252 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1944 
in the United States. But the intimate relations that have existed 
between workers in America and in England, in the field in which 
my interests and responsibilities lie, give me the courage to believe that 
a summary of my experience may be of interest to you, and worthy of 
this occasion. 
THE AIM OF RESEARCH 
Research is one of the things we all understand but find difficult 
to define. In the foreword to a recent pamphlet on Industrial Re- 
search, Sir Harold Hartley defined it as “a habit of mind which makes 
us attack every problem, big or small, in an orderly, systematic way, 
using if possible the advantages that modern science can give us.” 
I remember Lord Rutherford, in a characteristically expansive and 
emphatic mood, using almost the same words. I invite you to note 
the two words “if possible.” There are limits to what “modern science” 
can do for us. In research, as in other human activities, we depend a 
good deal on our wits. There is limitless opportunity for intuition 
and initiative. 
The aim of research is to produce a theory firmly supported by 
experimental evidence. Though necessarily incomplete, it must be 
a close enough approximation to serve the man who has to make 
things work. I trust you will not infer from this statement that I am 
interested in research only for what I can get out of it. I have known 
the thrill of working solely for the fun of it. But I am interested, 
for the time being, in research with a clear and unmistakable objec- 
tive—the discovery of how to make better aircraft. It is my experience 
that, for such research to be not only fruitful but timely, it is essential 
that the practical problems involved in its eventual application shall 
always be clear to those who are doing it. This need not in any way 
restrict their freedom. Indeed, they can gain immensely from contact 
with those upon whom the burden of applying their work is placed. 
The theme I have taken is indeed that it is only by intimate and 
wholehearted collaboration between the research worker, the designer, 
the constructor, and the user that research can be intelligently planned, 
pursued, and applied. 
THE INDEPENDENT WORKER IN RESEARCH 
As a preliminary I propose to give you an example from my earlier 
experience which I feel puts the point as it appears to the independent 
research worker. 
I have been personally concerned with research in flight for nearly 
30 years. The two chief aerodynamic problems have been, and still 
are, the reduction of drag and the improvement of stability and con- 
trol. Throughout, these problems have been attacked in the light of 
