leg. However, prelude to the rccov«ry of more bands Mr Chou the aims of the Australian Bird· despite his efforts it had died. from China, which lies in the migratory path Banding Scheme and the Scheme's wish to The bird was recovered on 14 May 1978, of a number of species in which the bird M cooperate with the People's Republic of about 15 months ufter being banded on banding scheme has an interest. China in the study of migratory birds. Kooragang Island near Newcastle NSW by The recovery of band No 040-71148 from The growing cultural and trade exchange Mr Fredcrick van Cessel. China has elated the scheme's Officet-in between Australia and China has now es Mr van Gesscl, who operates under the Charge, Mr David Purchase, and his col tablished a basis for scientific exchange auspices of the Australian BirdMBanding leagues from the Division of Wildlife Re between the two countries, and Ch ina Scheme, is undertaldng a study of the search at Gungahlin. recently announced it would welcome help curlew sandpipers and other palaearctic Mr Purch ase has been waiting a long time from other countries in achieving a major waders which visit the Newcastle area. for the opportunity to place a coloured pin, upgrading of its scientific research effort. The curlew sandpiper breeds in the Arctic representing a band recovery, inside the The urcakthrough for the bird-banding regions of Siberia during the northern blank area of China on his large wall map scheme came with the receipt at Gungahlin summer. and each autumn makes the long of the world. of a letter bearing a Chinese stamp and trip to southern latitudes to escape the Pins in various colours already show band written in Chinese. bitter Siberian winter. recoveries from most of the Pllcific region Translated, it was found to be from a During the northern winter it is found and into Siberia, where many birds from a worker named Wu Kuci-Ch'uan, a member along the coasts of Africa, India, south group known as the palacarctic waders of the No 10 production team in a rural east Asia and Australia. breed. commune in Kuangtung Province, not far The bird recovered in China was onc of 2 222-1978 Geomechanics work 6 vital to industry' Syndal's scientists show their wares Drawing attention to the subject of so Representatives of Australian industry. Victorian SenatorT.J.Tehan, deputising for Australian consultants; called fundamental research, Senator Tehan Government, universities, colleges and re the Minister for Science, Senator].}.Webster. · improved application of underground said that the payoff from an apparently far search institutions responded enthusiastically who was unavailable because of a Cabinet metal mining techniques such as the use of pOSt removed line of fundamental research could to two special invitation days organised by meeting, told 45 key senior people including pillars and cable dowelling as methods the Division of Applied Geomechanics late the Chairman, Mr V.D. Burgmann, at the of ground support; sometimes be spectaculat-pure research in radio astronomy had led to the development in June. opening session that the Division had an · computer programs for the design of of the aircraft landing system, Interscan More than 160 people visited the Division's outstanding record of collaborative research. major raft foundations for large buildings; l Syndal laboratories near Melbourne to dis He said that among the Division's past · better methods for selecting foundations which would be worth millions of dollars to Australia. cuss fundamental and applied research accomplishments could be mentioned: for minor buildings on troublesome relating to mining, civil and marine the system of terrain evaluation for urban expansive clays. 'ff one wants an example relevant to this engineering. and regional planning that is now used by A current development was the use of occasion onc need look no further than the geophysical techniques to provide warning hollow inclusion gauge developed by this of possible hazards in mines. Division to measure rock stress', he said. 'There can be nO doubt that the Division 'The cell is a considerable improvement on must continue to develop a national centre overseas techniques and relics for its opera of excellence in geomechanics facilities' I tion on the simple elasticity principle first Senator Tchan said. described by Hooke as long ago as 1676. 'A strong geomechanics research backup The gauge is now being manufactured by an is critical to Australian development. Australian firm under licence to CSIRO'. 'In an energy conscious age the importance At each of the four sessions during the of efficient recovery of coal cannot be invitation days, guests were shown an audio denied. visual presentation of the Division's research 'There are urgent problems to be faced activities, particularly those at field sites in with the development of Australia's unique various parts of Australia. coastline and continental shelf, such as the There were formal presentations and dis management of foreshores as engineering cussions in the laboratories of the Division's development takes place. four programs, general geomechanics, IMore knowledge is required about the metalliferous mining geotechnology, coal nature and properties of the seabed matcr~ geotcchnology, and urban, regional and iaIs ,'on the continental shelf that must marine technology, followed by free time provide ,a firm foundation for petroleum for informal discussions and refreshments. and gas exploration and production plat The Acting Chief of the Division, Dr forms and pipelines,' Senator Tehan said. Coarles Gerrard, said it was the first time the Division had attempted to present an Efficient recovery of ore and safety in overview of all its activities. con~ ,undc::rground metal mining was a 'While it gave the Division an opportunity tinuing requirement. to present its message, we were very grateful In, civil engineering new challenges had to to ~ee 'it as a two-way communication exer ,be faced.as rail tranSP9rt'systcrns,were cise and we valued greatly the comments :Qcvclop<.:d, and more use wllsmade of under~ made by the visitors. ;-gr9t,lnd,~:-facilities",jncludingfutun~"need~ for 'Although we were concentrating to some Un?,~fgfo,undstorage of strl1tegicmateri~ls. extent on past and current achievements, we TP~proper:ll1anagerpe,nt"ofwaterresoUJ;ces were also looking very much to the futu re 'fF:911,red 'l'esearj::h jnto the stability .of earth and the research directions to be taken into rbckfill dams. the future', he said Women at work Two different committees are currently Members of the committee would be ~akinga'look at the employment ofwomen pleased to have written submissions from in CSIRO. Each was independently set up any members of staff about the role of t9ward~ the end, of lastyear. women i,n.CSIRO,'including matters relating , The establishmentofthe CSIRO committee to working conditions, for instance. was approved by the Executive and com The CSIROOA has also established a com prises Or ]udith Koch, of the Molecular and mittee to _Jook at the employment of CelluJar Biology Unit (Chairman), Dr women in the Organization. Marjorie ] ago, Division of Animal Health, This committee, which comprises Or Mr Don Gwynne, senior staff development Cecily Gribbin (Convener), Ms Lesley offkcr at Head Office and Mr Arthur Instonc, both of Building Research and Mrs BJewitt, Divisional Secretary, Division of Elizabeth Davy of CILES, will be examining Entomology. several areas which are of special concern Members of the committee will be: to the CSJROOA including: Hennie Mitting and Gerry Mutsaerts of · examining the role of women in CSIRO; . the formal Terms and Conditions of · ascertaining the general attitude to the Employment of women in CSlRO with a Textile hldustry modelthe 12e'l./J windcheaters. employment of women in CSIRO; view to advocating the removal of any dis · reporting to the Executive on any per criminatory practices; ceived problems that might emerge as a . the perceived consequences that have result of the first two objectives. arisen from recent changes in terms and CSIRO windcheaters The committee is planning to carry out a conditions of women in CSIRO with a Get it on your chest-with a T-shirt or wind for 11 discount. survey among the staff to discover attitudes view to establishing whether there are cheater from Textile Industty's Social Club. The windcheaters are available in navy1 about the employment of women. The ways in which resultant problems can be Emblazoned with a lUap of Australia and royal blue, gold, maroon, bottle green, red survey questionnaire is being prepared in minimised. the words 'CSIRO' and 'Science for Aust and white, while T-shirts are availuble only consultation with staff associations and staff Both committees are interested in examin rnlia\ the garments will help spread the in white, with blue motif. at various Divisions. The committee will ing the attitudes of people in CSIRO to CSIRO message and will generate funds for Prices arel Windcheaters, boys and also he assisted in this by Dr Evan Davies, women in the worl When he's not drawing weevils, artist Ian Sbar-pe ofthe Division ofEntomology Keeping a Sharpe eye on weevils re/axes by dra'l.uing weevils . .. -" WEEVIL KNIEVEL THE LESSER OF TWO WEEVILS WEEVIL OVERCOME 222-1978 Earthrise The odd par avian 'Dear Sir,' the letter said, 'Would you please send me morc information about bird banging...' That was just one of the gems to pass across the desh: of Australian Bird Banding Schcme Secretary, David Purchase, in recent years. One lacerated lettcr writer summed up his own recovery of a band perfcctly when he wrote 'Holding a eorella is like holding a chaff cutter.' Others eschew frills and get right to the nub of it. With a band attached came this succinct letterl 'To the owner. One bird of your country came here last July 23. From dle sender.' The term 'bird banding' throws a lot af people. Mr Purchase has received letters referring to 'bird banking', 'bird banning', 'bird binding', and in a more horrific vein, 'bird bending' and 'bird branding'. Perhaps the best was from a glue com pany, addressed to the Australian Bird Bonding Scheme. From a wildlife warden whose efforts in recovering a shag alive 'and taking it to the security of his home had been rewarded by a copious expression of disdain upon his lounge room floor, came a letter addressed to 'The Chief S....r, CSIRO', which coined an indelicate new name fm' people dis~ playing an unnatural interest in shags. And from a remote valley in Victoria, came the followingl 'Dear Sir, I would like you to now that on this date one group ove '-TOW, past our Farmer and the crow was hert and it fell neir were my Father was working and he looket close it it was dad and it saw this siIve thing on it leg and he tooked it of and he brought it home. I readed nnd it said that I hefter writer to you. This what it said Write-Wildlife-C.Siro Canberra-Australia Nur 100-46625 Yours faithfully Miss X.' The Report to Finder issued by the Eartbrise aver the cratercd landscape ora moth's egg. Tb;s remarkable montage is the work. aj'electron microscopist Bafry Filshie a/tbe banding office was returned some tunc later wid\ the following letter. Division ofEntomology in Canberraj wbo superimposed a 450X picture ofan egg ofa Pterolocera moth, on a picture ofthe Earth trom space (1/450000 OOOth life size) taken by NASA. Tbis picture begins a CoResearcb series which will sbow how the 'Dear Sir, electron microscope bas revo/~tioned study olsurface detail ofminute objects. J just got you letter dlis morning and I was pretty happy because I thought that my letter had got lost and I was gone sent you another one. Exit an old bull, enter a CAT You wont to no if the Crow is DAD OR LIVE. well the Crow was dad and was faun New aircraft for Cloud Physics in the Valley, Down Vie. We are grours we plant pears and patatoc and each The Division of Cloud Physics has traded in craft Research and Development Unit at 1964 and was subsequently operated by year around February they came in a its old bull for a purring cat. Richmond, NSW. East"West Airlines on the ciVil register, group around the place the master came The familiar bellow of VH-RRA, the Apart from a sixwmonth period in 1962 changing registration from A65-97 to the from a long way and they eat our pear and Division's venerable Douglas DC~3 research when it underwent a major overhaul, the mOre familiar VHwRRA. evry pea grown they stater shoten at them aircraft, has made way for the muted DC-3 continued to be used in cloud physics The aircraft has been used on a wide when this crow was shot by my brother. turbines of VH-eAT, a Fokker Friendship work until the end of 1964. variety of research projects during its career and I riting for it because he cant ritter. F27. It was bought by CSIRO at the eod of with the RAAF and East-West Airlines. Now he is the CROW BAND is there a prise The 'new' Fokker, previously operated by for it If not wood you be good it nofer the Department of Transport, was handed to sent a picture one a bird for my little over to the Minister for Science, Senator J,1. sister. Webster, at a ceremony at Sydney's Mascot You fathfuI. Airport in July. MissX. The Fokker will take part in nearly all the field programs of the Division of Cloud If the letters themselves had the capacity Physics. to paralyse, the accompanying data form It will enable the Division to take the im~ filled out by Miss X contained a lethal dose. portant measurements in clouds to be In the personal details section she wrotel seeded for rainmaking experiments in west· Age; 17. Sexl No. ern Victoria next year. The aircraft will be used to measure cloud STOP PRESS; Mr Purchase has just received properties relevant to verifying the action a letter addressed to 'The Australian Bird of the seeding material. Boundry Scheme.' Not from the lunatic In other programs it will be used to collect fringe, but from Head Office... aerosols-microscopic particles of matter in the atmosphere-from cities and industries THE SECRETARY'S PRAYER as part of a long-term study aimed at finding whether. and to what degree, industrial · Help me to have the memory of an ele pollution can affect weather or climate. phant or at least one three years long. The Fokker will also be used in studies of • By some miracle let me do all thIngs at mass scale phenomena over the oceans, and once, answer four telephones at the same will be the platform from which measure time and type a letter that must go today ments will be taken of the amount and even though I know it won't be signed character of the sun's radiation scattered until tomorrow. from clouds. · Let me not lose patience when I search Such information should allow the Divis files for hours for a paper only to find it ion to obtain key information about cloud on the boss's desk. properties. · Give me the knowledge of a university The DC~3 it supersedes has a colourful prOfessor with my school certificate history-nothing unusual for this famous education. breed of aircraft. The Minister for Sciellce, Setlatorj.