224 



National Resources Planning Board 



Kettering once said that the principal difTcrcnce between 

 pure and appHed science lies in the fact that a pure 

 scientist is seeking the answer to some problem without 

 any particular urgency, while the worker in the applied 

 field needs his answer and that in a hurry. 



"Applied chemistry" is a designation reserved for 

 work undertaken with some immediate utilization of the 

 results intended. There is a definite accomplishment, 

 a well defined goal, a practical problem in mind when 

 the work is planned and undertaken. It is supposed to 

 have a more commercial flavor than the so-called pure 

 research. 



There is no essential difference in the degree of 

 difficulties confronting workers in these two fields and 

 the demand is equally high for training and capability. 

 Much of the best-kno^\Ti and valuable research in the 

 United States has been done by men in industrial labora- 

 tories, and the same high order of accomplishment has 

 characterized industrial research abroad. The line of 

 demarcation is rendered still less distinct because men 

 primarily engaged in pure science share the responsi- 

 bility for applied science by engaging as consultants for 

 industries, and often choosing subjects proposed by 

 industry for the research problems of their graduate 

 students. The arrangement is fortunate, because an 

 insight into practical problems should make possible 

 the improved training of men, the majority of whom 

 later enter industry. 



Research 



Research is a scientific method for discovering new 

 information which can be employed to extend Icnowl- 

 edge in pure science and to the solution of industrial 



Figure bti. — Research and Development Laboratories, Bakelite 

 Corporation, Bloomfield, Kew Jersey. (Unit of Union Carbide 

 and Carbon Corporation) 



problems. It is a way to learn how to do that which has 

 not been done previously by anyone. Those who un- 

 dertake research should have an intimate knowledge of 

 what has already been accomplished in their particular 

 field, and their search should begin with the acquisition 

 of such pertinent knowledge as is recorded in scientific 

 literature and in patents. It is not uncommon to find 

 research workers devoting as much time to a careful 

 search of the literature as to experiments subsequently 

 conducted in the laboratory. 



Incentives to Research 



\Miat gives rise to chemical research in industr}'? 

 A necessary attribute of the successful research chemist 

 is an inquiring mind. This does not imply mere 

 curiosity but rather an intelligent desire for new knowl- 

 edge with a view to its application to theoretical and 

 practical problems. Some unusual phenomenon may 

 have been noted and the man with an inquiring mind 

 desires to ascertain its cause and its possible application. 

 Learning why certain reactions take place usually leads 

 to a knowledge of the factors involved which will enable 

 the worker so to control the reaction as to produce the 

 desired result. Oftentimes dissatisfaction wath a prod- 

 uct or a process initiates chemical research to ascertain 

 what is wrong and how to correct it. The effort to meet 

 a need very often leads to a research project. The 

 researcher realizes that some demand would exist for a 

 new product of certain characteristics. He designs it, 

 and then develops a process for its production. The 

 rapidity with which the market accepts the product is 

 a direct measure of the accuracy in evaluating the 

 situation. The desire to use a certain raw material is 

 another motive for undertaking research. Utilization 

 or prevention of a waste has become an increasingly 

 important motive. Increasing cost of some raw mate- 

 rials is a factor but even more important is the stricter 

 control of industrial operations in growing communi- 

 ties where the number of ordinary means of disposal 

 become smaller. Some wTiters and commentators even 

 place injunction proceedings and law suits in the list of 

 motivations for certain types of research programs in 

 industry. 



There are stiU other factors that exert an influence in 

 initiating research programs. There are those who are 

 just naturally in research; the chemical industry, for 

 example. Research is its outstanding characteristic. 

 There is a constant effort in the chemical industry in 

 particular to increase yields, to decrease and utilize 

 wastes, to improve products, to lower costs, to introduce 

 something new and useful upon the market, to manu- 

 facture and sell at lower prices and through increased 

 sales still further to reduce costs. All this involves 

 chemical research from start to finish. 



A forward-looking executive also employs research to 



