Comment 025 June 1987

King's College London (KQC) newsletter

KI G'S BIDS FAREWELL TO R CHARD HARRIES - AND WELCOMES EW DEAN

Left: the Principal presenting the College's gift to Richard Harries at a reception in the Council Room on Monday, 15 June.

Right: Reverend Canon Reginald Askew, the Dean designate. Please see inside for articles.

Ernie Warrell.

This year s KCL AGM and Reception will be held on Friday, 3 July at the Kensington campus. The AGM will start at 5.30 pm and is to be held in the Food Science Lecture Theatre. A usual a Reception will follow with refreshments, wine, coffee and soft drink starting at approximately 6.30 pm and this will be held in the Old Refectory. The Principal, Professor S tewart Sutherland, will be preent. Demon trations in utrition and Biotechnology will be pre ented and a music recital given by the King's Singers, a ever under the impeccable direction of

KCLA, for those of you who don't know, stands for King's College London ssociation and is the organisation which brings together our alumni and friends.

The AGM is traditionally a time when old friends and colleagues can meet informally and catch up on what ha been happening, to them and to the College.

King's staff are most welcome to go along, and are warmly encouraged to do so as this adds to the success of the evening for those former students who make the effort to return and renew acquaintance with their old College.

THORS Due to the success of previous book di play in windows on the Strand, plans are underway to repeat the exercise in time for the opening of ession.

Simmonds booksellers are kindly helping in mounting the display, and guarantee that those books on show will be held in stock to meet the interest sure to be generated. To facilitate the preparation of the display, details are needed from mem bers of staff about books they have written. So if you would like to see your publication on display and help in this venture, please contact the Information Office with the relevant details.

EWS FROM KCL RESE RCH E TERPRISES OPPORTU ITIES FOR INDUSTRIAL EXPLOITATIO A major group of 24 chemical companies has expre ed interest in looking for special skill or knowledge in the following areas. If you are interested, please send a brief outline of the expertise or idea to Kenneth Groves at KCL Re earch Enterprises, Kensington:

R&D CLEARING HOUSE 'SHOPPING LIST' Biotechnology, Life Sciences Biochemical engineering particularly fermentation broth separation (I Dj) Hygiene in biotechnology ( 10k) Phage problems in fermentation (I Om) Extraction of products from plant tissue culture (4a) ew fungicides or bacteriocides of natural origin (4b) Fluorina ted biocides (4c) Downstream costs of biological pharmaceuticals manufacture (4e) se of immobilised enzymes (including studies on catalyst supports) for making C 12-C 14 natural oils from low cost hydrocarbon feedstocks - C20 (4f) Immobilisation of enzyme and enzyme catalyst supports (11 f) Cell removal and disruption technique (I i) Biotransformation of organosulphur chemicals (Ij) Biotechnological production of aroma chemicals ( 1k) Biotransformations of substances with low water solubility (I m) Biocides for industrial uses (2f) Topical preparation for skin treatment (21 b) Cardiovascular and arthritis drugs ( 12a) Drug delivery systems and new methods of targetting (12c) ovel chemicals of potential biological effect (12f) Food diagnostics (12g) Drug delivery systems ( 19a) Biocides for water treatment (17n) Biocides for oilfield application (17p) Antibacterial agents (12h) Anticancer agents (12j) Vaccines ( 12k) Seed coatings (12m) Herbicides (12n) Fungicides (12p) Insecticides (12q) Plant growth regulators (12r)

Ceramic Ceramic binders - tetraethyl silicate (13a) Testing ceramics for hot modulus of rupture at 1700 deg C (13 b)

2

Corro ion Measurement of corrosion in reinforcing bars ( IOn) Lubrication technology in relation to copper corro ion inhibition (I q) Corrosion inhibitor (17a) Oil field corrosion inhibitor (I Oq) Electrochemi try Electrochemistry in wood pulp manufacture (4d) Scale-up of ele trochemical reduction of organosulphur compounds (1 d) Collaborative research in electrochemistry (8a) New Materials Materials for dental work (1Ig) ew sulphur containing polymers and monomers ( I c) Waterproofing materials re istant to extremes of pH (l3c) Phy ical Topics Development of macroporous beads (for sustained release for ego fungicides and as a catalyst carrier) (lId) Sonochemistry (23a) and equipment for sonochemistry (I r)

Downstream processing of polysaccharides (Ih) ovel approaches to the safe dispo al of effluents, especially ga eou (I n) ew eparation techniques, particularly alternatives to distillation (I p) Production of fine particles (14c) Efficient manufacture of acrylate esters of diols ( 14d) on- tandard systems of aqueous dispersion (l4f) Zinc oxide manufacturing technology 2b) Production of metal soaps by direct olutioning of metal in organic acid (2c) Manufacturing and application technology for metal soaps (2d) Effect of pressure and catalysts on rate of chlorination of benzene derivatives (20b) Chemical scavengers for chloride ions (for incorporation into the material being distilled to reduce or eliminate corrosion of equipment) (20c) Proce s scale up for superoxides production (l5a) Automated processes for thermoset including injection and compression moulding, RIM and RRIM, re in transfer and puItrusion (24a) Low temperature/alkali metal reaction in liquid ammonia (23c) ew forms of plant for vapour phase tran formations (23g)

Polymers and Polymerisation

Miscellaneous

Vinyl polymerisation (I la) Process development of polymer solutions and suspensions (11 b) Emulsion polymerisation (11 c) Computer control of polymerisation (lIe) Acrylic polymerisation applications (1 I h) Acrylic and low pressure polymerisation applications ( Ilj) Novel polymer additives (I g) Polymers other than emulsions, aminoresins or epoxies for coatings (14a) Water-based polymers for industrial coatings and paints (l4b) PVC stabilisers (2e) Continuous compounding and polymer modification (9c) Liquid crystal polymers (9d) Film-forming polymers for application to the skin and to apply colour (21 a) 'Polycondensation' for polyamides and polyesters (12b) General fluorine chemistry (Sa) Organometallics (5 b) Thermosetting products for automotive applications (under the bonnet, structural and body panels) and domestic appliance and electrical applications (24 b) Products/technology for coatings including plastics and products with low water transmission rates (24c) Acrylic acid manufacture for polyacrylates(l7b) Water soluble polymers (17 ) Biopolymers ( 12s)

