Support of 

 Basic Research 

 by INDUSTRY 



ROBERT E. WILSON* 



Introduction 



vJTHERS HAVE already stressed some of 

 the important aspects of the problem which the country faces 

 in endeavoring to assure more adequate support for basic research 

 in a period when applied research has expanded with unprece- 

 dented rapidity. Industry has rather generally been considered 

 to be the principal villain in the picture, and not without reason. 

 Industry has been using up the stockpile of basic research infor- 

 mation faster than it is being added to, particularly since the 

 beginning of World War II. The war had not only greatly 

 stimulated applied research in this country but also dried up 

 most of the basic research in Europe, which had once been the 

 main source for the scientific community. In addition, many 

 of our best university scientists have been attracted away from 

 basic research and teaching bv the growing demands of industry 

 and the still more rapid growth of government research during 

 the past eighteen years. This has constituted a double loss, 

 because the men involved were not only those who would other- 



J 



* Former Chairman of the Board, Standard Oil Company (In- 

 diana) 



203 



