News of the Scientific Instrument Commission
(from Newsletter No. 19 June 1998)
Change of Officers
On 1 January 1998, Dr. R.G.W. (Robert) Anderson and Prof. G.L'E. (Gerard) Turner stepped down as President and Secretary of the Scientific Instrument Commission. During the many years in which they held office, the Scientific Instrument Commission, with its annual international symposiums, newsletter and bibliography, has developed into one of the most active Commissions of the International Union. The instrument community has every reason to be grateful to both for their devotion to the instrumental cause. Dr. J.A. (Jim) Bennett has been appointed the new President and he has asked Dr. P.R. (Peter) de Clercq to act as Secretary. Dr. P. (Paolo) Brenni has been invited to act as Vice-President, a novel function created to broaden the Commission's geographical horizon. The international triumvirate hopes to maintain the active programme of the Scientific Instrument Commission, and to respond imaginatively to growing interest and increasing activity in the discipline.
A Note on the Liège Symposium
In 1997 the Commission joined in the four yearly meeting of the International Union by holding a Symposium within the XXth International Congress of the History of Science, held in Liège from 20 to 26 July. The Commission was allocated the appropriate accommodation of the Maison de la Métallurgie et de l'Industrie de Liège and heard papers extending over two days. The theme was 'National Inventories of Historic Scientific Instruments', but this was understood in a broad sense and became a critical review of different genres of documentation. There was a mood of introspection and assessment; it was an opportunity to take stock, to consider what the Commission and the wider world of instrument history had achieved in recent decades and to consider to what extent the current direction was appropriate for the future. This seemed a particularly suitable time for reassessment as new technologies offer fresh possibilities for information management. Some papers addressed these challenges, while others reviewed the achievements and continuing value of conventional catalogues and inventories. There was no intention to publish the papers as a group, but the organisers have announced the publication of a set of Congress Proceedings in 25 projected volumes, and some of the speakers will be submitting their papers.
News from Musuems
The Museum of the History of Science, Oxford, will be closed from July 1998 for major building work and gallery refurbishment. The closure will probably last for about a year. The M.Sc. course will continue, but the only public visits will be virtual ones to the Museum's website: www.mhs.ox.ac.uk.
The History of Science Museum at Geneva has an exhibition 'Les instruments scientifiques du musée national Suisse', which shows some of the most precious instruments of the Swiss National Museum in Zürich. These include a Bürgi golden globe an a Gessner globe. Dates: 28 May to 2 November 1998.
The Musée des Arts et Métiers, Paris, is scheduled to re-open in June 1999. To highlight the bi-centenary of the discovery of the voltaic cell, the museum will open a special exhibition in the Autumn of 1999 on the beginnings of new electricity, starring Coulomb, Galvani and Volta.
At Pavia, Italy, a symposium will be held on Volta in the Autumn of 1999. At that occasion, a reconstructed Volta's cabinet will be opened. At the same time, the collection of ‘Volta’s Temple’ in Como will be brought back on display after restoration and reoganisation.
Obituary Note - Roderick Sheldon Webster (1915-1997)
Rod Webster, Curator Emeritus of the Adler's Planetarium collections of scientific instruments, passed away on 31 July 1997. He will be remembered as a faithful participant, together with his wife Madge who survives him, in SIC symposiums and other instrumental events. An obituary by Bruce Stephenson appeared in the Bulletin of the Scientific Instrument Society No. 54 (1997).
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