March 4, 1909J 



NA TURE 



25 



quick changes which occur in this industry he may any 

 day find himself developing the kind of experience which 

 linally becomes a real asset. 



from the chemical manufacturer I fear there is not 

 mucli to be hoped for in the provision of practical experi- 

 ence for our students, but fortunately there is much valu- 

 able experience for the young chemist to be obtained out- 

 side the chemical works. For him, as for the young 

 engineer, the various departments of municipal enterprise 

 ought to be made available. There is no finer school for 

 the chemical technologist than the gas works which are 

 ;o be found in every city. In these works the problems 

 of fuel combustion and utilisation can be practically studied, 

 and, in addition, destructive distillation, the handling and 

 purification of gases, and the recovery and separation of 

 by-products. The gas industry is still overflowing with 

 interesting problems, and at the present time various 

 revolutionary changes are looming ahead at no great 

 distance. The gas manager who does not wish to be left 

 behind in the race would do well to organise an experi- 

 mental department, and to call to his assistance a staff 

 of intelligent young men from our colleges. It may safely 

 be said that there are very few chemical works which 

 could afford so e.xcellent a training ground for the chemist 

 as the gijs works might supply. 



In what has gone before it cannot be said that the 

 importance of the practical and professional sides of our 

 <'ducational functions has been minimised; I may there- 

 fore without fear of misunderstanding on this point seek 

 10 spend the short time which remains in putting before 

 you certain views on the place which pioneer work in 

 science and technology may occupy in our colleges. 



Tt has been seriously suggested in certain quarters that 

 the technical colleges should limit their functions to the 

 lr:iining of students and craftsmen in the more obviously 

 ulilitarian applications of science, and should leave to the 

 universities the cultivation of the higher developments of 

 science. I think you will agree with me that this sug- 

 gestion is altogether wrong. It is based on a most in- 

 adequate conception of what the mutual relations of science 

 and industry ought to be. The heavy emphasis which I 

 have laid on the practical and professional aspects of our 

 work was designed to prepare the way for an equally 

 strong insistence on the still higher functions which are 

 involved in our intimate relations with scientific industry. 

 Our purpose may be single, but it cannot be narrow and 

 restricted, for in its final expression it involves nothing 

 less than this, that our colleges must become, not only 

 centres of light and leading, but also makers of new 

 knowledge. I have spoken of the necessity for the creation 

 in our colleges of an atmosphere of practicality, but we 

 must now, in addition to this, consider the creation of a 

 yet rarer atmosphere of intellectual enterprise and inquiry. 

 These two atmospheres are not incompatible ; on the con- 

 trary, they ought to stand to each other as complement 

 and supplement in the circle of our educational functions. 



In the large number of students who are passing 

 through our hands we have at our disposal an almost 

 ideal gathering ground for the brightest and most intelli- 

 irent young men from the middle and industrial classes. 

 During their training we have the opportun'ty of subject- 

 ing them to a sifting process, by which they may be 

 broadly separated into classes according to their different 

 kinds and degrees of ability. During this process of sift- 

 ing it would be surprising if we did not find a few men 

 who are capable of developing into enthusiastic pioneers, 

 a proportion of whom ought ultimately to find their way 

 to the front as real leaders in science and industry. Clearly 

 it is our duty to provide for these men an environment 

 in which they may breathe the vitalising air of intellectual 

 inquiry and enterprise. If we turn this duty round to 

 its other side, we shall see that it is one and the same 

 as our duty to industry, and therefore to the community, 

 for every man whom we can find and inspire in' this way 

 will become a substantial asset to the nation as well as 

 to industry. 



I do not put forward the plea that research is a neces- 

 sary and desirable element in the training of all students, 

 for T am still unconvinced on this ooint. Indeed, I am 

 under the impression that manv of the less successful 

 students and graduates in ecVrvep whom I have met have 

 NO. 2053, VOL. 80] 



been .seriously injured through having been encouraged in 

 the idea that the cultivation of original research is the 

 duty of every student of science. The real pioneering work 

 will never be done by mediocre men. My claim for the 

 recognition and cultivation of pioneering ability is not 

 made in the interest of students at large, but for the sake 

 of the men of exceptional capacity in this respect. 



When we turn to the relations of our professors and 

 teaching staff to this question we are faced by considera- 

 tions which compel us to look very closely into our whole 

 scheme of work in its true proportions and perspective. 

 .As we have seen, the duty which bulks most largely is 

 that of providing an adequate technical or professional 

 training for a large number of average young men. These 

 large numbers cannot be adequately dealt with unless the 

 teaching is organised and carried out on the most business- 

 like lines. This practical side of the question naturally 

 bulks largely in the minds of the heads of our colleges, 

 and we need not, therefore, be surprised that one of the 

 qualities in the teachers which is most appreciated is the 

 capacitv for businesslike organisation. 



It is fortunate that the combination of these businesslike 

 qualities with high attainments in science is not more 

 rare than it is, so that in our colleges we do find brilliant 

 examples of this combination. Where this is the case the 

 problem of the creation of an atmosphere of inquiry and 

 research is much simplified. It is only necessary that we 

 should ensure, for the men who can use it, a sufficiency 

 of leisure and opportunity for the prosecution of original 

 work. It is to be desired, however, that there should be 

 some recognised organisation within the college for so 

 dealing with the distribution of the routine duties of teach- 

 ing and examination that this leisure may be obtained in 

 a normal and regular wav. 



The problem of creating the proper atmosphere becomes 

 more difficult if the regular staff does not comprise within 

 itself men who, by natural endowment and training, are 

 fitted to inspire and to organise the work of a body of 

 research students. So far as I know, few, if any, of our 

 institutions are vet in a position to add to their staff and 

 equipment solely' with the object of fostering pioneer work. 

 Yet it occurs to me that this is a direction in which we 

 shall have to move ere long, and the sooner we begin to 

 familiarise our governing bodies with the idea, the better 

 it will be for all concerned. 



Returning, however, to the case of those institutions 

 which already have on their staff men with the necessary 

 endowments, we mav consider the further needs of the 

 students, of those who have been selected for their special 

 capabilities. While mere pecuniary inducements are in 

 themselves the most unsatisfactory means for the stimula- 

 tion of the right kind of origin.il work, yet it must be 

 recognised that pecuniarv considerations are likely to bulk 

 considerably in the minds of the majority of the students 

 with whom' we have to deal. It must be assumed, I think, 

 that the pursuit of research work in any serious sense can 

 only he taken up after the ordinary curriculum has been 

 cornpleted. This means that the 'selected students must 

 continue their association with the college as reseat|ch 

 students. It would therefore be necessary to provide 

 scholarships of sufficient value to compensate them for 

 the postponement of their entry into the ranks of the paid 

 workers in industry. In some institutions a beginning 

 has already been made in this direction, and as these 

 experiments grow in magnitude and success we look for- 

 ward to a wider recognition of the benefit to all con- 

 cerned. 



On the financial side of this question 1 am tempted to 

 detain vou by a verv brief digression. In seeking for 

 financial help' for schemes of this kind we may find it 

 of advantage to disabuse the mind of the " generous 

 donor " of the idea that the only way in which he can 

 help is bv endowing our schemes by large grants of capital. 

 Endowments of this kind are invaluable in certain direc- 

 tions, but there are schemes of a more tentative kind for 

 which all that is required is a guarantee of the expenditure 

 for a very few years. For example, our first research 

 student can start to work so soon as a donor can be found 

 who will guarantee the income of the student for one. 

 two. or three vears. The donor might thus provide too/, 

 a vear for three vears at a total cost of 300/. Whereas, 



