NEWSLETTER

of the

AMERICAN SCIENTIFIC AFFILIATION - CANADIAN SCIENTIFIC & CHRISTIAN AFFILIATION

Volume 29 Number 1                                                                             February/March 1987

VAN TILL TO COUNCIL: (ED) OLSON PRESIDENT

Howard J. Van Till has been elected by the ASA membership to serve a five-year term on the ASA Executive Council beginning in 1987. He replaces retiring Council member Russell Heddendorf of Covenant College. Van Till, professor of physics at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, recently set forth his personal integration of science and Christian faith in The Fourth Day (Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1986).

The nominee receiving the second highest number of votes was Kenneth V. Olson, professor of science education at the U. of Northern Colorado in Greeley. Maybe ASA members thought they'd already elected Ken a few years ago. Nope, that Olson is geochemist Edwin Olson of Whitworth College, who becomes president of the Council and of ASA for 1987. IVCF faculty representative Charles Hummel becomes vice-president; psychologist Stanley Lindquist of Link Care Center is secretary-treasurer; and Eli Lilly research chemist Ann Hunt is past president.

As the Year 1987 begins, the Weary Old Editor feels wrung out from trying to keep up with what's going on (WOE is me-Ed.). At Christmas time even ASA's efficient young elves in Ipswich were failing behind, following October publication of TEACHING SCIENCE IN A CLIMATE OF CONTROVERSY and a fast-forward ASA Council meeting in November.

Santa Claus probably still gets more mail than ASA, but we have to answer ours. ASA's ad in the final issue of Science 86 last summer produced over 600 responses. An ASA flyer enclosed in a mailing by author Charlie Hummel to announce The Galileo Connection (IVP, 1986) brought in over 40 indications of interest in ASA membership. At press time, the first mailing of TEACHING SCIENCE has yielded some 100 membership inquiries in addition to reply cards "grading" ASA's efforts to help teachers.

The Ipswich elves also designed, produced, and mailed to members a "first edition": the ASA SOURCE BOOK, 1986-87. It includes not only a larger, better organized, and more fully annotated ASA Book List, but also a Tape List, an embryonic ASA/CSCA Speaker List (with nearly 50 entries already), other resources, and order forms. The SOURCE BOOK also includes a full 1986 ASA Annual Report, including reports of Commissions and Committees.

At its November 22 meeting the Council voted to change the name of our journal to PERSPECTIVES ON SCIENCE AND CHRISTIAN FAITH with the Journal of the American Scientific Affiliation as subtitle. The newly renamed JASA also has a new Book Review Editor, psychologist Richard Ruble of John Brown University in Arkansas. In recent years Richard has been JASA's most prolific reviewer of books. The Council also took further steps to begin in 1987 some sort of science/faith publication aimed at the general Christian public. Wow.

What else is new? For one thing, a new way for people to affiliate with our Affiliation, a kind of "non-member" category called "Friends of ASA" "Friends" include "individuals who for various reasons do not wish to join the Affiliation but nevertheless wish to support its aims and receive our publications" To become a "Friend of ASA" one makes a yearly contribution equivalent to the dues paid by Associate Members (currently $26 per year). Like Associates, Friends cannot vote on ASA matters but do receive both the Journal and the Newsletter (Subscribers receive only the Journal).

One can now give a "Friendship" to acquaint someone with ASA, simply by making an appropriate contribution in that person's name. A Friend may have either a high or low level of interest in ASA goals; nothing is implied about scientific training or assent to ASA's doctrinal statement. Information on the new category of affiliation will go into the second printing of TEACHING SCIENCE IN A CLIMATE OF CONTROVERSY in February and into a new printing of the (blue) ASA brochure.

As if that weren't enough to keep up with, the Ipswich Post Office reorganized its boxes, changing our easy to-remember Box J to P. 0. Box 668. That means new stationery and other expenses, but at least the change is in time for the printings mentioned above. (Mail will be forwarded from Box J throughout 1987.)

There's more to come. ASA Executive Director Bob Herrmann is ferreting out foundation funding for still other ASA projects. By now he's learned to include a budget item for general overhead to handle an increased work load. Rapid growth and wider recognition have put new burdens on the national office. This is a good time to make a contribution of any size to the American Scientific Affiliation, P.O. Box 668, Ipswich, MA 01938.

