262 BELL SYSTEM TECHNICAL JOURNAL 



through spontaneous acknowledgments made by the engineers they assist. 

 These expressions of appreciation are generous, but rather erratic in that 

 they concentrate attention first on one man, then on another, as the genius 

 and training of the individual happen to click with the important job of 

 the moment. This has not affected the morale of the group adversely, 

 probably because a serious effort is made to avoid erratic salary revisions in 

 which the man who is at the moment in the limelight benefits at the expense 

 of others who are doing equally good but less conspicuous work. 



From the standpoint of the men, the principal advantages of being 

 associated together instead of distributed through the engineering depart- 

 ments, is the stimulus of contact with men of like interests. From the 

 standpoint of management, the advantages are wider availability, greater 

 flexibility in matching the talents of the man with the requirements of the 

 job, and a more uniform appraisal of ability because of supervision by a 

 man of adequate mathematical background. 



So far as is known, mathematicians have not been organized into separate 

 administrative groups in other industries. In most laboratories their 

 numbers have been thought too small to make such an arrangement feasible, 

 and they have been treated as staff engineers distributed throughout the 

 various general departments. It is believed, however, that there are a 

 few industries in which this arrangement could be introduced with profit at 

 this time, and that it has sufficient merit to justify its adoption wherever 

 possible. ♦ 



The Mathematician in the Small Laboratory 



What has been said above relates primarily to conditions in large indus- 

 tries. The qualifications for success in the small industry are not dissimilar, 

 though the relative emphasis to be placed upon them is somewhat different. 

 Matters of personality (gregariousness, unselfishness, etc.) are not quite so 

 important, because they are offset to some extent by the friendly coherence 

 of the small group. On the other hand, a strong interest in things as well as 

 ideas, and the ability to translate from the language of concrete experience 

 to that of abstract thought and conversely, take on even greater importance. 

 As Dr. H. M. Evjen, himself a worker in a small laboratory, says: 



"In order to be of optimum value, the mathematician must keep in close touch 

 with realities. In a sufficiently large organization, employing both theoretical 

 and experimental men, the best results, therefore, can be obtained only by the 

 closest cooperation between the two groups. In smaller organizations, employing 

 — for instance — only one scientifically qualified man, it is difficult to say whether 

 this man should be of the theoretical or the experimental type. If he is a theo- 

 retical man, no success can be expected unless he is willing to roll up his sleeves 