Analysis of bis-chloromethylether (I Or) D iazotisation reactions ( lOa) Chlormethylation reactions (lOb) Phase transfer catalysis (I Dc) Ca talytic hydrogenation (lOd) Asymmetric synthesis ( I De) Micronutrients for agricultural use (I Of) Potentiation of agricultural chemicals (lOg) Scale control in oil fields (lOp) New/novel applications for thiophenols (I a) Toxicity data on 3,5-dimethyl thiophenol (I b) Smoke suppressants and fire retardents, particularly for polyurethane foam ( If)

Processing Gas phase pyrolysis - equipment design (I e)

Techniques for predicting toxicity from molecular structure ( Is) Solvent removal from resins without polymerisation (14e) Zinc oxide uses in semiconductors, ceramics and varistors (2a) Bonding agents and adhesives for plastic composites, rubber to metal and plastics to metal (2g) Methods of application for adhesives (especial!y for retail trade) (9a) Sources of dihydroxypolydimethylsiloxanes with molecular weights of 500-10,000 (9b) Conversion of toluene derivatives to aldehyde and benzoic acid (20a) Textile finishing agents/techniques (21 c) Leather finishing technology/agents (21 d) Lanthanide chemistry (12d) Fluoro-organics (12e) Manufacture of sodium and potas ium perchlorates (8 b)

Re olution of hloropropioni a id _3b) ChI hibabin rea tions odamide pyridine ba e _3d) Pho genatJon _3 Cyanation 23 Detergent and I undry Chelatingl equestering hemi als 1 Bleaching hemi al jblea hing ( 17e) Oil r overy hemi al (1 Pulp pro e ing hemi al I Cellulosi textile pro e ing a1 ) h)

Defoamer and antifoam (17i) Bromine derivatives I j) cetic a id derivative (I k) Ethylene diamine derivatives (I m) Fabri softeners ) q) Water treatment chemical (17r) Peroxygen technology (6a)

THE EEC'S ERASMUS' PROGRAMME o SruDE T MOBILITY The EEC ha re ently approved the 'ERASM S' Programme (see page 3S of the KCL Research Enterpri e document, 'The European Community' 19 7-1991 Framework Programme' dated 23 March 1987). The project aims to increa e the number of students from higher education in all di cipline undertaking a period of integrated tudy in another member tate and to promote cooperation between in titution offering post- econdary teaching ('universities'). 6M EC * will be available for activities within 'ER SMUS'during 19 7-1990 and the programme will be permanent even though the budget i fixed for three years. It i envisaged that 25,000 tudents will participate in RASMUS in the course of thi initial period, and the Commis ion hopes to launch the project before the beginning of the 1987/88 academic year.

The four main actions of ER SM Swill be: I) The establi hment of a European network of univer ity cooperation Thi will involve institution which have made provision for student and teacher exchanges, and which have agreed to recogni e the e study periods spent abroad as valid. Participating bodies can receive grants of 10,000-25.000 ECU* and priority will be given to programme whose integrated study units are recogni ed in other Community countries. id may also be given to teachers or administrators visiting another member state to help establish cooperative networks.

2) Scholarships for students Each EEC country will receive a number of scholarship grants to enable student to participate in the 'cooperative networks' and undertake part of their cour e abroad. 2,000-5,000 ECU* will be gran-

ted per tudent for a period of at least one term and at mo t one year. The sum will over rav 1. living e pen e and linguisu prepar tion. The period of tudr mu t be ully re ogmsed b the UnIversity ll1 the mem ber state of origin. Thl cheme will not be appli able to fir t year tudent .

3) The academic recognition of diploma

and tudy period In titution will be en ourag d to parti ipat in a y tem whereby stud nts an gain 'academi redit' after ompleting a unit of stud will h wm en bl km and knowledge to be re ogm ed throughout the Community. Thu , it will be ea ier to tran fer to a 'univer ity' in another member state. limited number of annual ubsidie will be granted to bodies taking part in this pilot cheme (.0,000 EC * maximum).

The Community will continu to support it network of entres for information on the academic recognition of diplomas and period of tudy.

4) Complementary mea ure To include an information campaign and grant of 20,000 EC * for institutes organi Ing short, intensive study programme for student from several member states.

* The EC i a tandard financial unit used by the EEC and currently equal ÂŁ0.70p. One Million ECU equals about ÂŁ600000.

BULLETIN 3, 1 JU E 1987 Items covered in the latest edition of the KCL Research nterprises Bulletin on Government/EEC a si tance for research are: ew from the European Commis ion: Specialised information market programme invites tenders DELTA Research on superconductivity Action for Youth: 'Preparation for Life' UK Support for European Year of the nviTonment The 19 7-1991 Framework Programme Information Te hnology Conformance Testing Services ew from the Government: Biotechnology funding increase Regional AMIE Centres planned Grant in Manufacturing Research: ACME Copies of the KCL Research Enterprises Bulletin and Brochure on the 1987-1991 -EC Framework Programme for science and technology research are available for reference at all campus libraries.

APOLOGY Dear Colleagu

.

KORAES CHAiR FollOWing my corre pondence with the Guardian ednesda:"7 May) the Prin ipal has drawn my attention to the act that Profe sor D ~1, icol till hold the Korae ChalT and that my omment were not helpful to the Art Faculty' endeavour.

1 apologi e for implying that Profe or icol is in "deep freeze". I emplo}ed the image a I wa under the mi taken impression that he had already taken early retirement to ease the College' financial burden and hence in view of the Finance Officer' quite unequivocal statements on the current state and the draconian policie to be adopted, the Koraes Chair could in reality only be construed as now placed in ' deep freeze".