(This would be a great year to join those who earmark "a tithe of a tithe"-i.e., 1 percent of their income-for ASA's ministry. And why not write ASA into your will as well?-Ed.)

One change is hard for us to applaud. For health reasons, Ann Woodworth has had to resign. With extra pressure on the office staff accentuating old problems, Ann found it impossible to keep up with her classes at Gordon-Conwell Seminary while managing production of both the Journal and Newsletter. We're grateful for her creative imput to both, and wish her the very best, including the best of health. Ann says she'll be available to help out her successor and do special jobs; she may even take in the 1987 ASA ANNUAL MEETING in COLORADO SPRINGS, AUGUST 2-6.

Already on the job is our new Managing Editor, Nancy C. Hanger, a Gordon College graduate (cum laude) in English literature, with experience at both editing (Houghton Mifflin, Porter Sargent) and marketing (an insurance agency and several bookstores). Sounds like a winner, and she does weaving with handspun fibers as well. (Don't worry, Nancy: the WOE's woof is worse than his warped sense of humor.-Ed.).

Equally revealing are comments on the 11 percent of the reply cards giving ASA's efforts to help teachers an F (in one case an F-). Some are downright nasty ("You should change your name from ASA to KKK!"); most seem to react not to the booklet's contents but to the fact that ASA has a statement of faith. Some people teaching science in public schools obviously do believe that anyone with a religious faith commitment cannot possibly be a scientist or a supporter of science.

The existence of ASA and the contents of TEACHING SCIENCE should be enough to refute that claim. After so much polemic writing about creation and evolution, though, it's understandable if some of our scientific colleagues show an initial skepticism about ASA's middie-of-the-controversy approach. They need to be reminded that half of the taxpayers who support science education and scientific research do have religious faith commitments. Which is more likely to encourage public support of science and science education-TEACHING SCIENCE, or the kinds of comments on those F postcards!

TEACHING SCIENCE, addressed to teachers, is beginning to draw generally favorable response from others as well. In November John Wiester (one of the authors) and astronomer Hugh Ross (one of the consultants) took part in what was billed as a "Debate/Forum on Origins" at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo. The event, well organized and publicized by an alert campus group called FACT (Fellowship of Active Christian Thinkers), packed out a 400seat auditorium from which several hundred were turned away. John and Hugh spoke as believers in a divine Creator.

Their "opponents" taking a "No Creator" position, Cal Poly professors of anthropology and physics, had been given copies of the ASA booklet in advance-and had no quarrel with its contents. A few of the questions from a panel of students and faculty, and later from the audience, engendered rather testy exchanges, but on the whole the interaction was cordial. John sensed that people learned something about both science and Christian faith, and came away with new respect for the credibility of Christians as scientists.

In December physiologist Tomuo Hoshiko distributed almost 50 copies to members of the CSSP (Council of Scientific Society Presidents), of which he is a memberat-large. Although at least one CSSP member expressed "suspicion" about ASA's ability to be open on scientific matters (because of our statement of faith), Tom felt that TEACHING SCIENCE IN A CLIMATE OF CONTROVERSY was received rather favorably. He asked- the sc ient if ic- - -so c_ iety pr e-sid erits -to -e-ncou ra-g-ereview or mention of the booklet in the newsletters or journals of their societies.

TEACHING SCIENCE should also be made known in what might be called "the other direction ' " Many ASA members ought to review the booklet in their denominational or other religious publications, or at least send a copy to the editor requesting mention or review of it.
TEACHING SCIENCE IN A CLIMATE OF CONTROVERSY gives ASA members something concrete to point to when describing the power and limitations of science to a Christian audience.

The editor missed a December 7 Bay Area television program called "MOSAIC" (broadcast at 5:30 a.m.!). Dick Bube of Stanford and Bob Russell of the Center for Theology and the Natural Science in Berkeley were interviewed on the topic, "Science and Religion * " Dick assures us that the program was taped at a more reasonable hour-and that he was able to plug the American Scientific Affiliation.

