The Beginnings of the Northwest Scientific Association
On the evening of February 9, 1923, a group of educators and scientists met in the Davenport Hotel in Spokane, Washington. A committee developed plans to form an organization "of broad and general character designed to embrace all persons in the Inland Empire interested in the objectives of a regional scientific association."
The 1st Program Meeting took place in Spokane, WA from April 11-12 of 1924, in conjunction with the Inland Empire Teacher's Association. Forty-five papers and 5 general session lectures were presented in 6 sections: Botany-Zoology, Chemistry-Physics, Education, Geology-Geography, Medicine-Bacteriology, and Plant Pathology. There were 45 charter-members of the Association and the annual dues were set at $1.00.
The Northwest Scientific Association (NWSA) recently celebrated its 100th year. To commemorate this landmark, we are posting historical accounts about the NWSA, biographies and information about the people that shaped the NWSA, below.
- Report of the 1930 NWSA meeting in Science magazine.
- A History of the Northwest Scientific Association. William B. Merriam, 1960,Washington State University
- A Brief History of the Northwest Scientific Association: 1960-1972. William B. Merriam, Adolph Hecht, and Rufus W. Kiser. 1988. Northwest Science 62(4): 188-204.
- Biography: Dr. G. D. Shallenberger (1889-1970), Professor of Physics and NWSA Councilor (1928-1932)
- In memoriam: Guy Richard Knudsen (1952-2016)
