176 BIRREN
years.^13 Clearly the 1950s initiated a dramatic growth era of research on
the psychology of aging and the Section on Aging played an active role
in the emerging era and the defining of important research issues.
After he left the Section on Aging, Klaus Riegel became professor of
psychology at the University of Michigan and both he and Ruth Riegel
remained active in research on the behavioral aspects of aging.The Gerontology Discussion Group
An informal Gerontology Luncheon Group was formed with initiative
from the Section on Aging. Its first meeting was February 18, 1954, in
the snack bar of the NIH Clinical Center. About forty NIH scientists
requested that their names be on the mailing list. As it evolved, its name
was changed to the Gerontology Discussion Group. It met every two
weeks and both intramural and extramural personnel attended (see
Appendix 1). The topics ranged from cellular phenomena of aging to
the aging of insects and the social issues of human aging (see Appen
dix 2). The Discussion Group provided an informal pathway for the
exchange of information about aging across institutes and between
intramural and extramural staff members. An indication of the open
ness of information exchange is seen, for example, in the fact that, on
June 1954, Richard Williams, of the extramural division of the NIMH,
presented a draft paper to the discussion group on “Preliminary Plan
ning of Program Development on Mental Health Aspects of Aging.”
The Gerontology Discussion Group encouraged personnel contacts
across laboratories and institutes at the NIH and also contacts with out
side scientists at a time when the published literature was still relatively
small and there were not many national meetings on the subject matter.
The Gerontology Discussion Group began to invite scientists from out
side the NIH who were visiting Washington, D.C., including some from
abroad, to present their specialized views of aging and their findings.
Appendix 2 contains the names of presenters and the titles of their talks
at many of the meetings held between 1954 and 1958. The discussion
group met twice a month until 1957, when the director of the Center
on Aging of the National Heart Institute, G. Halsey Hunt, suggested
that it meet once a month.