A much larger potential audience was opened to Conrad Hyers in November when Voice of America asked him to respond to questions about science and religion from communist countries. For example, the "Sunday Morning Program" had received a letter from a teacher of ceramics technology in China expressing amazement that religion is still popular in America in spite of our high degree of development of science and technology. 

A producer of Voice of America's "Sunday Morning Program" had seen a newspaper article on Conrad's The Meaning of Creation: Genesis and Modern Science (John Knox Press, 1984). In answering the teacher's question, Conrad drew on arguments from his book, of course. He also pointed out that it is not merely people in the West benefitting from technology who find religious faith meaningful, but even many leading scientists. He could point to many Christians throughout the history of modern science-and to members of the American Scientific Affiliation-as examples of scientists maintaining that dual allegiance. 

Conrad Hyers's bridge-building effort was translated into many languages and beamed throughout the Voice of America network. Your effort may be on a smaller scale, perhaps restricted to your own church, Sunday school class, or members of your extended family. ASA is beginning to hear from Christian parents who have come across TEACHING SCIENCE and are extremely grateful for its approach.

There are many ways to help out, to benefit from ASA, and to be part of the action. One of the best is to plan now to attend the 1987 ASA ANNUAL MEETING, to be held at COLORADO COLLEGE in COLORADO SPRINGS, AUGUST 2-6. That meeting, organized by ASA's Global Resources & Environment Commission, will encourage you in your Christian witness and calling to scientific work, give you fresh ideas, and enrich your life.

We've just heard that the keynote speaker will be our own Vernon J. Ehlers, now a member of the Michigan State Senate. He will speak on "Applied Earthkeeping" Christian stewardship has been an important theme throughout Vern's career, from nuclear physicist to professor at Calvin College, from his service on the Kent County Dept. of Public Works and Board of Commissioners to his election as State Representative, and now in his elected office as State Senator.

ASA's college campus rep Bill Monsma engages in animated discussion following an inspiring meal Ut the Annual Meeting in Houghton.

We expect Dr. Ehler's addresses at the Colorado meeting to be personal, practical, and inspirational. We expect to learn a lot about technological "tentmaking" from Ken Touryan and others. We anticipate a weaving together of international and environmental themes, but a lot of informative papers on other subjects as well-and some exciting reports of "what's happening" in the ASA family.

Perhaps by the time you're reading this, the preliminary announcement and call for papers for the 1987 ASA ANNUAL MEETING will be in your hands. You may want to submit an abstract and try out your ideas on a group of your peers. The participants will be peers, but the COLORADO SPRINGS meeting will be peerless.

Don't miss it. And don't miss the communication from Lewis Hodge of the U. of Tennessee sent out with that mailing. As Chair of ASA's Membership Committee, Lew solicits your help in recruiting new Members (and Friends), and your further suggestions for spreading the word on ASA's newly active presence in the world.

A lot of attention is currently focused on Washington, D.C., as Congress and the Special Council begin to sweep up the mess. By March there'll be a show in town to beat the White House Basement Follies. On March 26-29 the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) meets in Washington. For the first time, ASA will have an official presence there.

The panel on TEACHING SCIENCE IN A CLIMATE OF CONTROVERSY proposed by ASA's Committee for Integrity in Science Education didn't make it on the NSTA program, but copies of that booklet (and other literature) will be given out at ASA's booth in the exhibit hall at the Sheraton Washington Hotel. The booklet will be featured in a paid advertisement in the preliminary program (circulation: 160,000) and final printed program (10,000). Our ad invites teachers to the ASA exhibit booth, No. 570 in the publishing section of the exhibit area.

If you attend the NSTA meeting, please drop by Booth No. 570 and look up Bob Herrmann, Walt Hearn, and whoever else is there from ASA. NSTA programs are always stimulating and the teachers who attend are generally "the cream of the crop" ASA members who live in the D.C. area might want to check out the meeting and lend a hand at the ASA booth, contacting some of those teachers.

GENETICIST EYES RICE, RIGHTS EYES

Vitamin A deficiency is the single most frequent cause of eye disease and blindness among preschool children in the less developed countries. The World Health Organization estimates that 6 to 7 million children each year show symptoms of eye disease. Very young children may go blind, then die a few weeks later. The body can convert carotene into vitamin A, but in many countries the primary diet is rice, a poor source. Carotene is present in rice leaves but not in the white kernels or seeds.

