ALAN T. WATERMAN 



differences between the aims, techniques, or general philosophy 

 of our research people and those of other nations? 



I believe it would generally be agreed that our academic 

 traditions of research closely resemble those of Europe. This 

 is a powerful and noble tradition strongly fostered by scientific 

 societies, by the academies of science in many countries, and 

 by international cooperation through such bodies as the scien- 

 tific unions. Happily, one can say with great assurance that 

 the time-honored tradition of soundness and integrity of re- 

 search has been upheld throughout the world. All have shared 

 in the growth of its techniques, both theoretical and experi- 

 mental. 



There are signs, perhaps, that as more and more of our 

 people receive their training wholly in this country we may be 

 developing patterns of our own. Certainly the high prestige 

 that has long been accorded science by our leading technical 

 industries and their rapid development under this philosophy 

 bears an American imprint. In any event, the most pronounced 

 difference between research in the United States and in most 

 other countries has probably been its encouragement among 

 our industries and the extensive participation of scientists and 

 engineers employed by industry. 



Another distinguishing characteristic that can be ascribed 

 to our national research effort is its scope and variety. Research 

 is being actively pursued in industry, in private, commercial, 

 and government laboratories, and, above all, in a bewildering 

 variety of educational institutions, both public and private, 

 large and small. Furthermore, nature has endowed us gener- 

 ously with a wide variety of natural resources which, in fields 

 such as zoology, botany, forestry, geology, and many aspects of 

 geophysical research, afford natural laboratories for the study 

 of nature. We undoubtedly have greater financial resources 

 than most countries for the support of scientific research, pro- 



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