The purpo e of my corre pondence wa threefold: a) To make the public aware that both Technology and Arts are suffering actual damage from the government's failure to invest in Univer ity Education. b) To timulate omeone to question London niver ities' irrational, even dishone t (?) machinations, WIth regard to Kll1g's (KQ ). c) To goad or em barrass the College in to reconsidering the total freeLe on posts particularly in cases of small vulnerable departments, a our own case has shown that the loss of Professor ash and the freeze of our Chair following Professor Gibson' early retirement were the clear precur or to our extinction. Once this path has been embarked upon, hard fact and academic argument singularly fail to achieve rational results.

Professor icol in fact remains in post for a further 18 months, I hope the College "" ill soon move to appoint his successor, in the present financial climate small department can ill afford the absence of a head. If my correspondence actually turns out to harm Arts at King's then I unreservedly apologise and will feel I have in good faith made a grave error. Likewise, I hope the Academic Board will now see their hand in the difficult futures of their ivij Engineering colleague .

Yours sincerely,

Richard Bassett

3

pologie to readers who potted the mi take in the last i ue of COMME TPearl the engine did indeed travel to a mueum but one which, we have to admit, is not located at Rhymney and cannot even claim to be linked by rail to Bimchurch.

Rumour has it that the tran portation occurred via our Wel h Departmental secretary who i pining for the valleys and perhaps wanted to hitch a ride home with the engine. We were correct however in saying that Hythe wa part of the line, so at least Pearl is on the right track!

(If you are still confused the museum is at Romney in Kent, and the exhibition celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Line.)

THE The Reverend Canon Reginald Askew is the Dean designate of the College, s announced in the last issue of COMME IT, anon skew will take up hi appointment on I January next year.

Currently Principal of Salisbury and Wells Theological College, Canon Askew has enjoyed a varied and distinguished career, which began as export manager at Turner and ewall in the city and has encompased work a a novelist and playwright.

The winner of four prizes at Harrow, he took an MA at Corpus Christi College Cam bridge, reading Moral Sciences and Psychology, before returning to academic study four years later at Lincoln Theological College where he twice路 won the Pi!kington Prize.

manages to find time for his other interests - gardening, cricket and playing the Ou te! 'A for cricket', he say, 'nowadays I prefer to sit on the boundary wat hing my son, who captains the Free Foresters, making a thoughtful late cut.'

The friendlines of the College appeals to him, and he will have an eye for the well being of all it mem bers. He has had a hand in the training of over a thou and priests for the Church of England and recogni es the priority of prayer and pastoral care. He looks forward to u taining the succe sful AKC course, and says I'm aiming to stick to the good tradition that the Dean's study in the Strand is an accessible and hospitable place, not least for those whose religious aspirations are shy.'

PHOTOCOPYI COPYRIGHT

D

The CVCP has recently circulated note concerning the photocopying of material in copyright. Copies have been sent to Senior Officers in the College and copies are available for reference from the Information and Publications Office.

FAREWELL TO THE DEAN A packed Council Room audience heard the Principal express mixed emotions at saying farewell to Richard Harries, Dean of King's College since 1981. When listening to Radio 4's Thought for the Day on

Friday la t Professor Sutherland had heard with a heavy heart the reference to Richard as Bi hop of Oxford - indi putable evidence that he was in fact no longer Dean, no longer King's amba ador at large. Thi sadne s, however, wa balanced by great thank and deep appreciation for all that he has given to King's - and not a little proper pride that, albeit Oeetingly, King's has had the Bishop of Oxford on the staff! Richard Harrie created the current role of Dean and hi interpretation of thi role has made the presence of a Dean like him a central part of all aspects of College life: his intellectual and piritual contribution, his exemplary combination of mind and emotion hav(; sel the pa ttern for the fu ture, Such a com bination of attributes is reOected in the presentations given to Richard - a complete set of the Volumes of the Early Christian Fathers and an Icon of the Transllguration. the fir t doing great justice to his book' shelves and the second offering stimulation to the soul. In accepting the e gift Richard tressed what a marvellously happy time his time at King' had been.

He said that there was much truth in the observation made to him by a certain disgruntled academic in the corridor one day who, when asking him why on earth he wanted to leave pointed out that "there were umpteen bishops, but only one Dean of King's College". He thanked all hi colleagues for making him so welcome and giving such support to the Deanship. Much of his work, for example the AKC, depended for its success on the goodwill of the College as a whole and he was gratified to have had that vital support He was, as was his wife, sorry to be leaving.

He warmly thanked all who had contributed to his most generous gift and thanked all his friends and colleagues for all they had given him.

After his ordination as Deacon in 1957, Reginald A kew worked as Curate of Highgate for four years' this period also saw the establishment of his connection with King's, as he took po t-ordination studies in Old Te tament Hebrew, and was ordained Priest in 1958. His subsequent career within the Church of England has taken him to Wells Theological College, Well Cathedral and Christ Church, Lancaster Gate. In addition to his current academic role, he is Canon of Salisbury and Prebendary of Grantham BoreaJis, Chairman of the Southern Dioceses Ministerial Training Scheme and sits on the Theology Committee of Southampton University.

Canon Askew is married with three children, and has met with considerable success in the literary field; he has had plays produced by both the BBC and ITV and has written a novel as well as many theological articles. On top of all this, he has produced a series of 30 linocuts and woodcuts which ha been exhibited at Midsummer Place, Cam bridge, and in ists that he still 4

Richard Harries also said goodbye to his friends in the Social Club, and is pictured here holding the goblet he received from them with, from left to right, Chris Moody, Mike Harrington and Jim Fox.

LECTURES, MEETINGS AND SEMINARS D P-\RTME T Of HISTORY D PHILO OPHY Of SClE CE SEM I R \ edne~a . I July HO,"" T L 'REF 'TE \ THEORY THE C\ EOF\-.

Pref or \ Fran "hn. Umver lIy of C. o'n a 10 2

I~pm.