One ASA member, Donald S. Robertson, expects to use genetic engineering to produce yellow rice as one solution to this worldwide nutritional problem. Don, chair of Iowa State University's Dept. of Genetics, is a corn geneticist at ISU's Agriculture & Home Economics Experiment Station. For the past 30 years he has patiently been unraveling the genetics of the maize plant, making contributions to practical plant breeding as well as to classical and molecular genetics. He is best known for his discovery of a maize Mutator or "jumping gene" system.

"Robertson's Mutator" contains units of DNA which move around among corn chromosomes and change the functions of other genes in the process. For example, Y1 is a gene regulating production of carotene. When Mutator settles at the locus of Y1, the normally yellow kernels come out white, indicating that carotene production has been shut off. In the past four years Don has tested more than a million seeds, isolating several hundred mutants in which Mutator has disrupted function of the Y1 gene.

Plant genetic engineers all over the world now use Robertson's Mutator. His counsel is sought nationally and internationally. His achievement won him the 1984 Iowa Governor's Science Medal. Now Don and ISU coworker David Morris have been awarded a three-year $253,000 grant from the Rockefeller Foundation to use the same techniques to improve the nutritional quality of rice.

Under the grant, Robertson will produce maize mutants and characterize them. Morris will isolate the Y1 gene from the mutant chromosomes and use the latest methods to study it. The two geneticists know on which chromosome Y1 is located, and approximately where it is, but so far their genetic maps aren't sophisticated enough to pull out specific genes. 

Once isolated by this combination of classical genetics and state-of-the-art biotechnology, the Y1 gene from corn will be used to search out and recognize genetic material in rice that regulates carotene production. If all goes well and the rice gene can be isolated, the researchers hope to activate the genetic mechanisms to produce carotene in rice seeds.

"Yellow-seeded rice could have a powerful effect in alleviating suffering among millions of children;' Don says. Don Robertson, who earned his Ph.D. in genetics at Cal Tech, is a Fellow of ASA. He co-authored the chapter on "Genetics" in the ASA volume, Evolution and Christian Thought Today, edited by Russell L. Mixter (Eerdmans, 1959).

ASA/CSCA members will soon receive a formal announcement of the conference, with full program details. Spread the word. Attend if you can (registration: $125; dorm room & board: approx. $80). This will be a major, news-making conference in which the technical aspects of recombinant DNA technology will be presented to the general public, along with theological and ethical issues raised by applications of the technology.

W. French Anderson of NIH, who may soon perform the first successful gene therapy in human genetic disease, will be an invited speaker. So will Leroy Walters, director of the Kennedy Center for Bioethics at Georgetown University (on the ethics of human gene therapy); Lewis P. Bird of the Christian Medical Society and J. Robert Nelson, director of the Institute of Religion at the Texas Medical Center (both on general bioethical issues); and Jeremy Rifkin of the Foundation on Economic Trends, author of Algeny and a keen critic of recombinant DNA research (on environmental concerns).

Chairing the conference will be biochemist Robert L. Herrmann ASA Executive Director, and biology professor Gerald Hess of Messiah College. Other ASAers on the program include V. Eiving Anderson of the U. of Minnesota (on ethical guidelines); C. Weldon Jones of Bethel College (on hormone/gene interaction); Kenneth Olson of Genetech, Inc. (on production of pharmaceuticals); and Frank Young, Commissioner of the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (on regulatory concerns).

Theological and ethical issues will be integrated directly into program sessions on various applications

(i.e., gene therapy). An evening poster session will be devoted to contributed poster-papers by workers in the field attending the conference. (Bob Herrmann is expecting foundation support from the Lilly Endowment to provide some limited travel funds to contributors to the poster session and to teachers and students. Contact him at the ASA office in Ipswich.-Ed.)

Some readers may be irked, though, searching in vain for items they submitted long ago. We know the feeling. Almost all of the PERSONALS below had to be bumped last time, along with some other items. This issue makes the 5th time that the 7th installment of the editor's own WELCOME TO THE 20TH CENTURY has been bumped to make room for more timely stories.

