Comment 033 January 1989

King's College London newsletter

Princess Royal opens new lames Black Laboratories.

The ollege v.a plea ed and honoured to welcome the Chancellor of the niver ity, the Princes ROyal, to 6 ' Half Moon Lane - no\\ the ba e for a group of tate-of-the-art labo路 ratone with fal;illtie unrivalled in thi country - and po sibly unique in the cientiti world. The 0 'ca ion was the offiCIal opening of the Jame Bla k Foundation Laboratone on 16 December la t year. \-1any di tingui hed guests - mcludmg the hairman and representatives of J ohnson and J ohnson who e funding underpins the venture - were pre eOl to hear the speeches of inauguration and to tour the highly impres ive pharmaceuticallaboratorie .

The Jame Black Foundation i a nonprotit making company organi ed to desIgn prototype drug by experimental inve tigation in medicinal hemistryand pharmacology. The strategy i to employ

no more than twenty people. encourage visiting cientists and contract out all pre cribable tudie The Foundation is clo ely linked with the College and ..... iIJ be \\ holly funded for ten years by J ohn-

on and John on. ho will receive exdui\'e licen e to develop an) 01 the Foundation' product. in return for agreed royaltie . The Foundation will eventually be linked to a Tru t re pon ihle lor di tribu ting exce royalty income to ha. ic medical reearch.

The tribute made and points highlighted 10 the opening peeche give omc idea of the dedication and energy, expertise and heer potential of thi partnership her\\ een indu try and academia.

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The Principal, Profe or Srewart Sutherland. opened the proceeding and poke a follow ..

'L Jl1ver~itie and colleges h:Jve two central foci of interest - Teaching and Research. The e t\\ 0 feed each other. unless students arc weU taught scienl;e in the future \\ iJllanguish through lack of crenle atIve and disciplined researches. research is vigorously pursued in our universities buth our. tu dents and the nation wdl be the poorer - intelledually and economically.

Today we celebrate one part of that symhiosi. - the Research of Sir Jame Blac~ Nohel Laureate and the Research Laboratories of the James Black Foundation.

The foundation - a non-profit making company - is bedded down within King' College. It will draw upon the technical and adm ini trative support of the College - for example in the fruit. of library automation. Based at Half Moon Lane, Jl i in the clo est proximity to the School of Medicine and Dentistry with its related ho. pital in Denmark Hill and Dulwkh.

Indeed, it was the then Dean of the School, r Leonard Cotton, who, upon Sir J ame.' fir. t introduction to the ollege welcomed him to the Medical School and to the Chair of Analytical Pharmacology.

Together they shared foresight and planning with the marvellou outcome which we celebrate today.

HRH The Princess Royal is greeted by Robert Wi/son and lames Burke ojlohnson and lohnson on her arrival at the lames Black laboratories, on 16th December 1988.

The lames Black Foundation is, I believe, a quintessential example of a healthy relation between revenue-earning corn panies and research-directed univer ities. We are grateful to Johnson and lohnson for

the creative part which they have played in bringing thi venture to fruition. The generou apital urn made available to re-furbi h the building have been pent \dth kill, and, in these straitened time. ~ith an unu ual degree of plea ure. The revenue pro i ion for the future give an "exciting opportunity to Sir Jame Black and hi team.

King's College and its School of Medi 'ine are proull of our a ociation with Sir J ame and we are delighted to participate in thi imaginati e use of one of our buildings.

I commend thi development a an exciting en terpri e dem onstra ting tha t the relationship between academia and commerce can bear the most promising fruits'.

Mr James Burke, the Chairman of Johnon and John on followed: 'Six days ago in Stockholm the world paid tribute to Sir Jame Black and the other 19 Nobel Laureates for their singular contribution to humanity. There i no higher honour than the obel ward, and thr ugh the years it has been conferred on no less than twenty four di tinguished Briti h cienti ts in the field of medicine and pathology. To appreciate the invaluable contribution that Briti h cienti t huve made to the advancement of medicine you have only to think of Sir A lexunder Fleming and Sir Howard Florey for their discovery of penicillin. Sir Henry Dale for his adrenalin studies, or Sir John Vane for his work on pro taglandins.

The obel Ceremony of last week celebrated notable achievements of the past.

Today's official opening of the facilitie of the James Black Foundation focu I" our attention on the future of health care and the promIse of new medical discoverie' 0 important in man's continuing que t for better health.

are often viewed as a local ompany, both respon ible and re pon ive to the needs of that population.

Our association with Great Britain date ba k 64 years, when we fir t e tablished a company at Slough. Today we h ve eight decentrali ed ompanies in Great Britain. In recent year we have steadily increased our inve tment in re ear hand development. We pia e great confidence in the people who manage and condu t our re earch, a do the m illion. of patients throughout the world who e live depend on uccess in the laboratory. One hining example i our wonderfully creati e research organisation in Belgium headed by the distinguished cientist Dr Paul Janssen. The Janssen group has produced no less than five pharmaceutical products currently on the World Health Organi ation's list of essential drugs. We aspire to a continuation of the marvelIou ly prolific pharmaeeu tical research being done by James Black and Paul Jansen and their associates.

