Scientists at Harvard Back JFK's Policy On Testing Bans

Two University scientists have urged support for the Kennedy Administration's nuclear test-ban proposals.

Kenneth T. Bainbridge, George Vasmer Leverett Professor of Physics, and Francis Birch '24, Sturgis Hooper Professor of Geology, joined six M.I.T. professors in calling the U.S. plan "a practical first step forward." The scientists sent a statement to the Christian Science Monitor and other newspapers last week.

The United States proposal calls for eight on-site inspections a year, in addition to a number of "black boxes," or unmanned seismographic stations within the territory of every nuclear power. The Soviets, however, limit on-site inspections to three a year.

The scientists claimed that black boxes and on-site inspection "together can identify almost all nuclear explosions."