}. Webster, left, hands over tbe Fokker Friendship to · Help me to understand and carry out all Manufactured in 1944, VH-RRA was first Mr Jack Warner. Chief oftbe Division of Cloud Physics, watched by tbe CIJairmall, Mr instructions without any instructions. used in cloud physics research in 1956, Victor Burgmann, and Mr David Gmham, Deputy Secretary (Air Ope1'ations) · Let me know without being told where when it was operated by the RAAF Air- oftbe Department of Tmnsport. the boss is, what he is doing, and when he will be back. 4 222-1978 Slaying agriculture's Superweeds Questfor selective sprays under way The Division of Plant Industry celebrates A rccently~a5scmbled rogues' gallery of the chemical form that triggers a long sequence its jubilee this year. Created as the CSIR world's worst weed pests produced a rank In the early 19605 two Australian plant of reactions within the plant's leaf cells. Division of Economic Botany in 1928, ing in which eight of the 10 worst weeds biologists, Dr Ha! Hatch and Dr Roger The carbon from carbon dioxide ultimately the Division now enjoys a world repu were species employing the C4 photo Slack, wrote a now classic scientific paper finishes up as the carbohydrate of plant tation for its research. This feature looks synthesis pathway. in which they confirmed the suspected sugars and starches and also proteins and at one of its projects, Only a minority of the world's plants are existence of a different, more efficient lipids. C4 species, and a similar balance is found system of photosynthesis in certain plants. In C3 plants, this first chemical reaction in plants dassed as weeds-so the dispropor They went on to study the so-called lC4 cannot discriminate between oxygen and tionate number of C4 weeds at the top of photosynthesis padlway' in detail, showing carbon dioxide, so that large amounts of the world list is obviously due to more than how it differed greatly from the more oxygen that interfere with subsequent re· mere chance. common C3 pathway employed by the actions find their way into the chemical The explanation lies in the fact that C4 majority of the world's plants. From pathway. plants as a group are more vigorous and these basic studies may come a method of In C4 plants, a diffei."ent primary reaction plant~in countering those C4 plants whose wayward tougher than the average C3 short, is involved in fixing carbon dioxide. The re they have a greater potential for becoming vigour has made them the world's worst weeds. action is so efficient that it swamps any weeds. unwanted oxygen reactions, Some C4 species such as maize and sugar All plants simultaneously 'inhale' carbon cane are cultivated as crops, but most of our sorghum), pigweed (Amaranthus) and the dioxide and 'exhale' water vapour via tiny cereal, fruit and vegetable crops are C3 often prettily-flowered portulaca. pores in their leaves called stomata. plants which are often unequally matched Many C4 plants are themselves crop When water is scarce, plants must decrease in competition against invading £:;4 weeds. species-sugar cane, maize, millet, sorghum the aperture of these pores or close them The result is greater expense in food pro and a variety of tropical pasture grasses, completely to conserve water, which means duction or lowered production levels because including the grazier's friend and. green· the vital flow of carbon dioxide into the leaf of weed contamination. The problem is keeper's curse, paspalum. All Australia's slows or stops. accentuated in the underdeveloped countries saltbush species are C4 plants. With stomates fully open both C4 and C3 of the tropics and sub-tropics where C4 Rice growers in many parts of the world plants lose the same amount of water, but weeds are more abundant and the funds are plagued by the C4 weed barnyard grass, the C4 plant is able to inhale a greater and equipment for controlling them are in while soybeans, the world's most important amount of carbon dioxide because of its short supply. protein crop, suffer from a variety of C4 more efficient chemistry. Herbicides which selectively attack C4 weeds. In conditions of water stress, C4 plants are weeds leaving C 3 plants unharmed do What makes the C4 plant different, and able to continue taking in carbon dioxide exist, but they arc few and exp,ensivc how did such differences arise? when C 3 plants have been forced to shut because of the enonnous cost of developing Dr M.D. (Hal) Hatch Dr Hatch and his co-workers have pro~ down completely to sUlvive. them with trial-and-error methods. Some vided answers to the first question, but the At higher temperatures, some C4 plants ever, there appear~ to be a reasonable chance are also toxic to other life forms and pose origin of C4 plants is a mystery. can get by with as little as a fifth of the that some will prove harmless to Ca plants long-term hazards to the environment. The majority are tropical and sub-tropical water used by C 3 plants, a hig advantage while being active against C4 plants. A new approach is needed, and Dr Hal species, suggesting they evolved in warmer where the two occur together, as in a C3 'Even if there arc many failures along the Hatch of the Division of Plant Industry climates, but a few arc native to Britain and crop contaminated by C4 weeds. way, the prospects arc still good. believes the key lies in the unique photo Scandinavia. Or Hatch says there are two options for 'We can determine the basic structural synthesis pathw~y employed by C4 plants They do not like low temperatures and are the development of C4 herbicides, based on features necessary for some of the more the very basis of their often extraordinary generally not a problem in winter-growing the two basic types of activity occurring promising compounds to be active, and with vigour. crops. But in summer crops they can be during photosynthesis. the aid of organic chemists wc can modify Or I·latch and his colleague Dr Roger Slack rampant. These two activities are synthesis of them into something a little different (now with DSIR, New Zealand) came to C4 plants are newcomers in an evolut chemical compounds by special 'factories' variations on a theme. their now classic conclusion that some ionary timcscale. Photosynthesis evolved within the plant's cells, and the transport 'To date, the discovery of selective her plants employed a different system of in single-celled organisms about 2000 of the products of these processes between bicides has usually involved the very expens photosynthesis while they were studying million years ago, while C4 plants appeared 'factories'. ive trial and error process of seeking com sugar cane for Colonial Sugar Refineries much more recently-possibly only during One type of herbicide might interfere with pounds which worked, without any real (now CSR) in QueensLand in the early the last 50-60 million years. synthesis, and the other with the trans understanding of how they worked. 19608. Both C3 and C4 plant often occur in a port reactions. 'The interaction between herbicide and Russian researchers studying maize and single family, and many distinctly different Research by Dr Hatch and his colleagues plant is something like a lock and key. Hawaiian researchers studying sugar CRne plant families contain C4 species. at the Division of Plant Industry has allowed With no knowledge cif how the lock worked, had provided earlier clues, but Or Hatch and Obviously, there is no common ancestor them to duplicate most of the chemical re people were forced (0 try many keys until Dr Slack took the radical step of demon for all C4 plants, and the genetic changes actions which are exclusive to the C4 they found some that opened it. strating the existence of a new pathway of which produce C4 plants from C3 ancestors pathway. 'With our basic studies of the C4 photo· photosynthesis. must have occurred quite independently on Now the team plans to test a range of synthesis pathway, we now have a very good Photosynthesis is the process used by many separate occasions. compounds which may interfcre with these plants to 'fix' in plant tissues the energy idea of how the lock works, and it's now a The reason for the 'sudden' appearance of reactions. matter of designing keys to fit it.' upon which all other life forms ultimately many C4 species is not known, but Or 'We don't know how many compounds depend-the energy from sunlight. Hatch speculates that the evolution and will work, but for example, hundreds could Dr Hatch believes the most promising The C4 and C3 pathways arc similar in proliferation of these species may have show some promise under laboratory con· avenue of research is to design chemical many respects, but differ in certain funda been favoured by an environment quite ditions,l Dr Hatch said. compounds which are similar to those made mental chemical reactions, according to Dr different to that of today. 'We will then test them against C4 plants. by the C4 plants themselves-analogues Hatch. More abundant atmospheric oxygen com Many will not work on living plants because which will 'delude' the plant's normal pro These differences hold the key to the high bined with lower levels of carbon dioxide, they may not penetrate, or will be deactiva cesses with fatal results. growth rates and greater tolerance of water required by plants for photosynthesis, and ted by other processes within the plants. Success in any research program can never stress of C4 plants. reduced water supply would all be factors 'Those which do work will then be tested be guaranteed, but Dr Hatch is quietly Australians are familiar with some of the favouring C4 plant evolution. against C3 plants. Again, many ma.y prove optimistic that his years of basic research more notorious C4 weeds-nut grass, the In the crucial first step of photosynthesis, unsuitable because they interfere with the will yield something of enormous practical world's worst w.eed, Johnson grass (wild carbon dioxide from the air is fixed in a C3 pathway in some unforeseen way. How- value-a weapon against supcrweeds. Publicity unearths baby 6 monster' First live specimen ofnew insect family WHERE THE 'MONSTER' FITS IN Publicity in a Brisbane newspaper has resul an entirely subterranean existence, perhaps ted in the discovery of a live specimen of surfacing only during soil waterlogging. the so-called ICooloola Monster'. The ranger, after keeping it for some time 'Monster' fits in The Monster, identified by CSIRO ento in a bottle, sent. it to Mr E.C.Dahms of the ORDER at this level~may Orthoptera be sole species of mologist, Dr David Rentz earlier this year as Queensland Museum, who had recognised Below-Tbe juvenile representing a new family in the insect order the distinctiveness of the original specimen single genus in m onster in its Orthoptera, created considerable excitement and sent it to Dr Rentz for identification. FAMILY new Orthoptera family. sandbox when the first specimen, an adult male, was Mr Dahms also sent the new specimen to About 20 families discovered in Queensland coastal rainforest. Dr Rentz, who has kept it duiving on a diet in Orthoptera, e.g. It is the first addition at family level (see of oatmeal, lettuce leaves and n..eshIy~killed crickets, grasshoppers. diagram) to the Orthoptera for more than a bushflics in n. small container of its native (New additions extremely rare century. soil, The second specimen was found by a nuffalo-profiled and strikingly muscled, GENUS fIlngcl' who was digging in sandy heath on both juvenile and adult Monster are superbly Perhaps dozens of Fraser Island, which is adjacent to the site adapted for digging. From observations of genera in one where Monster No. 1 was found. dlc juvenile, they do not construct tunnels family. His first spadeful of sandy soil uncovcred like their distant cricket relatives-lnstead (Infrequent new additions) a 1cm juvenile specimen of the Monster they bore through the soil, allowing it to which, to his bsrcat credit, he recognised close behind them. SPECIES from dIe original CSIRO newspaper article CSIRO, Queensland Museum and Queens Perhaps hundreds of despite differences in bodl size and appear land University entomologists are planning species in onc genus. ance to the adult. an expedition in October to try to find (Frequent new additions) The circumstances of the discovery lend more specimens, in particular, a femme-the weight to the theory that the creature lives juvenile's sex has not yet been determined. 222-1978 Space-age anvil for our wordsmiths Electronic editing and retyping saves time The blizzard of paperwork that daily swirls The intelligence built into the Informa around Head Office's corridors is being tion Processor is also capable of limited file brought under control by new technology. processing, and offers up to 97 fields of The enormously. time-consuming process information on which specific information of amending, redrafting and re-typing letters, retrieval can be performed. reports and other paperwork is being shorr The Ink J et Printer operates at phenomenal circuited by the latest in electronic word speed-up to 900 wpm for solid type, but processing. more gcnerally around 740 words where Jobs which once took days can noW be formats are more complex. carried out in mere hours oy an IBM Infor The· speed is achieved via an inkjet system, mation Processor linked to an IBM Docu not the traditional percussion method of a ment Printer which can purr its way through typewriter. The letters are 'squirted' onto a 700-word letter in less than a minute. the paper in anyone of four typcstyles, Behind the revolution is a member of with the ink-jet being guided in much the I-lead Office's Administrative Systems same way as electrons arc guided onto a TV Group. Kcvin Howard, whose bold plan for screen to form an image. modernising word processing was first 'fhe printer automatically numbers pages, conceived last year. and prints 'heads' and Itails' Le., page titles 'Bold' is an appropriate term, because and other references, automatically as well. I Centre while the written draft is circulated required. Alternatively I the master copy of for comment/editing by other personnel. each job can bc photocopied, or can serve as The process of ensuring that everybody camera-ready copy for a conventional print involved sees everybody else's comments run where many copies are required. Tbe wordprocessing group's leader, Kevin Howard, watcbes as Pav/a Staples re-drafts a can often entail redrafting and rc-typing The whole remarkable system is operated letter stored in the electronic editor's memory bank. several times, but word processing truncates by four remarkable peoplc--Jo Howie, this procedure. Angela Hughes, Pavla Staples and Junc Among the Centre's achievements in its Head Office, attracts a growing stream of The Information Processor operator simply Tracey. six months of operation: work which will sec another Information feeds in the mag-card (or a diskette where Each was selected from Head Office sec . a lBO-page report was updated and printed Processor added soon, followed by possibly lengthy reports are involved) and can call up retarial staff for their exceptional skill with within a daYi a third later this year. any line or any page within a few seconds. the mag-card typewriter, upon which the . a 56-page rcport redrafted by a com 'Word processing is revolutionising the The relevant paragraph can then be amen word processing system has developed. mittee during a morning was updated an way the printed word is put (0 paper in ded, deleted, or extended, with the Pro A survey of secretarial typing staff in and printed before the committee's after Head Office, and I think other parts of cessor compensating automatically for Head Office conducted late last year showed noon session ended. CSIRO will follow', Mr Howard said. changes, so line spacing, paragraph spacing the average mag-card typewriter produced Mr Howard believes word processing cen I1 would stress that the savings in time and page numbering remain consistent. about 20 pages a day, with an upper figure tres could be established in CSIRO's major which it makes possible do not threaten The Information Processor then outputs of 30 pages a day. centres to handle repetitious correspon~ secretarial staff--it simply means they havc the updated text onto fresh mag-cards to In contrast, the average output for each of dence, reports and scientific papers, and much more time to concentrate 011 other gether with printing instructions. These the four operators in the Word Processing would like to hear from interested Divisions important areas of work which offer greater mag-cards are then batch-fed into the Centre is consistently above 70 pages a day I with word processing opportunities. job enjoyment. Typing something over and Ink Jet Printer. with a high figure of 180 pages per day, The Centre, now an established part of over again can bc very boring work', Minister visits Highett The Division of Mechanical Engineering at reduced by suitable selection of insulation, Highett, Melbourne, received not one but the house's orientation, shading and window two visits from the Minister for Science, location. Senator J.J. Webster, in June. On his second visit four days Jater, Senator On June 26 Senator Webster had dis Webster had discussions with John I Interscan will go into the history bool<:s as a milestone for Australian science and tech l-\E't) Nf\.'-JH5P..'t.~gl Tlil-:J nology, but if furulcr proof were nceded of Multi~hued knees flowered garishly in the the second yenr running. Their team com ...... 1.",.. 13E. "T1iE. WII..P the penetration of its success into the public 131-.