D e v e l o p i n g the Technical G r a d u a t e o n the J o b
INDUSTRIAL TRAINING OF CHEMISTS A N D ENGINEERS
L A U R E N B. H I T C H C O C K , President, National Dairy Research Laboratories, Inc., Oakdale, Long Island
IN INDUSTRY ummiinii^mBg^^n
On-the-job training develops initiative and selfreliance and is the springboard to opportunity
A HERE is no future in any job in chemi cal industry. T h e future lies in the chemist or engineer w h o holds the job, to p a r a p h r a s e George \V. C r a n e (4). Indus try, long a w a r e of this, is awakening to t h e benefits of formalized training as a means of p r o v i d i n g accelerated experience for both t h e m a n and the company. You, representing both employees and em ployers, have an opportunity to aid your companies a n d yourselves b y bringing the advantages of these practices to their at tention. For only about one c o m p a n y in five so far has installed a formal training program, although t h e first course in this country began in 1890. Half of t h e courses today w e r e s t a r t e d since 19-36, a n d half of these since t h e e n d of t h e w a r in 1945. Despite t h e fact, therefore, t h a t companies with established programs are still in the minority, t h e t r e n d is clear. So m a n y excellent p a p e r s on this sub ject h a v e a p p e a r e d recently t h a t it is not possible to even list them all in the space available, b u t a selection of references is provided at t h e e n d of this p a p e r which will b e especially helpful to those plan ning the installation of courses, or the im p r o v e m e n t of present programs. In view of t h e a b u n d a n t literature and t h e general agreement on t h e benefits of formalized c o m p a n y training programs, I will not take time to a r g u e a case already won. M y present purposes are t w o : first, I will try to summarize the aims, methods employed, a n d extent of adoption a n d to urge that this considerable body of exist i n g information b e m a d e use of by more companies to systematize t h e indoctrina tion, orientation, a n d development of its newly-employed technical graduates. Second, I will propose to you that the principal responsibility for the successful d e v e l o p m e n t of t h e individual does not rest with t h e c o m p a n y at all, b u t upon the individual himself! T h e latter t h e m e , I
realize, is old-fashioned a n d not popular in this d a y of the welfare state, with cradle-to-grave security. But I don't see h o w y o u c a n develop leaders tor your companies w i t h o u t exercising the qualities of leadership, such as independent think ing, initiative, good judgment, and imag ination, a n y more t h a n you can develop an athlete b y keeping h i m on crutches. A n d of course the two themes—formal ized c o m p a n y training program, and the individual's own training program—can be combined. F o r a wise program of com pany training will stimulate individual d e velopment. Less has b e e n said about the individ ual's o w n self-administered training pro gram, a l t h o u g h often encouraged in prin ciple, so I "will outline one view of w h a t such a p r o g r a m might include.
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Aims of C o m p a n y T r a i n i n g Programs C o n s e n s u s o n aims of company train ing programs includes ( 6\ 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23): ( 1 ) H e l p i n g the g r a d u a t e bridge the g a p b e t w e e n theory a n d practice for the benefit of b o t h m a n a n d company. ( 2 ) Recognizing an obligation to the technical g r a d u a t e , w h o has m a d e a large personal investment of time a n d money, to assist in his professional development. ( 3 ) Recognizing an obligation to t h e c o m p a n y itself t o utilize this valuable tool efficiently. ( 4 ) O r i e n t i n g t h e g r a d u a t e in his em ployer's business m o r e quickly a n d ac curately. ( 5 ) P r o v i d i n g opportunity for both e m ployer a n d employee to appraise his po tentialities for greatest usefulness. ( β ) C o n t i n u i n g some measure of intel lectual activity during the interim period of transition from t h e relatively high uni versity level to the high industrial level which it is h o p e d h e will attain. ( 7 ) Facilitating t h e personal adjust 16,
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ment ot the young man to his new en vironment. ( S ) Reducing turn-over by more accu rate placement, effecting substantial sav ings and still larger indirect savings. Note: To t h e extent that "turn-over" is merely job rotation on an industry-wide basis rather than company-wide, an e m ployer should eventually regain t h e equiv alent training effort when it employed a man w h o received similar training else w h e r e {17). ( 9 ) Developing a succession of suit able executive and officer material, as re placements become needed all along t h e line d u e to casualties or promotions. Note: This long-range objective is t h e most common aim in training programs today, although many companies still look primarily at the short-term benefits of more accurate placement and the first job assignment. In short, a good training program aims to help t h e young graduate to b e c o m e a p r o d u c e r sooner a n d better than if this desirable process were left to chance. M e t h o d s Used ( 1 ) Enlightened technique of selecting g r a d u a t e s . T h a t there must be a direct relationship between t h e quality of the raw material and t h e product of company training programs seems obvious, yet a recent survey (16) indicates much room for improvement in the technique of e m ploying graduates. O u t of 1167 men chosen b y 2 4 7 companies over 13 years, 42 r / r proved unsatisfactory or h a d left before t h e e n d of the first year, represent ing a total cost estimated at $1,347,500 or $ 2 7 5 0 out-of-pocket per trainee. This survey w a s n o t limited to companies hav ing formal training programs. This turn-over is attributed mainly to h i r i n g o n t h e basis of academic record, high I.Q., and good appearance. T h e sur vey concludes that such results can b e 1513
