Presidential Address by L. H. Briggs
Impressions of a World Trip

Vietnam

My only excursion into Vietnam was a visit to Angkor, the deserted jungle city. This was deserted centuries ago, and only relatively recently rediscovered by Western people. The French Archaeological Society deserve great credit for the way in which they have restored some of the main buildings at Angkor Wat while still retaining the atmosphere of the burred jungle city. For me it was one of the wonders of the world.

Thailand

As your representative of the Pacific Science Association, I attended the Ninth Pacific Science Congress held in Bangkok, Thailand, from November 18 through December 9, 1957. The Congress was sponsored by His Majesty's Government of Thailand and the Science Society of Thailand, and the local secretariat had complete responsibility for the Congress arrangements. In all, 575 foreign visitor attended the Congress from 35 countries and territories in addition to 400 Thai scientists. The attendance of foreign scientists constituted a record. The organising committee invited selected scientists as Guests of Honour and Guest Lecturers and assisted others, such as members of the Council, to attend as Special Guests. The scientific programme was organised in nine major divisions along the usual lines but, in addition, there was a symposium sponsored by UNESCO on “Climate, Vegetation and Rational Land Utilisation in the Humid Tropics”, while the Divisions of International Co-operation in Science organised two symposia, “Progress of Work in I.G.Y” and “Contributions to Pacific Science by International Organisations”.

Excursions during and after the Congress assisted visitors in studying at first hand problems under discussion and to see something of the scenery, history and culture of Thailand. Wonderful hospitality was received from our Siamese hosts, including a Royal Garden Party, the first ever to be given to any group outside political personnel. The Government very generously supported the Congress, and there was ample opportunity for members to inspect the resources and manufactures of Thailand, particularly in the environs of Bangkok itself. Bangkok has a fine university with good facilities at the undergraduate level, but there is a need for further emphasis on research. The economy of Thailand is based mostly on agriculture, since it is the rice bowl of the East, and its major export is rice. The city of Bangkok is built on a river delta where a great deal of the transport is still carried out by boats. It has a characteristic red and gold architecture, and for this reason Bangkok is perhaps the most colourful city in the world.

New Zealand was poorly represented with only five representatives, which was the subject of rather adverse comment from neighbouring countries. It must be realised that in conferences of this type, members can not only learn much for themselves, but they can also contribute to the scientific development of the host country and many of the resolutions passed at the conclusion of the Congress were drawn up to assist Thailand and neighbouring countries in furthering their scientific resources. New Zealand very generously supports the Colombo Plan in bringing young scientists from South East Asia to this country, but I feel that a larger delegation to the Congress would equally well have helped on the same principles of the Colombo Plan in reverse.

Malaya

I was able to visit the Federation of Malaya soon after they had gained independence. They still have a big political problem, since the three major races are Malayans, Indians and Chinese, each with their different cultures and religions, whilst the Communist bandits are still active. It is a country full of rich resources of minerals, timber and agriculture, with a very promising future. Singapore is

still a Crown Colony and, strictly speaking, not part of Malaya, but there is a close liaison with the Federation of Malaya, and the University of Malaya is still housed in Singapore, although a new university is planned at Kuala Lumpur, the capital. In Kuala Lumpur I attended a Symposium on the Phytochemistry of Tropical Plants, organised and sponsored by UNESCO. This was an attempt to encourage more active research into the plant products of South-East Asia. The potential of plant products in this area is still enormous In comparison with New Zealand flora of about 2,000 species, the Malaysiana area contains approximately 30,000 higher plants, most of which have not yet been explored. Plant chemistry is very active in the neighbouring countries of India, Japan and Australia, and the conference was of value in drawing attention to the resources of the area.

Burma

Only one day was spent in Rangoon as a tourist. It would appear from this brief visit that the economy of Burma has not improved since the withdrawal of the British, but Britain has left its mark in the architecture and town planning of Rangoon. Once proud buildings, however, appear to be in a stage of decay.

India

This is a peculiar country of possibly the greatest extremes of riches and poverty in the world. I saw little of their universities. One was very poorly equipped by modern standards, but there was no lack of keen and able students. On the other hand, another university was very well staffed and reasonably well equipped with a very energetic research school in chemistry. The National Chemical Laboratory at Poona is an excellent institution, very ably administered with staff and equipment of very high order.