We hope no books we've received from ASA authors go out of print before we can give them a nod in BOOKENDS AND NODS. In our beeline for this deadline, we may have missed something else that had to be in this issue, but isn't. We apologize, and will try to shape up.

CLEVELAND

Technically there's no ASA local section in Cleveland. Yet. But we received a good report from Tom Hoshiko about Donald MacKay's visit to Case Western Reserve early in September. Maybe the seeds of a new local section have been sown.

About 40 persons attended MacKay's scientific seminar in Tom's department (Physiology & Biophysics) and seemed to appreciate the discussion. The next evening began with a dinner that drew 43 people, followed by a public lecture with perhaps 150 in attendance. Professor MacKay's talk was very forthright and evangelical without being obtrusive, according to Tom.

Tom thinks ASA lectures should always include a reception to give people a chance to interact personally with the speaker. The one after MacKay's talk, sponsored by the local IVCF chapter, was a big success. People kept asking questions until almost 11 p.m. Several dozen copies of MacKay's Human Science and Human Dignity (IVP, 1979) were sold during the reception and a number of copies of ASA journals and other literature were given away.

Roy Gritter "grew up as a Christian" in the Christian Reformed Church, attended Christian schools and Calvin College. During his grad work in chemistry at the U. of Chicago a regular lunch-mate was Stanley Miller, who showed Roy the products of his early prebiotic synthesis experiments. Roy taught at the U. of Connecticut, then joined IBM in San Jose. He feels that his personal integration of science and faith goes beyond the tolerance-level of some CRC members, but he hangs in there with them, trying to win them over to a broader view.

A rambunctious youth, Paul McKowen came to Christ as a U.C. student through the influence of Berkeley's First Presbyterian Church. After a somewhat tumultuous "period of sanctification" and a definite call to the ministry, Paul switched from being a physics major in his senior year, then went to Princeton Seminary. He has had a significant ministry to scientists in the congregations he has served (currently Irvington Presbyterian in Fremont). He cited the prayers of Christians on both sides of his family, and the influence of Christian mentors (especially pastor Bob Munger and physics prof Burton Moyer at Berkeley, theologian Emile Cailliet at Princeton), as influencing the direction of his life. Paul is less concerned about rational integration of science and faith than about an integration that is lived out.

Informal meetings like this one are good not only for small sections still trying to get off the ground. Larger sections experiencing "burnout" among those who have kept things going need an occasional restoration of spiritual bonding. Personal stories are powerful, and each one is unique.

Glenn Bailey is now assistant professor of electrical engineering at San Jose State University in San Jose, California, after completing his Ph.D. at Colorado State in Fort Collins. Glenn's wife Martha is enrolled at Golden Gate Baptist Seminary in Tiburon-quite a commute up the San Francisco peninsula and across the Golden Gate bridge.

Charles B. Beal is president of International Health Services, East Palo Alto, California, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the improvement of health in the developing countries of the world. A Harvard M.D., Charles was formerly a medical missionary on the Ivory Coast in West Africa. On November 7 he led a workshop on Third World Health Care at a symposium on "The Control of Health Care Resources: Christian Perspectives" at New College Berkeley. Featured speakers at that symposium were John Perkins, founder of Voice of Calvary Ministries, and another ASA member, Frank E. Young, U.S. Commissioner of the Food & Drug Administration.

Gregory S. Bennett is a graduate student in geology at the U. of Kansas in Lawrence, working toward an M.S. in petrology. Greg has a B.S. in earth sciences and an M.S. in political science from Emporia State. He is presently employed as director of youth ministries at the First Free Methodist Church of Lawrence.

James A. Cudney of Potomac, Maryland, works for the International Programs Division of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association in Washington, D.C  NRECA represents 25 million consumers of electricity in the U.S., served by 1,000 rural cooperatives. Jim's division is bringing electricity to rural areas of such developing countries as Bangladesh, Indonesia, Philippines, North Yemen, and several Central American countries. His work has helped make 3.6 million electric connections, reaching 25 million rural poor people overseas.

