Evening star., 1940-03-21
Of Stars, Men .......
And Atoms
Notebook Of Science Progress
In Field, Laboratory
And Study
BIZ Thomas r. Henri.

06 AfSoHts%o Ats AACfI ~
Three Washington scientists will re-
ceive tonight the first awards of the
Washington Academy of Sciences for
outstanding achievements in research.
The award for the biological sciences
goes to DR.. Herbert Friedman, curator
at the United States National Museum,
for a series of investigations on the emo
tional life of birds and the social para
sitism which exists among such families
as the cucoOS and the coWbirdS.
The bird mind has been described as a
frozen intelligence" The mind Of dog
pattern as a human mind. 1t operates
in the same way but on a lower level.
About all the mechanisms represent
stages through which man has passed.
One may, 1t is to be presumed, interpret
good deal of which is taking place in
dogs brain by the always dangerous
process of identification. The dog is
thinking what II" would be thinking if
''T' were acting in the same way.
But with birds this is no longer pos
sible in any degree. The bird brain is
cast in different pattern. Its evolu-
tionary progress has not been along the
same road. The identification process,
which has been used in the past, has had
almost no validity whatsoever Dr. Fried
mann during the past few years has been
able to devise objective methods for the
Interpretation of bird behavior and has
been an outstanding pioneer in the
science of bird psychology.
This was possible only because of a
lifetime of rigorous scientific experience
in the field of ornithology. Far less color
full and far more laborious have been
Dr. Friedmanns taxonomic and geo.
graphical studies, which are the solid
foundation for his psychological re-
searches.
The award in engineering will go to
Paul A. Smith of the United States
Coast and Geodetic Survey for the
leading part he has taken in an enter
prise as colorful as it is practical. The
greater part of the surface of the earth
is almost completely unknown 1t is at
the bottom of the sea.
1t is perhaps natural to picture this
| underwater world, forever hidden from
human eyes, as place of deadly monot-
ony. For the most part this is probably
true for the midocean bottoms which
have been pressed under the vast weight
of the waters since the cooling of the
earth. 1t is not true for the rims of the
seas. These are areas which are con-
stantly shifting, in the course of mill
eniums, from shore to sea bottom and
back again.
Work carried on largely under 1t.
Smiths direction has resulted in maps
of large segment of this hitherto un-
known area which are almost as detailed
as maps Of any portion of the dry earth
Deep valleys and high mountain ranges
have been charted through the use of
the sonic depth finder. This particular
area is the Eastern shore line of the
United States-an extraordinarily rugged,
picturesque" region.
The work has very decided practical
Importance. 1t provides landmarks at
the bottom of the ocean for mariners. A
| few depth soundings enable him to check
up on his dead reckoning and fix his
| position about as accurately as would be
possible from observations of the stars.
| 1t has given the sailor a new sky under
the sea. The work might almost be said
| to have laid thes foundations for a new
science of navigation, so far as waters
within 100 miles of shore are concerned
and to have opened up the wonders of a
new world
The award for the physical sciences
went to DR.. Wilmot H. Bradley of the
United States Geological Survey for re-
searches in the apparently highly tech
nica] field of the "oil shales of the Green
River formation in wyoming" The sig
nif1cance of DR.. Bradley's work, however
went far beyond its immediate technical
applications.
| This particular formation happens to
have been laid down throughout large
part of the Eocene, or dawn" period of
the earths geological history about Co.
| 100000 years ago. This was the time
when life began to take on mind and
color. 1t was the time of the origin of
most Of the families of mammals and
birds known on earth today. The older
forms became discarded experiments of
nature. 1t was also the period of the
first appearance of Towering plants, and
of the modern reptiles, fishes and insects
Mans own remote ancestors can be
traced back to this period
BY his intensive studies of the layers
In this Wyoming formation DR.. Bradley
was able to establish time scale for the
Eocene-a calendar of the springtime OF
the world. He also made intensive
studies of the micro organisms whose re-
mains are found in the shale, which have
proved of great practical value to indus
trial biologists.
hese awards represent new departure
for the Washington Academy and a
means of recognizing the outstanding
contributions of local scientists to the
advancement of knowledge throughout
the world. With this precedent estab-
lished, 1t is planned to make them each
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