July 18, 1919] 



SCIENCE 



59 



The efforts of each section were so directed 

 as to be of the greatest service in the solving 

 of the problems of greatest immediate need 

 to winning the war; each has to its credit im- 

 portant achievements during the war period.^ 



Reorganization of the engineering division 

 on a peace basis has now been fully accom- 

 plished. The division consists of three repre- 

 sentatives of each of the four founder engi- 

 neering societies. The societies so represented 

 being the American Society of Mechanical 

 Engineers, the American Institute of Elec- 

 trical Engineers, the American Institute of 

 Mining Engineers, and the American Society 

 of Civil Engineers ; further there is one repre- 

 sentative each from the four more important 

 non-founder societies. The societies so repre- 

 sented being the American Society for Test- 

 ing Materials, the American Society of Il- 

 luminating Engineers, the Western Society of 

 Engineers, and the Society of Automotive 

 Engineers. In addition to the representatives 

 of the engineering societies there are twelve 

 members at large, making a total membership 

 ia the division of twenty-eight. The paid 

 officers of the division are a chairman and a 

 vice-chairman. 



The work of the engineering division has 

 gone steadily forward during the reorganiza- 

 tion period and to such an extent that the 

 newly organized division is now performing 

 all its functions and begins its career, a going 

 concern. 



A plan of close affiliation of the division 

 with the engineering foundation has recently 

 been approved by the members of the 

 foundation and the executive board of the 

 National Research Council. By the terms of 

 this agreement the engineering foundation 

 will provide the engineering division an office 

 in the Engineering Societies Building at New 

 York, together with most of the necessary 

 clerical force; further they will make ap- 

 propriations from time to time of their funds 

 to aid specific undertakings of the division. 

 The location of the engineering division at 

 this center of engineering activity and the 



2 See Report of the Academy of Sciences for the 

 Yeai 1918. 



close affiliation with the engineering founda- 

 tion will be important contributing factors to 

 the future development of the division. 



At present the division is working largely 

 through the medium of committees. It is 

 common knowledge that it is easy to form 

 committees, but difficult to get them to fimc- 

 tion properly. Very careful consideration has 

 been given the problem of organizing the re- 

 search committees of the engineering division. 

 We have found that given an energetic chair- 

 man, who is master of his subject and who in- 

 spires confidence, an active group within the 

 comittee to perform the necessary researches, 

 a still wider group who may not have time 

 to devote to research but who through breadth 

 of experience are particularly well qualified to 

 act in an advisory capacity, and last but not 

 least the necessary funds, and important re- 

 sults are sure to follow. 



Time will not permit of going into the work 

 of the committees in detail. The work so far 

 undertaken covers the fields of metallurgy, 

 electrical engineering, mechanical engineering 

 and to a less extent civil engineering. 



The engineering division now has some 

 fourteen committees at work upon various 

 problems. At present fourteen states, extend- 

 ing from the Atlantic to the Pacific are repre- 

 sented and the number is rapidly increasing. 

 Men connected with educational institutions, 

 the military and civilian bureaus of the gov- 

 ernment and large manufacturing concerns 

 are willing and even eager to serve upon these 

 committees; in fact appointment to one of 

 them is regarded as an honor. 



The principal work of the engineering 

 division is to stimulate and coordinate re- 

 search. It is not to be regarded as an in- 

 strument of research, but rather as a stimu- 

 lator and director of other instrumentalities 

 of research which are brought together 

 through the medium of committees. In sug- 

 gesting, planning, and organizing researches 

 which other agencies carry out, it performs a 

 valuable and unique service. It arouses in- 

 terest where it did not previously exist, brings 

 together agencies none of which for various 

 reasons were able to do the whole of a research. 