William G. Cumming is now teaching chemistry at Deerfield Academy in Deerfield, Massachusetts. He also coaches football and hockey but has some time left over to enjoy his two daughters, Ailsa (5 yrs) and Glynis (3 mos in Sept). Bill was formerly at Strathcona-Tweedsmuir School in Okotoks, Alberta.

John R. Gehman is an M.D. in Auburn, Michigan. We were sorry to learn from his wife recently that John has been disabled by a stroke.

Norman L. Geisler is director of Quest Ministries of Dallas, Texas, which vigorously presents and defends the gospel, sometimes through confrontation. Norman has recently debated in Australia (on atheism), New Orleans (on abortion), and Chattanooga, Tennessee (on secular humanism, against Paul Kurtz, author of "Humanist Manifesto. 11"). A new venture for Quest is presentation of one-day Apologetics Seminars in churches, the first one held on October 11 at Melonie Park Baptist Church in Lubbock, Texas. Norman Geisler and J. Yutaka Amano are authors of Religion of the Force, "revealing the Eastern pantheistic and occult basis of the new religion of the Jedi" and offering a Christian alternative. That and Norm's earlier booklet, Cosmos: Carl Sagan's Religion for the Scientific Mind are both available from Quest Ministries (P.O. Box 2500, Dallas, TX 75221).

Harry H. Gibson, Jr., is an organic chemistry professor at Austin College in Sherman, Texas. Harry is interested in nitrenium ion chemistry. He spent his 1985-86 sabbatical doing research at Clemson University in South Carolina.

Thomas Key has moved to Magee, Mississippi, where he is pastoring a Congregational Methodist Church and chairing the Science Department of Antioch College. Tom is presenting a series of talks on nature illustrations in the Bible (the Holy Spirit as heavenly dove; Christ as lamb and root; Satan as lion; Christians as salt, sheep, etc.). He hopes to put those talks on video casette tape so they can be made widely available.

Glenn /. Kirkland of Bethesda, Maryland, took early retirement two years ago from his position as a physicist at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab so he could care for his wife Grace, stricken with Alzheimer's disease. He has also devoted much time to educating the public about Alzheimer's, a form of progressive senility that can be almost as devastating to family caregivers as it is to the person with the disease. Grace can still walk but can now speak only short sentences. She becomes confused and disoriented and does not always recognize Glenn. "I am so grateful for the help God provides through the Christian family," Glenn says. (The fellowship of ASA meetings means a lot to Glenn, whose stress-tested faith could cheer anyone through dark days, weeks, months-or years. When we asked him at Houghton how he managed to get away for the Annual Meeting, he said he had left Grace in a "foster home for adults" that provides temporary care for Alzheimer sufferers and temporary respite for their caregivers.-Ed.) Other ham radio operators can raise Glenn as W3SVD, by the way.

Robert A . Kistler is now assistant professor of biology at Bethel College in St. Paul, Minnesota, happily teaching ecology, environmental studies, and invertebrate and aquatic biology. Bob says his new position came partly through a note in the Newsletter and a fellow biologist from Westmont College, while he was a grad student at Northern Arizona U. in Flagstaff. He wrote to express his thanks to ASA and the Newsletter. (Aw, shucks. Maybe we should have a section called PEOPLE PLEASED WITH THEIR POSITIONS.-Ed.)

Stephen 0 . Moshier was set to defend his LSU Ph.D. dissertation when we heard from him, having already moved with wife Carol and baby Joshua from Baton Rouge to Lexington, Kentucky. As assistant professor of geology at the U. of Kentucky, he will develop a research program in carbonate petrology-in a state filled with limestone. Stephen's paper on an Upper Cambrian limestone/dolomite unit in S.E. Pennsylvania was published recently in J. Sedimentary Petrology.

Kenneth Olsen, founder and president of Digital Equipment Corporation, continues to win recognition (see p. 2 of the Dec/Jan ASA Newsletter). At the Centennial Meeting of Sigma Xi, the Scientific Research Society, in Washington, D.C., in October, Ken was presented the 1986 Common Wealth Award of Distinguished Service in Invention. Ken announced that he was donating the cash award to Sigma Xi's endowment for grants-in-aid to young scientists just getting started in research.

