SECTION G.— ENGINEERING. 



THE CHANGING OUTLOOK OF 

 ENGINEERING SCIENCE 



ADDRESS BY 



PROF. R. V. SOUTHWELL, F.R.S. 



PRESIDENT OF THE SECTION. 



I . By custom Section G, in conferring the high honour of its presidency, 

 turns alternately to the practising and to the academic sides of the engineer- 

 ing profession. I suspect that the practical man has less trouble in pre- 

 paring a presidential address, for his work has wide appeal. By contrast 

 few are interested in teaching or in specialised research, and consulting 

 reports of recent meetings I have not been surprised to find that academic 

 presidents, for the most part, have either dealt with semi-political matters 

 like the state of patent law, or given reviews of progress in particular 

 fields of engineering. 



Seeking a theme for my own address this morning, I resolved to find 

 if possible some topic that concerns us all ; and one topic I thought might 

 usefully engage our attention, which past presidents seem to have left 

 alone. We have had discussions of particular problems — the organisation 

 of applied research, the training of recruits for industry ; but in no year 

 since the war have we attempted a general stock-taking — to view the trend 

 of engineering science regarded both practically and academically, both as 

 an art and as a field for study, teaching and research. And meanwhile 

 all the circumstances which should influence our policy — the trend of 

 modern physics, the attitude of industry towards the university graduate, 

 the nation's organisation for applied research — have altered profoundly. 

 Is not the time appropriate for an attempt to bring them under review, 

 seeking now to foresee and plan for changes that are inevitable, rather 

 than wait for action to be forced on us by pressure from without .'' 



Here then is the reason for the title of my address. The outlook of 

 engineering science is changing, as I believe, for reasons which for the 

 most part are beyond our control ; and it is changing fast. ■ From day to 

 day, absorbed in immediate duties, we may not be conscious of the change : 

 it is not fast enough for that. But now and again (and a meeting such as 

 this affords a convenient opportunity) we ought as I think to step back 

 and take a wider view. The trend of engineering concerns us all, and the 

 policy to be adopted in the face of changing circumstances. Neither can 

 we, whose profession is teaching, aff'ord to disregard changing conditions 

 in industry, nor can you, because your work is practical, afford to be 

 unconcerned in the state of engineering schools where now the men are 



