508 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. LIV. No. 1404. 



ity who have no relish for becoming charity 

 patients can obtain the medical attention they 

 require at prices that are not prohibitive. 

 There is a growing sentiment, both in the med- 

 ical profession and out of it, in favor of work- 

 ing out a solution of this problem, and we are 

 perhaps justified in looking forward to a more 

 effective and satisfactory regime in the years to 

 come. S. J. Holmes 



University of California 



THE RELATION OF THE TECHNICAL 



SCHOOL TO INDUSTRIAL 



RESEARCH i 



Research is earnest, purposeful, persistent, 

 intelligently directed effort to gain new 

 knowledge of a selected subject. The spirit 

 of research is devotion to truth and insistent 

 longing for better understanding. 



Industrial research is research done for in- 

 dustry. It may be: 



1. In fundamental sciences, or 



2. In applications of sciences. 



It is difficult to set limits for the second 

 class, distinguishing research from experi- 

 mental development of processes, methods or 

 equipment. 



In the main, the environment of an in- 

 dustrial establishment is not congenial to 

 fundamental research in the sciences. Fur- 

 thermore, the connection between funda- 

 mental research and the business of a given 

 establishment commonly is so attenuated 

 that it is difficult for boards of directors to 

 see justification for expenditure of stock- 

 holders' money for such research. Funda- 

 mental research, having less immediate con- 

 nection with commercial profits, there is 

 much less incentive for its control or for 

 secrecy with respect to its results, in the 

 interest of one establishment or group. 

 Hence, fundamental research is especially 

 suitable for those technical schools which can 

 afford research departments. Then, too, such 

 research lies close to the recorded knowledge 



1 A paper presented to the Conference on Engi- 

 neering and Industry in connection with the inaugu- 

 ration of President John Martin Thomas, Pennsyl- 

 vania State College, October 13, 1921. 



and the theory with which the student has 

 been familiarizing himself in his courses of 

 study. It is a rare undergraduate, however, 

 who will be competent for more than an as- 

 sistant's part in research. 



Industrial research in technology, or ap- 

 plied science, demands practical experience 

 in the industry as a preparation for success- 

 ful work. Indeed, it can not be done without 

 knowledge of the particular industry. It 

 often requires equipment or facilities of a 

 kind or magnitude which can not be provided 

 in technical schools. Only for limited prob- 

 lems, or under special arrangements, there- 

 fore, will this class of research properly be 

 undertaken within a school. Students and 

 faculty members may, however, participate in 

 such research within an industrial plant 

 under suitable conditions. Such direct con- 

 nections with industry are stimulating to 

 both teachers and students, and help to create 

 a spirit of mutual appreciation between in- 

 dustries and schools. 



The fields of research in which industry 

 is concerned must not be too narrowly con- 

 ceived by the schools. These fields are not 

 limited to physics and chemistry, but include 

 all the mathematical, physical and biological 

 sciences, economics, and, not least, though 

 mentioned last, those branches of inquiry 

 which relate to men and women in industry, 

 comprised in the term " personnel." To ad- 

 vance such studies, there has been established 

 by the joint efforts of National Eesearch 

 Council and Engineering Foundation, the 

 Personnel Eesearch Federation. It has for 

 its purpose the correlation of research activi- 

 ties pertaining to personnel in industry, com- 

 merce, education and government wherever 

 researches are conducted in the spirit and 

 with the methods of science. Its member- 

 ship includes selected national organizations 

 representing scientists, engineers, educators 

 and the American Federation of Labor. The 

 membership is now being widened to include 

 other organizations of kindred interest. It 

 has been learned that there are approximately 

 250 organizations in the United States giving 



