Industrial Research 



111 



the exorcise of imagination and ingenuity than from 

 accidental discovery. In work of tliis type these 

 quaUties are regarded as essentials. Resourcefulness 

 in experimentation is an important practical embodi- 

 ment of these qualities. 



Practicality. — ^This characteristic is one which, accord- 

 ing to some nontechnical critics, scientific men fre- 

 quently lack. This discussion is limited to a definition 

 of om- meaning of this term and the extent to which 

 it is important. It is desirable for an industrial research 

 worker to be practical in the sense of recogm'zing as 

 important not only the purely scientific aspects of his 

 work but also its practical consequences. These include 

 the cost of doing the work and the commercial effective- 

 ness of the results. While, in some instances, useful 

 work may be done by persons who disregard these 

 considerations entirely, in most cases it is desirable 

 that the research worker be practical to this extent at 

 least. One measure of practicality is the pertinence and 

 applicabihty of results. 



Common sense. — Conimon sense is a quality just as 

 essential in research work as in other walks of life. 

 The scientific man who has common sense and exercises 

 it wiU give proper weight to the opinions of others even 

 though these are not expressed in tcclmical tenns. He 

 will be tolerant and will be more interested in the spirit 

 of things than in the letter. In a discussion or argu- 

 ment he will regard liis point as being won when an 

 agreement has been reached on essentials. 



Personality. — The scientist frequently is supposed to 

 be deficient in personality. It is not our purpose at 

 this time to argue that question, but it should be 

 pointed out that a good personality is a distinct asset 

 to the industrial research worker. A tactful person- 

 ahty will assist the individual to secure the cooperation 

 of others, which is a matter of great importance in 

 industrial work. 



The qualities above mentioned are not substitutes 

 for technical abihty nor for other important attributes, 

 but they help to make those other qualities effective. 

 It should be stated here that there is considerable 

 difference of opinion as to the amount of emphasis 

 that should be placed on personality. There are many 

 instances of men who have made a great success in 

 research, and in other walks of life, who, in the opuiion 

 of their fellows have not possessed a normal pereonality. 

 Some organizations insist on a pleasing personality — 

 others say that it is of minor importance. 



Training 



For a career in industrial research sound training in 

 one of the sciences and its related subjects, in research 

 methods, and m certain nonscientific subjects, is gen- 

 erally held to be essential. Industrial research labora- 

 tories are for the most part staffed with men who have 



had such training. Also, whether this ability is derived 

 from training or otherwise, an industrial research man 

 should know how to work. 



The first scientists in industry were, in many cases, 

 self-trained or had received only rudimentary training 

 from an educational institution. As manufacturing 

 technique has become more precise as a result of com- 

 petition and scientific advances, the training require- 

 ments for industrial scientists have become more exact- 

 ing. Therefore, definite and comprehensive scientific 

 training is, in practically aU cases, necessary for one 

 who aspires to a career in industrial research of the 

 type with which this report is concerned. 



We are not considering here those who are primarily 

 inventors. There are innumerable instances of brilliant 

 inventions which were made by persons having little 

 or no formal training. Genius of this type is recognized 

 and its value fully appreciated, but research work 

 requires considerable organized knowledge of the facts, 

 principles, and methods of science, and of their applica- 

 tion. This knowledge can best be obtained at a properly 

 organized and equipped university. It is not germane 

 to propose cm'ricula, but rather to indicate the con- 

 sensus of opinion as to what a man who has had graduate 

 training in science should know and be able to do when 

 he leaves the university. The discussion includes not 

 only scientific training, but also certain types of non- 

 scientific training which are considered to be particularly 

 useful. 



Scientific training. — The basis of a satisfactory train- 

 ing for industrial research is a thorough grasp of the 

 fundamentals of the chosen science. The term "funda- 

 mentals" as used herein may requu'e further definition. 

 By it we mean those classical principles which have 

 been the basis of a gi'eat expansion of our scientific 

 knowledge, with the emphasis on the applicability of the 

 principle rather than on its philosophical significance. 



A thorough grasp of the fundamentals also implies a 

 working knowledge of them. There should be a 

 recognition of how these principles may be involved in 

 any new problem or in the explanation of new phenom- 

 ena. There should also be an understanding of how to 

 apply these principles to the solution of the problem 

 and how to carry out this application in the laboratory. 



The head of the department of chemistry in one of 

 our most important universities' made the following 

 comment on these observations — 



Insistence on a thoroiigli working knowledge of fundamental 

 principles is entirely sound but insufficiently appreciated. The 

 route to such a knowledge is through the substitution of problem 

 solving courses and recitations instead of the descriptive courses 

 which serve too often to mislead the student into believing he 

 has attained comprehension when he has merely acquired a little 

 specialized scientific jargon. 



The graduate research should also be a "pure" science subject 

 for the reason that the methods and technique of pure science 



