THE CHEMICAL WORLD THIS WEEK as time goes «on he wilL find that problems that come urp in his work will lead him deeply into o~ther subjects. Only then will systematic steady of tttem begin to have real meaning. Maxiiiuirn Eesearch Efinciency Turning t o the problem of attaining maximum efficiency in a research organization, Bailey observed t h a t people usually think of laboratory research as a business which must necessarily proceed slowly and patiently. On the basis of his own experience in research organizations, however, he contended that patience can be overdone. N'lost research workers, h e said, are happier in a n atmosphere of some urgency. The; indiscriminate application of high-près sure tactics b>y research supervisors is i:o b e scorned, but much progress can be made lby a series of all-out attacks on limited objectives rather than by a gradual advance on a b>road front. "Sociable" Teamwork Although many advantages are cited for the necessity for teamwork in modern research, chiefly the facrt that a number of workers "with special knowledge and skills must pool their efforts if the best results are to be obtained, Bailey pointed out another advantage to be gained from teamwork—one tHat becoxnes progressively greater a s the size of t h e team increases. This he described as " a sociable way of working/' Cliemists, like other people, he said, a r e usually sociable creatures and the laboratory- which talces up its problems a few a t a time, attacking each \yith a liberal srxifting of personnel to form large working groups is invariably happier and more productive than tJhe one that is split into a multitude of sacnall groups, each working on i t s own special but undistinguished project. The chemist, or any other worker, is inspired to his h>est effort only when h e feels his work is important- Convincing evidence of its value comes, he said, when the researcher's vv^ork is p a r t of a mass effort which is undeir constant and eager scrutiny of those responsible for administration and managenrent and which is expected to yield quick results. Herty Medal ^Presentation Herty Day was marlced by an interesting series of programs. Light rains forced the afternoon tea indoors where it was held in t h e olci Gox'ernor's Mansion of the state of Georgia. Present for the festivities were three former H e r t v Medalists, W. H. Maclntire, University o f Tennessee, and J. Sam Guy and 0. R. Ç>xiayle, Emory University, a s weill as representatives of several Georgia colleges and industries. Awarding of tJhe medal took place during the evening ceremonies. A traditional ceremony was observed, as usual, involving the presentation of the. medal by the president of fee GSCW chemistry club to the chairman of the Georgia Section, the chairman in tirrn presenting the medal to the recipient. V O L U M E
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The Cover . . .
Herty M e d a l to Bailey for Fats and Oils Research A
E. BAILEY thinks that he was se-
•**·· lected as Herty Medalist because of the books he's written rather than the research he's done in the chemistry of fats and oils. He prefers to think of himself as the chronicler of work done by others in his field. Ed Bailey has written three books, some 40 articles for periodicals, and has contributed three sections to the "Interscience Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology/' His first book ( now in its second edition ), "Industrial Oil and Fat Products," is probably his most famous one; it is the standard reference in its field and is even better known abroad than here at home.
at his desk in Memphis as director of research for Humko Co. Before he left the ranch for the University of New Mexico (B.S., 1927), Bailey learned the techniques of ranch cookery and still often entertains his friends with fare cooked up in a cast iron skillet.
Chemistry Bent Bailey thinks he first developed a chemistry bent while working in the oil fields. After graduation, his first job was with the Atchison, Topeka & the S ante Fe Railroad as an analytical chemist, but it wasn't until he started to work with Cudahy Packing Co. (from 1929 to 1941) that his real interestfats and oils—developed. Claim to Fame Good natured, sociable chemist But, despite his insistence that his Bailey admits to no particular hobby of only claim to fame is authorship, Ed his own, but is always ready to help a Bailey has actually contributed several friend indulge in a favorite pastime. pieces of research to the last 20 years' One such experience on a sailboat advances in oil and fat chemistry. While found him drifting in the middle of at the Southern Regional Research Lab Lake Pontchartrain one stormy night in (from 1941 to 1946), Bailey and his December, anchor gone, drenched, associates were able to demonstrate a freezing, seasick, and "scared to death." remarkable parallel between heats of After that, Bailey cencedes that there's fusion and polymorphic transformation a lot to be said for the sedentary pasand the accompanying volume changes time of "shooting the breeze and bendof fats and oils. And it was Bailey who ing the elbow." confirmed an old observation that the Bailey used to be a tennis hound but, readiness with which unsaturated acids after an enforced layoff, he has never add hydrogen is generally dependent been able to get back in shape to play upon the degree of unsaturation. How- a decent game. Then there was the ever, his work showed that the determining factor is actually not the number time when Bailey had to give up playing of double bonds but the presence of bridge, because it took too much of his single active CH 2 groups between double time and he was never able to play the bonds. He sidesteps taking any credit game casually. Dr. Bailey says that much of his time for the last discovery, claims that it was has been devoted to raising two sets of only a natural consequence of new children. His first child, a daughter, is analytical methods. now married and has two children. His While with the Girdler Corp. (from oldest son is now a freshman at Cal1946 to 1950), Bailey turned engineer Tech; he will probably take up nuclear for a time and had no slight hand in physics, says his father. Besides the two the development of that company's older children, Bailey has two younger semicontimious deodorizer, which will sons, one four years old and the other turn out 2500 to 7500 pounds of a com- only two. pletely bland salad oil or shortening an Bailey is one of those rare chemists hour. The engineering experience and familiarity with plant operations that who likes to go to meetings and is an he gained while with Girdler, Bailey active member of several professional considers to be a great aid in research. societies. On April 30 he concluded a Says he: "Research success is not all term as president of the American Oil strokes of genius; it takes time and hard Chemists Society. He has been a memwork, plus a familiarity with the field." ber of the AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY since 1930 and also belongs to the Bailey was born in Midland, Tex., in American Association for the Advance1907, but his family moved to a ranch ment of Science. Since 1949 he has in southwestern New Mexico not too long after. His brothers are still on the served on the advisory committee of the ranch and spend as much time in the Institute of Oilseed Technology of the jaddle as their chemist brother spends A & M College of Texas.
MAY
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