avoided by using a patterned interview that discounts interviewers' personal biases and eniphasi/.es seven basic personality traits: stability, industriousness, persever ance, loyalty, self-reliance, ability to get on with fellows, and willingness to lead and take responsibility. One corporation using this improved technique lost only two out of 92 hired in one year. Breadth of university training is hecoming another important criterion today. Sherwood (22) looks ahead to the time when the four-year undergraduate pro gram will become more ol a general edu cation based on science, with graduate work becoming essential to those prepar ing for professional work in chemical engi neering. (2) On-the-job training. This phrase seem to be variously defined, from being all-inclusive of everything the trainee does after he is hired, to the much narrower definition of "learning-by-doing" on a spe cific job assignment. Statistics reported in several surveys on the extent of "on-the. job training" must be interpreted in the light of this uncertainty. In this paper it is limited strictly to "learning-by-doing." It is by far the most common method and certainly one that must he as old as history. It may be contrasted with the method found in a few cases of assigning new graduates to squads of student ob servers, w h o spend a given amount of time observing the operations in each of a series of departments. "On-the-job training" of itself is nothing new and car ries no important significance except as it is made part of a formalized training pro gram including such technics as job ro tation, appraisal of aptitudes and others mentioned below. Popular examples of first assignments for on-the-job training include pushing a wheelbarrow, running routine control analyses in the works laboratory, and serv ing an apprenticeship with a process study group testing the efficiency of cer tain equipment. Some of these work situa tions may be contrived for purposes of both training and testing the individual (12. 13). and last for quite limited pe riods of time. In other cases such train ing is afforded by assigning directly as a
shift operator on authentic operations, after a short breaking-in period as a helper to a regular operator. ( 3 ) Job rotation. This practice is well thought of generally and used by most companies at all levels, where any sys tematic attempt is being m a d e to formalize training and development of personnel. Among the younger men it seems particu larly worthwhile in affording a quicker grasp of a variety of operations, as well as in evaluating aptitudes. Other com panies are likely in the normal course of events to get some of the benefits of job rotation without deliberate planning, due to the completion of jobs, personnel changes, and other contingencies. As in "on-the-job training." it is a term which is sometimes used to dignify normal changes in assignment, a n d lacks signifi cance except as it is accompanied by care ful record-keeping, interviews and coun seling by supervisors, report writing by the trainee, and personal interest on the part of management (7, 8. 14. 15). (4) Classroom instruction. Surveys in dicate that among companies having formal training programs, on the average about five hours per work week of 40 hours is spent in the company classroom. Practices vary from the extreme of all classroom, observation, a n d tours, to no classroom instruction, depending entirely on "on-the-job" training, supplemented by brief interviews with supervisors every two to four weeks. Other companies have part of the classroom instruction after regular working hours, either on company premises or in nearby universities when convenient (12). Types of subjects for which the classroom method is used in clude: (a) Orientation on the company's facil ities, departments, and products. Lectures are given by department heads and staff; tours and films are used. ( b ) Indoctrination in the company's methods, principles, and economic factors which may be peculiar to t h e type of busi ness; the type of markets served, factors influencing geographical location of plants, choice of raw materials, and distribution problems. (c) Problem courses designed to illus
Τ AI'REN B. HITCHCOCK was born in Paris, France, - L ' of American parents, in 1900. H e is an M I T man, having taken three degrees t h e r e , although he spent several years as professor of chemical engineering at the University of Virginia. In 1944 he joined the Quaker Oats C o . as h e a d of the chemicals department, and in 1947 became vice president of the company. In 1949 h e re signed from Quaker Oats to become director of research and development at National Dairy Products Corp. and president of National Dairy Research Laboratories, Inc., Oakdale, Long Island.