Ro m IB06. Strand campu

STlTUTE fOR THE STUDY D TRE TME T Of DEL QUE CY

THE

Tue day 30 June The Fir t ve Savl1le Memorial Lecture THC 'vi \,'y FACE OF IOLE 'CE GlOra hoham. Profe or of Law. Tel- vi\' Lniver i > 7.30pm. The Council Room, Strand campus

THE ROY L SOCIETY DISCU SIO ME T CS Tuesday 30 June rf WTO 'S PRIVClPlA

D ITS L G-

CY OrganJ7ed by Dr D G King-Hele, FRS. and Profe or A R Hall Wedne day 15 and Ihur day 16 June THE SOLAR SYSTEM: CHEMISTRY AS A KEY TO ITS ORIGI Organized hy Profe sor S K Runcorn, FRS, Profe sor G Turner, FRS and Professor M M Woolfson, FRS

and applIcation

hould be ent to:-

fulbright Colloquium S-.hool of HislOI} The L mver tly PO Box 363 Birmingham B I: 2TT

~OLECUL R BIOLOGY 0 GE ETICS SPECI L I TERE T GRO P

On Fnday 22nd May the Molecular Biology and Genetic peciallntere t Group held a re earch eminar to provide an op portunity for member of the College to learn abou t each other's research intere t .

Although time permitted only a mall number of the group' member to peak. a broad range of expertl e In modern biology wa on display Professor Gahan (Biology) opened the proceeding with the cytochemical detectIOn of a differentiation marker for plant cell. revealing phy iological difference between morphologically indl tingui hahle cell" well a detecting cellular comm, Itment very early in embryo development, this marker identifie with factor of plant re i tance to nematode infection Dr Hart (Biology) followed with a molecular analysis of protozoa (responsible for sleeping ickne , Le hmania i and Chaga . di ea el with a view to rational drug de ign. He howed that their unique localization of the glycolytic enzymes in a cellular organ-

eIle i reilected in the tructure of the e enzyme whi h therefore provides a target tor drug therapy. Thi talk \oVa followed

by Dr Bainbridge l~iicrobiologYl who described a genetl analy i 01 Ihe ontrol oi holme "y nthe i ill 路ungl. and it role in membrane tru" ure and function.

T 0 talk on gene loning came nex t. Dr ThuNon (\Iicrobiology) de cri bed hi group' effor to lone the polyphenol oxida e gene from the edible mushroom. \\. ith a vie\\. to tu dying the molecular bIOlogy at the time in development when the fruit rrout from the mycelium. Dr Dudle> (BIOchemi try) de cribed the cloning of gene involved in male iertility in mice.

The evidence 0 far suggest that they have I olated one which affects the speed with which perm wim.

Dr llan (Biophy ic ) then de cribed hi group's work on the tructure of the gene11 material in eukaryote. He described how he linker hi tone (H I) mediate the foldmg of the hromatin fibre and how he incompatibility of thi tructure with gene expre ion can be alleviated by the removal of core histone at the beginning and end of the gene to be expre ed. Dr Patient (Blophy IC ) went on to show that the formation of these acce ible structure dne not nece arily require ti ue- pecific lactor or D A equence en Itiv"e to tWI ting of the double helix. hut that gene al.llvation I. greatly facilitated by DNA replication and ub equently hut down hy specific factor binding.

I n all. a very enjoyable and informative afternoon ... and this i only the tip ot the iceberg.

Dr Roger Patient (Biophysics, Drury La.)

rurther details are available from Mi s C John on at The Royal Society, tel' 018 95561 ext 278/277

THE FULBRICHT COMMISSIO CO LOQ IUM Friday 4 . Tuesday 8 September THF S CO STITUTlO : THE FIRST 200 YEARS Thi event is sponsored by the US路UK Fulbright Commission, the University of Virginia and The British Academy in a soclation with the University of Birmingham. Participants are expected from the U ,the UK and Western urope.

The co t i 拢70 and includes accommodation, all meals etc. Places are limited

I

The Principal introducing Revd. Jack Mahoney 's inallgurallecture, given on 7 May in the New Theatre. Professor Mahoney, who holds the F D Maurice Chair in Moral and Social Theology, within the Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies, spoke on The Ways of Wisdom.

5

I~=====--=-=:::::==========================================-====================--.-J

STAFF NEWS OBITU RY

A DREW JOH

BLACKFORD

ROBERTSO Andrew Robertson, Emeritus Profe sor of hemistry, died on 29th April at the age of 67 after a brief illne s. He erved King' allege with di tinction for 35 year from 1950 as Lecturer (I951-56) and then Read.er(J956-70) in Physical Chemi try, and fUlally as Professor of Chemistry ( 19705). For a number of year he. erved on the Accommodation Committee of the College and he acted as one of the three adjudicators for the Tadion-Rideal Prize from the year of its foundation (19 3).

The Prize is awarded to the Ph.D .. tudent producing the mo t outstanding research in molecular science from King' College in a given year, and adjudication involve a survey of all the relevant Ph.D the es completed from the College in the year.

In the Univer ity of London. ndrew Robertson erved as a member of the enate and the cademic Council (1972-76). and first as Se retary (1962-70) and then a hairman ( 1971-73) of the Board of S tudies in Ch em i try and Chemical I ndu tries. ationally he acted as a con ultant to the Basic Research Group of the Ga Council (1967-73) and advised the In titute of Petroleum for a quarter of a century from 1949 a a member of the Ma Spectrometry Panel. For the decade 1968-77 he held. po itions in the Analytical hemi try sectIOns of both the British ational Committee for Chemistry and the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry.

Born on the 21 st February 1920, ndrew Robertson was educated at Hertford Gra-

6

mmar School and t Chn topher' chool.

