BULLETIN
NEWSLETTER OF THE KANSAS ACADEMY OF SCIENCE
| PRESIDENT……...……Rex Buchanan | IMMED. PAST PRES......Curtis J. Sorenson |
| PRES. ELECT………....Calvin L. Cink | KJAS DIRECTOR…....…W. Scott Kardel |
| VICE PRESIDENT…....Brenda Oppert | TRANSACTIONS ED......Daniel F. Merriam |
| SECRETARY …………Pieter Berendsen | BULLETIN EDITOR…....Lawrence H.Skelton |
| TREASURER………….Janice S. Barton | |
| Volume 25, No. 2 | October 2000 |
LOOMING!
FALL FIELD TRIP AROUND THE CORNER!
Nature has complied with requests from KAS and has dropped the temperatures from blistering records in the
first half of September in order to provide a more temperate environment for the annual Fall Field Trip. The
trip, highlight of the fall season, is being led by Dr. Mike Morales and Mr. Rich Leisler, both of Emporia State
University.
The trip will have four stops. The trip will begin with the Paleontology Museum at ESU; the second stop will be
at Hamilton Quarry in Greenwood County. From there, the third stop is at the Turkey Point Fossil Locality
north of Melvern Lake in Osage County and the fourth stop at a location yet to be determined in the John
Redmond Reservoir area.
The Paleontology Museum is located in Science Hall at the intersection of 12th and Merchant Streets on the
west side of the ESU campus in Emporia. The trip will begin at 8:00 A.M. on Saturday, 14 October 2000. Bring
your own lunch and drink. The trip is planed to end about 3:30 P. M. Travel is in your own vehicle unless you
pre-arrange travel with someone else. If you have not attended one, the KAS fieldtrips are fun and educational
(and possibly could be used as a tax write-off.) The Bulletin editor who has a tendency to curmudgeonry
always has a good time in spite of himself! Block your calendar now for the 14th.
133RD ANNUAL MEETING SET – 6 & 7 APRIL 2001
The 133rd annual meeting of the Kansas Academy of Science will be held 6 & 7 April 2001, Friday and
Saturday, in the Memorial Union at the University of Kansas at Lawrence. The plenary speaker is Dr. Paul
Ehrlich, Bing Professor of Population Studies at Stanford University, who will lecture on human evolution and
environmental problems of the coming century. He is well known for his popular books concerning human
population.
Two field trips are presently scheduled on Friday, April 6th:
1. an excursion to the Haskell Wetlands conducted by Dr. Roger Boyd of the Department of Biology at Baker
University and
2. a tour led by Dr. Henry S. Fitch, University of Kansas Professor Emeritus of Ecology and Evolutionary
Biology, to one of the KU's natural history reservations.
Mike Everhart of the Sternberg Museum and Mike Morales of ESU will co-chair a symposium: “Shells, Bones
and Stones,” Kansas Paleontology: 1868-2001. From the Sternberg family’s amazing vertebrate fossil finds in
the 19th century to the outstanding series Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology to the world class fossil
collecting sites at the Hamilton quarry and at Elmo, Kansas, the state has long maintained the vanguard
position in paleontological research. Don’t miss this symposium.
These are a few of the highlights of the 133rd meeting. A century past, the annual meeting was usually held on
New Years Day so it would not conflict with business and classes.
Plan not to miss the 133rd – first annual meeting of the new millennium and the Academy’s third century of
being. Better yet attend AND present a paper.
MEMBERSHIP! AGAIN!
The present membership of the Kansas Academy of Science stands at about 350, a long way from the peak
membership of 50-some years ago. During the last half century, membership in many multidisciplinary
scientific organizations has declined as scientists became more specialized and scientific organizations
dedicated to a single discipline grew. However, there seems to be an increasing amount of overlap among the
physical and biological sciences. Cross-feeding of data between disciplines is on the increase (cross-dressing
however probably is still to be discouraged). Consider the names of disciplines: astrophysics, biogeology,
geochemistry, cyber-this and cyber-that. Hybridization is underway! What better place to meet scientists from
other disciplines than in a multidisciplinary society such as the Kansas Academy of Science? Take the time to
listen to presentations outside of your specialty at KAS meetings. Then take the time to invite people outside
your department (not to mention those in your department) to join KAS and to participate in its activities. If
each member would recruit only one new member this year, the KAS and all its activities would doubly benefit.
Do not ignore the non-academic audience in the quest for members: high school and elementary school
science teachers, physicians, dentists and other members of the medical professions, corporate scientists of
many disciplines, meteorologists and just plain “civilians” who have an interest in science. I gave a
membership application to one such person who confessed to an interest in science but lacked a degree. It’s
kind of like the military on occasion: If you have a warm body, sign’em up!. The KAS secretary is standing by
for the flood of applications!
KAS INVOLVEMENT
KAS members were observed both helping and “hanging out” at The Kansas State Fair in Hutchinson early in
September. The 4-H geology and entomology exhibits and the agriculture exhibits seemed to attract a number
of members. There was probably additional research being performed on nutrition in the areas around the
corn dog and funnel cake purveyors.