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trate aprdieation of principles learned in college to actual cases encountered in practice; exercises in using thermodynam ics, mathematics, and physical chemistry in the analysis of typical operations, such as distillation and extraction; economics; instrumentation ( β ). (5) Evaluation and Appraisal. W h e t h e r on-the-job training, job rotation, a n d classroom methods are formally p l a n n e d or not, t h e most profitable step a company can take personnel-wise a p pears to be the installation of a method for systematically following the progress of each technical graduate so that he can b e evaluated as to his aptitudes, abilities, a n d personality traits and appraised for t h e most suitable assignment or type of work. In the typical company having a training program, this duty falls to t h e central personnel department as part of its job of administering the program. This . is not simply a matter of keeping a lot of card files and personnel reports, but to b e effective requires thoroughly trained, capable personnel men who can and will maintain frecpient personal contact with t h e trainee and his supervisors, who will arrange for the supervisors to interview a n d counsel with the trainee regularly, and w h o will sell the entire program to t h e company and keep it sold. ( 6 ) Assignment to a job. While the technical graduate's training, formalized or not, goes on throughout his professional career, this first industrial training pro gram usually terminates in about 12 months in an assignment to the first "per m a n e n t " job—permanent only in the sense that t h e trainee is now beginning a pro ductive role for which he is presumably best fitted, and in which both he and t h e company will be happiest. In some companies this assignment is b u t part of a longer-swing job rotation pattern, which will b e followed through in" accordance with t h e man's performance on each as signment. ( 7 ) Preparation for executive positions. Most companies today having training programs are reported to be taking a longrange view, with t h e ultimate purpose of providing a well-trained and tested suc cession of replacements for casualties and promotions. This desirable situation o b viously can only b e attained by following o u t a consistent program over a period of years. While there are admittedly shortt e r m benefits from almost any training program, the trend is definitely toward t h e t v p e of program which looks well ahead (10, 11, 19). As Practiced Today Depending upon t h e survey, some where between 1 0 % a n d 3 7 % of manu facturing companies h a v e installed and are n o w using formalized training courses. T h e actual n u m b e r is probably somewhat smaller, due to misunderstanding by some companies of iust what constitutes a train ing program. In an extensive survey con ducted in 1947 (11) in which 355 com panies were selected, 3 5 % replied and 5 8
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SURVEY FINDINGS ( 1 ) Programs arc a permanent activity of m a n a g e m e n t . ( 2 ) Primary aim is to train for future responsibility rather than immediate job. ( o ) Training function assigned to a centralized training department under direction of personnel department; all training c o n d u c t e d by the company. ( 4 ) F e w personnel tests, if any, used in selection of candidates. "Aptitude tests may disclose how far a frog can leap but they will not always reveal how far he will leap." (18). ( 5 ) 80 to 9 0 % on-the-job training; 10 t o 20f/c in organized classes averaging 12 students.
( 6 ) Training is conducted during regu lar 40-hour work weelv, with an average of five hours in classroom, with the program averaging 14 months in length at a cost of $3300 per trainee-, which did not in clude trainee's salarie*s in some cases. ( 7 ) Only about 40'/c of the trainees become permanent employees; 10 to 1 5 ' / leave upon completion of training, 20'/r during period less tHan t h r e e years after completion ot progiLim, a n d 25 to 3 0 ' ^ after three > ears. ( 8 ) A permanent position is guaranteed upon successful completion of training. ( 9 ) Follow-up interviews are held every six months f o r one or two years after completion of training.
Significant irends shown by this survey:
( 1) Greater emphasis upon general rather than specific job training. (2) Greater recognition by manage m e n t of n e e d for training. ( β ) Increased use of training aids.