WRat makes this occasion particularly meaningful to us is that Sir James and his associate em body the ideals of creative and useful pharmaceutical research that we as a company constantly trive to achieve. It is with a great sense of pride that we support him and hi associates in their search for ways to improve the health and well-being of grateful patients everywhere~.

Mr Burke formally requested the Chancellor to officially open the laboratories.

Before

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doing the Prince

commented:

'r

am delighted to be able to join you here thi morning to tour the e mo t impre ive laboratorie and to under tand a little better the research which will go on here. Although the James Black Foundation itself does not formally constitute a part of the niversity, r feel that both Profes or Sutherland and Mr Burke have demonstrated that a spirit of great co-operation will exist between the Foundation and King' College London and a Chancellor of the niversity I welcome uch initiatives.

r have read

with interest the various press reports concerning Sir James Black's obel Prize and it has been a pleasure to meet the man behind the headlines. It is undoubtedly of great benefit to all concerned to have such an intelligent and original thinker at the head of thi enterprise. Equally well it has been nice to note during my tour tlils morning that the Foundation staff, whilst undoubteldy of extremely high academic calibre, al 0 possess the zeal and enthusiasm of youth. It make me happy, a Chancellor of an academic institution, to see that the years inve ted in training uch scienti t have had such positive results.

One hears so often of the Trans-At1antic brain-drain of British scien tist and 1 must confess that it is satisfying to find that, in this case, the mountain has come to Mohammed. The financial support of Johnson and 10hn on, the academic and service backing of the University of London and the expertise of Sir 1ames himContinued on back page.

J ohnson and J ohnson i privileged to support the work being done here by James Black and hi' talented, energetic and youthful staff who. e average age i an im pre ive thirty t \Vo. Sir J ames urround him elf with u small num bel' of exceedingly apable and inventive minds - rather than the trappings and complexities of a large pharma euticalorganisation. We find that particularly suitable to our company' philo ophy of decen tralisation.

A a corporation we are comprised of 166 separate com panies located in 59 nations. Collectively they form the Johns nand Johnson family of companie which is the largest and most diversified health care company in the world. Wheree er pos ihle. our businesses are managed by nationals of our host country - and we work hard at blenlling ourselves into the culture of that nation. A a result. we

Professor Sir lames Black with HRH The Princess Royal and Dr Mike McHugh, a memof the research team, during her (nur of the lames Black Foundation laboratories.

. lARK BAIL Y

STAFF NEWS

Early in 19 - Jean Hum uggested that we end Christma cards to ~Iar Bailey.

This uggestion w taken up during the re em ea on. Some ards ere po ted by individuals. .'.1 ar also re eived number of jumbo- ized ard igned by literally hundred of King' personnel.

FRE.· H HO.·O 'R HI TOR The Fren h Governmen ha con err on Profe or R Ilen Brown 0 he Depar ment of HI tOr} the title Chevalier de I'Ordre de Art et de Lettre ,in re ognition 0 hi work on the history of. 'orman Fran e.

E

E RHO 0 R

Charles Stroud, formerly Professor of Child Health at King's College School of Medicine and Dentistry, was cre· , ated Knight Bachelor in the ew Year s Honour List.

OBIT AR r

red Pau e

Many present and past members of staff, together with countless ex-students will be addened to learn of the recent death of Fred Pau ey. Fred was for many years college groundsman at Mitcham. He, together with the inestimable Mrs P, made the trip to the otherwise bleak Mitcham ground something to look forward to and provided a home from home for many students, quite literally on numerous occa· sions. Fred never turned anyone away, if you wanted a pitch he'd find one. He prepared excellent wickets and his tennis courts were always immaculate. Mrs P's cricket teas were legendary. Many staff will remem ber the famous Mitcham days when the whole Cnllege would enjoy a day out and take part in sports of all kinds.

The success of events like these was due almost entirely to the skill and hard work of Fred and his wife. Fred was proud of his old regiment and recently recalled saluting another ex-guardsman, Harold Macmillan, walking down the Strand one day.

On visiting Kew Gardens a few years ago Fred surprised his host, Professor Arthur Bell, with his encyclopaedic knowledge of trees and shrubs. He also never forgot a face, and many an old student was delighted to be recognised years later by Fred and then regaled with stories of some of their pa t exploits, sporting or otherwise!

People sometimes took advantage of Freds' soft heart but in all the years I knew him Fred never had a bad word to ay about anyone. He will be sorely missed.

NS

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xam Bo 'cott

From Januan onwards ACT members will re use to do any work onnected with examinatIon. Sin e the va t majority of academic and related t f in King's are UT mem bers, in ulding over 0"'0 of the tea hing staff, thi means that exam this year will be completely disrupted.

Man_ people made small in ncial ontribution to the 'Christmas card campaign'. and I can report that over £320 was collected in this way. Most of it wa put into Mark's bank account. I also pur ha ed a CD of operatic aria and duets featuring Placido Domingo. That, I am afraid, was my own prejudice towards a track of the exhilarating love duet from the second act of' Masked Ball'. If you don't know it 1 commend you to tune into it and become uplifted!

