February 6, i 



NATURE 



4*7 



njade b} co-operatiyi efforl "I resourceful, energetic, 

 well-trained, but otherwise ordinary men. 



With the exception oi those actually an 

 directing research, the stafl should compri 

 tiveh young men and women capable ol distinguish- 

 ing cause from i H observe keenly, and pos- 

 sessing sound technical training, preferably ol uni- 

 iit) standard in the faculty pertaining to the 

 industry the} propose to enter, followed b} soma prac- 

 tical experience. Graduates who havi shown during 

 their university career that reasoning capacity, know- 

 ledge, uul skill in manipulation which com- 

 prise aptitudi foi research might proceed to .1 works 

 for a period ol practical training and then return to 

 the universit) for a post-graduate course in research 

 before entering the works organisation. Alternatively, 

 students may enter the works for practical experience 

 on concluding a post-graduate course, afterwards 

 being placed in the research department. 



In addition to serving as a nursery for research 

 workers, the laboratories should undertake part of the 



training of all those \oung men who in a large 

 isation an being trained for higher industrial 



positions, as, for instance, man} of those on the 

 designing, con rcial, and works management sides. 



In this way the industry bi mated with 



men having a keen appreciation of the value "I 

 In connection with the section 

 dealing with works processes, some of these men, 

 promoted possibl} from the trade apprentice course, 

 may ultimately be permanently employed. Others 

 would be transferred to the works, where they could 

 utilise t In i 1 experience in the direction of such pro- 

 cesses. 



In view of the limited supply of research workers, 

 it is essential thai the research department should 

 work in close contact with the educational portion ol 

 the organisation now becoming an essential feature in 

 industrial concerns, since the latter would control the 

 selection, training, and promotion of all grades of 



appr - Ever} possibli step should he' taken to 



1 lateni talent, and to provide opportunities foi 

 the acquisition of the necessary education and 

 experii 



The universities can only partialh complete the 

 training oi the stall required lor industrial research. 

 This may he illustrated by the procedure adopted at 

 the Mellon Institute of Industrial Research, Pitts- 

 burgh; which was founded for the express purpose of 

 conducting researches tor manufacturers, the work 

 being undertaken i>\ research fellows selected prin- 

 cipally from the universities. These men bo-operate 

 c lo-. h with the works concerned, and frequently 

 become absorbed into its staff a1 the conclusion of the 



rch. 



The staff of an industrial research organisation, 

 comprising sections as indicated above, will generallj 

 include .1 director, sectional heads, s> nior and junior 

 mi-, with possibly a number of individual re- 

 search men responsible to the director. The function 



.if the die* i,i) 1 all- fur special consideration. lie 



must .appreciate the possibilities of applying new 

 knowledge to industry to commercial advantage, and 

 I,, able emcientl) to direel specialised research workers, 

 avoiding aimless research having; no utilitarian objec- 

 tive. While he requites a wide scientific knowledge 

 able to follow intelligently and appreciate the 

 trend of scientific development, he musl have, in addi- 

 tion, considerable organising capacity, commercial 

 instinct, and a thorough knowledge or the manufac- 

 turing processes of this industry. He must have 

 sufficient breadth <>f view to be willing to emplov 

 expert assistance whenever occasion for this arises. 



Tlv sectional heads will, in general, be men of 



XO. 2571, VOL. 



I02] 



high scientih especiallj in their particular 



branch of scieno ■ and the senior Stafl should 



be in, n ol universit; It 1 ation and training. It is 

 essential that every position in the department should 

 be filled by the I,,-. ,,,-,,, |,,, the post, and 



the research --tali should bi considered to oiler the 

 most highly prized positions, unsuitable men being 

 transferred to other parts of the works organisation. 



usiofts. 



No hard-and-fast rule can be laid down as to the 



amount of money that should be ex] led on research. 



Ever} undertaking must be considered on its own 

 merits, and research expenditure based on tin economic 

 needs of the moment and the probable requirements 

 of the future. In many cases it is the impoverished 

 industry which stands in the greatest need of research. 

 Similarly, the small concern, though it may hoi be 

 able to afford expensive research facilities, can make 

 considerable use of those afforded by universities, 

 national institutions, and private or commercial 

 laboratories. Then, again, the wealthy firm or 

 prosperous industry can maintain an unassailable 

 position through improving by research its methods of 

 production, this being ultimately the only effective 

 method of securing monopolv. 



It is an economic error to assume that the best 

 method of increasing profits is, through trade com- 

 binations or other means of protection, to increase 

 the selling price. A much more logical method is to 

 bring about the difference between manufacturing cost 

 and selling price by reducing the cost of manufac- 

 ture, and it is in this connection that the possibilities 

 of research are unlimited. 



Apart from its value in assisting economic manu- 

 facture, the advertising' value of research should not 

 be overlooked. The knowledge that a manufacturing 

 firm employs scientific methods establishes in the 

 public mind a feeling of confidence in the firm's 

 products. Similarly; this may be a by no means 

 negligible factor in favourably inllut ncing investors. 



It is to be hoped that firms undertaking research 

 on a large scale will adopt a broad-minded policy in 

 regard to the publication of a great deal of the 

 results of their work. The tendency towards secrec} 

 on the part of most British firms has been weakened 

 to a considerable extent during war-time, when many 

 otherwise rival firms have been engaged upon similar 

 kinds of new work, in which each firm could benefit 

 by exchanging its experience with other firms engaged 

 in the same production. This exchange of experience 

 and information is of the greatest importance in 

 keeping all sections of an industry up ro date, and in 

 this way an industrv becomes much more potent in 

 international competition, and at the same time 

 individual firms through differences in organisation are 

 no less able to compile among themselves. Moreover, 

 the preparation of work' for publication and dis- 

 cussion is of great educational value to a research 

 worker. 



In staffing a research organisation, the highest 

 econont} is secured by obtaining the very best brains 

 in the various positions, and posts in the research 

 department should be looked upon as those 

 higlilv prize, I in an industrial organisation. 



ft is to be hoped that the great industrial organisa- 

 tions having well-established research facilities will 



extend their hospitality freely to those worker- in 



universities and elsewhere to conduct important in- 

 vestigations which they have leisure, but not equip- 

 ment, to undertake, and that considerable freedom of 

 interchange of ideas and experience with other research 

 organisations will be practised. 



