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Machine-read from the scan, so expect some errors. Lines that couldn’t be read are left out.
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We w e all looKing forward with a great deal of anticipztion to the meet* MVirrion of Biology and Medicirre
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UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ALAMOS SCIENTIFIC LABORATORY L o s Alcmos, New Mexico Division of Biology and Medicine Dear John: hibited by law. Iwill take the liberty in this letter of touching on a number of subjects which are i n my mind atthe moment. w e have actually started to move into our new laboratory. The process will undoubtedly continue over the next month or six weeks, but the fact remains that we are moving. Unquestionably w e will wish t o have some sort of offic i al opening or dedication of the building, and I have wondered how you might feel about planning this for the afternoon of October 10 when the Advisory Committee will be here. You will be happy t o know that If the Committee expects inthe normal course of events t o continue its deliberations through the afternoon of Saturday, the loth, it might be better for us t o have our official opening on Sunday, the ll th,in order t o avoid disturbing the deliberations. think i n terms of a brief meeting not t o exceed a half hour, a meeting which would be attended by guests and local dignitaries, with afew appropri ate words uttered by a small number of people. the building would hold open house for the community and guests. For an opening ceremony I would Following such a meeti function i s held on Sunday, some members of t h e Committee might necessary t o leave on Saturday, which would be apity, but I would hate t o ask the Committee t o cut its deliberations short on our account. As I believe is usually the case, w e are discovering quite a number of sins of omission and commission on the part of the architects and the builders, but on the whole the building seems pretty adequate even though The &onkey experiment is now complete4 and t h e group from .- it lacks some of t h e charm of our previous quarters. Field have gone home to try to find out what their data mean. most successful affair, and no participant failed to get the after. 'ule finally got a source of very adequate size, and White's calculations the shielding which was provided Dean Meyerls monitors were most diligent and nobody received an overexposure. It is hoped be available very soon.
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Speaking of reports, one situation has come t o our notice recently which has many of us here rather at the boiling point. There was issued in April of this year by AFSWP Technical Report No. 500. Actually this report arose entirely from the previous monkey experiment which was done here last year. In spite of this absolutely no credit is given t o Los Alamos or the School of Aviation Medicine. The preliminary results of t h a t experiment were sent i n November by Wright Langham t o Jim Hartgering at the latter ts request,with the understanding that they desired the material for their personal informaIfland. If you happen t o see Hartgering, you might wish t o point out t o him that this episode will have a very definite effect on the cheerfulness with which we will pass information t o him or his staff i n the future. to say that we regard it as a distinctly unfriendly gesture on the part of We now find it i n an official report written by someone named Paul John Semis saw Gordon Dunning when he wasin Washington last week, and it looks as though w e may be able t o carry out a telemetering program yet. I am prepared t o give the plan considerable support, and I know that you, too, are interested i n it. Work is continuing on the creation of a man-sized scintillation counter. The design criteria are about completed, drawings are being made, This represents a large enough investment so that we are making haste a little and actual construction and assembly should be well under way before Christmas. Fortunately the work is at the stage now where moving into the new building will not interrupt it. Such portents as I have seen indicate that the preparations for the October meeting of the Advisory Committee are progressing satisfactorily.I am sure it is too late to arrange it for this fall, but might it not be possible on some occasion t o have the Advisory Committee meet jointly with the Biomedical Program Directors? Such a meeting perhaps could best be held i n Washington so that no single installation could claim more than its share of This seems t o cover most of what is on my mind atthe moment. We are looking forward t o seeing you. Very sincerely yours, Health Division Leader