176 



National Resources Planning Board 



The relative importiincc of those four components in 

 accounting for the 41 percent increase of research 

 personnel between 193S and 1940 is shown in figure 45. 

 Shghtly over half of the total increase represents real 

 growth. It is evident that this is due almost o.xchisivclj' 

 to the increase in size of staff of existing laboratories. 

 It might be expected that newly organized laboratories 

 would be started with comparatively small staffs. 

 Furthermore, such laboratories are easily missed by a 

 questionnaire survey. Even so, the very small showing 

 made by newlj' organized laboratories suggests tliat 

 industrial research, considered as a resource, is not being 

 expanded in one of the two ways in wliich growth 

 might be expected, namel}', the extension of research 

 to new industrial organizations, as contrasted with the 

 expansion of research where it already exists. This 

 will be discussed further in connection with figure 46. 



Distribution of Research Personnel 

 by Professions 



The relative importance of the various professions in 

 industrial research is a subject of some interest. It 

 should be of particular significance in assisting universi- 

 ties to guide their technically minded students into 

 fields where there is expected to be a demand for 

 workoi-s. Studies on this subject have pre\-iousl3- been 



made,' and tiie results presented iierewith do not dilfer 

 significantly', but do serve to bring the subject up to 

 date. 



Table 1 contains an analysis of the professions repre- 

 sented in industrial research, and shows both the 

 number and the relative importance of various pro- 

 fessions.* The very large role played b}' chemists and 

 engineers is clearly significant, even though it may be 

 debatable whether the number of chemists and engi- 



Table 1. — Occupational classification of industrial research 

 personnel 



Typo of personnel 



Professionally trained: 



Cliemists 



Physicists 



Engineers 



Metallurgists 



Biologists and bacteriologists 



Other professional.. 



Total professional 



other technical 



Administrative, clerical, maintenance, etc. 



Total : 



Number 



15,700 



2,030 



14,980 



1.955 



979 



909 



36,553 

 16,400 

 17,080 



70.033 



Percent 



22.4 

 2.9 



21.4 

 2.8 

 1.4 

 1.3 



52.2 

 23.4 

 24.4 



' Industrial research and changing technology, pp. 11-14, 78-79. See footnote 1. 



' For convenience, the number of workers in table 1 has been adjusted to equal 

 the total number of research personnel reported for 19<0. by computation from the 

 percent distribution. The latter Is based on the following representative sample: 

 1,699 companies employing 43,748 personnel, comprising 62.5 percent of the folal 

 personnel reported in 1940. 



THE 



"BIRTH RATE" 



OF INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH 



100 



z 

 o 



^ > 



Z 

 3 



X 



u 



t- Ui 



o 

 a. 

 a: 

 o 

 o 



a: 



lU 

 CD 



Z 

 => 

 z 



1900 



Figure 46 —The "Birth Rate' 



1920 

 of Industrial Research 



1940 



