358 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. LI. No. 1319 



to practise it, the student is best taught to 

 salve industrial problems by having him at- 

 tempt the solution of such problems under able 

 and experienced guidance. These problems, 

 however, have their origin in, and owe their 

 existence to, the industries themselves. The 

 first point of cooperative contact, therefore, in 

 this arrangement between industry and the 

 Institute of Technology is that the institute 

 agrees to use, so far as it can, such problems 

 as the industry will submit to it as basic ma- 

 terial for its research work for those graduate 

 students interested in industrial development; 

 to give men already well grounded in science 

 the benefit of the opportunity of working under 

 experienced instructors upon the type of work 

 for w'hich they are urgently required. It is 

 true also that much investigation in "pure 

 science" can be conducted as profitably in 

 fields of research which are closely akin to in- 

 dustry as in those realms of science far remote 

 from general interest. This does not mean that 

 the search for knowledge for its own sake will 

 not continue to subtend a large arc of the ac- 

 tivities of the Institute of Technology; but 

 rather that such search will be activated and 

 inspired by the realization that the hard work 

 involved and the results obtained are recog- 

 nized as an essential part of a comprehensive 

 whole. Hence, the institute agrees in its con- 

 tract to maintain a steady stream of trained 

 men constantly flowing into industry with the 

 best preparation for scientific work which it is 

 possible for it to give. At the same time, the 

 results of the research work thus obtained will 

 swell the store of knowledge on which the sci- 

 entific progress of the community, as a whole, 

 depends. 



But a corollary of this duty of preparing 

 educated men is the duty to see that, as far as 

 possible, these men take positions for which 

 their natural ability and aptitude most nearly 

 fit them. Further, it is desirable that, as these 

 men develop into specialists in any particular 

 field, their sphere of usefulness be made wide 

 as is practicable. Hence the institute under- 

 takes to maintain a record of the qualifications, 

 experience and special knowledge of its 

 alimmi; to advise the contractor where such 



knowledge and experience as it seeks is avail- 

 able; to assist the contractor to obtain the 

 technical help he requires, whether from its 

 own alumni, or from available engineers else- 

 where. While this service has been rendered 

 to some degree in the past, it has been a minor 

 part of, and incidental to, other activities. It 

 will now become a contractual obligation. 



Coincident with the education of scientific 

 men, there exists the necessity of educating 

 the executives of the industries in the great 

 economic value of science when applied to the 

 business of their organizations. The sporadic 

 "Yankee genius" of the past, productive 

 though it was, must be replaced by the meth- 

 ods of scientific research. Genius must be pro- 

 vided with that most efficient tool yet produced 

 — scientific method. While it is true that the 

 world will ever need more knowledge, the press- 

 ing duty of industry for the present is to apply 

 the knowledge now available. To meet this 

 situation, the institute provides for conferences 

 with members of its staff, not only in its own 

 building but also at the factories of the con- 

 tractor. It is hoped that the contractor will be 

 so imbued with the possible benefits to be de- 

 rived by the application of science that he will 

 avail himself of one of the sources of technical 

 aid readily accessible, not only at the institute, 

 but among consulting engineers and industrial 

 scientists throughout the country. A realiza- 

 tion of that close cooperation between the in- 

 dustrial interests and the educational institu- 

 tions of the country, which in Germany was 

 made so effective by the domination of both 

 by the state, can, in America, be brought 

 about only by a voluntary personal relation- 

 ship between the executives of the companies 

 and the instructing staffs of the institutions. 

 The Technology Plan alms to make this rela- 

 tionship more easily possible; to provide a 

 point of contact between the two interests; to 

 open a channel of communication through 

 which the manufacturer and the technical con- 

 sultant can more easily meet. The contractor 

 can obtain the value of his retainer only by 

 utilizing the facilities thus made available. 

 There will, therefore, be present in the Tech- 

 nology Plan this incentive, to at least try. 