\1'£ 'fQNvc.~ chill of a late winter's day for the Canberra prised Kim Pullen (left), Rosemary Bell, consciousness, it came on the day the new CSIRO Annual Fun Run in July. John Fechan and Roger Farrow. development company Interscall Australia Seventy runners ranging in fitness from Rosemary Bell, last year's winner, is one Pty Ltd was formed. of Australia's best-performed women dis dangerous to moribund, faced the starter, One of Australia's cryptic crossword clues tance runners. She came second this year Dr John Philip, Chief of Environmental on thRt day was 'Reins can't alter that new Mechanics. to David BagnaII of Plant Industry, who system helpful to aircraft navigation'-a recorded a time of 21.59.0, to Rosemary's Their years ranged from 18 to 55, a1~ very clever clue which not only provided though many aged visibly over the 51un 22.1.2. an anagram for Intcrscan ({'dns can't) but Plant Industry was second in the Cup, course on Black Mountain. also highlighted one of the strengths of followed by Environmental Mechanics. When the dust had settled, Entomology's the new microwave landing system-jts fHers had taken the Black Mountain Cup for ability to penetrate rain without distortion. 6 222-1978 People New face on Executive The Chief of the Division of Environmental Mechanics, Dc J.R.Philip, has been appointed an Associate Member of the Executive. Dr Philip's appollltment is for six months from 1 August. An applied mathematician specialising in environmental physics, Dr Phllip has been Chief of Environmental Mechanics since the Division was founded in 1971. He recently accepted an invitation to serve Chemical Technology's Cbiej' Stirrers, from top: Ran Maxted. David Lamble, Russell Ethers and Bob Sbovelar, dee,ided that they eould on the Science Advisory Committee of the do a better job than the mecbanicaJ stirrers which tbey were installing in components for a pilot plant to be assembled at Mirrabooka Australian Broadcasting Commission. in WesteJ"n Australia to clarify bore water[ortbe Pert/J Water Board. Tbe pilot plant will use tbe 'Si1'Ofloc' process which bas been developed at the Division of Cbemical1'echnology by members o{its W(lter and Wastewater Purificat-ion Researeb Program. Mr Gratton Wilson has been formally ap pointed to the position of Secretary, CSIRO, tribution to Australum forestry through his Milton Jenkins, a. senior laboratory crafts research into adsorption and ion exchange by the Executive. work on fire control and use. man at the National Measurement Labora technology and its application to the pro Mr Wilson has been acting in the position His work on the natul'e of bushfire be tory, recently received a 'PddeofWorlunan duction of antibiotics and uranium, and in since the retirement of Dr J.A. Alien in haviour and his practkal application of that ship' award from Lindfield Rotlll:y Club. water purification. 1976, when the position carried the title knowledge in his forest and grassland fire Since joining NML in 1955, Mr Jcnkins In the latter field he was best known as of Executive Officer. danger meters helped revolutionise busbfire has been involved in many major projects, the originator of the Sirotherm process He was recently honoured by his appoint control measures in Australia over the last particularly in the constt-uction of special for demineralising brackish water, which had ment as Chairman of the Austl'alian National decade. purpose interferometers. been developed commercially in conjunction Commission for the United Nations Edu The McArthur meters are now being ad For the past dlree years he has been in with Australian industry and was being cational! Scicntific and Cultural Organisation opted overseas. volved in constructing an absolute electro taken up in several overseas countries. (UNESCO). Recently, the Instimte of Foresters of meter which will permit extremely precise Australia made Mr McArthur a Fellow of measurement of the volt's absolute value. 71Je American Society ofPlant Physiologists the Institute in recognition of his con has accorded tbe status of Corresponding Dr Ray Toaldey of tlJI! Division ofBuilding tribution to forestry. Member to Dr Lloyd Evans of the Divisi01l Research has taken up an appointment to Author of some 60 scientific papers on Joy Bear of the Division of Mi-neral Chem o[ Plant Industry. tbe Chair of Building in the University oj' fire behaviour, fire effects and watershed istry, best known for her studies of petri f)r Evans, who retired tbis year as Cbief of New South Wales' Faculty o{Arcbitecture. management, Mr McArthur el11"lier this year char. tbe piquant perfume of rain upon dry the Division to return to tbe J'esearch bencb, Dr Toak/ey, a specialist in structural co-authored the book 'Bushfires in grou11d, bas been awarded the Victorian was selected for bis contributions to the design, joined CS1RO in 1968 and in tbe AustraliaI. institute of Colleges' first doctorate by science olplant pb.ysiolagy. next· decade gained an international reputat~ examination. ion for bis expe?·tise in tbe construction Dr Bear has been awarded tbe degree of Dr L.Evans indu~try. Jack Chamberlain, manager of the CSIRO Doctor of Applied Science for a tbesis In 1971 he was seconded for two years to Printing Unit in Melbourne, retired in June. covering her published work on aspects of tbe West Gate Bridge Authority as cIJief Representatives from the Melbourne RAG, mineral chemistry and extractive metallurgy design engineer {or tbe redesign of tbe Divisions, the printing industry and some of while working for tbe Division of Mineral bridge in the wake ofits disastrous collapse. Mr Chamberlain's retired colleagues attended Chemistry. He continued steel structure research after the farewell function organised by staff of Examiners congratulated Dr Bear on ber rejoining the Divison, and tben became CILES. ability to achieve practical objectives involved in swdying low cost improvements CILES Officerwin-Charge, Mr Peter Judge, through tbe development af an under to urban transport systems. paid tribute to the fine quality printing, standing ofbasic processes. Dr Tonkley is a member of tbe AIlstralian much of it distributed around the world, Dr J.Bear Institute for Urban Studies, a Fellow oftbe which was produced under Mr Chamber Institution Dj' Engineers, al1d a. member of lain's management of the Unit. tbe AssocJatiotJ for Computer Aided Design. Mr Chamberlain!s contributions to CSIRO MrN. Kloot and the community were recognised with Dr H. Took/BY Onc of Australia's leading wood scientists, the award of a British Empire Medal in the Mr N.H. (Harry) Kloot, has retired after Queens's Birthday Honours last year. 44 years wirh CSIRO. From his first position as a laboratory The Division of Environmental Mechanics assistant with the old Division of Forest Products in Albcrt Street! Mr Kloot rose to is currently basting two soil scientists under become a Principal Research Scientist with tbe Pye Fellowsbip scbeme. the Division of Building Research. Professor Wi/ford Ho Gardner, from the Environmental Pbysics Department, Utliver During the war years, he headed an in~ sitJ1 of Wisconsin, on a 6 months' visit! is tensive program of specification testing of interested in irrigation and crop water use timbcr destined for use in military air Dr Don Weiss! Chief of the Division of efficiency, movenlent o[ water and solutes craft and other wartime projects. Chemical Technology, has been awarded in soils, and water and ion uptake by plants. When the section resumed industry the Leighton Memorial Medal for 1978. oriented research into wood after the war, Mr A.McArtIJur Dr Norman Morrow of tbe Petroleum The medal is awarded by the Royal Aust Mr Kloot played a major role in developing Mr Aian McArthur, the man largely respon Recovery Research Institute, New Mexico ralian Chemical Institute for eminent ser the idea of machine grading of timber in sible for developing Australia's bushfire Institute of Mining and Tecbnology, is 011 vices to chemistry in Australia. Australia using a more simple and cheaper warning systems has retired after 37 years in a 6 weeks' visit; bis major researclJ interests The citation by Dr L.W. Weickhllrdt! concept than that used overseas. forestry. concerll tbe structure and capillarity of Chancellor of Melbourne University and He co-authored a handbool{ on timber In a long and distinguished career, Mr fluids in porou.'l media, and stability of 1968 Leighton Medallist. said Dr Weiss had engineering design which is now recognised McArthur made his most outstnnding con- interfaces. achieved an international reputation for his internationally. 7 222-1978 A forum for comment by CSIRO individuals. Views expl"essed in this column do not necessarily reflect CSIRO official policy, and sbould be read Perspective only as a perspective ana subject ofinterest. Smoking - a very clouded issue Hawatd Crockford As well as being addictive, nicotine also At the Tobacco Research Institute at Of course it may induce other reactive of the Division of has the rather unique function of being Mareeba, my colleagues and [ conducted anti~social behaviour in addicted smokers, Land Use Research simultaneously a relaxant and a mild mental experiments that involved the manipulation aItd probably will not influence the you ng, in Canberra was for stimulant. Therefore, along with the mani of various cultural practices such as fertili~ many of whom start smoking as an nct of merly involved in pulative and sucking actions of smoking, it sation, desuckering, deflowering and time rebellion. The basic fact is that we live in a CSIRO's tobacco re~ is not surprising that the habit is so popular of planting. drug taking society and quite substantial search program at and persistent. Tar levels proved remarkably resistant to social changes must occur as a prerequisite Marcdba in Queens Nicotine has been generally linked with the effects of changes while nicotine levels to reduction in drug taking. land. He maintains tars as a dangerous substance and efforts c6uld be changed substantially. a ke~n interest In have been made to reduce'their levels in Although this work could not continue Most cigarettes smoked in Australia, UK tobacco and smok~ tobacco smoke. 'Tar' simply means the due to the closure of the Institute in 1975, and America are flue cured. The chemical ing, but is a non~ solid particles in the smoke Ilnd therefore it had become clear that the deliberate and physical properties of flue and air smoker himself. always refers to smol{c, not the tobacco manipulation of cultural practices in com cured tobacco are quite different and there itself. mercial tobacco growing were somewhat is room here for further experimentation. Nicotihe is the most pharmacologically Levels of nicotine and tars have been rc~ risky and beyond the skills of the normal Recently it has been suggested that a safer active constituent of tobacco and tobacco duced during the last 10 years by filtration grower. cigarette might be one with a low tar yield smoke. ] ts effects on a wide range of and blending of various tobacco types. A more practical method of producing but a higher rather than lower nicotine con metabolic activities have been studied, Recently I was asked to speak to the Com lower nicotine tobacco is by breeding low tent, the reason being that smokers which and many of them have been shown to have monwealth DepartmentofHealth concerning nicotine lines, which has been done in switch to low tar, low nicotine brands, tcnd harmful consequences to one degree or the percentage of nicotine and tars in America. to smoke more cigarettes, thereby increasing their intake of carbon monoxide. another. tobacco as affected by agricultural practices. An apparently useful position had there fore been reached with regard to ultimately Nicotine can easily be added to tobacco reducing nicotine levels. During the last during cigarette manufacture. [n Israel, for Science at Work two or three years however, the virtues of a example, lettuce leaf is used as a tobacco low nicotine cigarette have come to be substitute with added nicotine. seen as doubtful. Other tobacco substitutes have been intro It was found that smokers who switched duced into cigarette tobacco blends in the to lower tar (with concommitant low nico VI( such as Cytrel and New Smoking tine) brands tended to smoke more of Material. The nicotine content is of course them in order to get their accustomed in made up to requirements, but these substit take of nicotine. utes have not been a success. As well, the flavour of cigarettes (to the Opting for higher nicotine content of low smoker) is closely associated with tar levels tar cigarettes aSsumes that nicotine is less a further encouragement to smoke more harmful th an tars or components of the cigarette~. With most smokers, however, vapour phase, and this may be true. It their nicotine and tar intal{cs were still less might be 20 years or more though before than with their former brands. firm trends in health consequences become .It is unfortunate then that their vapour obVIOUS. phase intake is increased. The vapour Up to now anti~smoking campaigns have phase contains among other things carbon had limited success. The health/smoking monoxide, a very harmful compound approach is partially effective for middle indeed. aged smokers, but there has been a. worry Carbon monoxide is proposed as the cause ing increase in smoking in young people. of the increased incidence of cardiovascular Recent figures indicate 70 pcr cent of disease among smokers of filter-tipped Australian boysaged_1S now smoke regularly, cigarettes (which yield substantially more and 20 per cent of nine-year-oids. carbon monoxide than unfiltered types). The limited success of anti~smoking cam~ Carbon monoxide is 'picked up' by the paigns is not surprising in a society where haemoglobin in blood about 150 times drugs such as alcohol, tobacco and now faster than oxygen. marijuana are used in such quantities, not To looll at another aspect, it appears that to mention the enormous consumption of a lower rate of lung cancer is evident among medicinals such as tranquillisers, aspirin, smokers of air cured tobacco. The evidence barbiturates-a tribute to our antidotal is derived from correlations over populations health care system. and has weaknesses normal to this type of There is a minor note of optimism in exercise. The same claim has been made respect to smoking that is not shared by for cigar and pipe smoking-products also other drug types-it is rapidly becoming made from air cured leaf of different types, regarded as an antisocial habit~a marked but smoked in a very different manner to change over just a few years. This may be cigarettes. the most effective anti~smoking weapon yet. Wool printing advance An inexpensive method of pigment printing results are much better than those obtained of wool fabric has been developed by the if conventional pigment-print pastes are Division of Textile Industry in Geelong. used on wool. The method uses readily available pro The method is suitable for motifs on gar prietary products in a special formulation to ments or fabric and, because of the high produce prints of high resistance to fading light fastness, is highly recommended for Members Dj' tbe Division ofMacfobiotic Confectionery's taste panel relax in light, in a wide range of colours. curtains. in tbe sun after sampling the world's first milk_shake enriched witb The prints also have good fubbing fastness, Conventional- flat~ or rotary:screen equip protci11 {mm abattoir waste. and the handling characteristics of the ment can be used. '------I am ttbout to begin an important new col~ 'Your advice is sought...' Yours faithfully, Moore, the counsellor, his secretary and two lection on behalf of CSIRO and wonder if 'I would think it appropriate.. .' Wendy Parsons, locally emplnyed clerks-Bob Heginbotham your readers can help mc. 'It is envisaged that.. .' Forest Research, Yarralumla, ACT. and Janet Webb. Its general title is 'Bureaucratic Memora 'In response to your memorandum of...' Acting on its instructions from the Depart b ilia' and its aim is to preserve for posterity 'It should be noted that... l ment of Foreign Affairs to minimise its the written image of the Organization as it 'It is proposed that...' staff, the London High Commission moved moves-into the 1980s. 