Retorts

NZ/USSR Exchange

I visited the Sechenov Institute of Evolutionary Physiology and Bio-chemistry in Leningrad in March 1990. Although economic and political conditions have deteriorated since then, Russian science seems to be thriving from a new liberalism in East-West relations. I am presently attempting to organise an NZ-USSR scientific exchange programme with the help of Professor Yuri Natochin, head of renal physiology in the USSR.

Professor Natochin, a distinguished member of the USSR Academy of Sciences, is scheduled to visit New Zealand in November and December 1992. During his stay, he will be promoting scientist exchanges between our two countries and will present seminars in Wellington, Auckland, Dunedin and Christchurch. Professor Natochin's research interests are water and electrolyte metabolism and the evolution of the vertebrate kidney. He is also interested in aerospace physiology and has recently been made a member of the International Academy of Astronautics.

Any New Zealand scientists who are interested in carrying out research or collecting specimens in the Soviet Union should contact Professor Natochin through me. He has agreed to liase with other scientists and laboratories in the USSR for exchanges in any of the major scientific disciplines. Alternatively, interested individuals or organisations could arrange with me to meet with Professor Natochin while he is in New Zealand next year.

John H Miller, School of Biological Sciences, Victoria University, Box 600, Wellington