Lellhworth. bel ore reading for the Cambndge dence Tripo (193 -41) \q h an Open Scholar hip In , aural cience at t 10hn' College. On graduation he became Immediately Involved in war-time reearch at Cambridge on the Impac en itivity and thermal decompo. ition of high explOSives and propellant. The re earch demanded a delica y of tau h and an e. perimental "ill hat ndrew Robert on di played in out.tanding mea ure. a amply demon trated in hi pu bli hed a adem ic work. comprising more than 100 paper and book. For hi PhD. tudie (1941461. he was awarded the Henry Humphrey Re.earch Pri7e by St 10hn' College. together with a College Research Fellowhip (1946-49) which he held at the Roval Institution Here he developed a mas pectrometer for the detection and characterisation ct he products nf ga5-pha e reaction He VI. as the first to demon. rate the formation and ub. equent decay of the HO~ radIcal in the dce;ompo ition of hydrogen peroXIde. ohtaining a value or the d] o~iation energy of the radical remarkably con i tent'" Ith the mo t recent determInation The Royal In. titute 01 Chemistry awarded 11lm the I 49 Meldnla Medal fa hi re earch of thi period His war-time research had been upervi ed

by Sir Enc Rideal (I 90-19 4). whom he accompamed fir t to the RoyallnslItution (1946-49) and then to KlJ1g' olleg in 19':;0 when RJdeal wa appointed to a Chalf nf Chf'mistl y. following the retirement of the physical che1TIU. Profe sor A1Allmand(1 5-1C,51) At King路s.

Andrew RoberL 011 began in 1950 hi. celebrated eries of researche on the heter geneous cataly i of ga.-pha e reactIOn., developing ultra-hIgh vacuum method for the prepara ion and characteri ation of catalytic metal urface . Hi monograph, Catalysis oj Gas Reactions by Metals Logos. 1(70) and the tudent text. Catalysis in Chemistry (Methuen. 1972) cover his V\ ork 111 the fieln .... ith a ucce slon of graduate tuden!, at King's Collt'ee From 19:9 he began a new eries of re earches on ma pectrometry for the tudy of ionic. di ociation reaction, and for general analytical applications in the later tage, particularly in relation to environmental and pollution problem. He had already publi hed a book on the ubject, J1ass Spectrometr)' (Methuen, 1954), and had developed new field ionisation ource . ba ed upon the facile emISSion of electron and ion from a harp edge (a razor Made in the early day) I n the J 960's he detected reaction intermediate with pica econd ( 16'1. econd) lIfetime by mas pectrometry, somewhat he fore uch lifetime became accessible by laser pectro copy. Later, m the mid-1970 s. he characterised the field ionisation of electrons from gla s surface. accounting for ozone production by the dent electric dl charge.

In the laboratory ndrew Robert on wa an inventor in the 'string and ealing-wax" rathtlOn, and he wa able to tran form everyday material mto preci ion in trument with immen e kIll One of hI former tudent de cribe the construction of an all-gla ma pectrometer III the midIq: 0 by mean of hand-held torche alone. tran torming a length 01 i '-inch diameter gla tubing into a emicir ular f1ight-cham her. The re ult of the e and ,1ITIuar expenence were en ap ulated in another book. (,lass Working for Scientislf (Butterworth. 195"7) wn ten wlth hi former tudents. 1 Cracker, D 1 Fabian and 1 Dewing. nd rew Robertson e pou ed the older traditions in other ways. He dId not hold wlth motor vehicle, on account of their nOise, mell. and menace to pede trian . and he never owned a car Nor did he hold'" ith the brief-ca e for the tran port of hi note and papers (let alone the abomination of the plastic carrier bag). pref erring a battered antique at tache case rep' Ired a the corner and other vulnerable ites with ucces. i 'e layer of mending tape. Like a number of illu triou Edwardian scienti t. ndrew Robert on maintained an active intere t in he cientific a. pects of paranormal phenomena. en iog some time as I he ecretary of the Society for P ychic.al Re earch. I n hi ounger day he spent many fruitle nights in suppo edly-haunted hou e With a thermometer at the ready, 100kUlg for the expected temperamre-dec.rea e due to the contravention of the law of thermodynamIC byappanhons. His negatlve re ult led him to formulate the ullification PrincIple, which stale. that the eVIdent pre ence ol scientific equipment, real or simulated (an empty bl~ck bo with twiddly knoh would erve). inhibited all paranormal phenomena. HI black boo paraly. ed the p ychic spoon-benders following ri Geller in the 1970 s, much to the chagrin of a television producer endeavouring to complete a programme on a performance in the trand Buildll1g. On the other hand, if the equipment were hidden the paranormal phenomenon might well appear, but hi concealed infrared camera then invariably revealed he attempted perpetration of a fraud. a reflectIve academic age. ndrew Robert on was noted for his collection of eneral Principle, which effectively blended his gentle humour WIth a eriou intrnt One set referred to general way of avoiding work in academic in titution . covering the tudent, the faculty, and the adminIstration overall. The Principle of fru trated chievement wa commonly adopted by student, as in the paradigmatic excuse. "I wrote up the experiment but our goat ate my laboratory notebook over the weekend" Faculty more generally employed the Principle of Alternative ActiVIty, exemplified by. "Sorry, but 1 mu t peak to my paper at the Decorations Committee that afternoon", dmi-

ministrators universally relied on the Grand Principle of nripe Time. Almost any proposed course of action could be placed in one of the categorie , "premature" or '路too late". Any timely proposal referred to the "Appropriate Committee" would be placed in the second category after lengthy consideration.

Departmental Football Tournament, he had the pleasure of presenting the cup to himself, as captain of the winning team.

He later restored the Staff contribution to the annual Departmental Cabaret, donning a long-haired wig to enjoy the role of a hippy in a farce on the 1968 student unrest.

Surrey. In August 1985 he was appointed Grounds Manager of the King's College London (KQC) and City University Joint Sportsgrounds which incorporated the King' College playing field at Mitcham, the adjacent Chelsea/City playing field at Merton and the Queen Elizabeth playing field at Petersham.

Andrew Robertson was almost wholly absorbed into the modern scientific tradition which he sough t to defend against both internal quackery and external misuse or misrepresentation. As a scientific consultant he declined to advise on projects with a military connection, and he was opposed to the development and deployment of nuclear weapons. Contemporary science, he felt was becoming circumscribed by undue administration. With impressive statistical evidence he showed that the per capita productivity of a scientific organisation tends to decrease as the establishment grows, due to the increase in the ratio of administrators to scientists (the Robertson Ratio). For an organisation of up to half a dozen scien tists, the ratio tends to zero and productivity is high. At the level of about 100 scientists, the administra tors begin to ou tnum ber the research workers and productivity falls off drastically, with effects identified by other students of large organisations. These include the Peter Principle ("In a hierarchy every employee tends to rise to his level of incompetence"), the Parkinson Principle ("Work expands to occupy the time available"), and the Matthew Principle ("To him that hath shall be given ... ") resisted by many if not by all department heads.