'Having regard to...' Peter I-lacking from ASLO last month, and The specific items I seek are those letters, As you can scc this is but a sprinkling. I have just returned from a six~month over Janet Webb expects to follow. It would be I circulars, information shectsl positions I'm hoping that others will be able to find seas trip to North America and Britain. impossible to further reduce the Washington vacant sheets and so on that are the most for me the 'real classics'. whether they be wish to put on record my sincere gratitude office without it ceasing to operate. splendid examples of bureaucratic writing single words, whole phrases or even corn for the service I received from the staff of I sympathise in paticular with John Cowan style. p~ete sentences. our scientific liaison offices in Washington and Bob Heginbotharn, who both continue One of the most sought after phrases in Once I have collated the information, and London. with good humour to give visiting scientists this field is: 'it is...' because of its ability perhaps CoResearch would consider pub Both offices have been pared to the bone all the support they can under almost im~ to totally depersonalise any prose it touches. lishing excerpts from the collection. recently. The Washington office now con possible circumstances. Thanl< you, both Another item of interest would be writing Any items relevant (an excellent example sists of Jim Whittem, the counsellor, his of you. consisting entirely of bureaucratesc. that word) could be sent to me at the secretary, and the locally·cmployed John Brian Lee Other items of interest are: address below. Cowan who deal~ with administration, Science Branch 'I refer to your letter of.. : I remain, The London office has shrunk to Milton Canberra 8 222-1978 223##1978 o A publication for CS/RO staff Oct./Dec. 1978 223 Shape and spiritofCSIRO '79 unveiled Staff meetings told ofchanges to corne In a barnstorming tour of CSIRO's major Dr Boardman's address outlined the re~ Under the new arrangements, a consul~ Dr Boardman said there was an increasing research centres. the Chairman, Dr Paul constituted Act and the effects ofits changes. tative committee comprising staff associa questioning by the community of the value Wild, and Executive member Dr Keith He said the basic research unit would tion reprosentatives and members of the and role of science, and this was evident in Boardman, have been explaining some of remain the Division, headed by its Chief, Executive would. be established to allow the number of inquiries CSIRO now received the changes which will occur in the Organi who would still be responsible for the day staff bodies to hllve an input into con~ from Government Ministers and back zation in the wake of the Government's ta~day management of his staff, and who ditions of employment and other matters benchers about its activities compared with recommended changes. would still give scientific leadership. which affected staff inrerests. several years ago. They spoke to meetings in Geelong, The primary function of the Organization The amended Act also included a require In the light of this, a small planning and Clayton, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, Syd~ in the past had been to carry out research ment upon the Executive for a more com evaluation advisory unit would be estab~ oey, Brisbane and Canberra. At the end of for the benefit of Australian primary and prehensive Annual Report, in which broad lished to advise the Executive on trends, each session there was a free~for~an period secondary industry, and other matters re policies, objectives and priorities would opportunities for research and community for questions and discussion. ferred to it by the Minister. be explained. Continued 011 page 2 They have outlined the present Executive's The new aims, which were written in simp thinking on administrative arrangements ler language, committed the Organization to aimed at helping CSIRO function morc undertake scientific research to: effectivelyI and also have presented a • Assist Australian industry "Please do not adjust your antenna•..' penultimate grouping of Divisions and · Further the interests of the Australian research units into the six [nstitutes re community commended by the Birch Committee of · Contribute to the achievement of Aust~ Inquiry. ralia's national objectives This grouping is the firm recommendation · Observe both national and international of the present Executive and will be sub research responsibilities in such fields as mitted for adoption by the new Executive radiophysics, oceanography and atmos of three fun~time and three to five part~timc pheric research members which is likely to be announced · As directed by the Minister for Science. before the cnd of the year. Staff were told that a Bill which will ex~ Applying research tensively amend the Science and Industry Not on'ly was CSIRO now specifically Act under which CSIRO operates is likely directed to undertake research, it was also to pass both Houses of Parliament during directed to encourage or facilitate the appli the current Budget session, scheduled to end cation of research results. before Christmas. (The Bill has since passed The Bill also specified that research work through both Houses). should be carried out in not more than six Dr Wild said many of the changes re~ research Institutes. commended would have occurred in the A strengthened and independent Advisory natural course of events, without the Birch Council would, be established, and no longer inquiry-for example, the reorganisation of would the CSIRO Chairman or Executive CSIRO's top management structure. The members serv How the new Institutes will line up Professional staff Professional staff Professional staff Profes."iional staff Institute of Animal Sciences Fuel Geoscience Unit 21 Institute of Indusnial Technology Division of Radiophysics 69 Division of Animal Health 87 Division of Mineral Physics 27 Division of Applied Organic ANMRC 12 Division of Animal Production 121 Division of Process Technology 47 Chemistry 54 National Measurement Centre for Animal Research Division of Soils 8B Division of Building Research 120 Laboratory 150 and Development 12 Division of Chemical Technology 60 Division of Food Research 155 510 Division of Mechanical 521 Division of Human Nutrition 34 Engineering 49 Molecular and Cellular Division of Protein Chemistry 63 Institute of Scientific Services Biology Unit 21 Institute of Biological Resources Division of Textile Industry 55 Division of Computing Research Wheat Research Unit 9 Division of Entomology 133 Division of Textile Ilhysics 47 CILES Division of Fisheries and Centre for International Research 439 Oceanography 71 44B Cooperation Division of Forest Research 70 Central activities relating to information Institute of Earth Resources Division of Horticultural Instimte of llhysical Sciences transfer and technology transfer. Division of Applied Research 32 Division of Atomspheric Physics 43 Geomechanics 38 Division of Irrigation Research 25 Division of Chemical Physics 58 Division of Land Resources Division of Plant Industry 132 Division of Cloud Physics 22 Management 67 Division ofTropical Crops Division of Environmental Division of Land Use Research 64 and Pastures 70 Mechanics 14 Division of Mineral Chemistry 65 Division of Wildlife Research 45 Division of Materials Science 75 Division of Mineral Engineering 44 Division of Mathematics and Division of Mineralogy 49 578 Statistics 78 Discussion and debate: Criteria.for groupings The Senate debate Dr Wild, before Duding the new groupings support staff, who would be drawn from The Senate debated the Science and Indus sight of what is going on in terms of science of Divisions in Institutes, described the Head Office personnel and possibly from try Research Amendment Bill 1978 late in and technology in Australia. The Parlia· rationale underlying the neW administrative Divisions-there would be no increase in October, ments of Holland, the United States of arrangements. overaH staff. Speakers on both sides of the chamber America and the United Kingdom have Previously, he said, the five members of paid tributes to the Organization and its science forums composed of members of the Parliament. In a non~partisan sense they the Executive had to keep in touch with Groupings staff. Divisions and Units. regulate resource allo~ Debate was remarkable not only for its are able to discuss matters of new develop cation, co-ordinate broad research programs, How were the ncw Divisionul groupings in non-partisan nature, but for the obvious ment and new technology with scientists. oversee staff appointments and promotions, Institutes arrived at? interest of the key speakers in the affairs We must get away from the stage where this and simultaneously develop policies and Dr Wild told staff meetingsI of thc Organization. Parliament and most parliaments tend to be new initiatives for the Organization. IThis is a kind of gamc all can play. There The debate itself was too lengthy to print scientifically illiterate and rely very exten In practice, this had proved impossible, arc many different solutions-no unique onc. in full, so CoReseal'ch provides edited sively upon a great deal of external advice and the latter role, the development of No grouping will be satisfactory to every highlights from I-lansard: as distinct from having members with any policies and new initiatives had not been body, so it is a matter of doing onc's best.' Senator PUPLICK-I am particularly pleased great in-depth knowledge of the subject. possible-and this role had falleo, by default, He described the two sets of criteria used, that the first piece of legislation to which I to the Secretariat. have an opportunity to address my remarks Senator BUTTON-The real gap or hiatus Dr Wild said he wishc<.l to emphasise that Set 1 in the Senate should be a matter dealing which seems to emerge is at the research and · the relation of an Imititutcls functions to the role of Chiefs remained essentially with the problems of science and technology development level. It is most important I unaltered, especially in relation to their particular national sectorsl in Australia. I do not believe that any single think that urgent steps are taken by the Divisional role. If anything, they would be · the need to include mutually supporting area is in need of greater public attention Government to try to do something about more deeply involved in decision-making activities within the Instit.ute where and greater parliamentary attention or that this situation. I really think that the defect than before, via the new Institute structure. possible; there is indeed any area where that attention lies very much with Australian manufacturing The main new element in the new adminis · industry sector c1tRIacteristics and needs; would be morc profitable for improving the industry and indeed with other industries in ~rrangements trative waS the Institute · the need to communicate with related wellbeing of Australia as a nation and of its Australia. We have a small market and a Director, whose role would be: external bodies; and people. long history of highly protected industries. We have been a very derivative nation in · The co-ordination of the affairs of his own · regional and geographic requirements. terms of all sorts of matters, but parti Institute, in consultation with his Chiefs, We are now past the time when individual scientists, and science as a whole, arc able to cularly in our reliance on overseas tech and to act as chairman for a committee Set 2 proceed along their own merry course with nology. I do not think organisations such as comprising all Chiefs which would work · Divisions and Units should remain inta-ct out making some clear statement to the the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial on problem-solving. in the present exercise, community they are alleged to serve about Research Organization or Australian univer~ · The co-ordination of Divisional co • each Institute should be capable of des what they arc doing, why they are doing a sides can be blamed for that situation. 1 operation, resource allocation, appoint· scription by a simple name covering a particular piece of research, and the con think there has been a very strong reluctance ments and promotions except at the most significant area of science and technology;. sequences of that piece of research. The on behalf of Australian industry to take up senior levels, and the maintenance of · a Director CRn be expected to have a back one general area in which [ am most critical at the development stage research which has external contacts. ground in the physical or biological of this legislation, which I think in other been offered by bodies such as CSIRO and sciences, but not both I respects is a very admirable piece of legis Australian universities...Time and time again • In a corporate role, to meet with his fellow • Divisions should, as far as possible, feel lation, is that it does not seem to me to one hears stories about research projects Directors on a management committee, enshrine in legislative form in the way in which have been undertaken in Australia chaired by a member of the Executive, comfortable in their own Institute at the which I think it should the need for greater and in respect of which there has not been responsible for the regular operation of present time; future restructuring is al public accountability of what people in the the imaginationl initiative or genuine entre the Organization, freeing the Exeeutivc ways possibleI scientific community are doing,p:l:rticularl,y preneurial skill to take the benefit of that for policy development and the develop • the size of Institutes should be as uniform those who are doing it with public money. research and apply it in Australia. Unless ment of new initiatives. as possible with regard to One of the things that the Parliament will that happens, we arc in for very real prob To make these-corporate' arrangements i) the number .of pro~essional staff; or have to look at in the future is whether lems in a society which will depend VCIY workable, Or Wild said, it had been decided ill thel\t1"lIal budgetrot there should be established a committee of much on information based industries and after considerable debate to baseaU' Instit ill) thc>number···.of· Divisions/Uriits,'re members of Parliament whose responsibility high technology if it is to employ a signifi- ute Directors in Canberra with their own porting to the Director, it will be to take some more active ovcr- Continued on page 7 Shape and spiritofCSIRO '79 unveiled Continued from page 1 fer would also be a prime function of the This area required considerable thought recognising this in the future by reviewing needs. It would assist the Executive in sixth Institute, the Scientific Services because of the resources which could be promotion criteria,' Dr Boardman said. assessing advice from its various advisory Institute. committed to such activities, and a group The Executive will also investigate, in mechanisms and the Advisory Council. The Government had envisaged an expan would be established to develop specific consultation with the Australian Vice This would help improve methods for sion of CSIRO's activities in interpreting recommendations. ChanceIlors' Committee, enhanced colla setting priorities and allocating resources. and disseminating information from inter 'The Executive regards the involvement of boration between CSIRO and the uni The unit would be headed by a 19ood national science and technology for the staff themselves as very important in dissem versities, particularly where labora.tories are scientise capable of interacting at a wide benefit of technical innovation in Australia. inating the results of re-search, and will be located adjacent to campuses. range of levels in the Organization and 'There is a trend towards co-operative re· outside it. ~ search overseas, even for co-operation be The Australian Science and Technology CSIRONET's charter tween scientists from different countries. Council (ASTEC) which is established as a IBecause of a dearth of opportunities and permanent body to advise the Government The Division of Computing finance for overseas travel, we are isolated on science and technology priorities, would in Australia) of benefit to Aust in this regard, and are thus at a disadvantage have an important influence on the broad Research undergoes a significant ralian science, Government or but colJaborative projects are one way of allocation of funds for scientifk research. change because of the new shape of industry. increasing research by teamwork,' he said. CSIRO had a good working relationship CSIRO. 