272 



National Resources Planning Board 



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 organi- 

 zation, 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 theoretical man, no success 

 can be expected unless he is willing to roll up his sleeves and get 

 his feet firmly planted on the ground. In fact, even if he has 

 highly qualified experimental assistants, he should not feel averse 

 to "getting down in the dirt." Secondhand information is 

 always of inferior quality * * * 



The mathematician not only is useful as an auxiliary to whom 

 the practical man can turn with special problems. A properly 

 trained mathematician, with a sufficiently broad vision, can be 

 very much more useful as an active participant in the industrial 

 problems. Due to his training in exact thinking he should be 

 better able to see through the maze of intricate details and 

 discover the fundamental problems involved. 



Number Employed 



The number of mathematicians employed in com- 

 munications, electrical manufacturing, petroleum, and 

 aircraft, is estimated at about 100. The number em- 

 ployed in other places is no doubt somewhat less, but it 

 is probably not an insignificant part of the whole, since 

 mathematicians are found here and there in some very 

 small industries. For example, the Brush Development 

 Company with a total engineering force of only 17, has 

 found it desirable to supplement this group with a man 

 hired specifically as a consultant in mathematics. 



It is perhaps not too wade of the mark to estimate the 

 total number at 150, not including actuaries and 

 statisticians. 



This number can be checked in another way. The 

 membership list of the American Mathematical Society 

 lists 202 men with industrial addresses. Of these, 102 

 are in financial and insurance firms and are presumably 

 statisticians. The remaining 100 names are those of 

 industrial employees with mathematical interests strong 

 enough to belong to an organization devoted exclusively 

 to the promotion of mathematical research. Some of 

 these are not mathematicians by the definition adopt- 

 ed in this report. On the other hand, there are 

 also 158 names for which only street addresses are 

 given, some of whom are known to be Industrial 

 mathematicians. Balancing these uncertainties against 

 one another, and remembering that many industrial 

 mathematicians find little profit in belonging to an 

 association devoted primarily to pure mathematics, 

 the estimate given above does not appear unreasonable. 



Future Demand 



The appraisal of future demand is even more specu- 

 lative than the estimation of present personnel. Two 



statements, however, seem warranted: (1) The demand 

 for mathematicians will never be comparable to that for 

 physicists, chemists or engineers. (2) It will certainly 

 increase beyond the number at present employed. 



The first statement is justified by the fact that physi- 

 cists, chemists, and other experimental workers deal 

 directly with the natural laws and natural resources 

 which it is the business of industry to exploit, whereas 

 mathematicians touch these things only in a secondary 

 way. 



The second statement would perhaps be granted on 

 the general ground that throughout the whole of in- 

 dustry research is becoming more complex and theo- 

 retical, and hence the value of consultants in general, 

 and of mathematical consultants in particular, must 

 increase. It is not necessary, however, to rely solely 

 on such general considerations. Direct evidence exists 

 in certain industries, notably aircraft,' where many of 

 the major research problems are generally recognized 

 to be more readily accessible to theoretical than experi- 

 mental study, and in certain others, such as industrial 

 chemistry,^ where one may reasonably assume that 

 modem molecular physics will soon begin to play an 

 important part in determining speeds of reaction. 

 There is also the general alertness of executives to the 

 dollar value of a theoretical framework in planning 

 expensive experunents and the gradually changing 

 attitude toward mathematics that stems from it. As 

 Dr. W. R. Burwell, chairman of the Brush Develop- 

 ment Company, writes: 



There is a definite trend toward a greater use of mathematics 

 in industry which is somewhat commensurate with the trend 

 toward the acceptance of research and development departments 

 as necessary adjuncts to successful businesses. It is becoming 

 more and more generally recognized that mathematics is not only 

 a necessary tool for all engineers, physicists and chemists who 

 make any pretense of going beyond strictly observational 

 methods and experimental solutions to their problems but that 

 it is also performing an important function as the recording me- 

 dium for those generalizations which lay the foundation for the 

 advances of scientific knowledge. * * * 



Even in an organization as small as ours, the use as a consultant 

 is really important and we are constantly having instances where 

 the mathematician because of his training is serving as an in- 

 terpreter of mathematical and physical theories, sometimes in- 

 fluencing the direction of experimental work and sometimes ehm- 

 inating the need for it. 



If, therefore, the estimate of 150 mathematicians in 

 industry at present is realistic, it may not be too wide 

 of the mark to forecast several times that number a 

 decade or so hence. 



Source of Supply 



Based on these estimates, a demand for new personnel 

 of the order of 10 a year may be predicted. This num- 

 ber sounds small; but if we reiterate that mediocrity 



' See pp. 285-266. 



'See pp. 284-285. 