Andrew Robertson was a kindly and considerate gentle-person with unsparing support and advice for students and colleagues that went well beyond the needs of normal duty. Mostly he adapted to organisational forms as a self-contained private person without concessional change of his thought-style or intellectual and moral value. These values remained rooted in the reliability, dignity and grace of the scientific tradition, extending back over the centuries, and they were exemplified by the King' scientists of the past, of whom he was proud, and whose achievements he extolled. He had a fine mind, combining depth of insight with breadth of perception. His creative talent united green-fingered skills with profound conceptual grasp in the elegant articulation of novel researches. A full appreciation of the scope and significance of his scientific achievements tended to be limited, by his modesty and detachment, to immediate colleagues and to research groups working in allied fiel ds.

Bert arrived at Merton after war service in the Royal Marines followed by employment with the sportsground specialists En Tout Cas and a variety of head groundsman posts which included some six year with orthamptonshire County Cricket Club.

After the full period of pensionable service (40 years), Andrew Robertson formally retired in 1981 and continued full-time on half-salary to supplement his pension up to his statutory retiring age in 1985, as his contribution to the College, following the government's reduction in university funding. But, as an active experimentalist, he was saddened by the loss of his research laboratory in 1981. He then redeployed his research activities to historical studies of science. His contribution on Physical Chemistry to the specialist report, Recent Developmen ts in the History of Chemistry (ed. C A Russell, 19 5), produced by the Royal Society of Chemistry Historical Group, was a product of this period, as was his discovery of the Robertson Ratio.

On scientific questions and all objective problems Andrew Robert on was an open, amiable and enthusiastic participant in discu sion, but many subjective relationships deeper than the socially formal he found em barrassing, and he avoided all contentious and emotive issues. One former coworker recalls that he worked as a graduate student for two years, enjoying daily exchanges and consultations, before he was addressed by his first name rather than "Mr". Andrew Robertson participated with enthusiasm in the social and sporting activities of the College. In the 1956

With the death of Andrew Robertson the College has lost a rare and distinguished character whose unassuming and noble inspiration lives on in his colleagues and the successive generations of his students at King's. Four of his former graduate students are now professors, and several others bold positions in tertiary education, research associations and consultancies.

Of Andrew Robertson's four children, three sons and a daughter, two sons are graduates of King's College, both from the Electronic Engineering Department. One, Ian, is still with us as a research worker at the Chelsea Campus. The other, Mike, superin tends the electronic instrumentation at the Dyson Perrins Chemistry Research Laboratories of Oxford University under the Waynflete Professor, Jack Baldwin, who briefly ( 1971-72) held the Daniell Chair of Chemistry at King's. Andrew was proud of his Scots ancestry and, in his later years, one of his chief delights was hill-walking in Scotland with his children.

SFM

Bert brought to his job not only his expertise as a groundsman but also a genuine interest in sport and the people who played it. He has always believed that the social side of sport is as important as the game itself and to this end combined the role of grounds manager with the unofficial one of entertainments officer and generations of student have relied on him to supply unlimited amounts of aftermatch food and drink and to organise discos and a variety of social activities, some of which are safer to record in the mind than to commit to paper! To students particularly his retirement will mean the loss of a loyal friend, confidant and enthusiastic supporter of student sport.

His many friends and colleagues wish him a long and happy retirement in his new home in orthamptonshire.

AN HONOUR INDEED! Many congratulations go to Professor Roy Wisbey, Head of the German Department, who has been awarded the Officer's Cros of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany. This highly deserved decoration has been bestowed by the President of the Federal Republic of Germany, Dr Richard von Weizsacker, and will be presented by Georg von eubronner.

UNIVERSITY OF AUCKLAND INVITES DAVID ASPIN

MR M A BRAILSFORD RETIRES "Bert" Brailsford joined Chelsea College in August 1966 when he was appointed Head Groundsman at the Chelsea and Battersea Colleges Joint Sportsground at Merton, later to become the Chelsea College and City University Joint Sportsground following Battersea College's departure to Guildford to become the University of

Professor David Aspin of the Centre for Educational Studies has been invited to go to the University of Auckland, ew Zealand, a Visiting Professor this year.

He will be working in the Department of Education and the Faculty of Arts as from the end of this summer term until the end of the New Zealand second term (ie. end of August).

7

NEWS ROUND-UP

o LETTER TO THE EDITOR Dear Editor

Follo.... 1I1g the retirement la t month of Mr R Pembleron the tollowing arrangement have been made for the ervicmg o the Collegiate Council and of the J oim Medi al AdvI ory Committee: Secretary to the Collegiate Coun il: Mr J Wil on Secretary to the JMAC: Mr D H Eames s i tan t Secretary to the J MC: Mrs P J Dann

preVlou orr spondent in CO~nIE.·T regretted not ending a Chri tma ard to a young member 0 staft adly reured very prematurely due to multiple c1erois.. Iy ripo te? hy wall until Christmas? But my former coli ague Ken Bromfield has an wered the e que tion much more cogently than I can.

However there IS a wider i ue. \ llh the large number of retirement, early or otherwI e, there i a great pool of experti e available to King's College London (KQC).

I once listed the secondary activities of 25 of my colleagues as a quiz. part from skill in sports the arts were not neglected.

Several people were skilled at sketching or painting. Languages were well represented: French, German, Russian (but not krainian), Serbo-Croat, rabic as an intellectual exer Ise!). Sports ranged from a rugby referee, aqua h marker, to a master's certificate in yach t navigation, and everal mountaineers one of whom had ascended (and descended) KilimanJaro PublicatiOn too were included on extra-mural activitie , in several cases complete book. Mu ic too wa represented' the piano, organ, bas oon and cello. Finally various collections of ephemera: pharmacy jars being the most e oteric. Exstudents too have their kills one was a patent agent. So do not merely emulate the Oxbridge college in getting their graduates to appoint a Chancellor or to use them only a a source of funds.

