In January of 1961, I was a graduate student in biology, teaching for my tuition, like this woman in the photograph (“From the Archives,” 2019). My sections met in the Stone Science Building. She is supervising an experiment that records the change in breathing rate of the seated student. The “lampshade” instrument is a kymograph. It has a motorized base that turns the upper drum. The drum is covered by a sheet of glossy paper smoked with soot from a kerosene burner. The cord around the student’s chest is attached to a stylus mounted on a tripod touching the smoked sheet. You can see the several white tracing lines recording breathing variations on the drum.
—Marilyn Mohnkern Beaven (GRS’62)
I cannot identify the people in the photo, but I think I can help with the equipment being used. I was a biology major from 1967 to 1971, and the Stone Science Building still brings back memories of the dreaded and ever-challenging inorganic and organic chemistry classes that were offered there. I believe the “lampshade” is a smoked-paper recorder that is probably recording the inspirations and expirations of the person attached to it. As I recall, a particular type of paper was held over a candle and the smoke was collected to form a film on the white background. This was considered an art that lab scientists learned back in the day, although it’s possible that the smoked paper was commercially available as well. The paper was wrapped around a cylindrical drum, which rotated in response to an electric motor. The ring stand (vertical bar in front of the subject) has a screw clamp, which connects to a wand with a needle at the end that scratches the smoked paper in response to the transduced signal, to leave a permanent record of the subject’s breathing. Think of it as a predecessor to the EKG device. The screw clamp allowed the needle to be raised or lowered to allow multiple tracks to be recorded on one sheet of paper. I had never noticed before, but the end result is a rather artsy lampshade, n’est-ce pas?
—Dave Bengtson (CAS’71)
I’m fairly certain that they’re recording the seated student’s heartbeat using a pneumatic sensor and diaphragm-driven recording arm. The seated student appears to have an air bladder under the armpit, which would detect the small pressure surges generated by the pulse, which would be transmitted via the tubing to the small circular device (it looks like a pocket watch) shown to the left of the upright stand—this would contain a diaphragm that responds to the air pressure variations and drives the arm that records the trace onto the revolving drum.
—Bob Stevens (CAS’76)
I so enjoyed your article on Sigrid Nunez’s novel, The Friend (“The Death, the Dog, and the Writer,” 2019). Being an avid reader and also a great dog lover (we own three border collies), I finished reading the novel in two days.
It is a deeply moving and disturbing book. Disturbing does not bother me in the least in terms of how I have felt about the book. I have always felt that the disturbing and dark books hold the most weight in terms of packing an emotional wallop to the reader, full of truth and personal meaning. But I need some more time to really process the story, and think about the thoughts and feelings expressed in the novel. It has so much richness and depth. Thank you so much for writing this article about The Friend, as I did not know about Sigrid Nunez’s work before this publication.
I wish that there had been a creative writing class at BU when I was attending. However, I’m not sure if I would have been ready for such a class at that time. An aspiring writer now in my seventies, I would love the opportunity to work with Ms. Nunez, but only as I am now, not the person I was in my twenties.
I am so moved by the line by Rilke that Ms. Nunez quotes in her book on the definition of love, “two solitudes that protect and border and greet each other.” Wonderful!
—Dorothy Gudgel (CAS’70)
I was pleased to read “Into the Wild” (2019), about Lindsey Parietti’s short film, Blood Island. The plight of the chimpanzees stranded on Liberian islands is a subject with which few are familiar. However, I was disappointed that the author left out an essential piece of information: the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) played a crucial role in saving the chimps from certain starvation and suffering. When HSUS was alerted to the dire circumstances, it assembled a team of experts and led a coalition of organizations that pulled together an immediate response and encouraged the New York Blood Center to support the care of the chimps so they could live out the rest of their lives free on the islands. The fact that the organization took action and successfully secured funds to help feed the chimps for the remainder of their lives, and employ the workers who bring them water and food twice a day, is a crucial example of the vital work that HSUS does around the world to help animals in need.
—Heather Schrader (CAS’96, MET’09)
From the Web
Reader comments on our 2019 stories
A Key to Human Knowledge: Digitizing a little-known written language offers new insight into African history and culture “Wow!!! Thank you so much for sharing the awesome news, Fallou! We may have known the ‘Ajami tune,’ but it sure never ceases to be amazing and extremely important. Reading about it is heartwarming and making us proud to be here at this point in time … seeing the unearthing of the unseen, not commonly known truths about Africa! Making BU the Mecca of Ajami is awesome! Congratulations on a sterling job that is rapidly getting bigger and brighter!”
—Zoliswa O Mali a.k.a. ZoliJ
Neuroflight is the World’s First Neural-Network-Enabled Drone Controller: BU researchers are using competitive drone racing as a testing ground to hone AI-controlled flight “As an ALS patient slowly losing the use of my arms and legs, but having no problem with my passion for flying quadcopters and other RC airplanes, this technology will keep me flying a while longer. Thank you.”
—Robert K
CAS Student Wins Coveted Truman Scholarship: Augustine Jimenez believes “all families deserve opportunities to lift themselves out of poverty” “Congratulations to Augustine Jimenez for his amazing work and generous spirit, but also to his mother and grandmother for their hard work that inspired him and their powerful love, and to the teachers who saw his extraordinary potential. Students like Augustine give me great hope for the challenging future we face. I’m so glad to read his story.”
—Holly Schaaf