34 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XLV. No. 1150 



RESEARCH IN INDUSTRIAL 

 LABORATORIES! 



At the second meeting of the Committee of 

 One Hundred on Scientific Eesearcli of the 

 American Association for the Advancement of 

 Science, on December 28, 1914, the subcom- 

 mittee on research in industrial laboratories 

 was constituted to consist of Drs. E. F. Bacon 

 (chairman), C. E. K. Mees, M. C. Whitaker, 

 W. E. Whitney and W. H. Walker. 



The following problems in the direction of 

 industrial research have been considered by 

 the subcommittee: 



1. The organization of industrial research. 



2. The selection and training of students for 

 industrial research. 



3. The factors involved in the promotion of 

 cooperation between manufacturers and the 

 xmiversities, with particular attention to the 

 depreciation of the policy of industrial secrecy. 



4. The promotion of a better appreciation 

 of research, with particular regard to the edu- 

 cation of the public to the realizable functions 

 of industrial research. 



5. The establishment of stable relations be- 

 tween research institutions and the research 

 departments of industrial plants. 



6. Finally, the advisability of conducting a 

 comparative study of the investigational 

 activities, capacities and facilities of organi- 

 zations devoted to or carrying on industrial 

 research. 



The conclusions arrived at by the subcom- 

 mittee are presented in summary in the fol- 

 lowing report. 



THE ORGANIZATION OF INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH 



Principles involved in the organization of 

 industrial scientific research have been dis- 

 cussed at length during the past year by Dr. 

 C. E. K. Mees, a member of this subcommit- 

 tee, in Science, IST. S., J^3, Y63. The chairman 

 of the subcommittee has also considered some 

 principles in the administration of endowed 

 industrial research laboratories in the Journal 



1 Eeport of the Subcommittee on Eeseareh in 

 Industrial Laboratories, presented by the chair- 

 man, Dr. Raymond F. Bacon, at the meeting of the 

 Committee of Oue Hundred on Scientific Eeseareh, 

 New York, December 26, 1916. 



of the Society of Chemical Industry, 35 

 (1916), No. 1. 



It is generally conceded by those engaged 

 in the direction of industrial research that, in 

 order to be efficient, research laboratories of 

 this type should be as thoroughly equipped as 

 possible. In the case of industrial concerns 

 having a number of plants and in the case of 

 organizations of manufacturers, the tendency 

 of organization should undoubtedly be towards 

 concentration and cooperation in the mainte- 

 nance of one large well-equipped research 

 laboratory, rather than towards the erection 

 and support of a number of smaller separated 

 laboratories. It is, of course, necessary, espe- 

 cially in the case of chemical plants, that the 

 analytical and control work be carried out 

 in situ, but experience indicates that it is 

 much better practise to centralize the re- 

 search work. 



Since the policy which insures adequate 

 guidance to a research organization must be 

 based upon the accumulation of facts, method 

 in laboratory administration should provide 

 for facilities for securing detailed information 

 on a vast field, and for competent counsel from 

 those who have a store of specialized knowl- 

 edge. When the laboratory executive's work 

 has passed the one-man stage, a division of 

 labor comes about and it is here that he must 

 see to it that he surrounds himself with men 

 who are capable of effective effort — alert, orig- 

 inal investigators of initiative and leadership. 



An organized research administrative staff 

 should not only result in effective division of 

 labor, but also in efficient expenditure of 

 executive energy, more effective plans, and 

 general stabilization. This can come about 

 if there is a pervading organization type of 

 mind, which " is common to those drilled in 

 systematic thinking and long immersed in the 

 materials of their particular vocation. Such 

 a mind sees details, but only as parts of a 

 whole; reaches generalizations, but by the in- 

 ductive route." 



With regard to the investigatory staff, while 

 the individual can exert only a very small in- 

 fluence except as a member of an organization 

 or institution, yet a research institution never 

 gains note or influence except through the 



