SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH,

Auckland Star, Volume LVII, Issue 25, 30 January 1926, Page 9

SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH,

TO ASSIST INDUSTRY AND IMPROVE PRODUCTS. WANTED—THE MAX. (By Telegraph.—Special to "Star.") DUNEDIN, this day. Dr. Marshall, in his presidential address lit the Science Congress, said: "It is too late in the world's history to say that this or that research is imprac- : tical and not of any service to mankind, that it is out of date to attempt to divide investigation into pure scientific j research and economic research. Every I fact that is added to the wealth of human knowledge has its value. It may , rise from obscurity to national importI ance in the twinkling of an eye, and from \ matter of detail to fact of the greatest vnlue. The practical man welcomes the acquisition of facts of all and every 1 kind, confident in the knowledge that | each will in its time and place fit into I a scheme of advance that will lead to the j comfort of mankind, the development of I industry, and the well-being of nations. An Organiser Required. "To him it suemed imperative that there should be some, organiser or j director of effort, who should, from his I office, have power and right to inquire into the nature and amount of research at university colleges and Government Departments, and, as far as practical, into problems encountered by various industries, which should he helped in every possible way to develop their magnitude and scope, to improve their products, and to reduce the costs. Such a man must himself have a thorough and practical knowledge of the Dominion, its productions and possessions in the mineral, vegetable, and animal kingdoms. He must be possessed of attainments ia chemistry and physics. Energy and insight are necessary, and personal acquaintance, as far as possible, with institutions and individuals who arc capable) and willing to go forward. Limitation of Efforts. "Dr. Marshall pointed out that, situated as New Zealand was, with a small population, and with relatively few resources, it was obvious that scientific research in general must be on & relatively small scale. A small number of workers and paucity of available funds make it difficult to add to the progress of knowledge in any important degree. "The speaker went on to say that valuable research was carried on by the staffs of our university colleges, but here again the smallness of our resources unfortunately made it inevitable that the greater part of effort put forth ait these institutions had to be devoted to teaching students. The assistance available barely enabled the professor to complete the routine duties of his position. Many of the Government Departments had felt the need of research work in the activities in which they were engaged on behalf of the State, and their staffs were being gradually built up to grapple with problems as they arise in these 1 different spheres. There was a considerable total of active research students, who displayed energy and capacity in dealing with the problems presented with them."