This unpre edented a tion is being taken a part of a campaign to achieve decent salaries. Over the la t decade salaries have fallen by more than 20% in real terms resulting in severe problems in recruiting, retaining and motivating academic and related staff of high calibre. If good staff cannot be attracted to a university career then the students of tomorrow will not get the education they de erve and the value of a university degree will be seriously reduced.

A salary increase was due on I April 198 but the university authorities have still not even made an offer. AUT members " have now voted by a 2: I majority to boycott the examination process in order to persuade the univer ity authorities to start, negotiating seriously. The action will con· tinue until there is a reasonable settlement for last year and some prospect of a reasonable settlement for this year as well.

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All stages of exam organisation will be disrupted, exam papers will not be set and scripts will not be marked. The action will apply to all exams which contribute to the assessment of any degree or other qualification, including progress from one year of study to the next. Mid-sessional exams will not be affected. Continuous assessment will continue as part of the teaching process, but marks will not be revealed either to the student or to the examiners.

Clearly students will suffer. Students at King's will suffer along with the students at every other university in the country.

But we trust that students will appreciate the importance of the issue and will in fact support us in our campaign to persuade the university authorities. AUT members will certainly be supporting the US in their major campaign this term against student loans. It is surely in nobody's interests for able students to be deterred from higher education by financial considerations, nor for able lecturers to be lost from the profession for the same reason.

Dr P W Emery Honorary Secretary KCL AUT

Physically Mark is tormented by advanced multiple sclerosis. He has no use of his lirn bs and he i now registered blind. When.

-ever I see or speak to Mark I am painfully aware of a rapid and cruel descent because I have a vivid memory of a fit young man working in our Pharmacy Department.

You would be quite wrong to believe that Mark has only a downside in the mid t of his awe ome condition. His ironic ense of humour brings him comfort as does company and the knowledge of hared thoughts. Our conversations are punctuated by laughter and are a reminder of hope. Mark's method of keeping himself going, is to look forward to the next event which in his physically restricted world, looms large although it may be only a visit or a telephone call. This Christmas it was an isolated beer.

Perhaps the King's College community can now realise the immense joy brought to Mark via the 'Christmas card campaign'.

Mark and his family were amazed by your response. He thanks you all in his letter to Comment: believe me from the bottom of his heart.

Ken Bromfjeld Biochemi try

Mark dictated the follOWing letter to his sister Ellen.

Dear All I must confess I write with what can only be described as a strange melange of euphoria and trepidation. The former because it is nearly four years since I last worked and I find it quite touching that I should be remembered. The latter because of the torpidity of my eXistence, has left me somewhat fatuous and rather timid to write for such an erudite readership.

I almot find it ineffable to extol your munifi ence and magnanimit . During Chri tma week all the 'ard delivered were like a tropical rain fore t through the letter box to the jejunenes of m e\'er}day life. The 19nature on the card : ome I could put a face to. other I knew the name but 'ould not remember the face. but the majority of you I do not know.

But I \\ i h I \..Quid come to London to hake veryone of you by the hand and ay thank you.

I think I can attribute my kudos at King to my friend Ken Bromfield. I uppose thi kind 0 fame one can do without really but it mean a lot to me to have the kno\\ ledge that I am still in your thoughts.

J'II bring this eulogy to an end

JroW becau e a I explained earlier, my diffidence prevent a long letter.

Wi hing you all the be t for 'SY. Mark Bailey

EW TELEPHO E Y TEM The witch over to the new telecommunication y tern will take place during the early evening of Friday 27 January. On that day. in order to facilitate this change, the old telephone service at 552 King s Road will be clo ed down from 1630 hours and at the Strand campus some time around 1900 hours. This will allow as much time as pos ible before the following Monday morning for extensive testing of the new system.

The new telephone ystem will be operational from 0800 hours on Monday 30 January, A 'Help' desk has been set up to handle problems and queries which will be manned by a number of pecialist staff from Ferranti, the manufacturer of the new system, and telecommunication consultant, This 'Help' desk can be reached by dialling 836 5454 and a king for extension 1000. It will be manned for t\\ 0 days, A temporary, simplified Directory will be issued which will be an alphabeticalli ting of names with extension number accompanied by a detailed list of all interite private lines. The College Internal Directory, currently in preparation, will be i ued a.. oon a pos ible after the 30 January, allowing time for any additions or amendment to be incorporated before printing.

The old telephone system will remain live for four week after the 30 January as a afeguard against the possible failure of the new y tern. Although this is unlikely,

Here are a couple of likely lads, Len and Ade at home in their new postroom. They can no\\' be found at the Strand main entrance.

a temporary back-up telephone system could prove invaluable. The old system will be removed after four weeks.

Bob Redmond General Service Manger.

dent who did not attend last term are welcome to join the classes this term and they should go to the first meeting of the relevan t class. There is no charge for thi tuition but regular attendance is a requirement and a register will be kept to record attendance.

Strand

CE TRAL RESEARCH FUND

Monday and Tuesday

GaS, Strand Building 5.30 pm-7.30 pm

The Central Research Fund has been institu ted for the purpo e of making grant's to members of the University (other than pre ent undergraduate tudents and those regi tered for a taught Master s degree) engaged on specific projects of research, to assist with the provision of special materials. apparatu and travel costs. Appli ations are considered each term and the nex t closing date for applications is Thur day. 23 March. Forms of application and further particulars may be obtained from the Central Research Fund Section. Senate Hou e, Room 21a, Malet Street, London WCIE 7HU. Tel: 636 8000 ext 3147.