KAS members also were involved in Kids CAN Days at Chisholm Creek Park in Wichita during 19 – 21
September. Sponsored by the Wichita Downtown Kiwanis Club and conducted by members of the Great
Plains Nature Center staff and other volunteers. The event was visited by about 750 Wichita Public School
District (USD 259) fifth grade students and their science teachers. Presentations on: economic rocks and
minerals of Kansas and fossils were made by the Kansas Geological Survey; herpetology by the Great Plains
Nature Center (USD 259) staff; and ecology, specifically exhibits on habitat and a simulation on migration, by
staff from the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks. Aspects of water by staff members of the Wichita
Public Works Department and Water and Sewer Department was presented, as was astronomy by staff
members of WSU’s Fairmount Center for Science and Math Education and the Lake Afton Public
Observatory. Also, nature walks were conducted by members of the Wichita Parks and Recreation
Department.
KAS members who participate in these and similar activities are urged to wear KAS tee shirts and to have
membership forms available.
SALES TAX EXEMPTION BILL PASSES AND IS SIGNED BY GOVERNOR
The long sought sales tax exemption for the Kansas Academy of Science was passed in Senate Bill 59 this
spring and was signed by Governor Bill Graves. It became effective 1 July 2000. Passage will result in savings
in the Academy’s annual budget, most of which is spent in printing and mailing the biannual Transactions.
Thanks are due to all those members who contacted their legislators to press for passage of the bill and its
House predecessor, to the Academy officers, past and present who argued for the bill before legislative
committees and to Mr. Alex Kotoyantz, a retired geologist and now professional lobbyist and KAS member
who pushed for passage in the offices of the State Capitol Building. Steps presently are underway to secure, if
possible, a rebate of the taxes paid between 1992, when first levied, and 1 July 2000 when repealed.
AND A NOTE FROM THE PRESIDENT…..
The Kansas Academy of Science has accomplished much in the past year. In the fall of 1999, the Academy’s
Council passed a resolution opposing the science education standards developed by the State Board of
Education. In the spring of 2000, James Taylor and Hutchinson Community College hosted an excellent
annual meeting, with good sessions and a number of particularly strong student papers. The 2000 session of
the Kansas Legislature passed a bill that exempts the Academy from paying the state’s sales tax. In May
2000, the Kansas Junior Academy of Science brought together high school students from across the state.
The Academy continued to publish the Transactions (which included several outstanding articles on Kansas-
related science), a web page that is improving regularly, and this newsletter. The coming year should be just
as good with the fall 2000 field trip and the 2001 annual meeting at KU (and Paul Ehrlich as the featured
speaker).
But the Kansas Academy faces a number of challenges. The Academy must better define its role, given the
changing nature of scientific research and education in the state. With growing specialization and increasing
pressure to publish and gain grant funding, exactly where does the Academy fit? How will electronic
communication change the way the Academy does business? To address these and other issues, Vice-
President Brenda Oppert has agreed to head a strategic planning committee to study and make
recommendations about the Academy’s future. Members will have the opportunity to participate in this
process, and you will hear more from them soon.
I have been honored to serve as the Academy’s president during the past year. In that time, I have been
consistently impressed by two aspects of this organization. First, the Academy’s annual meeting provides an
invaluable forum for students to present papers, gain experience, and earn recognition for their efforts. More
students, and their professors, should take advantage of this opportunity. Second, many Academy members
are willing and enthusiastic about doing the hard work necessary to provide services to our members and
students. I’ve enjoyed getting to know these people and seeing the efforts they make on your behalf.
The Academy is doing some excellent work. With thoughtful planning and direction, we can do more.
Rex Buchanan
ROAD TO EMPORIA
[map omitted in web edition]
KAS IN THE PAST
Have you ever wondered what attracted interest of KAS members in past years? Here’s a sample from
50 and 100 years ago:
From 1950 –
Byron Blair & Harold Choguill: Comparison of methods for determination of soil calcium.
J. H. Burchalter: Modern anti-malarial drugs.
Leland Bushnell & L. E. Erwin: Studies on Newcastle Disease.
W. L. Chenoweth: Records of amphibians and reptiles from New Mexico, Arizona and Utah.
George Devereaux: Notes on the developmental patterns and organic needs of Mojave Indian children.
R. A. Garrett: Kansas weather 1950.
From 1900 –
E. H. S. Bailey: On the occurrence of nitrates in well waters.
H. W. Charles: Dakota sandstone in Washington County.
C. H. Gould: Natural history possibilities of Belvidere, Kansas and vicinity.
J. A. Harris: Annotated catalogue of the crayfishes of Kansas.
A.S. Hitchcock: A brief outline of ecology.
E. B. Knerr: Relativity in science.
D. E. Lantz: A list of birds seen in Dickenson County, Kansas from August 1899 to August 1900.
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