( 4 ) Individualized training. ( 5 ) Greater use of discussion-group training. ( 6 ) More extensive use of personnel tests.
companies, or 16f/c of the total, reported having some type of training in effect. Of these companies, 9 0 % were engaged in manufacturing. Trainees were college graduates, but not necessarily technical. T h e survey concludes that company training is not limited in use to largesize organizations, b u t may be designed and conducted for as low as two or three graduates. In selecting candidates, future capabilities are more important than branch of specialization. No evidence was found t h a t any companies were using training programs as a blind for exploit ing graduates by using t h e m to replace more expensive labor. Resumption of training after World War II, installation of programs by more companies, and scheduling courses for several years ahead shows clearly that these companies are talcing a long-range view with their fu ture personnel requirements in mind.
panies can more readily carry out such training by doing it informally or on a personal basis. This survey concludes that although over 80% do n o t have a formal program, practically everyone recognizes the problem and is taking some steps toward meeting it. Another general conclusion is that the engineer seems to be given more train ing attention than the chemists or other scientists. This raises a question as to w h e t h e r this is because they are more important to the companies, or because they need the training more. It might be both. Certainly the engineer is likely to g e t more varied assignments and find his first job less clearly defined, and so perhaps has a bigger g a p to bridge. Another authority on research manage ment (17) says tftat any effort m a d e to place a man in work that attracts his interest a n d challenges his best efforts is well repaid. Some companies assign a new research employee to a department w h e r e h e associates himself loosely with several projects until a permanent one is selected. In others, job rotation is p r a c ticed, with t h e ne-vv research worker as signed to four or five departments for several months eacti, especially if h e does not h a v e the doctorate.
I n the Research Field Out of 87 leading industrial research laboratories, only about nine have formal training programs for research personnel, v i t h about nine more that have "border line/* programs (25). Among the better programs, length of training varied from a few weeks to as long as 18 months, the latter including six months each in class work, shop training, and a chosen field. Only 4 0 % of the 87 laboratories said they h a d a regular indoctrination pro cedure for n e w research personnel. Fiftythree per cent do not use job rotation at all, a n d only 2 0 % indicated appreciable use; 2 4 % indicated use of formal class room work in some degree; and 3 7 % make a t least occasional use of special courses, as in public speaking, report writing, or patent law. In general, t h e larger research groups have given more attention to the prob lem of training,, b u t the smaller com V O L U M E
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E m p l o y e r Practices for Engineering Gradu.atcs T h e Engineers' Joint Council surveyed 104 companies employing more t h a n 2 million persons of -whom 40,000 are engi neers ( 5 ) . While many other employer practices besides training are studied, the conclusions on this point are interesting. Of t h e companies xeplying 5 0 % reported that special provision is m a d e for profes sional development of their young engi neers; 3 7 % have formal training pro grams; a n d 7 8 % encourage taking courses outside company hours, with more than »
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halt contributing to the cost ol tuition. Nearly 30'/- pay t h e dues of certain employees in certain societies. Traveling expenses are usually paid for attendance at meetings w h e n definite assignments are to be carried out. Forty-two per cent of t h e executi\cs and o7'/c of the officers in t h e 104 com panies which replied are engineering graduates. T h a t this figure is the same as the n u m b e r of companies having formal programs appears to be entirely fortuitous so far as the survey shows. In hiring recent graduates, personality is the most important consideration, with scholastic record and general promise sec ond a n d third ( /6'). T h e Case for the C o m p a n y Training P r o g r a m Like going to church, everyone seems to agree that company training programs are a good thing, b u t as statistics quoted herein show, considerably less than half of the companies have installed formal programs. One ol the outstanding surveys on the subject in recent years (11) concludes that the question is not whether we should have such training, b u t how well we are going to do it. It states: " R e m e m b e r this about In-Service Training: W e ' v e always h a d it—let's make it better." T h e fundamental