Wednesday and Thursday

GaS, Strand Building 5.30 pm-7.30 pm

Wednesday

1822. Strand Building 2.00 pm-5.00 pm

Wedne day

IB23, Strand Building 2.00 pm-5.00 pm

E TGLISH L GU GE CLA E FOR 0 ERSEAS ST DE TS: LE TTTER The following clas es have been arranged for the Len t Term commencing in the wee" beginning Monday 16 January. Stu-

Kensington Wedne day

Room 19, Ground Floor, A tkins Building 2.00 pm-5.00 pm

Chel ea Tue day and Thur day

Room 4113, Coleridge Building 5.30 pm-7.30 pm

Any enquiries concerning the programme hould be addressed to Mrs Jennifer Jackon, External Liaison Officer, Strand campu on ex ten ion 2291.

LECTURES, MEETINGS AND SEMINARS

L· TIT TE OF CL

IC L

T 'DIE GREEK A D L TIN DIDACTIC POETRY Monday 23 January L CRETIUS A TD THE DIDACTIC TRADITIO Mr CD Co ta

Monday 13 February THE LIMITS OF DIDACTICISM Rudd Professor W J Monday 30 Januar'Y SO ITHACA: THE IMAGIODYSS ATIVE SHAPE OF ODYSSEY BOOKS 13-24 Mr R A Hankey 4.30 pm, Room 612.In titute of CIa ical Studie ,31-34 Gordon Square, WCIH OPY. MYCE AEA

SEMI AR

Wednesday 15 February EXCAVATIONS AT PETRAS, A LATE MI OAN SITE I THE BA Y OF SITEIA Dr Metaxia Tsipopoulou 3.30 pm, Room 612, Institute of Classi· cal Studies

4.30 pm, Room 612, Institute of Classi· cal Studies PROBLEMS IN

UMISMATICS

Wednesday 1 February THE SIL VER CRISIS OF 172 BC M J Price 4.30 pm, Room 612, Institute of Classical Studies

8.00 pm, Room 6C, Strand campus.

Monday 13 February ST ARTI G FROM HISTORY (OR BEGl I G FROM EW TESTAME T) First of three classes led by Professors Ward and Houlden exploring the differences between their respective disciplines. nder the general title 'Discussion between ew Testament and Philosophy: Making Connections'.

Thursday 26 January A PROBLEM I THE I TERPRETATIO OF THE T Cl MAXIMUS II SCRIP· TIO FROM PHILIPPI Dr Boris Rankov (University of Western Australia) Thursday 2 February THE RELUCTA T RHETOR Margaretha Hall (London)

Thursday 16 February PHILIPPE GAUTHIER ET LES FEMMES OR: SOME PROBLEMS IN THE ARCHIPPE DECREES FROM KYME (SEG 33 (1984) 1035-41).

CLASSICAL ARCHAEOLOGY

WedneSday 8 February COl S, GEMS A D EMBLEMS; THE SEMA TICS OF SEMATA Jeffrey Spier

Concluding lectures on Theology and Ecology in association with the ational Trust of Greece.

Thursday 19 January HAEC TIBI A VI DOLA DA SCRIBO: LETTERS A D LITERACY 0 THE ORTHER FRO TIER.

4.30 pm, Room 612, Institute of Classical Studies.

Wednesday 18 January FOU TAl S OF SILVER: LUXURY VESSELS OF ARCHAIC A D CLASSICAL GREECE David Gill

PRESER I.·G GOD'S CREATIO;-; Professor John D Zizioulas, Metropolitan of Pergamon.

AR

Thursday 9 February A TOPIC FROM ASIA MI OR EPIGRAPHY Professor C icolet (Paris)

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Monday 23 January, and Tuesday 24 January

Pu blic Lecture 5.30 pm, Room G6. In titute of Cia icat Studie .

A CIE T HISTORY SEM Monday 6 February THE PRECEPTOR·S PERSO A: PERSo ALITY IN GRAECO·ROMA DIDACTISM Dr Graham Anderson

F {jLTY OF THEOLOG RELIGIO T DIE

Tuesday 24 January T 0 STATCES OF HERCULES 1.' THE FORt; 1 BOARl ~ 1.' RO~E Dr Olga Palagia

5.15 pm, Room 2C, Strand campu .

All welcome.

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AGE CO CERN I STITUTE FOR GERO TOLOGY Monday 23 January OLD AGE AND THE ECONOMY Dr Paul J ohnson, Department of Economic History, London School of Economics.

4.15 pm - 5.30 pm, Room 2·109, Clark Building, 552 King's Road, Chelsea cam· pus.

I STIT TE FOR THE STUDY D TRE T E T OF DELl Q E CY Wednesday 18 January POLICE AND PROSTITUTlO : A MULTI-AGE CY APPROACH Presented by Roger Matthews, Centre for Criminology, Middlesex Polytechnic, and Tom Wilson, Streatham Community Action Group. Chair: Frances Heidensohn.