I t is easy to keep in touch with the College. I am lucky to be sent COMME T regularly. Recen tIy I visited the libraries at Imperial College, the Science Museum, the Chelsea campus and the Strand campus. I was given every courtesy and help, indeed I was greeted by name by the hall porter and the library staff at Chelsea.

Such is fame. So please do remember the forgotten men, and women, who have retired. Use your alumni!

Have you en a violet brief a e? e have loaned a di tation ma h1l1e 0 omebody and ha\ e no re ord 0 who ha 11 at he pre ent time. I you have it ould you plea e nng trand 23 6 and rea ure u .

CHA GE OF ROOM The manager of A\' C. _'1 k Bugg ha moved olfi e and i now to be found in Room D, 3 - urrey Street, and for the time being all should go to ext ~3 6 a before.

URSERY PL CES An arrangement has been made wllh the nur ery of the In titute of Edu atiOn that a few place are available in the In titute' nursery for tudents of King' ollege on the same ba i a tudent at the Intitute it elf.

The rate for the 19 7/8 ses ion will be £3.2: per e ion - a e ion being a half day penod. Those using the nur ery may apply to place children there for between three and 10 essions weekly between the hour of 9.00 am and 5.30 pm.

Members of King's College taff may also apply to use the Institute nursery at the rate of £4.15 per session.

Anyone wishing to enquire abou t the facilities or to book a place at the nurery hould contact the Officer in Charge, Mrs Linda Rattray, at the Institute, telephone 636 1500 ext 520.

It is hoped that Admissions Tutors, Heads of Departments etc will bring this information to the attention of tudent and that the places made available to King' College students will be taken up during the 19 7/8 ession.

Yours in erely Derek Evered, Emeritu Reader m Biochemi try (Chelsea Campus)

(Top) Princess Anne with Dr A Setts, Deputy Vice-Chancellor of London University, at the switch-on of Livenet on 28 May in the Chancellor's Hall, Senate House.

(Below) Part of the Chancel/or's /ink up with student and academic representatives of the five main schools of the University.

8

RCH

AUDIO VISUAL SERVICE U IT

The Age Concern Institute of Gerontology has recently been awarded two grant to undertake research in the area of community care and the health of the elderly.

We are now able to offer a Iim ited service at the Kensington ite for photography and artwork. There will be technical service in the udio Visual Service nit on Tuesday and Thur day mornings when work will be accepted, and any advice given.

The first grant, of £15,000, is from the West Essex Health Authority and will enable research to be carried out on the new Co-ordinated Community Care Scheme being developed in West Essex.

Judith Kemp is the Research Officer. monitoring the implementation and work of the scheme.

The second award is from the Health Education .<\uthority for ÂŁ40 000 over a two year period. Research will be concerned with eVllluating the Age Well campaign. A Research Officer has yet to be appointed.

TR

G COURSES

Member of staff will be interested to learn of forthcoming University of London training opportunities, currently being circularised to Heads of Departments, Chief Technicians and all main notice boards on the three campuses via the 'PLUTO' pUblications.

Table of dates for future courses are as follows :2 July 16 July Summer Sept Sept 10&I7Sept 14-17 Sept IS Sept 220ct ov ov 9&10

ov

Intro. to the University Secretarial follow-up Training skills workshop (CUA/CVCP) Computers in University administration (CVCP) Finance for generali ts (CVCP) Word Star (two-day) Introductory cour e-Essex (CVCP) Statistics (S RATP) Stress at work Managing work and time Confidence building for manual staff Reading efficiency

As and when full course details are received, they will be circularised to all main notice boards and any mem ber(s) of staff interested in attending a course should direct any enquiries via their Head of Department to Christine Crewe, Personnel Office on the Strand campus, Ext. 2300.

GThe planned boat trip to Wind or announced in the May edition of Comment ha ,unfortunately, had to be cancelled.

However an alternative trip ha been arranged. Details are a follows:

British Universities' Guide to Graduate Study 1987-88

Tickets are ÂŁ8 and are obtainable from -

Scholarships Guide for Commonwealth Postgraduate Students 1987-89

Jack Rumbell Stationery Store 26B Main Building Strand Site

~I

-

r .

- -

Peter lames Biology Dept Kensington Site

Grants for Study Visits by Univer ity Administrators and Librarians 1987-89

Postgraduate Awards in Commonwealth Countrie 1988-89

The Association of Commonwealth Universities John Foster House 36 Gordon Square London WC I H OPF

Paul Solomons

TELEPHONE EXTENSIONS IN WAR STUDIES ProL Freedman Ms Everett Mrs Murphy Dr Mendl ProL Bond

Dr Till, Dr Reid, ProL Ranft Dr Sabin Researchers Visitors (ProL Gam ba)

Ext. 2193,2750 Rm. ID Chesham Ext. 2193 Rm.2D Ext. 2193,2178 Rm.3D Ex!. 2749 Rm.IOD Ex!. 2112 Rm.6D Ext. 220 I Rm.9D Ex!. 2199 Rm.7D Ext. 2200 Rm.4D Ext. 2202 Rm.8D Ext. 2857 Rm.5D Ext. 2325 Rm. lID

CE TRE OF MEDICAL LAW A D ETHICS LIBRARY ACCESSIONS LISTS List 4 has recently been produced. Anyone wishing to add their name to the mailing list to receive this and future issues should contact: Vivien Fletcher Laws Library Strand (Ex!. S2313)

1987 Commonwealth Universities Yearbook (63rd edition)

These publications are available from:

Dr Paskins

[L;-

CU PUBLlCATIO S

A river boat trip to Kew Bridge/Garden via Greenwich. Meet at the Embankment entrance at 9 am. The boat leaves Charing Cross Pier at 9.30 am and will travel down river towards Greenwich and then return up river to be at Kew for lunch time. Here we will have approximately 2 hours on shore before returning back to Charing Cros at around 5.30 pm.

