'62 MARINE SCIENCE 



eflforts in oceanography. We need more research ships, more shore- 

 based laboratories, more instruments, and more men. We are not at 

 the present time squarely meeting practical oceanographic problems 

 that we need to solve in order to make our defenses more secure and 

 our harvest from the sea more rewarding. Along with these prac- 

 tical studies, we must stimulate broad and imaginative basic research, 

 without which the science will grow sterile, thereby gradually weak- 

 ening the vigor of our attack on all oceanographic problems, practical 

 or otherwise. 



An increase in oceanographic effort must be geared to our ability 

 to attract young people of high intellectual quality and to train them 

 to a high level of competence in oceanography. To lower our stand- 

 ards in order to produce oceanographers on a crash program basis 

 would be a sheer waste of time and money. Our committee felt that 

 a reasonable rate of growth would permit a doubling of the oceano- 

 graphic population in the next 10 years. We are not talking about 

 a large number of people. This would mean turning out about 40 

 Ph. D.'s per year, which is about double the current output, and 

 about 80 people with lesser training at the master's and bachelor's 

 level. 



Having said this much by way of introduction, I would like to 

 take up the various training problems individually for brief 

 discussion. 



First, how are we going to attract the kind of men that Ave want ? 



The most important thing here is simply to create an awareness 

 that this is an important field in which there is a shortage of good 

 men. The country is now well on the way toward such an awareness, 

 for this year oceanography has had more good publicity than ever 

 before. I believe it is no coincidence that this year for the first time 

 my laboratory had more good applicants for graduate training than 

 we had room for. 



In the second place, although oceanographic training is mainly 

 done at the graduate level, it would be desirable for more colleges and 

 universities to have at least one good undergraduate course in the 

 subject. This would broaden the students' background and Avould 

 help young men to decide whether an oceanographic career seems ap- 

 pealing. Equally important, they would be able to get advice about 

 the undergraduate courses that are needed in preparation for the 

 profession. One might go a step further and say that some oceanog 

 raphic teaching should trickle down to the public school level. 



If a man wants to take a master's or doctor's degree in oceanography, 

 he is generally advised to do most of his undergraduate work in the 

 basic disciplines — physics, biology, and so forth — majoring in one of 

 his choice and taking as many other science courses as his schedule 

 permits. Most of his oceanographic training is reserved for graduate 

 school. Even in the latter there is likely to be fairly intensive study 

 of basic disciplines. Some universities have departments of oceanog- 

 raphy and grant degrees in the subject. Others give a degree in a 

 basic science and simply add a few courses and thesis supervision in 

 oceanography. It is an arguable point as to which kind of training is 

 better. The fact is that both kinds are useful in an oceanographic 

 laboratory, and each complements the other. 



There are several reasons why the support of graduate students in 

 oceanography is more difficult than in the basic disciplines. 