7 pm, ational Institute of Social Work, 5-7 Tavistock Place, London WC!. ISTD members admission free. on-members £ 1 at door. Prior booking unnecessary.

Details: Martin FarreIl Director, ISTD King's College London,Manresa Road, Chelsea campus ext 2500.

THE

XWELL SOCIETY

Monday 6 February WEIGHI G THE IVERSE WITH X-RAYS Professor A P Willmore, University of Birmingham.

Monday 13 February CODES A D CIPHERS Professor F C Piper, Royal Holloway and Bedford ew College.

Monday 20 February BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS A D INDUSTRIAL APPLICATIO S OF ELECTROMAG ETIC FIELDS

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Professor E H Grant, King's College London.

2.00 pm - 3.00 pm, Room 2C, Strand campu.

Wednesday 8 February Q 1 A LT A D THE S B OF FEMI ISM I 17th CE FRA CE Dr Patricia Howard (The Open

niversity)

5.00 pm Room GOl, Faculty of Mu ic.

Strand campu .

DEP RT lE T OF FOOD TRITIO L CIE CE

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Monday 30 January FETAL GROWTH, BLOOD PRESSURE A D RISK OF CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE Professor David Barker, Director, MRC Environmental Epidemiology Unit, Southampton.

Monday 13 February :3 A D :6 FATTY ACIDS A D CORO ARY HEART DISEASE Dr David Wood, Consultant Cardiologist, Department of Preventive Cardiology, Royal South Hampshire Hospital.

The above fDrm part of a series of cientific research seminars. The speakers will talk for about 45 minutes, and then answer questions in an open, informal discussion. All students and members of staff are welcom~ to attend.

4.30 pm, Physiology Lecture theatre, Kensington campus.

COMP TI GCE TRE HORT COUR E Wednesdays 18 & 25 January ADVANCED FORTRAN 77 (PARTS 1 & 2) I TRODUCTION TO SPREADSHEETS (PARTS 1&2) Wedne day 1 & 8 February MICROSOFT WORD (PARTS 1&2) Wedne days 1, 8 & 15 February PROGRAMMI G I PROLOG (PARTS 1-3) Tue days 7 & 14 February GETTI G STARTED 0 THE (PARTS 1 & 2)

AX

All 2-5 pm, Strand campus. Details from Advisory (Room 23AB) ext 2505.

Wedne days 8 & 15 February GETTI G STARTED ON THE VAX (PARTS 1 & 2) 2-5 pm, Kensington campu . Details from Advisory (Room A209) ext 261.

CE TRE FOR EDUCATIO AL STUDIES Wednesday 25 January MULTIMEDIA DATABASES I EDUCATIO Dr Wendy Hall, Lecturer in the Department of Electronics and Computer Science, University of Southampton.

Wedne day 22 February 21st CE TURY BOOKS Dr David Clarke, Director of the University of London Audio Visual Centre.

The above form part of the CAL seminars.

4.30 pm, Room 3.020, Hudson Building, CES, 552 King's Road, Chelsea campus.

I STITUTE OF ADVA CED M SICAL STUDIES COLLOQUIA Wednesday 25 January THE PUZZLE OF MOZARTS PIA 0 CO CERTO RO DO K 386 Dr Alan Tyson (All Soul's Oxford)

SEMIN R I HUMA ITIES COMP TI G Tue day 14 February IMAGE PROCESSl GAD THE HISTORY OF ART Mr Kirk Martinez Birkbeck College.

6.00 pm, History of Art Department, Birkbeck College, 43 Gordon Square, London WCl.

DEP RT E T OF BIOPHY IC CELL A D MOLEC LAR BIOLOGY SEMI ARS Friday 3 February THE ROLE OF CHOLINE LIPIDS I IQ CHAN EL CO DUCTANCE, TRA SMEMBRANE SIGNALLI G, AND A AESTHESIA Professor W A Gibbons, Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, University of London.

1.15 pm, Room 1804, Strand campus.

Friday 10 February TITI : A MASSIVE MOLEC LE FROM MUSCLE Dr J Trinick FRC Meat Resear h Institute, Langford.

1.00 pm, ba ement lecture theatre, Depart路 ment of Biophy ic ,26/29 Drury Lane.

Friday 17 February DOES 'UCLEOSOME POSITIO I G CO TROL GE E EXPRESSIQ Dr J llan, Department of Biophysics, Cell and Molecular Biology, King's College London.

LIS pm, Room 1B04 Strand campu .

BRITISH I STITUTE OF H MA RIGHTS Tue day 31 January PARLIAMENT A D HUMA RIGHTS The Right Hon Sir Bernard Braine DL MP. Vice-Chairman, Parliamentary Human Rights Group Tue day 21 February FORTY YEARS OF HUMA RIGHTS Mr Martin Ennals, Former Secretary General of Amnesty International, Founder of 'Article 19', Secretary General of 'International Alert'.

1.00 pm,

ew Theatre, Strand campus.

EMI AR FOR TUTORS Wednesday 15 February THE EMOTIO AL A D PSYCHOLOGICAL HEALTH OF STUDENTS Follow-up meeting to last terms seminar.

2.30 pm, Room 6C, Strand campus. All welcome. For more information contact Alex Coren on Strand 2613.