'DCR should provide a range of In collaboration with ASTECl the Tertiary with ASTEC, being represented at its meet Alone among Divisions it will standard computing services (which Education Commission and the Australian ings by an Executive member, which would Vice·ChanceUors Committce, CSIRO would allow this channel of communication with become self-funding, charging for may be produced as a by-product be invcstigathtg the possibilityofestablishing Government to be used. its services and channelling revenue of advanced services) unless national centres of excellence in research. Dr Boardman said a number of decisions into expansion of the CSIRONET directed not to provide particular In relation to overseas travel, Dc Boardman taken by the Government related to infor facilities and its own mnning costs. services. said that although the Birch Committee's mation transfer~specifically. a requirement The new charter of the Division 'DCR services should be avail recommendation for unrestricted travel that CSIRO establish better liaison with o'/erseas had not been accepted by the industry, and that it makc more effort to reads: able to arms of Government, Government, in future travel by CSIRO implement its research results. The sole responsibility of the tertiary educational institutions and staff would be approved by the Executive The Birch inquiry had expressed the Division of Computing Research industry. During periods when a rather than the Overseas Visits Committee. belief that CSIHO had not given enough (DCR) shall be to develop and service is overloaded, preference The Government had agreed that funds for attention in this area, and had recommended overseas travel should be fully ,competitive greater emphasis upon it in future. operate computing services in should be given to established users with other requirements. CSIRO would con· The Executive was aware that such imple· accordance with policies deter 'CSIRONET should recognize tinue to press for a substantial increase in mentation was not an easy matter, but recog mined by the CSIRO Executive categories of userS for the purpose its overseas travel quota or its abolition al nised the importance of maintaining a bal in the normal way. of service charges. Charges made together, but the economic c1ima.te was in ance between creative and innovative rc 'DCR should have the respons for standard computing services appropriate at the moment. search that was vital to future technology, A further decentralisation of responsibility and to the application of those results, ibility for the research into, and provided to trading companies, in approving overseas travel would be made The Executive was aware that the real development and provision of, societies or individuals should be by allowing preliminary approvals to be and practical interface with inJustry occur computing services including a comparable with commercial handled by the Institutes, which would lead red at Divisional level, and also at individuul specialist consultative service. bureau rates. Actual categories to faster and more effective decision-making. In conclusion, Or lloardman said there was staff level, and that Divisions differed 'DCR should give priority to the greatly in their approaches to such activities. and charges should be determined no doubt that CSIRO had a critical and im Chiefs would c\>ntlnue to be responsible introduction and provision of by the Executive on the recom portant role to play in research and develop for such activity~, but the new Institute advanced computing selvices (i.e. mendation of the Chief, Division of ment in Australia, and the Gnvernmcnt was Directors would also have an important those not available commercially Computing Research'. looking toscience and technology to enhance role to play in external communication. and maintain the competitive ability of CSIRO information and tcchnology trans- Australian Industry. 2 223-1978 Suharto opens Bogor research centre Landmark in Australia)s overseas aid program The Centre for Animal Research and Devew was a need for more senior Indonesian scien lopment at nogor in Indonesia, was offic tists to be involved in the planning and ially opened by President Suharto of growth of the centre, and to ensure that its Indonesia on 13 November. research was relevant to Indonesia's needs The opening of the centre represents a and that its findings were disseminated to landmark in the Australian Government's the maximum number of Indonesians. efforts to accelerate development in the He was most impressed by the progress South~east Asian region. made-the centre was already producing re Both the Australian and Indonesian search findings of practical significance and Governments expect research by CSIRO had conducted seminars on poultry and and Indonesian scientists at the centre to ruminant production. provide a much-needed boost to the live Although the new centre was concerned stock industries in Indonesia. with animal production, Australia hoped The importance of the project to both its success in the field would demonstrate Governments was evidenced by the guest the relevance of scientific research to the list, which included President Suharto and solution of development problems, not only his wife, the Indonesian Minister for Agri in Indonesia, but in other parts of the world. culture. Professor Ir. Soedarsono Hadisa Earlier, the Indonesian Minister for poetro, the Australian Minister for Science, Agriculture, Professor Soedarsono, said Senator J.}. Webster and Mrs Webster, Indonesia had great potential for livestock several other Indonesian Ministers, diplo production, but the technology to turn matic personnel including the Australian available resources into animal protein was Ambassador to Indonesia, Mr T .K.Critchley, lacking. and the Chairman of CSIRO, Dr Paul Wild. It was appropriate that Australia, one of President Suharto expressed Indonesia's the world's leading livestock~producing gratitude to the Government and people of countries, should assist Indonesia. Australia for their contribution to the pro The research at the centre would be long~ ject and said he was convinced such aid term in nature, and improvements in live would help create a better life, not only in stock production might tab:e many years. Indonesia but in the world generally. Professor Soedarsono said the complex Watcbed by an Indonesian official and the Australian Minister for Science, He said the problem of the Indonesian was built on 28 ha of land, comprising 12 ha Senator}.}. Webster. Indonesia's President Suharto signs a plaque diet was a difficult one due to the low pur for buildings and 16 ha for pasture. commemorating the opening oftbe Animal Research Centre at Ciawi. Bogor. chasing capacity of the people, the low yield To date about 60 buildings and other in The marhle plaque will he erected in the main huildlng oft"e complex. and productivity of livestock and the high stallations had been finished, including an production costs in the livestock industry. administration block, laboratory, library, At present, he said, 17 trained scientists The centre at Bogor is financed by the The Australian Minister for Science, auditorium and canteen, workshop, and were engaged in post-graduate courses in Australian Development Assistance Bureau Senator Webster, paid tribute to the people complexes for poultry, ducks and ruminants. Australia and another 13 would go to as part ofAustralia's official aid to Indonesia. responsible for the concept, design and Equipment had been installed to enable Australia next year. The buildings were built·at a cost of $11m construction of the centre. international-standard research to be carried As these trainees returned to Indonesia over a four~year period, by the Department Senator: Webster said links were being out. the number of CSIRO scientists would grad of Construction, assisted by staffofCSIRO's forged between Australian and Indonesian Professor Soedarsono stressed the import ually decrease until research was fully led Building Branch. scientists through on-the-job training and in ance of training of Indonesian staff in and conducted by Indonesian staff around The centre currently employs 346 staff, Australian Universities, but already there Australia. 1984. including 24 CSIRO staff. Mr V. D. Burgmann retires as Chairman Accolade from PM for outstanding service CSIRO staff farewelled the outgoing Chair- highest office until the Government's very large attendance at another farewell After the war, Mr Burgrnann returned to the man, Mr Victur Burgmann at a special fun- decisions on the inquiry recommendations function organised by Head Office personnel. Division of Radiophysics and led a team ction at Forestry House, Yarralumla, upon Were complete, and a new Chairman had But the ultimate accolade for Mr Burg which developed radio navigational aids his retirement from the Organization. in been named. mann's performance as Chainnan came in for aircraft. September. History will record Mr Burgmann as having a letter from the Prime Minister, Mr Fraser, In 1949 he was appointed Officer-in Mr Burgmann became Chairman on March had the shortest time in office ofany CSIRO 'In writing to express to you my own Charge of the new Physics and Engineering 25 last year, and headed the Organization Chairman to date. thanks, and those of my Government, it Unit of the Wool Textile Research Labora~ for a brief but difficult period in which its But despite its brevity Mr Burgmann would be remiss if I did not comment on tories, and when this unit achieved Divis structure and activities were subjected to a immersed himself deeply in his work, and the distinguished service you have rendered ional status in 1959 he was appointed Chief comprehensive review by the Birch Com- played a key role in developing the new to CSIRO and through it, to the nation. of the Division of Textile Physics. mittee of Inquiry. shape of CSIRO. 'Distinction of course has many meanings Ten years later Mr Burgmann became an The appointment was initially for a period His leadership and competence as an and manifestations, and in the field of Associate Member of the Executive and a of 12 months, but Mr Burgmann agreed to administrator quickly earned respect, and science is frequently typified by awards and year later, a full-time Member. an extension of his tenure of CSIRO's his rapport with staff was evidenced by a membership of august bodies. Awards during his carrer included the 'While you have had your share of these, Prize of the Institution of Engineers in I am particularly conscious of the versatility 1939 and the Bronze Medal of the British and usefulness of your service. For example, Institute of Navigation in 1951. involvement with radar, overseas scientific In January last year he was created a liaison, DME, the pioneering leadership of Companion of the Order of the British what is now the Division of Textile Physics Empire. and its contributions to wool textile re~ search such as Objective Measurement of Wool. Colin Totterrlell's magnificent photograph 'Following these achievements you have of alpine wildflowers which adorns the front been involved with scientific administration of this year's CSIRO Annual Report has leading ultimately to occupation of the created such interest that special colour most senior position in the Organization prints have been produced for sale to staff. Chairman of the Executive. The prints, which can be ordered through 'I should also like to congratulate you your Division, measure 30 x 45cm, afi(~ sell upon the effective manner in which you at SOc. have discharged your responsibilities as Chairman, in what must have been very difficult circumstances. 'That CSIRO, the Government, and the community at large, can look forward to the next phase in CSIRO's history with optim ism is due in no small measure to your stewardship over the past 18 months.' Involved in radar Mr Burgmann graduated n.sc. from Syd ney University in 1936 and B.E. (I-Ions) Mulling over the past, present and [utu1'e of CSIRO, a quartet of CSJRO Chairmen gatbered from the same University in 1939. at the farewell function for the outgoing Chairman, Mr Victor Burgmann at Forestry In the same year he joined CSIRO's Divis House, Yarl'alumla. From left, Mr Burgmann, Sir Robert Price, new Chairman, Dr l)a1l1 ion of Radiophysics, and with the out~ 'Now, the answer to the first question you Wild. and Sir Frederick White. Dr Wild's appointment gives tbe Division of Radiophysics break of war became involved in the develop passed on... your name is Paddy O'Reilly. an impressive record as a source ofChairmen-Sir Frederick and Dr Wild are former ment of radar. Cbiefs ofthe Division, wbile Mr Burgmann spent his early career witb the Division before He spent several years in London and then CoResearch apologises for the fact that becoming Cbief ofthe Divisio1l ofTextile Pbysics. Sir Robert, a biochemist, was Chief of in Washington, investigating developments sorr.c items submitted for publication have the former Division ofOrganic Cbemistry. in radar. had to be held over until the next edition. 223-1978 Biomenlbranes,life's perplexing palisades Many Divisions seeking their secrets About half of CSIRO's Divisions carry out system which is under investigation in a [n addition, the fixation of carbon diox research programs into biological membranes number of CSIRO Divisions. ide is being studied in plants that use the and the scientists involved arc physicists, Most life depends on photosynthesis, the C4-pathway of photosynthesis; many of chemists, biologists, biochemists, theoretical process by which solar energy is converted these plants are important in Australian mathematicians or electronic engineers. to chemical energy, since it not only provides agriculture. The reason for such interest i!