NA TURE 



[September 16, 1922 



done by the experimenter, and a somewhat elaborate 

 system of records has to be devised. It should be 

 possible, twenty years after the work has been done, 

 to quote the reasons which led to the initiation of each 

 experiment, and to trace the source and history of each 

 specimen analysed, or upon which standard physical 

 constants have been determined. I need not enter 

 into detail in this connexion beyond stating that, 

 although a system which secures these objects has for 

 many years been adopted in St. Andrews, constant 

 effort is required to maintain the standard. 



One of the greatest anxieties of the research super- 

 visor is. however, the avoidance of extravagance and 

 waste. The student is sometimes inclined to assume 

 a lordly attitude and to regard such matters as the 

 systematic recovery of solvents beneath his notice. 

 My view is that, as a matter of discipline as much as in 

 the interests of economy, extravagant working should 

 not be tolerated. There is naturally an economic limit 

 where the time spent in such economics exceeds in 

 value the materials saved, and a correct balance must 

 be adjusted. It is often instructive to lay before a 

 research worker an estimate of the cost of an investiga- 

 tion in which these factors of time and material are 

 taken into account. As a general rule it will be found 

 that the saving of material is of greater moment than 

 the loss of time. The point may not be vitally im- 

 portant in the academic laboratory, but in the factory, 

 to which most of these workers eventually migrate, 

 they will soon have the lesson thrust upon them that 

 their time and salary bear a small proportion to costs 

 of production. 



You will see I have changed my warning from the 

 professor to the student. A student generation is 

 short. In a few years, when almost as a matter of 

 course the best of young chemists will qualify for the 

 Doctor of Philosophy degree, it will be forgotten that 

 these facilities have come to us, not as a right, but as 

 a privilege. Those who reap the advantages of these 

 privileges must prove that the efforts made on their 

 behalf have been worth while. 



Looking at the position broadly, if one may criticise 

 the research schemes of to-day, it is in the sense that 

 the main bulk of support is afforded to the research 

 apprentice, and the situation has become infinitely 

 harder for the supervisor in that new and onerous 

 tasks are imposed upon him. To expect him to under- 

 take his normal duties and, as a voluntary act, the 

 additional burden of research training is to force him 

 into the devastation of late hours and overwork. The 

 question is at once raised — Are we using our mature 

 research material to the best advantage, and is our 

 policy sufficiently focussed on the requirements of the 

 experienced investigator ? I think it will generally 

 be agreed that members of the professor or lecturer 

 class who join in the movement must be relieved in 

 great measure of teaching and administrative work. 

 I am decidedly of the opinion that the research super- 

 visor must be a teacher, and must mingle freely with 

 undergraduates, so as to recognise at the earliest 

 possible stage the potential investigators of the future 

 and guide their studies. To meet this necessity 

 universities and colleges must realise that their curri- 

 culum has been extended and that staffs must be 



NO. 2759, VOL. I IO] 



enlarged accordingly. There could then be definite 

 periods of freedom from official duties for those who 

 undertake research training as an added task. Oppor- 

 tunities must also be given to these " exceptional 

 men " to travel occasionally to other centres and refresh 

 themselves in the company of kindred workers. It is 

 evident that our universities are called upon to share 

 the financial burden involved in a national research 

 scheme to a much greater extent than possiblv they 

 know. 



I may perhaps summarise some of the conclusions 

 reached in thinking over these questions. The first 

 and most important is that in each institution there 

 should be a Board or Standing Committee entrusted 

 with the supervision of research. The functions of such 

 a body would be widely varied and would include : — 



1. The allocation of money voted specifically from 

 university or college funds for research expenses. 



2. The power to recommend additions to the teaching 

 staff in departments actively engaged in research. 



3. The recommendation of promotions on the basis 

 of research achievement. 



4. The supervision of regulations governing higher 

 degrees. 



Among the more specific problems which confront 

 this Board are the following : — 



1. The creation of research libraries where reference 

 works can be consulted immediately. 



2. The provision of publication grants, so that where 

 no periodical literature is available the work will not 

 remain buried or obscure. 



3. The allocation of travelling grants to enable 

 workers to visit libraries, to inspect manufacturing 

 processes, and to attend the meetings of scientific 

 societies. 



There is one thing which a Research Board should 

 avoid. It is, I am convinced, a mistake for a governing 

 body to call for an annual list of publications from 

 research laboratories. Nothing could be more injurious 

 to the true atmosphere of research than the feeling of 

 pressure that papers must be published or the Depart- 

 ment will be discredited. 



What I have said so far may seem largely a recital 

 of new difficulties, but they are not insurmountable, 

 and to overcome them adds a zest to life. It would 

 have taken too long to go more fully into details, and 

 I have tried to avoid making my address a research 

 syllabus, merelv giving in general terms the impressions 

 gained during the twenty years in which the St. 

 Andrews Research Laboratories have been in existence. 



I have confined myself to the first stage in the re- 

 search development of the chemist. His future path 

 may lead him either to the factory or to the lecture- 

 room, and in the end the exceptional man will be found 

 111 tin' director's laboratory or in the professor's chair. 

 However difficult these roads may prove, I feel that 

 with the financial aid now available, supported by the 

 self-sacrificing labours of those who devote themselves 

 to furthering this work, he has the opportunity to 

 reach the goal. It is the beginning of a new scientific 

 age, and we may look forward confidently to the time 

 when there will be no lack of trained scientific intellects 

 to lead our policy and direct our efforts in all that 

 concerns the welfare of the country. 