CE TRE OF ETHIC

EDIC L L W

D

Monday 6 February CHILD ABUSE A D THE ROLE OF THE COURTS I ITS CO TROL Professor Stephen Cretney, University of Bristol.

Monday 13 February THE ETHICS OF CLI CAL RESEARCH Professor Michael Baum, KCSMD, and Dr Sophie Botros, Centre of Medical Law and Ethics

Monday 20 February lDS, HI TESTI G I'D Cl IL LIBERTIES Ms Sarah Spencer, ational Coun il for Civil Liberite . lllecture 1.05 pm - 2.15 pm. Room 3B20. trand campu .

THE J JP RK LECT RE 1989 Monday 6 February CAB I ET GO ERN E T SI CE BAGEHOT Professor George J ones, Department of Government, London School of Economics and Political Science.

1.05 pm,

ew Theatre, Strand campu

THE ACCREDITATIO OF PROFESSIO L Q LIFIC TIO D 1992 The Foundation for Science and Technology and Institute Forum are to hold an afternoon seminar entitled 'The accreditation of profes ional qualifications and 1992' on Friday 10 February 19 9 at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Birdcage Walk, Westminster, London SW I This is a presentation for professional bodies in the UK by Professor Peter Thom pson, Chief Executive of the ational Council for Vocational Qualifications.

The cost for accredited/affiliated members of the Foundation for Science and Technology isÂŁIO.OO plus VAT,All others: ÂŁ16.00 plus VAT. Anyone interested should contact The Foundation for Science and Technology 12 pper Belgrave Street, London SW I X BB for a regi tration form.

The seminar will begin at 2 pm.

Jane Fortin (left) pictured here with Janet Digby Baker, Guardian ad litum, at the launch of 'The Journal of Child Law' on 7th December 1988 held at King's. Jane has been appointed as one of the Associate Editors of the Journal which is aimed at all those with a practical and academic conce", with child law.

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The union is the community centre of the college, for all the mem bers of the college family - students. faculty, administration, alumni and guests. It is not ju t a building: it is also an organisation and a program.

Together they represent a well considered plan for the community life of the college.

2 As the 'living room' or the 'hearthstone' of the college, the union provides for the services, conveniences and amenities the tnem bers of the college family need in their daily life on the campus and for getting to know and understand one another through informal associa tion ou tide the classroom.

3 The union is part of the educational program of the college. As the centre of college community life, it serves as a laboratory of citizenship. training students in social responsibility and for leadership in our democracy.

ring regard for and loyalty to the college.

It is all too easy to forget that the Students nion does play a vital role within the College and to forget its aim in 'the development of the person as well a the in tellect'.

U 10 The Students' Union Shop on the first floor of the Macadam Building at the Strand, will be open as usual from lOam to 5 pm daily during term time.

Memorabilia such as teddies mugs, sweaters, T-shirts and plaque are all available along with snacks, drinks and stationery, at very reasonable prices.

Call in, say hello to oreen the Shop Manager and have a look around!

IEW Penny Chalton give 'Comment' an up-date on the union role The role of the Students Union at King's is one which is most misunderstood by i'lem ber of the College in general. I would therefore like to take this opportunity to quote a statement adopted by the Association of College nions International (ACUl). an American orientated collective of 'college' or 'student' unions.

'The Role of the College nion' was written in 1956.

Through its various boards. committees, and taff, it provides a cultural, social, and recreational program, aiming to make free time activity a cooperative factor with study in education.

In all its proce e it encourages selfdirected activity, giving maximum opportunity for self-realisation and for growth in individual social competency and group effectiveness. It goal is the development of persons as well as intellects.

4 The union serves as a union force in the life of the ollege cultivating endu-

ew Po t fter the sad departure of Ms Rosemary Birch as the Students' Union Senior Administrator. the Union has managed to both fill the vacant post and change the name of the position.

Mr James McGinely will be in his office on the third floor of the Macadam Building as the new Studen t ' Union General Manager from 3 January.

LIBRARY NEWS

KE P P- O-D TE For a trial period lasting until the beginning of the Ea ter acation the Library offers to c rry out weekly earche of the new Current Content online databa. e for member of staff in the Faculty of Life Science.

Re ords are retrieved by searching tor \\ ord in the title and you will n ed to be pre ent at the fir t sear h to ensure that the term ele ted are not too broad. fte that, searches will be done automati ally and the re ults forwarded to }OU. During the trial period the earches will be carried out at no cost to you. although the standard charge of 20p or referen es in ex e of 20 per weekly search still applie .

1f you wi h to take advantage of this offer, plea e complete a Request for Online Search, available from the Library, and return it to Peter Walsh at Ken ington (ext 360), Margaret Samman at the Strand (ext 273 ) or David Griffiths at helsea (ext 235 ).

PHOTOCOPYI G PRICE RI E F allowing rises in the cost of paper and the servicing charges for photocopier. the price of 4 copies (including reductions onto A4 paper) has been set at 6p from 3 lanuary 19 9. A3 opying, which is po ible on all ex ept the new Oce machine remain a bargain at p.

