| Description | Present: Professor E D Adrian, Foreign Secretary RS, Chairman; Professor J D Bernal, Association of Scientific Workers; Dr C H Desch, Royal Society; Mr T Dewhurst, Parliamentary and Scientific Committee; Professor H J Fleure, National Committee for Geography; Professor H Munro Fox, National Committee for Biology; Dr E Hindle, British Association; Mr E Bolton King, British Council; Dr J Needham, Royal Society; Miss Nancy Parkinson, British Council; Professor J Proudman, National Committee for Geodesy and Geophysics; Professor F J M Stratton;
Joint Secretaries: Dr D C MArtin, Royal Society; Mr W D Pile, Ministry of Education
Mr H L Verry attended in place of Sir Edward Appleton of DSIR; Mr F R Cowell and Mrs J J HAwkes of the Ministry of Eduction also attended.
Apologies for absence were received from Sir Edward Appleton, Mr Ritchie Calder, Sir John Fryer, Sir Harold Spencer Jones, Professor N F Mott, Professor H H Read, and Sir Richard Southwell.
Matters discussed;
16. Minutes
17. Arising from the minutes of 30 September 1947
17 (i) Membership of the Committee
17 (ii) Scientific Documentation
17 (iii) Second General Conference of UNESCO
18. Field Science Co-operation Office in Cairo
19. Report of Executive Committee
19 (i) Scientific Information Services
19 (ii) Head of the Scientific Section
19 (iii) International Institute of the Hylean Amazon
19 (iv) I.C.S.U. Committee on Science and its Social Relations
19 (v) Public Relations of the British Committee
19 (vi) Educational visits and exchanges - arising from minute 6 of 16 January,
(a) the Committee had before it a paper (NS (48) 9) giving information on US legislation affecting exchange of scientists and technical information (Fulbright anfd Mundt Acts)
(b) Miss Parkinson reported on the issue of a simple questionnaire to collect from universities and other institutions in the UK information on available facilities for exchange and visits of scientists.
19 (vii) Films in Higher Education
20. Report by Dr J Needham on work of UNESCO
Dr Needham, first head of the Natural Sciences Section of UNESCO, reported upon the work of UNESCO and its future plans in relation to the work of this Committee (see NS (48) 14 appended to these minutes). The Chairman thanked Dr Needham on behalf of the Committee and it was Resolved -
(a) that it be a recommendation of this Committee that the compilation of a World Register of Scientists be continued.
(b) that Professor Stratton be asked to prepare a draft statement on the value of the UNESCO support to the international scientific unions as a factor towards world peace; after approval by the Committee that this statement be submitted to UNESCO with a recommendation from this Committee that the unions continue to receive adequate support.
21. Committee on Overseas Scientific Relations
22. The 1949 Programme of UNESCO - Considertion was given to a preliminary note on the 1949 programme of UNESCO (NS (48) 10). Resolved:- that it be a recommendation that the items of the Natural Science Programme for 1949 be placed in the following order of priority;
1. Field Science Co-operation Office
Co-operation with Non-Governmental Organizations
(These two projects had equal priority)
3. Applied Science, Agriculture, Medicine and Engineeering
4. Protection of Nature
5. Documentation and Abstracting
6. World Register of Scientists
7. Social Implications of Science
23. Third General Conference of UNESCO
24. International Research Laboratories
25. Translation of Scientific Books
Suggestions were invited as to suitable British Scientific books which should be translated into other languages, and a list of non-British books not generally accessible in English which should, in the opinion of the Committee, be translated into English by UNESCO. It was agreed that suggetions should be sent to Mrs Hawkes.
26. Date of next meeting.
It was agreed that the next meeting of the Committee should be held at the Royal Society at 2.30 pm on Tuesday 28 September 1948. |