NA TURE 



489 



THURSDAY, DECEMBER 15, 1921. 



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The Research Department. 



THE sixth Report of the Committee for Scien- 

 tific and Industrial Research, ^ which was 

 recently issued, deals with a number of matters 

 of scientific importance. It seems but a short 

 time since the establishment of the Department, 

 described in the pages of Nature for May 20 and 

 July 29, 1915, or the deputation to Lord Crewe, 

 at which the promise of the million fund for the 

 endowment of industrial research was made, and 

 Sir J. J. Thomson pointed out the importance of 

 fostering research in pure science, which, as he 

 said, might lead to a revolution of methods, while 

 from industrial research we could only hope for 

 a reformation of details in method or procedure. 



The Report before us naturally falls into three 

 sections : (i) The report to his Majesty in Council 

 of the Committee of Council; (2) the report to the 

 Committee of Council of their Advisory Council; 

 (3) details of the work of the various research 

 boards and committees established under the 

 scheme, including a list of publications both of 

 the Department and of individuals in receipt of 

 grants. 



The Committee of Council, like the Board of 

 Trade, has a somewhat shadowy existence. The 

 only names which appear in the Report are those 

 of Mr. A. J. Balfour, the Lord President, and 



1 Report of the Committee of the Privy Council for Scientific and 

 Industrial Research for the Vear 1020-21. 



NO. 2720, VOL. 108] 



Sir Frank Heath, the secretary. A list of 

 the original Committee is given in the White 

 Papers issued by Mr. Arthur Henderson when 

 President of the Board of Education in 191 5 

 (Nature, vol. 95, p. 604). Since that date the 

 direct connection between the Committee and the 

 Board of Education has been severed. 



The Report to his Majesty is naturally a some- 

 what formal document ; it gives details of the ex- 

 penditure in various directions — e.g. there are 

 now twenty-six research associations, and the 

 total expenditure in grants to these was 

 74,557!. 15. 2d. ; the balance of the million fund 

 unexpended at March 31 was 903,205!. 85. lod. , 

 but it is stated that "of this sum a large per- 

 centage has already been earmarked for prospec- 

 tive commitments to associations already formed." 

 In view of the financial stringency, it was ar- 

 ranged last year that a considerable portion of the 

 income from this fund should be appropriated in 

 aid of the vote of the Department. The amount 

 so utilised was about 38,000/. This is an arrange- 

 ment which, in present circumstances, may be 

 necessary, but is not desirable. 



Turning now to (2), the Report of the Advisory 

 Council, it is of interest to repeat from the 

 White Paper already quoted the primary func- 

 tions of the Council. They are to advise the 

 Committee of Council on : 



(i) Proposals for instituting specific researches. 



(ii) Proposals for establishing or developing 

 special institutions or departments of existing 

 institutions for the scientific study of problems 

 affecting particular industries and trades. 



(iii) The establishment and award of research 

 studentships and fellowships. 



To these must be added another important 

 matter, outlined in last year's Report, which 

 has taken effect during the year under review, 

 viz. the establishment of co-ordinating boards to 

 organise work which is of common interest to the 

 fighting Services of the Crown. In addition to 

 co-ordinating the work in the various Depart- 

 ments, it is the duty of the boards "to arrange for 

 researches for which inadequate provision is 

 made." 



Four boards have been appointed to deal re- 

 spectively with chemistry research, engineering 

 research, physics research, and radio research. 

 They comprise representatives of the Services and 

 independent men of science, and an interesting 

 account is given of their work, "which, up to the 

 present, has been that of preparation rather than 