NEWS ROUND..UP

Sir Frank Cooper, Chairman of the Delegacy and member of the King's Council is pictured here (left) being welcomed by Sir Henry Fisher (right) as his successor as the Chairman of the Governing Botly, into the Fellolrship of Imperial College.

The two day meeting v.a opened by Sir Douglas Black, followed by an introdu tion to the work of the Society by Profe sor Anne Chamberlain. the current Chairman of Council. Other speaker included Philip Wood presenting the Philip ichols Memorial Lecture and 10nathan Miller on Cognitive Aspect of Humour.

The second day of the meeting wa dominated by a sympo ium on Reducing Di ablement. chaired by Professor lan McCo11.

Over the two days there was a display featuring a history of the Society. its aim , information about research in rehabilitation over the la t ten year and details of research funded by different in titutions and charitable bodies: together with an exhibition of new rehabilitation equipment.

'CCE

GR D TE TTH MEET! G

FOR FORE TE

r

IC

I ER ARY

A pecial meeting of the Society for Research in Rehabilita tion to celebra te the 10th anniver ary of its founding was held on 12 and 13 Decem ber at King's College, organi ed by the Centre for Phy iotherapy Resear h.

Of six tudents who graduated from King's with the M Sc degree in F oren ic in 19 Science, three were uccessful in obtain路 ing posts as forensic cientists in the Metropolitan Police Laboratory.

Considering the intensity of the competition thi is an excellent achievement and all concerned are to be congratulatedl

CHRl TM

TELL! 'GTOl

The Christmas Dinner i an established feature of life at Wellington Hall and on Friday, 9 December, another colourful, ea onal and enjoyable evening was on offer. The Hall looked very festive with enough helium-filled balloon to raise the roof. and Mr Welsh and his colleagues provided a traditional turkey dinner with pudding and mince pies. As an after-dinner speaker. the Hall President. Louise Foer , introduced a surpri e gue t, the well-known journalist, Anne Robinson, from the Daily Mirror, Radio 2 and BBC T 's Points of iew. She caught the spirit of the occasion and entertained the company with a witty account of scenes from a journalist' life: she was much applauded. After dinner the evening continued with a disco into the small hours.

10hn 1uir ice-Principal

DO GR All mem bers and their guests are welcome 10 join in with the grand upening night of the ocial club. The event is to be held on 14th February and also combines with a Valentine dance.

Members will be receiving more informa路 tion nearer the time.

iew from the Lil Pad

A number of internal letters to students go astray because there is no indication on the envelope that the person to whom it is addressed is an undergraduate. This Department (and probably most departments) have separate pigeon holes for academic/technical staff/researchers and undergraduates. As a result of mail being placed in the wrong pigeon holes students are not receiving information of vital concern to them (such as regarding accommodation or the recall of library books).

Could I appeal for the need to be more precise when sending letters through the internal mail system.

Thanking you in advance for your help in this matter.

The origin of the name of the atterjack toad (bufo calamita) i unfortunately (or fortunately) not as calamitous as Don Mindel fears ( View from the Desk', Comment issue 32). The specific name comes from the Latin calamus', a rush or reed, and refers to the animal's habitat. There is an interesting account of the atterjack in Malcolm Smith's 'British Amphibians and Reptiles', which is available in the Library at Kensington.

A problem which remains is the origin of the term Natterjack'. The first British record of this toad is from 1769 in Lincolnshire, where it was called the atter Jack. The Oxford English Dictionary describes the name as being 'of obscure origin' Has anyone any ideas?

Yvonne Hart Secretary in Chemistry Department

Peter Walsh Queen Elizabeth Library, Kensington

Anum ber of letters have been received in response to Don Mindel s article about the atterjack toad which appeared in last months edition of Comment.

Calamita Explained!

The Enlightenment of Don Mindel In my youth, before the erection of the 'Sir John Atkin's Laboratories', the humble atterjack toad still frequented the pond in the grounds of Holly Lodge (Lord Macaulay's London House); indeed in the Spring we were often put off our croquet stroke by the sight of the male toad with its enormously distended throat sac calling hoarsely to its lovers in the bushes.

The atterjack, indigenous to Western Europe, is smaller than the common toad with shortened hind limbs - it never leaps or crawls but ambles along as though running. The specific name 'calamital' refers to its habitat of rush or reed fringed pools while the vernacular atterjack is an Ang10-8axon word meaning lowly (or nether), worthless creature.

Today Don's desk is situated at what was the east end of Holly Lodge and if he could be transported back to Macaulay's day, he would have a clear view of the Thames instead of the dreary Atkin's walls!

'The object of oratory alone is not truth but persuasion'. (T B Macaulay, 1800-59) Brian Gardiner

David can be contacted at 9 Kinghorn Road, orwich, orfolk R23QP. Tel: 0603 57314. He intends to answer all letters and pay all expenses such as postage. Everything goes towards research and medical equipment.

I CREA ED SUPPORT FOR T CTILE MAPPI G Mr J olsef Biro of the Toth Agoston Cartographic Institute of the Hungarian People's Army has been working in the Department of Geography on an exchange scholarship from the British Council. His work in association with the Royal ational Institute for the Blind has been to produce tactile maps of London underground railway stations and adjacent pedestrian routes. This has been well received by London Regional Transport, and they have offered additional research support for him to extend his visit and complete further maps, including one of Great Portland Street station near the RIB.

