ELECTRON ACCELERATOR

To the Editors of the CRIMSON:

In the article by James K. Glassman in the May 7th Crimson Supplement on the Future of the University, the Cambridge Electron Accelerator (CEA) is discussed as an example of Federal money being spent at Harvard. Indeed, because of its $4,500,000 budget in Fy 1969 which comes entirely from the Federal Government, Mr. Glassman has chosen a very good example.

Unfortunately, the contents of the article where it refers to CEA reflects a lack of knowledge and understanding of the laboratory, of its relation to Harvard and to the Federal Government. Among others, the following statements are completely incorrect: "Recent cuts in appropriations will mean that Harvard is paying for something it thought it was getting free. Paying for outdated research equipment is one of the accidents of building what the government wants."

The following points are offered to clarify some of these matters:

1. The purpose of CEA is to conduct research in Particle Physics. No weapon implications are known in any of the work done at the laboratory in the past, present, or planned for the future. No such implications existed when the laboratory was planned or constructed. None of the research is or has been classified. The program of the laboratory is completely determined by members of the Harvard and M.I.T. faculties.

2. The existence of the laboratory is due to the planning and efforts of the Harvard and M.I.T. Physics Departments and Administrations. The Government paid completely for a facility that Harvard and M.I.T. wanted!

3. The stabilization of the budget of CEA reflects the stabilization of the funds for Particle Physics in the national budget. Like most public and private budgets, our resources do not keep pace with inflation.

4. We have not and are not planning to ask the University for funds in addition to those provided by the Government to carry out our work. All direct costs (buildings, materials and supplies, equipment, salaries) and indirect costs (caretaking, heat, University administration) have been and are being paid for by the Federal Government. Harvard University, its staff and students have been and will continue "getting free" the unique opportunities of our laboratory.

5. Our facilities, thanks to the support of the Government and the ingenuity of our staff, are as up-to-date as those of any other comparable High-Energy Physics Laboratory. As a matter of fact, we are developing a colliding beam facility unique in the U.S. whose goal is to study the laws of electrodynamics to much smaller distances than possible so far. Harvard is not only "getting free" just another laboratory, but one that is most up-to-date!

6. The budgetary limitations are indeed forcing us to slow down some of our work. However, no projects have been discontinued because of these limitations. Fewer new projects are being started. There are no plans to fire anybody because of the present fiscal limitations.

7. The research program involves 58 Ph.D. physicists (28 from Harvard including 17 from CEA), 33 graduate students (20 from Harvard), and many undergraduates through part-time jobs, seminars, and research courses.

The really relevant questions to ask are: (1) why does the Federal Government support completely such a large laboratory whose only function is to carry out research at the frontiers of knowledge without any expectation of military or technical application, and (2) why is it located in Cambridge?

In my opinion the main answer to (1) comes from the concern of the Government with all aspects of increasing knowledge and skills in the nation and from the fact that research and training cannot be separated. The best training is obtained in a laboratory working on the most advanced and exciting problems of fundamental physics, and the best research is done in participation with questioning and imaginative students.

The answer to question (2) comes from the fact that a combination of large institutions such as Harvard and M.I.T. and of a large facility such as CEA can strength the scientific and academic staffs of all--and this increased strength is reflected in both the teaching and research.

Particle Physics is one of the most exciting fields of physics. It uses the most modern technology which costs a lot. Only the Federal Government is in position to support this work. The wisdom of the American taxpayer and of his representatives in Congress are responsible for the great opportunity provided Harvard and its sister institutions in the Cambridge area. It is the University which gains most directly. Karl Strauch   Professor of Physics   Director, Cambridge Electron Accelerator