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Philadelphia's Franklin Institute AUTHOR: Barbara Spector, p.23 AUTHOR:Rebecca Andrews, P.23 Philadelphia's Franklin Institute Geochemist James Lawrence Powell, who has been president of Reed College in Portland, Oreg., since 1988, will be leaving higher education administration to become president and chief executive officer of the Franklin Institute Science Museum in Philadelphia. His appointment at the museum, which is heavily visited by schoolchildren, becomes effective in August. Powell, 54, says he decided to take his career in a new direction because "the opportunity to work full-time in science education just had an appeal for me." The geochemist notes that "people aren't surprised that I'm making this move," adding that "they all see the fit" between his background in higher education and the institute job. Fifteen or 20 years ago, before the need for science education outreach efforts to elementary and secondary-school students in the United States was widely recognized, "the reaction might have been, `You're stepping way down the ladder of prestige,'" Powell says. "But I haven't been getting that at all." Powell says his goal for the Franklin Institute is to strengthen the museum's ability to "arouse interest in science and help hold interest in science." A science museum, he points out, is unique in its ability to perform these functions because it "shows [students] things they can't resist. There's no immediate down side; there's no immediate homework assignment" connected to a museum visit. Among the museum's most important constituencies, Powell adds, are minority and young women students. The institute must work hard to strengthen these constituencies, he says, "so they don't get the idea that they can't do science--which usually isn't true." A greater interest in science among women and minorities, Powell says, is necessary for the U.S. to be successful "in achieving the multicultural society that we must achieve" keep the U.S. competitive with other countries in science and technology. While he has no immediate plans for changes at the institute, Powell says, "I believe that a museum needs to keep growing and changing. Otherwise, it gets stultified and uninteresting." Once he arrives in Philadelphia, he plans to begin "a long-range planning exercise," drawing on the expertise of the institute staff and trustees as well as that of the community's educators. Powell received his A.B. in geology in 1958 from Berea College in Kentucky and his Ph.D. in geochemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1962. He was vice president and provost at Oberlin College in Ohio from 1975 to 1981 and acting president of Oberlin from 1981 to 1983. From 1983 to 1988 he was president of Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, Pa. He is a member of the National Science Board. --Barbara Spector Pioneering Ultrasound Diagnostics AUTHOR: Rebecca Andrews, p.23 The Science and Technology Foundation of Japan has announced the winners of the 1991 Japan Prizes, awarded annually since 1985 to recognize scientists whose work has contributed to global peace and prosperity. At a ceremony in Tokyo on April 25, John J. Wild of Minneapolis and Jacques-Louis Lions of France will each receive a cash award of 50 million yen--slightly more than $350,000 U.S. Lions, chairman of analysis and systems control at the College de France and the president of France's National Center of Space Studies, will receive the prize in the category of Applied Mathematics for his work in distributed systems and applied analysis. Wild, 76, a surgeon who pioneered the use of ultrasound imaging techniques for the diagnosis of tumors, will receive the prize in the category of Imaging Techniques in Medicine. Wild, a native of England, joined the University of Minnesota's department of surgery as a research associate in 1946. In 1949, he became interested in exploring the use of ultrasound to determine the thickness of the intestine, information helpful in the treatment of distention. After several months of experimentation, Wild found that he could not only successfully determine the width of the bowel but also distinguish normal from cancerous tissue. By the mid-1950s, Wild was successfully using ultrasound to detect breast and colon cancers in living patients. In spite of this success, Wild says industry was slow to develop diagnostic ultrasound machines for widespread use. According to Wild, although industry began developing ultrasound diagnostic equipment in the early 1960s, commercially available machines still do not achieve the sensitivity his prototypes were capable of 30 years ago. "They've so trimmed the acoustic system, they've thrown out important information that is there for the gathering with adequately designed equipment." Ultrasound is currently used as a supplement to X-ray mammography. While X-ray images are subject to the interpretation of a doctor, says Wild, ultrasound could be used to obtain definitive diagnoses through quantification of sonic output. Wild is currently working on a prototype machine that could be used to quickly and automatically screen for small tumors. He hopes that the Japan Prize will bring him the recognition and funding he needs to bring his ideas to fruition. "I hope it happens before I kick off," he adds. --Rebecca Andrews

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