\ apparent food and oxygen, but al:lO traps solar energy In the Division of Food Research, the when it is realised that every living cell in forms which can be used as fuels. Plant Physiology Group has carried out contains at least onc membrane and that The solar energy is collected by chloro various studies aimed at understanding the highly developed animals and plants may phyll molecules, which are intricately relationship betwcen proteins and Iipids in have up to 10 distinct membrane systems arranged on specific proteins in the chloro membranes, including the chloroplast. This in each cell. plast membrane, so that a photon of light is research involves the separation and identi The architecture of the cell is shaped by snatched in less than one-biIlionth of a fication of the membrane components, membranes, since they not only separate second, and passed on to specialised chloro and a comparison of how changes in the lipid the outside environment from the interior phyll molecules, from which it can be trans might affect the biological activity of mem of the cell, but also form many small com formed into chemical energy. This in its brane proteins. partments within cells. In this way certain turn, provides energy for the conversion of In such studies, temperature plays an im biological reactions can be confined to onc carbon dioxide into complex molecules in portant role because plants, unlike many section of a cell and the interaction of one other parts of the plant cell. animals, are directly affected by the diurnal plants and their productivity, and a complete compou nd with another may be controlled and seasonal fluctuations in temperature understanding of these facts is dependent on or prevented. Membranes also act as sur~ Chloropla.t. around them. knowledge of how the chloroplast itself is faces on which many important enzyme In the Division of Plant Industry, scien Young plants of many commercially im affected. reactions occur, and they control the tists are actively engaged in understanding portant species including corn, tomato and Photosynthesis by marine plants, from diffusion of substances throughout the cell. the basic molecular structure of chloroplast cucumber are adversely affected by tem small microscopic algae to giant kelp,';, i:'t a Despite the many different functions' of membranes, with special emphasis on the peratures below about IOoe, either by day critical factor in maintaini'ng life in the seal membranes in living cells, and an astonish isolation and characterisation of the chloro or night, and fail to develop properly. and it has been estimated that one-quarter ing diversity in their composition, the basic phyll~protein complexes of green plants and One of the most readily observed effects of the world's photosynthesis is carried out structure of all membranes is similar. brown seaweeds. of exposure to low temperature in these by microscopic plants, the phytoplankton. Their major components are proteins and Another program is concerned with various plants, is their failure to synthesise chloro These examples provide only a brief lipids: the latter forming an oriented struc biophysical aspects involved in the con~ phyll, and to develop normal chloroplasts. glimpse at part of onc aspect of CSIRO's ture in which the proteins arc embedded version of solar to chemical energy by The Division of Horticultural Rescarch has involvement in biological membrane or attached. chloroplast membranes. a number of projects aimed at providing a research. Lipids which occur in membranes have a Such fundamental studies are needed if composite picture of bow environmental water-attracting head and a water-repelling photosynthesis is to be understood and per factors such as carbon dioxide concen tail, and this amphiphiIic property· forces haps mimicked by artificial solar energy tration, salinity, water supply and sunlight SEMINAR SERIES them, when in contact with water, to align convertors. affect the photosynthetic performance of The CSIRO Biomembrnne Committee is in ordered arrays of bilayers with the heads currently conducting a series of one-day pointing outwards and the tails arranged A cartoonist's impression oftbe activity occurring 071 a biological membrane. seminars on the principles of structure and towards the interior. (Courtesy TlBS) function of biomembranes. This unique structure, only two molecules As Co-Research goes to print, the seminar wide, allows the proteins to be located on has moved to Sydney University, after onc side or the other, or to penetrate right being conducted at Melbourne Univcrsity through the membrane (Fig. 1). and the Waite Institute in South Australia. However it must not be assumed that It runs in Brisbane on November 27. membranes are rigid structures. There is The success of the earlier seminars has ample evidence that proteins and Iipids prompted the organisers to add Canberra can move rapidly along the membrane, al to. the itinerary, on Friday, December 8. though the rate at which they pass across it, The Canberra meeting will be held at the from one side to the other, may be much Research, School of 01cmistty, Australian slower. National UniversityI and will be chaired by Dr Keith Boardman ofthe CSIRO Executive. Bilayer .tructure The program and speakers will bel A membrane may be seen in a number of 1030 - Membrane Lipid, (Or D.G. Bi,hop, ways. In a thin section of a celll appro CSIRO Division of Food Research). priately stained, a photograph taken with an 1130 ~ MembrlU1c Proteins (Br I.J. Ryrie, electron microscope shows the membranes Research School of Biological as distinct lines (Fig. 2). Under very high Sciences, AN U). magnification these lines will resemble a 1400 - Membrane Structure (Or J. IsraelN pair of tramlines. reflecting the basic bilayer achvili, Research School of Physical structure. Sciences, ANU). If the membrane is split down the middle 1500 - Membrane Bioencrgetics (Prof. Sir by the freeze-fracture technique, a differ R.N.Robertson, Research School of ent image is obtained in the electron micro Biological Sciences, ANU). scope, in which the proteins can be seen 4S A registration fee of $5 is being charged, lumps in the lipid matrix (Fig. 3). payable at the meeting. Further information The plant chloroplast which is the site of can be obtained from Dr Jan Anrlerson, on photosynthesis, is one important membrane Canberra 465936. Figure 2.' A freez.e-fracture electron micrograph ofa cbloroplast Figure 3: Tbin section oftbc green alga euglena seen through the electron microscope. A number of sbowing areas where protein molecules are clearly distinguishable in distinctive memb"ane structures can be seen, with a long-cigar~shaped chloyoplast dominating the lipid matrix. (Photo Dr D.].Goodchild, Divisioll ofNallt Illdustry) the centre. (Photo Dr./. Baiu, Division ofFood Researcb) 4 223-1978 wheat, but types with a narrow xylem vessel diameter in the roots (xylem vessels arc the Anevvleaffor plant breeders 'tubes' which carry water through the roots to the leaves). According to the laws of physics, reducing Physiologists try some lateral thinking the diameter of a tube by half increases resistance to fluid flow 16 times, so even a An understanding of the physiological basis of a crop's performance would Or Passioura says wheat's many~branched smnll reduction in xylem vessel diameter seem of fundamental importance in any breeding progt·am. Yet the record of primary root system draws too strongly on would be beneficial. co-operation between physiologist and plant breeder is unspectacular. Breeders subsoil water at a time whcn the plant may Dr Richards began a program of crossing need to conserve it for later use. still claim it is possible to breed superior crops without any basic understanding and back-crossing these two primitive wheats Duplicating natural rain-grown conditions with modern varieties, to produce lines with of physiolob'Y, while physiologists point to the often quite modest improve in a glasshouse experiment, Dr Passioura the good characterisrics of modern wheat, ments in crop performance after decades of intensive breeding. Who is right? pruned a number of individual plants of all but displaying the narrow xylem vessel The Division of Plant Industry is giving physiologists an opportunity to show except a single primary root, 50 that no (NXV) character. what they can do. matter how strongly the plants sucked, The NXV~type wheats could be identified they could obtain only limited amounts of at the seedling stage by examining their Perhaps nothing illustrates the opposing peratures down to -4°C. Unlike wheat, water. roots, allowing very large numbers of nOIl viewpoints of plant physiologist and plant there is no need to avoid frosty weather at Dnwatered during their growth, the pruned NXV wheats to be screened out to keep breeder more graphically than the case of flowering. plants were smaller than unpruned plants numbers manageably small. the wilting sunflowers. Yield is actually increased by low tempera~ in a control group grown under the same Dr Richards is also intcrested in 'another Any sane breeder screening his hybrids tures up to the time of flowering, and is conditions. crop, barley, for similar reasons. He has for weakness to water stress would pounce very closely correlated with the dry weight But with water still available at anthesis, obtained from Denmark a mutant strain of upon and eliminate the first plants to show of the plant-simply, the bigger the plant, the pruned plants went on to yield twice as barley which has a single main root. the higher the yield, wilted leaves. much seed as the control plantsl which had Physiologists and geneticists alike are But Dr Howard Rawson of the Division of In planting late, growers reduce yield by already exhausted most of their water. excited by the mutant because it differs Plant Industry noW suggests that eliminating limiting the time the plant has Co accumulate Dr Passioura says drought~resistant plants from its multi-rooted sibling variety by just wilting sunflowers could be a fundamental dry weight before flowering. generally suffer from the disadvantage that a single gene. mistake. Thus, when the two are grown in identical He has found that in this wilted state, the conditions, any differences in the physiology leaves still manage to photosynthesise at or performance of the mutant can be 50 per cent efficiency because their stornates attribured to the effect of this single gene. are not fully closed. The Division ofPlant Industry celebrates its jubilee this year. The wilted leaves are angled away from Created as the CSIRO Division ofEconomic Botany the full impact of the sun, and so use very Wheat sn..vey little water. in 1928, the Division nMV enjoys a world reputation for An agronomist, Dr Jim Davidsoll, is con Or Rawson has also noted that towards its research. This article, the second in a series, looks at an ducting a sUlvey of Australia's major wheat evening, when temperatures have fallen, varieties of this century and last. the wilted leaves 'pump up' again and after aspect ofits research. During this long period of wheat grpwing a night's respite from the sun are ready to there has been an improvement in the work again the next day, largely unaffected. fertility of our wheatland soils, as a result of The trait assumes special significance in the use of superphosphate and Jey~cropping Australian conditions, where large acreages systems which rotate wheat with nitrogen of sunflowers are grown in natural rainfall. Mr .. Mye~s,:be1ieve~:plant.ng.·to maXlml~ they are unable to give high yield in good fixing legumes. Any suntlower whose leaves remain turgid, exposl,Jre.· to lower, t~mpera~ures,:,prolonging seasons. Dr Davidson's work aims at assessing the working at full efficiency during the whole the iearly:growth',sCiason,'increascs .' plant But plants whose drought resistance is due change in responsiveness of varieties to phos~ day, inevitably wastes large amounts of weight and yield. to a conservative primary root system need phorus and nitrogen which has been ach~ warer, since water loss continues to rise long PlantphysioJogists in the, Division are also not suffer this disadvantage, for in a good ieved by Australian wheat breeders. after maximum photosynthesis is achieved. taking' 'a' fresh',look at Australia's most season the secondary root system, which is He is looking at some of the varieties In this situation, any plant which runs out valuable crop, wheat. mm ally restricted to the topsoH, should brought into Australia by the early scttlers of rainwater between 'drinks' will die 01' be Dr John Passioura is looking at a novel develop well and amply supply the leaves varieties which were selected before plant severely damaged, or it may not have enough way of helping wheat avoid water stress with water from the wet topsoil. breeding began. water left at flowering to set a full head of during the growth period from anthesis Dr Passioura and a plant breeder colleague, He is also looking at varieties selected by seed. (flowering) to grain maturity. Or Richard Richards, then went looking for Australian growers around the turn of the The sunflower which limps through the In many areas of Australia, wheat flowers, wheat types whose water uptake rate was century, lines p.roduced by Farrer and other hottest part of day with leaves slack, sipping sets seed and matures during the hot months, genetically limited. early breeders, and important varieties of at its water, runs less risk of running out using water in the soil which fell as rain These were scarce, as plant breeders had recent years. and since it works at peak photosynthesis during winter or the fallow period before effectively eliminated the trait from modern In co~operation with the Victorian De~ for perhaps half its daylight hours, its yield the crop was sown. lines. partment of Agriculture, and hopefully other should not be badly affected. In 'poor rainfall·" yews, summer maturing They found only two, both wild types. State departments, he plans to grow about Dr Rawson poses the question: Can this wheats may begin to runout of.waterarounu after screening more than 100 modern and 70 varieties over a wide range of soils in the trait, apparently evolved by suntlowers to the' :time .of, anthesis, and 'despite healthy 900 wild types from the Australian Wheat wheat belt. cope with water stress, be bred into new progl"essingtowth up to this point, will set Collection. By growing older wheats in today's soils, sunflowers for natural rainfall areas if its fewer and smaller- grains as water stress The character they were looking for was in proximity to modern varieties, some usefulness can be demonstrated? l'iets in. not a single root, since this is not known in assessment of the breeder's contribution to Perhaps more pertinently, are breeders and today's yields can be made. . growers ready for a plant which so radically Dr John Passiaura works with his experimental wheat plants, trying to find a genetic In another wheat project, Dr Davidson challenges their concept of a 'good' crop detour aroul1d tbe mmmer water stress problem (see article). is comparing a glasshousc~based breeding plant? system with a conventional system for Dr Rawson's wilting sunflowers exemplify effectiveness in producing high~yieJdinglines. the lateral thinking being employed by A glasshouse allows a breeder to grow Plant Industry's physiologists-and it must . three generations in a single year, but there be said that even the Division's own breeders is no way of knowing how such wheats will remain to be convinced of the merit of such perform in the field. ideas. The glasshouse system could carve three or Or Ross Downes is approaching the sun~ four years off a conventional breeding pro~ flower water stress problem from another gram, which might take six or seven years. angle, again based. on an underst~nding of The _major difference is that culling must the plant's physiology. take place after, rather than during, the He suggests the summer stress period breeding program. could be avoided by selecting plants which The conventional brceding system selects mature earlier or later in the year. Not only for certain characteristics in each generation is water stress a problem in summer, heat grown in the field. The ghsshouse system also depresscs yields. employs physiological criteria as 'markers' Early~maturing plants have been selected during breeding. to avoid the stress period, and also to givc greater f1exibiliry in planting times. Best combinations At the end of the program, the combina~ Winte.. sowing tion or combinations of markers which Or Downes believes there may be scope generated the best wheats can be identified for developing types which yield well after for application in subsequent breeding pro being sown during winter. grams, which hopefully would simplify the For winter planting there may be a need task of breeders. for varieties with a high contenr of poly The program has a secondary aim-the unsaturated oil which is less prone to breeding of wheats suited to Australia's solidify at low temperature. He is investi- high rainfall zones, where the dominance gating this aspect. . of grazing has limited diversification into Or Downes is attempting to develop types other forms of agriculture. which produce high-quality oil under all Dr Davidson has crossed seven high conditions, especially under high tempera yield English whcats with a Mexican semi~ ture or when subjected to attack by the sun dwarf variety to overcome the daylength flower pest, the Ruthcrglen bug. sensirivity of the English lines. Mr Lach Myers has been studying another The developmcnt of high~rainfall wheats oilseed-rape-to see if yields can be lifted may allow graziers to enjoy the same econo~ through an understanding of its physiology. mic resilience as their dryland counterparts, lie has found that rape flowers and sub who have been well served by the traditional sequent seed set arc unaffected by tcm- wheat/sheep combination. 