issues are exception ally well stated by Juran (10). who em phasizes the n e e d in m a n a g e m e n t for the engineering method applied equally to the utilization of the forces of people and the principles of the natural sciences. He warns engineers against concentrating on t h e study of things to the exclusion of h u m a n relationships, and says that since industry has so nearly a monopoly on t h e m a n a g e m e n t laboratory necessary for in struction, it must itself play the leading role in training for m a n a g e m e n t . Renard (21) feels that t h e time spent in taking the "mystery" o u t of a plant and in helping each man to develop a sound attitude toward himself, t h e com pany, his fellow employees, and his job, is likely to b e repaid. H e too emphasizes t h e importance of personal characteristics which he feels play the controlling pi»rt in personal advancement. Given (6) believes in giving t h e younger men more responsibility and re leasing a flow of ideas a n d impetus "from t h e b o t t o m u p . " H e says t h a t a com pany is more d e p e n d e n t u p o n t h e kind of people in it than any o t h e r one ele ment, that a firm's success is measured by its ability to develop the right men for m a n a g e m e n t responsibilities. T h e American Institute of Chemical Engineers held a symposium on the train ing of engineers in industry at its annual meeting in Pittsburgh in N o v e m b e r 1949. Anyone contemplating t h e installation of training programs, or improving present methods, is referred to these valuable papers (8, 9, 12, 14, 15). McKeon (15) presents a comprehensive summary of t h e basic considerations in developing engineers, pointing out t h a t 1515
there is little use in recruiting outstand ing men unless t h e company is prepared to follow through with adequate orienta tion and basic training. He, like John son ( 8 ), urges more careful study of individual aptitudes, and more intensive analysis of job requirements, but empha sizes what seems all too seldom said, that after college and industry have done their part, the individual must assume a major share of t h e responsibility for his own advancement, since success depends upon the man himself. Jones (9) joins those who plead for more tniining in t h e humanities, in human relationships, when lie says that job train ing is not enough—we must have man training. From these few selections from an abundant literature, it must be apparent that the subject of company training prograins has been thoroughly explored, goes back as far as 1890 in t h e case of General Electric, and that there is no lack of excellent information. That the practi tioners are still in the minority among both large and small companies, but es pecially the latter, is apparently not so much an indication of opposition, as mere lack of awareness of the value of or ganized, in-service training as a basic management tool (20). The number of new programs has increased rapidly since 1936, and still more rapidlv since 1945 ill)·
Undoubtedly, a great many companies who have not yet installed a formal train ing program are now at least giving the subject active study and will benefit from the experience of others. A Program for t h e Individual But the young technical graduate must not let this flattering interest in his wel fare distort his perspective. For 22 years more or less he has been the beneficiary of training in the home, schools, and college. Now he enters industry to become a pro ducer instead of an absorber. Even here he will find more training in store for him, variable as it may be today. He must realize that all this training is aimed at the development of t h e individual—him self; that it all is designed with a single purpose—to enable him to fulfill himself. Therefore, whether the company he happens to join h a s a formal training pro gram o r not, it is of the greatest impor tance that h e plan, administer, and carry out his own personal development cam paign. All of t h e benefits pressed upon him from childhood are of little avail un less he sees them for what they are—aids to enable him to reach his goal. True, it is a campaign in which the employer has a joint interest, and one which the uni versity and the professional society en thusiastically support. But the final re sponsibility for its success is his (9, 15). Compton (2) emphasizes t h e impor tance of selecting a goal, a theme, for life, then making decisions along the line con sistent with that goal. He advises young men to trust to luck, b u t defines luck as a combination of preparedness and oppor 1516
