36 



SCIENCE 



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



ture are wortli far more than tlie time they 

 take. 



THE SELECTION AND TRAINING OF STUDENTS FOR 

 INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH 



Eesearch leading to the discovery of new 

 ideas requires not only intellect and training, 

 but also initiative or genius ; it can come only 

 from an individual who possesses unusual in- 

 tuition and insight. It follows, therefore, that 

 there is a scarcity of men gifted with the genius 

 for industrial research and that it requires 

 much experience in selecting suitable men and 

 in training them to the desirable degree of effi- 

 ciency, after having determined the particular 

 qualities required. 



The important requisites for industrial re- 

 search are often unconsidered by manufac- 

 turers, who, in endeavoring to select a research 

 chemist, are likely to regard every chemist as 

 a qualified scientific scout. The supply of men 

 capable of working at high efficiency as in- 

 vestigators is well below the demand; and 

 chemists having the requisites and spirit of the 

 researcher are indeed difficult to find even by 

 those experienced in the direction of research. 

 All research professors know that the location 

 of a skilled private assistant — one who pos- 

 sesses not only originality, but also sound 

 judgment and intellectual honesty — is not easy, 

 because it frequently involves the gift of 

 prophecy on the part of the searcher.* It 

 has been truly said that the " seeds of great 

 discoveries are constantly floating around us, 

 but they only take root in minds well prepared 

 to receive them." 



On account of the extraordinary importance 

 of new ideas, particular emphasis should al- 

 ways be laid upon finding and supporting bril- 

 liant researchers. Such individuals can best 

 be found in the universities. The function of 

 the university is to work with the beneficent 

 idea of increasing. the sum of human knowl- 

 edge, and among its most valuable products are 

 those who will work for the exercise of the in- 

 vestigative instinct and the pleasure of over- 

 coming difficulties. 



* See discussion in Science, N. S., 41 (1915), 

 319. 



The examination of the training necessary 

 for those proposing to take up industrial re- 

 search which is common with all scientifically 

 trained men, is too extensive a subject to be 

 discussed by the subcommittee at this time. 

 It is, however, appropriate to consider those 

 subjects in which it seems desirable for the 

 prospective researcher to specialize: reference 

 is, of course, had to subjects other than those 

 required by the average student of the sciences 

 as distinguished from their industrial appli- 

 cation, but the assumption is not made that 

 what is desirable for research work should not 

 also be available for all. 



Research men frequently possess adequate 

 training and scientific acumen, but fail in their 

 ability to use it. There is no question that the 

 element most noticeably lacking in the modern 

 graduate is resourcefulness. A qualified re- 

 search chemist who possesses initiative is 

 usually a creator; but owing to the neglect of 

 existing difficulties in chemical pedagogy, the 

 present-day graduates of our schools of chem- 

 istry are too often deficient in inspiration, in- 

 genuity and insight. 



The failure to provide adequate and syste- 

 matic instruction in chemical literature is il- 

 lustrative of this contention. 



Before commencing laboratory work upon 

 any problem, it is obviously necessary to digest 

 intelligently the important contributions which 

 have been made upon the subject and to take 

 advantage of what other workers have done in 

 the same field. The average graduate is 

 usually almost helpless when attempting to do 

 this and consequently requires close super- 

 vision. The main difficulties are : 



(a) He does not know how to go about it; 

 he does not know where to look as the most 

 probable source; and he is not familiar with 

 the standard treatises and important journals. 



(b) He fails to analyze the subject into its 

 factors and hence generally looks for topics 

 which are too general. Because he does not 

 find any reference to the problem as a whole 

 as he has it in mind, he assumes that nothing 

 has been done upon it and that there is noth- 

 ing in the literature which will be of aid to 

 him in the investigation. Were he to sepa- 



