253 



Finally, engineers apply basic fticientific knowledge to the couiniercial exploita- 

 tion of the ocean and. its resources, ranging over a wide tield, including trau.six>r- 

 tation, mining, fishing, and naval systems and hardware. This is the role of 

 industry. 



Basic science is primarily, though not exclusively, the function of educational 

 research institutions. It is neces.sary in the present context to distinguish between 

 the basic scientific disciplines themselves and their coordination in the inter- 

 disciplinary field of oceanography, since the objectives and logistics are far apart, 

 although there is obviously some degree of overlap. The oceanographic scientist 

 applies one or more disciplines to the study of the energy and material transfor- 

 mations and translations taking part in the oceans, and across its boundaries and 

 interfaces, including the living membranes of the biological systems within the 

 ocean. In doing so he uses seagoing facilities which may add many times to the 

 cost of research. On the other hand, the scientist working in the basic biological 

 disciplines, for instance, unconcerned with the ocean itself, may yet use a marine 

 animal to study nerve or mu.sclt> function, merely because it is a convenient ani- 

 mal for experiment. Similarly the geologist may well look to the sea for informa- 

 tion which will help elucidate the nature of the continental .sediments. Their use 

 of specialized oceanographic shore and seagoing facilities is minimal and their 

 contribution to our knowledge of the oceans relatively slight, no matter how 

 great their contributions to the basic disciplines themselves. 



3. The Role of the Academic Institutions 



The task which academic institutions are called upon to undertake in the de- 

 velopment of a major national goal, such as the development of marine resources 

 and technology, includes both teaching and research. These institutions are the 

 primary source of trained scientists and engineers, and are therefore an essen- 

 tial foundation to the entire pyramid at the top of which lie industrial utilization 

 and exploitation and in the mid portion of which lie the government agencies. 



The roles of the academic institutes are not confined to basic scientific research 

 and training. It is ecpially necessary to the development of ocean resources and 

 technology that the academic institutions continue to play their role of training 

 engineers. For this purpose it is necessary to develop new curricula and depart- 

 ments which adapt existing engineering training to the technical peculiarities of 

 work in the sea, and to find sources of sujiport for this. 



A further role in education, the importance of which is often overlooked, is in 

 the training of scientific personnel to staff the government agencies. This should 

 not be identical with the training of scientists for basic research since, although 

 the techniques may be to a great extent similar, the motives and oJbjecives of 

 the government scientist should be predominantly pragmatic rather than philo- 

 sophical in order that the mission of the agency may be satisfactorily 

 accomplished. 



Clearly, in undertaking the graduate training of ocean engineers and govern- 

 ment mission-oriented scientists it is also a vital function of the institutions to 

 provide opportunities for engineering and applied or mission-directed graduate 

 research in their laboratories. 



In trying to foresee the future development of ocean resources and technology, 

 we have no reliable basis for planning other than the examples set by the nuclear 

 and the space field. 



We realize that, initially, in developing a marine technology program, the em- 

 phasis will be upon applied science and engineering. The fraction of effort meas- 

 ured in dollars, devoted to basic research and teaching, should be a small but 

 reasonable fraction of the total national budget devoted to oceanic programs. 

 This fraction might be something of the order of 15 percent, if we can depend on 

 previous examples at all. However, this is the most important fraction, particu- 

 larly in the initial years, because the field can only grow in a sound and useful 

 way if the skeleton cadres of trained oceanographers and ocean engineers are 

 available at each stage of the development to supply the needs. By counter ex- 

 ample we have the national nuclear effort that started shortly after the war. It 

 was perhaps one of the most successful efforts of its kind. The staffing problem 

 was, however, relatively easy. There were approximately 3,000 physicists avail- 

 able at the time and solid state research was just in its post-war begininngs. This 

 meant that this relatively large pool of physicists was available for the develop- 

 ing science and industry. In addition, there was almost an order of magnitude 

 greater number of chemists to add to the pool of trained manpower for helping 



