26 SECTIONAL ADDRESSES. 
CAREERS FOR RESEARCH WORKERS. 
I now come to the subject of the careers open to men who have had 
a training in research. Sixty years ago the only posts open to these were 
teaching posts in the few physical laboratories then in existence. The 
number of such posts increased very rapidly towards the end of the last 
century, as did also the demand for science masters for the schools ; but 
until then and indeed for some time after it may be said that roughly 
speaking the only posts open to research workers were posts associated 
with teaching. At the beginning of this century, however, the importance 
of research to our industries began to be realised. The most striking 
instance of this is the establishment, in 1901, of the National Physical 
Laboratory for research both in pure science and in subjects which have 
an immediate application to industry. The growth of this under Sir 
Richard Glazebrook and Sir Joseph Petavel has been phenomenal, there 
are now about 160 research workers employed in the laboratory and the 
Budget has increased twenty-fold. Other methods of linking up Science 
with industry are also being employed in this country. Probably the most 
efficient is for a firm to have its own laboratory where its own problems 
can be investigated, in this case the inducements for success are greatest 
and knowledge of the technique and processes involved most accessible. 
There are several such laboratories, each with a large staff in this 
country. They are, however, so expensive as to be beyond the reach of 
any but very large firms. To extend the benefit of research to the 
industries generally, the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research 
was started by the Government in 1915. At the instigation and with the 
aid of grants from the Department, the members of various industries 
have combined and formed Research Associations with laboratories 
suitably equipped for research in matters relating to the particular industry. 
There are now more than twenty of these Associations. They have had to 
contend with many difficulties, at first there was plenty of money but no 
well-trained men, now there are plenty of men but no money. There are, 
however, good reasons for thinking that in spite of these difficulties the 
financial gain to the industries has far exceeded the expenses of the 
laboratories. In addition to granting aid to these Associations, the 
Department has established Boards for research in matters which concern 
all industries. There is the Fuel Research Board which deals with 
problems vital to the country on the production of power from coal 
and other fuels, there is a Food Research Board for research on the 
storage and transport of food, there are Boards for Building, Forest 
Products, Radio and Chemical Research. All these have laboratories 
and stafis of research workers, as have also the Research Departments of 
the Army, Navy and Air Services. 
I have tried to find how many workers are employed in these applica- 
tions of Science to industry, but have not been able to get any estimate 
which would be of any value; one great difficulty is to draw the line 
between posts which seem adequate for those who have gone through a 
long and expensive training in research and those which do not. One 
thing, however, can be said, that the demand we have had in Cambridge 
for workers trained in research has, until this year of acute and long- 
continued depression, exceeded the supply ; and although it is possible 