Dr Dockrill

LlBRAR Y NEWS

This is his third technical as istance visit to Africa since his retirement, and the fourteenth which ha taken him to continent as far apart as Asia and South America on similar projects.

TRA YELLING FOR THE BRITISH COUNCIL Owen Rowland is still travelling and will shortly be visiting the University of Malawi on behalf of the British Council to advise on technician affairs and resources for the universities science laboratories.

ADAM LECTURE PUBLISHED The 1986 Adam Lecture, delivered by Christopher Fry and entitled Genius, Talent and Failure: the Brontes, has been published by the College. Anyone wishing to purchase a copy should contact Vanessa Davies in the Adam archives or the French Departmen !.

TRAVEL AWARDS 1987 This year the four College travel awards will assist twelve students to journey to as many countries, some as near as Belgium and France and others as distant as Indonesia and Australia.

From the sixty-five applications received, the projects which these students will undertake during their travel were judged by the A ward Committee as meriting support from the limited funds available from the trust funds dedicated to the e awards.

Each of the four awards covers a different type of vacation travel project: the Sargeaunt award is for travel in connection with College work while the Lightfoot Scholarship is for travel unrelated to study, the Mary Clarke Exhibition is for women to travel in the near or far east and the Lacey bequest supports travel in France.

9

The prOje ts to be undertaken over a very wide range - from working In the CS government in Washington DC. through an ar haeological dig m Bulgaria to tu dying nutrition in Thaliand and mtermediate technology in Kenya.

administer and fund it. The 19 9 re earch project run from I April 19 to 3 I ~iay 19 9 and application forms will be aVaIlable from September 19 7.

For information ontact:

A four bedroomed house is available to rent from 3 September 19 7 to I July 19 . Rent i I 0 per week and a re undable depo it of £ 00 i payable.

Report ubmltted by aw rd holder in prevlOU years have hown that the travel and proje t undertaken have not only been enjoyable and edu a ional but have had a great ef ect on the per onal development of the tudW'lts involved.

Higher Education 01 Ision Accione Integradas The Briti h Coun 11 10 Spnng Garden London S IA :!B Tel: 01-930 466

CO, 'T CT: RlC.hard Field on Home: 13 Highfield Road. orthwood.

Middle ex H 6 IEU 09_"'4 :!49:!_) ork. lJniver ity of London Computer Centre. 20 Guilford Street, London WCI IDZ 01-40· 400).

F LBRIGHT S PPORT FOR GLO-AMERIC JOI T 19 9/90 CTIYITlES

BI It, Flat or Flat hare wanted for two (females). Permanent a commodation wanted but temporary considered.

Contact Allyson Hoyte, ERU (35 I 24 8 ext 3 5).

The list of award holder for thi year

1 :

Sargeaunt Travel Fund T Dineen - Civil Engineering A Fox Pharmacology A Powell Cla~ ic S Rhodes - Theology Mary Clarke Travel Exhibition K Bedford Human Environ. S ience E Bowey 'utrition Gilliver Cia ic C Henry utrition o Mueller Modern Greek C Spencer . utrition Lightfoot Travel Scholar hip B Devlln Law Lacey Bursary for Vacation Travel in France J Reeve Engh h

MRC GRA TS AND TRAI I G AWARDS Special Training Fellowships in Recombinant D A Technology: to be taken up on or after 1 May 1988, closing date for application IS October 19 7.

Special Training Fellowship in Parasitology: to be taken up on or after I January 19 clo ing dat for appli ations 14 ugu t 1987.

A number of MRC Fellow hips and S tudentship for 19 / 9 are also available.

In meeting its aim of en ouraging AngloAmerican cultural relation the Fulbright Commission includes in it Program Propo als each year, financial uppOrt for projects which have a Ignificant Anglo-American content. The e project include: the ponsor hIp of Fulbnght Colloquia (for whIch separate announcements are ent out to all univer ities and polytechnics each Autumn). the funding of American Scholar for a period of up to one year's residence In this ountry: and a slstance with ca e studies and other joint scholarly activities in the K in which the participation of American expert is a critical element. Short visit by US Scholar and attendance at Conference etc. do not. by themselves, qualify for the Commission's support.

The Commission will be considering its Program for the academic year 1989/90 in September 1988 and would be pleased to receive outline proposals before then for consideration. Such proposals hould be addressed to: The Executive Director The Fulbright Commi sion 6 Porter Street LO DO WIM 2HR to reach the office before 3 I Augu t 1987.

Reque t for the support of Colloquia hould not be sent at thi time as these will be the subject of a separate announcement later.

Tho e interested should contact:

ACCOMMODATIO The Admi ~ions Office Strand Site

ACCIONES INTEGRADAS HISPA 0 - BRITA ICAS The object of this programme is to promote scientific and cultural cooperation between Britain and Spain who jointly 10

13 Hlghfield Ro d.. orthwood

A furnished villa is available to let in 'Sitio de Callahondra' off the Fuengirola/Marbella road. It has three bedrooms, and would sleep up to six people. It is situated close to the beach, shops, a bank and a bus stop. Available now through ovember, at a cost of £330 per week during July and August, or £ 175 per week offpeak. For more information, please contact Chris Shattock, at the Student' Union, Kensington campus, Ext. 361/294.

Small flat m orth London for u tralIan Rheumatologi t and Wife a from I OClober for four months.

Reply: Or John Findeisen 061 4349306 (Home)

Central Beacon field 40 (35 min by tram) - a furni hed mai onette either to rent or exchange for a flat in central London. The accommodation in a building of hI tone intere t: Contact M Barbara Hugman: Beacon field 3270.

l'I1I,ne

This is the last edition of COMME T for the ses ion. The next edition will be a 'Starting the Session' issue which exist to provide general information on ervices available within the College to new and current mem bers of staff. The copy date for this issue is 7 September, for publication in the week of 21 September.

The next full edition of COMMENT will appear at the opening of the new term.

Copy date is 28 Septem ber, for publication in the week of 12 October.

We would like to wish all members of the College a good summer, and a plea ant long vacation.