Tutorials for Scientists Will Begin in Kirkland

An experimental tutorial program in the natural and physical sciences will begin in Kirkland House within two weeks, Ayers Brinser '31, the House's Allston Burr Senior Tutor, said last night.

This is the first time that tutorial sessions have been offered to science majors in any of the seven Houses. At the end of the year a report on the experiment will be sent to the various departments for future consideration.

Brinser said the tutorial meetings will be held every other week, and would deal with topics selected by the tutors and the students. They will be limited to six or eight students, who will sign up voluntarily for the program.

The tutors will be men from the departments of physics, chemistry, biology, and history of science. They will all serve this year without pay. In addition, Brinser said senior members of the departments will meet with the groups every two months.

The impetus for the tutorial came from the "need of the House for more contact with science majors," Brinser said. Science concentrators were also being "shortchanged by the Houses," he added, "by missing advantages of the tutorial program."

Master in Favor

Kirkland House's Master, Charles H. Taylor, Henry Charles Lea Professor of Medieval History, gave his support to the experiment, and said, "Of course this is an experiment, and obviously a great deal will depend on the response of the students. We're very hopeful about it, however."

E. Bright Wilson, Jr., Chairman of the Chemistry Department, said he intends to watch the experiment very closely, "and we'll certainly consider it if it works." He hastily added, however, that "the principal stumbling block to any such program is money. Any decision at this time would be premature."

Brinser hoped that the program would make Kirkland House more of an intellectual center for the science concentrators, "who now spend most of their time in the different laboratories." The meetings will also give students a chance to discuss the vocational opportunities in certain neglected fields, he said. These included forestry, soil science, and hydrography.