tunity, and says that there is no such thing as real luck without a meeting of these two. "What frequently hampers the luck of a lot of young men is that they don't give it a chance, they are slaves to security and will pass up opportunity if there is a chance their security will be jeopardized." Design for Luck Personal preparedness for the chosen goal is not only the most effective route to fulfillment the young man can choose, but one subject over which he has almost complete control. And strangely enough, the more thoroughly he pi .pares himself, the more certainly the opportunity will present itself. It is an autocatalytic phe nomenon. The evidence is overwhelming. To offer an outline of a self-develop ment program for the technical graduate at the point at which he enters industry is an ambitious, if not presumxDtuous, un dertaking. The following suggestions are merely by way of example, undoubtedly omit important points, and should be boldly revised by the individual to suit his own ideas: ( 1 ) Master whatever job is assigned. This may sound axiomatic, but it is aston ishing how well the experience will serve in later years, and the opportunity to learn that particular job may not come again. In addition: ( 2 ) Learn all that can possibly ( and properly) be learned about the company's business; other departments, raw materials, products. Future assignments can be car ried out more intelligently with a better over-all picture. This must not take time from the assigned job. It should be done openly, of course, yet not as a "busybody." Seek advice. Use judgment. (3) Discuss valid problems with super visor and/or members of personnel de partment. They will welcome a chance to answer reasonable questions. (4) Follow the professional literature, especially in the field of company's inter est. Ask the librarian for suggestions. (5) Join the local section of a profes sional society, attend the meetings, and take part when possible. ( 6 ) Arrange to take extension courses at some nearby college to fill gaps which may be discovered in the preparedness program. Examples of such subjects may be economics, industrial relations, public speaking, or patent law. Initiative Necessary A trait closely watched for by em ployers, perhaps more than any other, is a man's ability to carry out a mission in a given well-defined area without detailed instructions. Once the general situation is made clear and the objective described, the man should have enough initiative, judgment, and intelligence to perform the assignment without detailed supervision. As time goes on, he becomes able to carry out still broader assignments, plan the tactics, recognize the included missions, and pick personnel who can execute them. C H E M I C A L
The importance of personal character istics and human relations are so uni versally stressed that the young graduate should provide for their study in his per sonal program. Van Antwerpen (24) cites 10 qualities and attainments needed for success in engineering, as well as de sirable personal characteristics. If, in mapping the company training program, the need to develop individual initiative and self-reliance is kept clear, more rapid progress will be made toward the long-range objective of building a well-trained and tested succession of re placements. This is preparedness on the company scale for the opportunities which always come, through casualties and pro motions. The combination of company and individual effort along well-thoughtout lines should provide ideal conditions for the success of both. Literature Cited 1. Applev, Lawrence Α., Mech. Eng., 71/150 (1949). 2. Compton, Karl T., American Maga zine, p. 15 (August 1950). 3. Cook, E. W., J. Chem. Education, 27, 76 (1950). 4. Crane, Geo. W., Readers Digest, (August 1950). 5. Engineers' Joint Council, Mech. Eng., 69, 306 (1947). 6. Given, W. B., Jr., Indust. Research Inst. (April 26, 1950). 7. Hitchcock, Lauren B., Chem. Eng. Prog., 4 3 , 509 (1947). 8. Johnson, A. J., Chem. Eng. Prog., 46, 269 (1950). 9. Jones, Webster N., Chem. Eng. Prog., 46, 277 (1950). 10. Juran, J. M., Mech. Eng., 72, 300 (1950). 11. Koehler, Bernard J., "The Training of College Graduates in Industry, National Office Management Assn., 12 East Chelten Ave., Philadelphia 44, Pa. (1948). 12. Lange, A. J., Chem. Eng. Prog. 46, 273 (1950). 13. Mace, M vies L., "The Growth and Development of Executives," Grad. Boston ( 1950). School Bus. Admin., Harvard Univ., 14. McEachron, K. B., Jr., Chem. Eng. Prog. 46, 267 (1950). 15. McKeon, J. C , Chem. Eng. Prog. 46, 274 (1950). 16. McMurrv, Robt. N., Business Week, Nov. 27 (1948); Chem. Inds. 64, 66 (1949). 17. Mees, C. E. K., and Leermakers, J. Α., "The Organization ^of Indus trial Scientific Research," 2nd éd., Chap. XVI by S. W. Davidson, McGraw-Hill, New York (1950). 18. Murphy, Walter J., C H E M . E N G . NEWS 27, 2253 (1950).
19. Murray, R. L.. Chem. Eng. Prog., 46, 113 (1950). 20. Oncken, Wm., Jr., Mech. Eng., 72, 634 (1950). 21 Renard, J. W., J. Chem. Education, 26, 62 ( 1949). 22. Sherwood, T. J., C H E M . E N G . NEWS,
27, 2648 (1950). 23. Tavlor, Frederick W., S.P.E.E. 17 (1909). 24. Van Antwerpen, F . J., Chem. Eng. Prog., 4 6 , 209 (1950). 25. Vesper, Howard G., Indust. Research Inst., Comm. on E d u c , Selection, Training, and Rating of Research Personnel (April 1950). A N D
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NEWS