John E. Rylander is a graduate student in the philosophy of religion at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana. His hobby is computer science. (John likes the Newsletter but when he heard we're using WordStar, his comment was: "Eeeeek! Get Wordperfect 4.1 and any cheap PC clone with a fixed disk. Immediately!" Er, oh, O.K., John. Maybe by the 21st Century.Ed.)

Michael J. Smitka is now settling down in his first regular academic post, in the Dept. of Economics at Washington & Lee University in Lexington, Virginia. He says, "For those who have forgotten the trauma of moving, don't remind yourselves!" Mike has done more moving than most of us, after spending over a year in Tokyo doing research on subcontracting in Japanese manufacturing, then moving back to Connecticut last year, now to Virginia. He'll be finishing up his Yale Ph.D. dissertation while teaching. When we heard from him he still hadn't found a vibrant church but had located some other Christians on the faculty (none of them ASA members-yet).

Dennis P. Vik is now doing postdoctoral research at Scripps Clinic & Research Foundation in San Diego, California, after completing his Ph.D. in immunology at Harvard.

Lawrence C. Whiting, M.D., has moved from Saginaw to Cass City, Michigan, where he has opened a family practice office with the goal of bringing Christianity and medicine together.

Elmer S. Yoder of Hartville, Ohio, retired after 32 years of elementary and secondary teaching. Now he has time to pursue research in the history and sociology of the Amish and conservative Mennonite communities. He founded Diakonia Ministries with his wife Esther to offer services in Christian education and publishing, and is now completing his fourth volume on church history.

PEOPLE LOOKING FOR POSITIONS: Scott McCullough (Dept. of Physics, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907; tel. 317-494-5587) will receive his Ph.D. in physics from Purdue in May or Aug. 1987, seeks a postdoctoral research or teaching position. Scott and his wife prefer the Midwest (e.g., Chicago vicinity) or East (e.g., Philadelphia). Research in critical phenomena/ statistical mechanics, with interests in phenomenological approaches to scaling and numerical investigations of corrections to scaling for model systems using computers; 5 years experience as graduate instructor, teaching engineering and physics students, including some lecturing.

POSITIONS LOOKING FOR PEOPLE: Whitworth College: tenure track position in education for fall 1987; Ph.D. to teach grad-level research and tests & measurements, undergrad-level evaluation, maybe counseling and administration. Contact: Education Search Committee, Personnel Office, Whitworth College, Spokane, WA 99251. (Applications open at least til 15 Feb 1986.) ... The King's College: 1987-88 tenure track positions for Ph.D. in biology (botany preferred) and mathematics (ability to teach intro physics preferred). Contact Dr. S. Keith Ward, Academic Dean, The King's College, 10766 - 97 Street, Edmonton, Alberta TSH 2M1, Canada; tel. 403-428-0727 ... Murree Christian School in Pakistan: a jr. high mathematics teacher beginning Aug. 1987. Contact Jack Irvine, President, Evangelical International Schools, Inc., P.O. Box 5453, Walnut Creek, CA 94596 . . . Hong Kong Baptist College: many positions opening up in natural sciences and social sciences as the college develops its degree programs begun in 1985-86. Appointments to this government-supported college are made on the basis of professional qualifications alone, but Christians on the faculty hope that other concerned, competent Christians will apply. Dr. Albert W. M. Lee (chemistry), Dr. Fred J. Hickernell (mathematics), and Dr. Jerry W. Barrett (chemistry; dean of science faculty) urge interested ASA members to contact: Personnel Secretary, Personnel Office, Hong Kong Baptist College, 224 Waterloo Road, Kowloon, Hong Kong. (OR, sign up for the ASA CHINA TOUR, AUGUST 1987, check out HKBC during your two days in Hong Kong. A great Asian travel bargain, about $2,200 for 18 days: your $50 check made out to ASA, marked "China tour" and sent to Chi-Hang Lee, 120 Brandywine Way, Walnut Creek, CA 94598, reserves your place.)

Now Available - Fine Quality Notecards and Envelopes

Order from: ASA, PO Box 668, Ipswich, MA 01938. Price: $5.50/packet of 10, + postage (1 packet, $1; 2-8, $2.SO; 9-15, $5.50).