England

The greatest impression I had of English universities was the building programme for new science buildings. Of the ten universities which I visited in the United Kingdom nine were in the process of erecting new buildings, particularly in chemistry. In Birmingham a new extension to the chemistry building had been completed, approximately half the size of their previous building, and now instructions have been given to build further extensions, as much again as their present accommodation. The older universities of Oxford and Cambridge, long famous for their teaching of the humanities, now house two of the largest chemistry buildings in the United Kingdom, and Oxford will be the biggest teaching institution for chemistry in the country. It is obvious that England is alive to the need for scientists in our present scientific age, but from the figures which are available, both England and America are well behind Russia in the production of scientists.

The universities in England still have restriction of students, and there is a lot of leeway to be made up before all the students with the qualifications can enter British universities freely, particularly in science. The emphasis generally in England is still on fundamentals, and I am glad to say that the search for new knowledge, irrespective of its application, is still the guiding force in most of the universities which I visited.

Relative to America, there is a lack of advanced fellowship, particularly at the post-graduate or post-doctoral level, and many British chemists are going to America for further experience, attracted by much more generous awards of American fellowships. After all, these are the cream of the universities, and this migration can be quite a drain on the scientific personnel of the country.

America

The most striking thing to a visitor in America is the way in which life is bound up with the motor-car, both in transport and in economy. The automobiles are bigger and more powerful than ever, with larger areas of used car lots and also large areas on the edge of many cities for dumps of cars which appear to any outsider still to have many years of service. It is possibly the motor-car which is principally responsible for the present depression in America. Few cars were manufactured during the Second World War, and with the post-war demand for motorcars production was increased to an all-time record. Once this demand has been fulfilled, however, the only way to continue the production was for a person to buy a new car every few years. The American public has rebelled against this policy, leading first to a depression in the motor-car industry, then to the steel industry, and finally to business in general.

Coupled with the motor-car is the present urban sprawl in America, where public transport is fast diminishing and people must rely on private transport. Los Angeles today is an enormous sprawling city of 500 square miles and other western cities appear to be following the same pattern. I consider there is a very urgent need in New Zealand for town planning, both at Government and local government levels, and we in New Zealand should decide whether we wish to follow the sprawling pattern of America, relying on private transport, or more high-density development, utilising public transport. However, in the same field of town planning, we can well copy the pattern of America in the growing of trees in the streets. In a land of relatively high sunshine, New Zealand should follow the same pattern and thus add to the beauty of our towns and cities.

Another scientific development which strikes the visitor is the present use of methane gas, a by-product of the petroleum wells. Today, this is piped right across America and Canada for use in cooking and space heating of homes and, with suitable arrangements, the same pipe-lines in certain cases can also be used for the transport of petrol and oil. Canada is likewise developing the petroleum gas supplies from Alberta.

History was made on October 5, 1957, when Russian scientists first launched a satellite in orbit. This was followed by other satellites, launched by the Russians, including one with a live dog. American scientists have quickly followed with the launching of their own satellites, and today a great deal of research work is being carried out in America in this new field of guided missiles, satellites and interplanetary travel. The Americans are using every endeavour to reach the moon by rocket transport. In order to carry out this and other programmes of research in America, it is necessary to have trained personnel capable of doing the fundamental work required. There is a great shortage of scientists, however, and I was alarmed at the small number of science graduates, majoring in chemistry, produced by American universities in the last few years. A summary of the position was recently published as a Progress Report, No 31, of the Committee of Professional Training in Chemical and Engineering News, April 7, 1958. The following figures collected for bachelor graduates, majoring in chemistry, make rather alarming reading: Harvard, 11, Yale, 10; Pittsburg, 4; Minnesota, 16 and the University of Southern California with 18,000 students, 12. At the Ph.D. level I was impressed by the large number of foreign students, possibly attracted by the large number of research fellowships available in American universities. It is obvious that a radical change must be made if America is to supply the ever increasing need for scientists.

After two months and travelling through many States, my final impression was “the miracle of America”, where nearly 170 million people of different basic nationalities and environment have been welded into one energetic, democratic, hospitable and freedom-loving people. They can truly be called the United States of America.