BRITISH

SS oCIATIO

1 refer to speculations appearing in issue number 32 of Comment, concerning 'bufo calamita'. It appears that the correct expla- Daily Telegraph/British Association nation for the scientific name of the attYoung Science Writer Awards erjack toad is rather more mundane than Mr Mindel imagines. It is the Latinised Entries are invited about a piece of scienfeminine form of the Greek 'kalamites' tific research. They should be in the form (see Pliny xxxiii, 42); from 'kalamos', meaning reed, with reference to the Natter- of a 700-800 word newspaper article.

There are two age groups: 16-21 and 22jack's habitat. My reference is the 'Key 28. First prizes for both groups will be to the Names of British Fishes, Mammals, a trip to the 1990 American Association Amphibians and Reptiles' by R D Macleod, first published in 1956 by Sir Isaac Pitman. for the Advancement of Science Annual Meeting in ew Orleans, an invitation to attend Science 89, the British Association's Equally prosaic, but no less interesting for all that, is the origin of the toad's common Annual Meeting in Sheffield and a year's name, natterjack. ' atter' comes from the subscription to both ew Scientist and ature. Second prize is a year's subscripAnglo-Saxon 'noedre' which became 'nadtion to ew Scientist and ature, for each der', and 'a nadder' was corrupted into age group, plus an invitation to Science 'an adder'. Thus, 'noedre' means a snake 89. Ten runners-up will also receive a or reptile. 'Jack' may indicate familiarity, year's subcription to ew Scientist and cf jackdaw, or smallness, cf jack-snipe. ature, again for each age group.

Professor D S Gaunt Department of Physic

Another request for stamps, stamp collections, badges, medals, foreign coins or notes has come from David Bunn on behalf of Childrens Cancer and Leukaemia Care at the orfolk and orwich Hospital.

David works in the operating theatres at the hospital and recently completed a 450 mile walk from Land's End to orwich, along with a colleague, which raised ÂŁ7000 to buy equipment for children's plastic surgery and cancer treatment for the hospital.

Information packets are available from Julie Dallison at the British Association, Fortress House, 23 Savile Row, London WIX lAB. Closing date for entries is 25 February 1989.

Communicating Science - A Weekend Workshop With support from the British Association, Oxford University's Department for External Studies is organising a weelAend of practical training in communication skills for scientists.. Its aim is to enable scientists to communicate more effectively through mass media. The weekend will be held

Iram I ~-I

February 19 9. ramm bo) den e C)Ur

CORRE TIO_' Apologie 0 El pe h Young Con eren Admini-tra or at he Va... a ion Bur au or he mi-- pellmg. 01 h r nam in the la edi ion t Cummenr. produ~ed by he Inlormation 11 e on the S rand ampus. Copy: da e for the nex edi Ion i Frida:. 10 February for publication in he I'ee at 10 February.

Comment i

o

antinued Iram ran page cll hdve "reated d par ner hip ul remenduu trength. I applaud the lore 19ht of all concerned in its conception '.

Sir James Black thanked the Prince Royal for Honouring the laboratorie and went on to ay: 'I \\ ould thdnK you for the honour you ha\c given me to open the~e lahoratorie today. I fear I had to ruh you through the lal oratllrie thi morning. though I dare. ay that \\ hat eemed li"e a lair gallop to u~ \1 a~.lu t a gently canter to you.

Ho\\cvcr, I hope that even thi brief brush Illth ()llr technoh)gy gave yuu ume IInpres ion 01 our ex 'itement about the future. hank to the genero ity 01 John 'on and JohnSlln \Ie have heen able, a you have seen, to put together in the e laboratorie state-of-the-art technology for medic1l1al chemitry and analytical pharmacology.

Th,mk to the confidence and trut 01 J uhnson and J uhn on we have been gIven the rale privilege of complete freedom to pursue our uwn objectives. The freedom lIe have is the lreedom to concenlrateas John Lo ke put it 'to teadilyextend one'~ mind III a given diredion', We have no licence tu dissipate our energie '. The v, hip to our intent is the certain knowledge that we have eight years left to prove ourselve,. We intend to ucceed. We arc ban"ing on a partner hip hetween my experien<.:e and the drive an kill of my young colleague. We are also banking on our partnership with King's College London. DUllng the last fuur >ears ur ,0, I have enjoyed quite extraordmary ,upport from every level of thi great in'titution.

The enterpri e launched today has only been made pas -ible by the willingne and altrui m of Kmg' College and its Medical <.:hnol to allo\1 u to have acce to it re.ource - librarie . financial ervice, colleague and so un.

It i my pas ionate hope that this experiment in re earch management, thi e periment III academic industrial partner hip, will not only be technically effe ,tive in di '<.:overing new drug but will al 0 someday make a great deal of money. By it constitution, thi Foundation will hope to be able to. pend that amount expanding and the profit passing to a Trust will be for the future benefit of basic re earch in this univer ity. All of us here are grateful and proud that you have given u such a plcndid tart today'.

Sir lames receiving his Nobel Prize in Stockholm from King Carl X VI Gustaf of Sweden.