223-1978 People lowing year was sent to Imperial College test being that it may add to the comfort, Mike StanfieId, a TA with the Division of London for a two~year course in applied welfare and happiness of mankind'. Entomology in Hobart, has been selected in optics. Coincidentally he went to England The Award has always been made on an an Australian judo team which departed on the same ship as his friend and University international basis, and more than 500 Australia on 17 November to compete in contemporary Uoyd Rees, whose Division notable men and women have qualified as Japan, Korea, West Germany, Holland, he was later to join. recipients since its inception. Switzerland and the UK and Canada. The Returning to Melbourne in 1942, he set These include Orville Wright, Madame tour will take about five weeks. up the optics laboratory at MSL and was Curie, Guglielmo Marconi, Sir Alexander In the Australian Judo Championships responsible for major technological develop Fleming and Baron Howard W. Floeey, Dr held at Brisbane last May, Mike won a ments associated with the establishment of WaIter H. Brattain and Professor John bronze medal in his weight class. a precision optical industry in Australia. Bardeen, Sir Frank Whittle, and Professpr He is working for Dr Robin Bedding, who On transferring to CSIRO in 1955, he Charles Townes. The only previous Austral had his black belt when he came to Tas started a Specialized Optics Group in the ian recipient is Baron Florey. mania from the UK. He was coached by Chemical Physics Section of the then 'Since his retirement Sir AI an has been Robin at the Hobart YMCA when he first Division of Industrial Chemistry, set up an employed as a consultant spectroscopist and became interested in judo. optical workshop, and himself undertook a spends much of his time in the US and number of research projects, including the Europe. development of echellc spectroscopy. Mr S.W. (Bill) Bailey ha. retired from hi. Later he was deeply involved in the optieal position as a Senior Principal Research aspects of ruling and testing diffraction Scientist with the Division of Entomology, Mr George Williams l,rratings. I(imberley Researcb Station's farm manager, where he was Research Leader of the His abilities as an optical designer and Mr Cordon Salton, has retired. Stored Product Invcstigations group. Mr George Williams, Manager of CSIRO's his wide knowledge of optical techniques Staff at the researcb station farewelled Mr Bailey's career spanned the entire Central Communication Unit, has retired. and technology led to his advice and assist~ Mr Salton and his wife Peggy at a special period of post-war development of scien~ An experienced administrator, Mc WiIl ance being widely sought bodl within and function, whicb was attended by the Cbief tifically-based methods for the storage of iams was a key figure in establishing the outside the Division. He played an im of tbe Division of Tropical Crops and grain. He made many notable contributions ceu and directed its activities during portant part, for instance, in the coating Pastures, Dr Ted Henzell. to the subject and is recognised as one of a period in which political, public and and testing of the corrector optics for dIe the cminent storage technologists of the media interest in CSIRO unuerwent rapid Anglo-Australian telescope at Siding Spring. world. expansion. At his retirement party the members of He joined CSIRO as a Research Officer in He energetically promoted the view that the Division presented him with a cassette the Division of Entomology in 1950, to carry communication was an integral part of the deck and two examples of Divisional optical out research on insect pests of stored grain scientific process, not merely an adjunct craftsmanship-a telephoto lens for his and flour mills. to it-a philosophy written into CSIRO's camera and a novel array of diffraction For 18 years, he and a tcchnical assistant charter in the wake of. the Birch inquiry. grating•• were the only members of what was later to His early career began with four years of become one of the larger problem-orientcd military seIVicc with the AIF and RAAF, groups in the Division, employing a total of after which he joined the NSW Public 30 people. Service and worked with several Depart Toilet rolls, giant termites and no small During these 18 years he surveyed the ments during the 19505. measure of showmanship contributed to the problems associated with the storage of During this period he gained the degree of recent outstanding success of the Division of wheat and flour and pursued many fruitful Bachelor of Economics from Sydney Building Research stand at the recent Parth lines of stored product pest research. University. Homemakers' Show. His major work during this period was on In 1958 he joined the Division of Fish hermetic storage of grain and its effect on Sandwiched between commercial exhibM eries and Oceanography as Divisional Admini· insect pests which set a foundation for itors, the Building Research team regularly strative Officer, and his subsequent involve~ much of the work on airtight storage and ment in policy aspects of the fisheries attracted large crowds of people by holding use of controlled atmospheres carried out program saw his reclassification as Tech~ aloft specimens of the giant termite, Masto~ subsequently around the world, and is nieal Secretary in 1963. termes darwiniensis and itemsof its preferred A group of eight Chinese scientists and receiving considerable attention in Aust In 1965 he was appointed Chief of the diet-Public Service toilet rolls. tcchnologists and an interpreter visited ralia today from the next generation of Fishery Intelligence and Reports Office of Visitors to the stand then asked questions, Australia recently as part of an exchange entomological workers. the United Nations Food and Agriculture saw other exhibits and departed with inR agreement between the Ch inese Academia During this time, he produced more than Sinica and the Australian Academy of Organisation in Rome. formation sheets. 30 papers on storage and associated topics. He returned from Rome in 1967 to become Science. Mr Bailey has been a valued consultant an Assistant Secretary in CSIRO Head The purpose of the visit was to make con for many Government departments, and in Office, and became personal assistant to the tact between Chinese and Australian scien recent years, particularly for the AU5t~ then~Chairman!Sir Frederick White. tists and technologists and to exchange ralian Development and Assistance Bureau Simultaneously he assumed responsibility experiences on current work, achievcments for whom he has visited and advised on food for CSIRO's public relations activities and Eminent CS1RO geneticist Dr Helen Newton and plans for research development and storage problems in Burma, Bangladesh and' for the Film Vnit. Turner has become tbe first AustraUan applications of solar energy. the ASEAN countries. These latter responsibilities became an scientist to be awarded tbe prestigious Ceres Or John Kowalczewski, Assistant Chief of Mr Bailey is not retiring from active partiM increasingly major part of his work, and in Medal by the United Nations Food and the CSIRO DivIsion of Mechanical Engineer cipation in storage technology-he has been 1973 the various groups under his control Agricultural Organisation. ing was the Australian co~ordinator for the appointed a food storage consultant to were amalgamated to form the Central The citation accompanying the announce group which represented many different ASEAN aod no doubt will be sought after Communication V nit with Mr WiIliams as ment of tbe award to Dr Turner, said ;,Ceres Institutes and Universities in China, from for other assignments where his wealth of Manager. 'remained a symbol to the wm'ldts hungry Peking, Shanghai, Kwangchou and Tientsin. experience and ability can continue to serve In addition to managing the Unit, he also people taking tbe face of humane and dis Their· areas of specific interest were solar both the Australian grain industry and assumed an overall responsibility for tinguished wome'n ofour own time on Ceres collectors, materials technology for col developing countries. CSIRO's internal and external communi medals issued by 'FAO.' lectors, solar thermal electrical power cation at all levels. Dr Turner received her medal reeemly generation, solar desalination and solar during an oVerseas trip. housing designs both active and passive. During their stay in Australia they visited Dr Dal Swaine, ofthe Fuel Geoscience Unit, the six major mainland capital cities and spent two weeks in Sweden in November on Dr Helen Newton Turner were able to meet scientists doing solar both academic and commercial tasks. energy or related research in the CSIRO The IVA (Royal Swedish Academy of Divisions of Mechanical Engineering, Mineral Engineering Sciences) invited Dr Swaine to Chemistry and Chemical Technology as well give the opening paper 011 'Heavy Metals as in University Departments and Institutes in Coal' at a oncMday s:ymposium on this of Technology involved in solar research. topic. The delegation was very interested in the This was held in Stockholm on NovemM commercial and industrial demonstrations her 13. they saw, including the solar can warmer at As a guest oftbe Academy for the rest of the Queanbeyan Coca-Cola Co factory tbe week, Dr Swaine visited several organiM installed by the former CSIRO Solar Energy sations for discussions on coal for power Studies Unit, and the more recently installed production, witb emphasis being placed solar beer pasteuriser unit in the South Sir Alan Walsb '[ hear the Division of Macrocircuitry on the beavy metals aspect. Australian Brewing Company's Adelaide will soon be run by a pinhead no bIgger Dfl1-ing his second week, Dr Swaine Sir Alan WaJsh, who retired from the posit~ brewery. than a silicon chip.' changed hats and became a one~man Coal ion of Assistant Chief of the Division of They also visited the premises of several Mission in Sweden on behalf of tbe Aust~ Chemical Physics in January last year, has of the larger companies involved in the With apologies to Punch falian Department of Trade and Commerce. recently been named as a recipient of the manufacture of solar collectors. Joha Scot< Award by the City of Phila During the visit they were received and delphia, USA, 'for his invcntion of the welcomed by a wide range of Australian The Artbur Frost Memorial Award, an Mr J.J. McNeill, a seniol' member of the atomic absorption method for quantitative dignitaries including the Minister for Science, award of $200 to tbe apprentice judged to research staff of the Division of OlcmicaI analysis of the elements'. Senator Webster, the Premier of South bave made the greatest improvemeut in bis Physics, has retired after nearly Z3 years The John Scott Award, comprising a Australia, Mc Don Dunstan, the then Chair final year, has been W01J tbis year by Erjc with the Division. copper medal and a sum of $4000, is made man of CSIRO, Mr V.D. Burgmann, the Nagel, formerly an apprentice at the Division Mr McNeill had a distinguished career at from a fund inaugurated in 1816 by a South Australian Minister for Mines and ofAtmospberic Physics. Melbourne University in Natural Philosophy, bequest to the City of Philadelphia by John Energy, Mr Hugh R. Hudson, the Victorian Tbe $200 award is coutributed to jointly as it was then called. He also distinguished Scott, a chemist of Edinburgh, Scotland. Minister for Minerals and Energy, Mr ] .C.M. by CSIRO and the CSlRO Lahoratory himself in athletics, and for many years held It is made for 'inventions that will be use Balfour, the Western Australian Minister for Craftsmens AssociatiolJ. the University record for the triple jump. ful to mankind in the development of Industrial Development Mines and Fuel and The award was presented to Eric by Dr In 1938 he joined the Munitions Supply chemical, medical or any other science or Energy, Mr A.Mensaros and the Lord Mayor G.B. Tucker, Chief of tbe Division of l.aboratories at Maribyrnong, and the fol~ development of industry in any form, the of Perth, Mr F.C. Chaney. Atmospheric Physics. 6 223-1978 efforts of tbe Division of Soils and tbe land, instead of the shotter Hume Highway Division of Land Use Researcb. route-and the rules said 'shortest practic It presents an introduction to the soUs able route'. and landscapes of tbe Canberra region itl a Scientists were a tough breed in those mmmer whicb can be used by teacbers and days, but the accountRIlts were tougher... explan~ groups a[ students with minimal I ation frorn professional scientists. Mr Alan Doery, who retired from the Head Office Conference Group last year, has been making constructive use of his first year outside CSIRO by committing some of his considerable expertise in organising and running conferences to print. With Mr R.D. Croll, he is co-authoring a conference manual, to be published soon, Mr Doery joined the CSIRO Agricultural Research Liaison Unit in 1964, and from within the unit began to develop new techniques with emphasis on conference design. CS/RO's specially·bred tropical daity cow, tbe Australian Milking Zebll. is continuing to enhance its reputation internationally. Many a venerable velocipede has been dusted The January edition al Nestle's Diary, off since it was announced that CSIRO published in Trinidad, records tbat pmgeny Another accolade for tbat little Aflssie battler, Interscan. This time, a bronze plaque from would pay a small allowance to staff mem of AMZ cattle sent to the West h1dian tbe Chartered Institute of Transport, which was awarded jointly to tbe Divisiml of bers choosing to cycle rather than Ulie stQ.ff islalld by CS/RO 's dail''yRlarmingco-operators Radiopl]ysics and the Commom.vealtb Department of Transport, for tbeir involvement vehicles in the course of their duties. in 1976 are no'U) being consigned to Panama, in developing tbe world's new microwave aircraft landing system. Shown with the The allowance is not new-in fact, it has ;1'1 Central Amet"ica. award are tbe Chief ofRadiapbysics, Mr Harry Minnett, (right) and former never lapsed since it was first introduced Under the beading 'TrinidadMborn super Chiefand new CSlRO Chairman, Dr Paul Wild, (left). back in CSIR days-rather, it was simply bulls for Panama farms', tbe article s,ays six forgotten. AMZ bulls have been sent to eager and Some Canberra Divisions have even gone anxious private farms in Panama. A star-studded cast of judges drawn from a wind generator and a polystyrene igloo one further by buying bicycles for staff use Nestles impOl"ted 136 of tbe Australian the Australian Academy of Science, CSIRO which heated up to 85°F with a 25 watt (Canberra has a growing network of bicycle cattle as part of a major effort to encourage and the local teaching profession recently lamp. paths). Entomology, Mathematics and tbe production af a truly indigenous beast officiated at the first annual Schools Science First prize in the general section went to Statistics, and Environmental Mechanics all capable of witbstanding tbe rigaurs of and Inventors Fair in the ACT. a senior secondary student for his home have puhlicly-funded pedallers. tropical climes, pasturage problems and Sponsored jointly by the Science Teach made electron microscope. He also entered parasites, wbUe being a highly efficient ers' Association of the ACT and a Canberra a mass spectrometer of his own con converter. shopping centre, the fair attracted 120 struction..