SCIENCE COUNTS

Evening Post, Volume CXXII, Issue 18, 19 October 1936, Page 4

SCIENCE COUNTS

RESEARCH AND TRADE

VALUE TO NEW ZEALAND

"It is, an arresting fact that New Zealand's overseas trade in primary products to the annual value of lens of millions of pounds is based on the application of pure scientific research. This in itself is a most forceful argument for the prosecution of scientific research with the means at our disposal," remarks the Hon. D. G. Sullivan, Minister of Scientific and Industrial Eesearch, in his foreword to that Department's annual report.

"We are apt to accept New Zealand's overseas trade in farm-produce as an accomplished fact, without inquiring too closely as to the circumstances which have made this possible," he says. "The invention jof refrigerating machinery during the latter half of last century by Perkins in America and Harrison in Australia enabled, perishable foodstuffs to be exported over long distances. It may not be so generally known, however, that this invention was based on the purely scientific investigations of Carnot on the theory of the heat cycle. To quote another example from overseas of the value of scientific research to industry: A total expenditure of about £190,000 on the Swedish plant-breeding, station at Svalof has added £2,750,000 annually to the value of Swedish crops. It may be mentioned, as an interesting example of the value of scientific research carried out by->the Department, that a very small expenditure, for research on the storage of bananas 'changed the Maui Pomare from a losing to a paying proposition.

"Examples could be multiplied, but these results are sufficient to show the enormous benefits which are likely to arise from the intelligent application of pure research to industry. In this country it is the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research which is . largely responsible for organising scientific research and applying the results for the benefit of industry. The work of the Department is not administrative, but rather advisory. It carries out chemical, physical, and biological testing for other Departments and for various industries co-operating in research. While it is disirable that the Department should be free from regulatory duties in order to conduct scientific work, it is necessary that there should be close contact with those Departments of State and other bodies whose problems are directly concerned with the practical applications of science. This has been achieved to a large extent by associating the work with some of the larger national projects.

"A spirit of full co-operation is necessary, since it is apparent that New Zealand's financial resources will not permit the scale of total research activity of Great Britain, for example, although our farming interests are faced with problems similar in nature and magnitude. Our manufacturing industries, moreover, are conducted on a scale ivhich will not permit the overhead for research which is carried by the ■ large organisations in. older countries." HELPING INDUSTRIES. Referring to the manufacturing industries, the Minister ■ remarks- that these are justly entitled to the benefits of the application of research, and considerable thought had been given to the question of the extension of the technical and research services of the Department for this purpose. j 'ln'New Zealand it would appear that this problem could best be met by the formation of a co-ope.rative research association by each branch of industry, some of the funds being contributed from Government sources, the rest by subscriptions from industrial concerns who are members of the association. Steps are being taken to make such arrangements with a number of industries, in which an endeavour will be made to copy the more successful research associations affiliated with the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research in Great Britain. Because of the limitations of finance likely to be available owing to our relatively smaller industries, every care will need to be taken that the specialists on the staffs of the various research, organisations, the Dominion Laboratory, ■ and the Universities will be available to give specialised advice to the staffs of other research tions. By this means effective team work will be possible and the best scientific advice brought to bear on the more complicated technical problems of industry. . '

"In addition to the promotion of research associations, steps are being taken to establish a general bureau of technical information regarding problems of industry, which, in addition to having two chemical engineers appointed to its staff, will work in association' with the Director of the Dominion Laboratory and his staff."