• The AMZ, produced by CSlRO breeders entries from primary and secondary school by crassing the Jersey b1'eed witb tbe Zebu students. Sahiwal breed, will apparently be used in CSIRO's contribution to a highly success A permanent display bas been establisbed in furtber breeding programs in Panama. ful event was supplied by 01' Joe Gani, Chief tbe foyer of the Divisian of Soils' Canberra of the Division of Mathematics and Statis Laboratories. tics Or Michael Dack of the Central Com~ A small gatberi1'~g to mark the occasion Not only have the bicycles been revived, mu~ication Unit and Mr Ed Highlcy, Scien was attended by Divisional staff including but some memoriesalong with them-like the The previous edition of CoReserach was tific Liaison Officer at the Division of the Cbief, Dr Arnold Martin, who came time a stcel~thewed entomologist sought assembled widl some haste and in difficult Entomology (who bas refuted allegations from Adelaide, Mr Howard Crozier and Mr and received permission during dIe war circumstances, resulting in some elTors. that he kept muttering •...but is it safe... Denis YOU1Jg from Head Office, mId repres years to pedal to Melbourne and back to The edition was numbered 223-, which can it be made in any other colour? '). entatives of teacbing institutes tbroughout obtain a tel'mite colonyl should in fact be the number {.or this Other judges with CSlRO connections in the ACT. He headed off into the sunset, obviously edition. cluded Sir ouo Frankel and Professor The display was opened by the Officer-i,, inspired by the thought of vast riches The 'Perspective' article on smoking con~ Arthur Birch. The Professor participated Cbarge, Dr Joh" Loveday. After a brief accumulating at the rate of tuppence a mile, tained a transposed block of type which in the 'Science as Art' section (Academy description of the display and its purpose duly collected his termite colony, slung it made its comprehension difficult. of Science), and personally offered and by Dr Loveday, refresbments were served over his back. and returned triumphantly Finally, a photograph of the Minister for awarded a prize for the best science cartoon. while Divisional staff explained particular to Canberra. Science inspecting a low energy house at The section on 'Social Significance of facets oftbe models ta individual guests. He put in his mileage claim, and was as- Highett was deleted at the last minute. but Science' (Academy of Science) attracted a The display itself was proposed by the tounded to find it had been reduced by the caption was lllCOl'porated in the accom high standard of energy~conservil1g entries, Australian Societyol Soil Science, ACT 13/4d. He had taken the extraordinary panying article. including two working solar water heaters, Branch and developed tbrough tbe joint liberty of going via Calm River and Gipps-- CoReserach apologises for these errors. Discussion and debate: Continued from page 2 total staff of 6000, staff numbers have been the Bill specifically forbids a member of the of rhe nation. Of course, it is their impact cant number of its population in the 1980s reduced by 50 this year. At the same time Executive or the staff being Chairman of the on their community which brings about the and beyond. Therefore we should look at the Organization is having greater demands Advisory Committee or a State Committee. elevation which CSIRO receives throughout any measures which are designed to boost put upon it.... At the moment the staff of the CSIRO is Australia and in international circles. the application and the quality of Aust represented on Advisory Committees. I do ralian scientific research because it relates One thing which is certain is that develop not sec the reason for the prohibition of very much to the real problem of restruc ments of this kind, whether they be the staff from the Advisory Committees which, It is intcresting to note, as a major policy turing Australian industries. establishment of a national applied tech after all, are going to be very important point, that the Birch Committee recom nology agency or the CSIRO having the bodies if the intentions of this legislation arc mended that the CSIRO stay as one organi ... the basic and applied research of an capacity to continue its work at the present to be carried out. sation. At one stage there was a possibility organisation such as the CSIRO is essential level of activity nnd beyond, will require that it might be broken up into several areas to the process of development. I can only more positions to be created in the CSIRO to meet the interest of competing Ministers. join other honourable senators who have and will require a flexible application of the Senator PETER BAUME-Whatever its de But we now have the assurance, on the generally commended the CSIRO for its staff ceilings which are currently being ap fect, there has never been a parliament advice of Birch and in accordance with the outstanding record in this regard. All plied by the Government. What I am con better prepared by reason of training and decision of the Cabinet and the Prime organisations of this kind are from time to cerned about is that there is a difference be occupation to make a useful contribution to Minister, that the CSIRO will remain as one time highly susceptible to public criticism tween the rhetoric of the Government in a debate on science. There are more people organisation... on the grounds of accountability and con relation to science policy and the actual in the Parliament now who have been prac~ tribution to the society and the Parliament, reality as at present being exhibited. tising scientists in their own right, who have which gives them considerable financial gone through the rigours of scientific train Government financed scientific research support. It would be true to say that of The CSIRO Divisions and Laboratories-I ing, who have taken higher degrees in scien will continue to represent a major segment all of the statutory corporations that this thinl{ there are 37-are to be grouped into tific disciplines and who have contributed of the nation's scientific endeavour. The Parliament has established over many years six Institutes which it is supposed will give to the world of research. provisions of this Bill and the full range of there would be perhaps two, the Snowy better co~ordination of research...The initiatives that are being taken by the Mountains Authority and the CSIRO, CSIRO has never suffered from the sort Government following the Birch committee which would stand out as having a very dis of organisational malaise that the Australian Senator WEBSTER-I have travelled very of inquiry will, I believe, go a long way to· tinguished record and attracting relatively Broadcasting Commission noW suffers from l widely throughout Australia during these wards ensuring that the returns to the minor criticism concerning public spiritcd~ which is a sort of disease of middle manage· past years looking at various CSIRO instal community for the investment in research ness, the importance of the work that they ment. One of the advantages of that has lations. My visits have been most elevating will continue to be maximised. This Bill are doing, and the accountability to Aust~ been a great deal of flexibility, or com and rewarding. I have been most proud to will ensure that CSIHO's management ralian society which they have shown. parative flexibility, within the Organization. be associated with this Organisation and to struct:ure is appropriate for the years ahend, Therefore the Opposition raises a query realise the dedication of those who work at that a full and adequate flow of advice is In my view, the Government has not given about tbe wisdom of this move and wonders aU levels. I have been proud to say to the readily available to CSIRO from industry, the CSIRO up to the prsent time the re R whether it will simply impose another level staff at all Divisions I have visited that I see government and community generally about sources which it needs to carry out the between creative scientists and the top the central organisation of CSIRO as being national needs and priorities, and that the functions which it Is now envisaged it will policy level of the Organization. composed of a most aware group of men. results of research and the information have. Those functions are much wider than Thcy run the central office mo~t economic· gained during the course of research are those the CSJRO had formerly. The CSIRO I refer next to the fact that the Advisory ally. Indeed, the liaison that occurs between transferred effectively to those sections of budget this year has been increased by only Council is to be an independent body. That the Minister and the Executive, as well as the community in a position to put them to 6 per cent in cash termsi that is to say, is a very laudable objective. I qualify the those who support the Executivc, again is practical use or to gain practical benefits there is no real growth in the budget. [n a expression 'lauda.ble' only by the fact that deserving of the very highest appreciation from them. 223-1978 Dowe need a technological fix. • • or are we already in one.r;? 'fix nI, a position of difficulty or embar filing cabinet next to your desk; or (ii) to Sometimes persons arc actually moved to rassment : a trying predicament 2 a : the store it in a retrievable way in a computer. complete the communication loop by position (as of a ship) determined by bear You opt for the filing cabinet. penning a note to the Editor on some heavy ings, observations, or radio b : a d(!termina~ It turns out, however, that there are no hut none-the~less important subject, such as &ion ofone's position 3 • an act oj" obtaining spare filing cabinets in the Division. Also, the gobbledegook and bombast typical of a special privilege or immunity from the law the furniture money for the year, the only deal of correspondence and circulllrs that by bribery or collusion; also tbe money source of funds for filing cabinet purchase, flow around and out of the firm. paid to obtain sueb privilege 4 : a shot ola has been used up, so a new one is out. Maybe, given all these things, CoReseareh narcotic 5 , FIXATION You may find yourself then, if you really seems to someone an ideal candidate for (Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary) need that information store, forced into an improvement by issue, a la IAustralian 'option' you'd previously rejected as unsatis Science Index', in microfiche onlyl (Is it factory-perhaps even irrational. that someone has shares in a microfiche I often wonder in these purportedly hard You might discover that in using the com reader company, or is it just that we have a times what our technological options within puter you're buying time. something ab machine that makes the little beasties?) CSIRO are. stract. and the administrative control over Anyhow, moving from conjecture to [ occasionally wonder if options do indeed expenditure is less stringent. The account actuality, I'm able to relate a quite specific exist. ants haven't caught up on non~hardware. instance of what seemed, to me at least, to Perhaps our technological course is pre There are no hassles. All you need to get be use of a technology inappropriate to a ED HIGHLEY is Scientific Liaison Officer determined in onc way or another and to into the system is a cost code. particular task. in the Division of Eo.tomology. He has talk about, for example, appropriate tech In a similar way, current purchasing pro As a result of the then existing talents and worked for three other Divisions of CSJRO nology,· in terms of the workings of the credures sometimes make it difficult to buy interests, Annual Reports of the Division of and has also been, at one time or another, a Organization and the pursuit of its scientific a book costing, say, $20, whereas $2o-worth Entomology used to be typeset on the bread carter, a haleer, a fibrous plasterer, aims is purely notional. of computing time may pass with a blink 11[ COMp80 device of the Division of a trainee teacher. a labourer and alaboratory Why do we seem to be continuing to buy and, were it ever noted, would be con Computing Research, using an elegant pro assistant in a copper refinery, a grape picker, big ca.rs with big engines? Cars that will be sidered trifling. gram written by a member of the Division. a potential encyclopaedia salesman, a sort used mostly by a single person travelling a Is this a sort of prejudice against a parti Typeserring of the 1976-77 Annual Report of medical technologist, and a book pub short distance. cular technology. the book? Would a similar in this way cost $2400. Had the 1977-78 lisher's editor in England and Australia. Has the firm thought about a policy on sort of partiality be evident if we looked at Report been so set it would have probably vehicle/engine sizes with a view to conser journals and machine-based information cost around $ 3000. It was longer, and com ving fuel and presumably saving money? retrieval systems? puter charges had gone up during the year. Is this appropriate technology? Why do How many groups in CSIRO have bought CoResearch, apart from being billed as a Instead, however, it was possible to give we employ typists? Are their days num and use push-bikes for short·distance travel? lpublication' rather than a newspaper, the job to a trade typesetting house in bered? Why arc research staff, as a group, What are we doing to encourage greater use seems to me to be appropriate technology. Canberra. The result, from an IBM Com the highest paid in the firm? of the font? Is it thnught that the line It's read, talked about, it informs, and its poser, was perfectly satisfactory, and cost Do we need a technological fix? Are we printer is salvation and the traditional jokes and cartoons have been known to incite just $900. already in it? Or is the whole current busi library has had its day? mirth. [ should add roD that there was no time ness, as perhaps exemplified by the latest Perhaps we think too little, if at all, about penalty involved in going to a specialist amendment to the CSIRO Directory, with appropriate technology, and maybe part of outside the Organization. The typesetting its studied avoidance of punctuation marks, the reason for this is that there's no internal, ~ took just two wee! Sir, form was a standard form designed to cover We at the AMP have recently been privileged to have appointed our first First-Aid Officer, ParAvian Rap all necessary infonnation, for file purposes. Mr Terry Fogarty. Equipped with a shiny new FirstRAid Kit, he has commenced practice. Your article 'The Odd Par Avian' apparently Bird band recovery involves the public I think it appropriate that we now advertise his services with the following: finds humorous the English of some bird cooperation, and there is value in knowing band finders. In particular it holds a Miss X something about the finder for statistical Ode to a First-Aid Officer of Victoria up for ridicule after she had purposes. Dr Thompson's letter found made an effort to help. its way to the right address. 'Tbe Doctor Is In', with his glycerine grin Possibly she was being funny, but maybe Commanding 'The Kit' (or IThe Kit' commands him?) she would think that you are not. A practiced purveyor of powder and potion On a. related note (of lack of respect for He'll soothe all your sunburn with calamine lotion, the helpers) the Report to Finder sent to CoResearcb solicits brier. pithy, letters from Perform your abortion, control your contortion Miss X asked if the bird was dead or alive, its readers. Subject to tbe usual laws govem and hand you a bill that is simply extortion. despite her previous letter clearly stating ing libel, letters may be vitriolic, passionate, Your snakebite is safe with a slash and a suck, that it was dead. The form letter then good-bumoured. complaining, reflective, A blow on the head should you then run amuck. asked personal details, such as age and sex. laudatory, quixotic or apathetic. The best The lovely young lass who might faint on the stair How is lmowledge of bird behaviour pro letter in each issue willattract a Go/den Quill. WiIlnwake to his mouth-to-mouth (just for the air). moted by such prying questions? Do Tbe address is: CoResearch, PO Box 225, His methods amaze, some claim they are crazy Government scientists need to act like D;cksoll, ACT, 2602. But $2,50 a week doesn't get you Ben Casey. Government bureaucrats? Norman Pummeroy Rory Thompson Administrative Systems Group Atmospheric Physics Canberra Aspendale Unedifying address on letter from CSIRO Officers Association. PS-Your editorial urging reactions and Fuzzy Elegance contributions to CoResearch does not I've had the same problem with the setting give an address to send them to. One Mr G. D'Neill Apart from the interest of its content, the of large type sizes for book titles. and my needs to guess? new style CoRcsearch has a very elegant advice is to use Letraset and enlarge to fit. Edi th of Coresearch appearance, except for the poor quality of Excuse the whinge and let me repeat that Editor's notcl The point raised by Dr the title on the front page. the rest of the layout is very pleasing. Thompson is valid. and dte letter was not P.D. Box 225 It looks to be the product of a photo printed without consideration. It was more Dickson. A.C.T. 2602 setting machine and those fuzzy edges and Paul Stapleton than eight years old, and the writer's name gaping letterspaces spoil the impression Editorial and Publications Section and address were not published. On the created by the rest of the paper. East Melbourne odlcr matters raised, the Report to Finder 8 223-1978