Utilization of Chemists and Chemical Engineers in World W a r II A poll a m o n g A C S m e m b e r s s h o w s t h a t m u c h of o u r scientific m a n p o w e r Avas n o t e f f i c i e n t l y u t i l i z e d i n t h e p a s t Avar . . . T h i s s u r v e y , a l o n g Avilh t h o s e b e i n g c o n d u c t e d b y o t h e r s c i e n t i f i c s o c i e t i e s s h o u l d f o r m t h e b a s i s for s o u n d f u t u r e p l a n n i n g • • AR has adopted seifner as ils favorite son. T h e development of the atomic bomb, guided missiles, bacteriological warfare, and other products of scientific research have placed science, whether will ing or not, in a leading role in modern war fare. It is, therefore, of the utmost im portance t h a t the proper utilization of scientific personnel he given full consider ation in any plans for national security. Experience «.hiring World W a r II co gently demonstrated that the scientific population of the nation, through achieve ments in the plant and laboratory, occu pied a vital place in t h e winning of t h a t struggle. At the same time it was demon s t r a t e d that lack of a d e q u a t e prior plan ning for the utilization of the nation's sci entists and technologists resulted in con siderable confusion as to the specific role which scientists should play in national de fense during a period of hostilities. T h e Selective Service System as oper ated under local and s t a t e controls varied considerably in its application to scientific workers. T h e result was t h a t m a n y scientists arid engineers did not contribute to the greatest extent possible because they were drawn into the armed services and placed in positions where their technical background and experience could not he used effectively. Because of the evidence of inefficient utilization of chemists and chemical engi neers dining the war, the AMERICA χ CHEMICAL
SOCIETY
decided
to
ask
its
members about their wartime activities and t h u s obtain quantitative d a t a on the extent to which scientific manpower was wasted. A survey was planned which would not only report on past history b u t provide background information for the formulation of plans for more efficient utilization of technical personnel in any fu ture national emergency. While the ques tionnaire was still in t h e early stages of plan ning, news of the SOCIETY'S plan reached the Research and Development Divi sion of the Army. They, too, were vitally interested in the subject and recognized the value of the survey as a sound basis for future planning. Under t h e direction of D a v i d M . Delo, of the Scientific M a n power Branch of t h e Research and D e velopment Division, plans were made for having a questionnaire of the type sug gested by the ACS circulated among the members of other scientific groups. T h e scheme h a s now been set in operation with 2206
the survey of ACS members being the first to be completed and tabulated. Original plans called for the tabulation to be con ducted by the National Roster of Scientific and Specialized Personnel, but due to b u d g e t a r y difficulties the task of compila tion was carried out· by the Strength Accounting Branch, AGO. Approximately 31,417, or 6 5 % of the 4S,000 questionnaires sent t o members of the SOCIETY late in 1946 were returned for tabulation. T h i s is considered a high rate of return for a questionnaire of this tj'pe; therefore, conclusions based on the results obtained m a y be considered to have a high degree of validity. Some variance among the figures appearing in the different tables will be noted because of the failure of all respondents to answer all questions. Table I.
M e m b e r s of A C S R e p o r t i n g
Men Women
2S.175 1,702
Total
30,4 17
In armed servirez Army (men) Navy (men) Marines Merchant Marine Coast Guard WAC, Waves Total /c of total reporting
2,848 1.555 45 16 19 23 4,506 14.8
r
As a n aid to future planning, members were asked to give their present position a n d their principal work during t h e period between F e b . 1, 1V)42, and Sept. 1, 1945. T h e choice of principal work during this period was left to the respondent and re sults in w h a t m a y appear t o he anomalies in some instances. For example, 4,506 members, or nearly 1 5 % , reported military service, b u t only about three fourths of Table II.
that group reported military service as their principal war work. Tables II a n d IV give some indication of the shifting that took place among different fields of work. About 5 8 % of all chemists and chemical engineers who answered the questionnaire reported t h a t their principal work during the war was in industry; S.5% their principal war work was teaching, a n d 17% said government-spon sored research or government agency. I n comparison t o this, 7 7 % of the respond ents, a t the time of the questionnaire, were in industry, 1 3 % in teaching, a n d 7 . 7 % in government agencies. Of the 6 . 6 % who engaged in govern ment-sponsored research during the war majyy were no doubt operating in indus trial facilities, indicating t h a t the disloca tion of personnel in industry was not quite so great as indicated b y the above figures. It is w o r t h y to note t h a t t h e greatest dis location appeared in the second largest group to report, the teachers. About 3 5 % of t h e teachers shifted to other work, with government-sponsored research and indus try a t t r a c t i n g the largest numbers. Here, too, i t must be considered t h a t much gov ernment-sponsored work was conducted in t h e universities a n d colleges so t h a t these figures do not completely represent a shift. T h e r e is little doubt, however, t h a t this dislocation among teachers has h a d a carry-over effect, on peacetime teaching staffs. T h e educational level a t t a i n e d b y t h e respondents appeared to be of significance in all determinations. A b o u t 3 0 % of those reporting were Ph.D.'s. Of these, approximately 30% were in teaching a n d more than 6 0 % in industry. B u t where 6 6 % of those in teaching hold P h . D . ' s , only 2 5 % of those employed in industry have doctorates. As would be expected, industry absorbs most of those who obtain the bachelor's degree and a large percent age of those with master's degrees. T h e major question of efficient utiliza tion of chemists a n d chemical engineers
P r e s e n t W o r k St a t u s C o m p a r e d t o P r i n c i p al W a r W o r k ( M e n O n l y ) PllKSKN r WORK STATUS
P R I N C I P A L λΝ Α κ \Ν ο κ κ
I earll u n g '•7 Xo. 1.985 5 5 . S
Teaching; ther t h a n government-sponsored research 39S Student 146 Military service 308 T o t a l i n p r e s e n t w o r k 3,5.59 status
Indus t r v
Govt. Agency
0.0
No. 50
% 2.4
45.5
9
5.9
118
21.9
7
4.6
37
210
9.7
11
7.2
169 52 246
7.8 2.4
62
40.5
11.4
63 153
41.2
0.9
4.4
412
2.0
985
1.2
435
2.1
475
14.7
1.370
6.6
112 4.1 8.0
15.990
77.1
509
2.4 S.9
CHEMICAL
Student
%
%
Xo. 29
1,838 20,747
Miliitary Service
Xo. 1
Xo. 187
Vr
1 .3
2,160
AND
I n e n ι ployed No. 14
5. 1
o. (
8
2.9
1.8
19
7.0
352
16.9
21
7 .7
400 540 579
19.3 26.0 27.9
145 14 51 272
53 .3
2,076
ENGINEERING
%
5.2
18.8
NEWS
TabIe IH.
P r e s e n t W o r k S t a i n s a n d d h e m i c a1 E d n c u l i o n h] D UC ATI OXAL Ι. Ε V ΚΙ. B; if h c[or: Masters
Doctors
No.
Pit κ s κ χ τ W o κ κ S T A T ι: s
%
%
%
of e d . e n g a g e d in level 60. 1 29.7 25.2 61.0 29 7 7.9 11.9 0.2 1 .3 0.3 19 3 0 9
No. 732 3,841 544 30 084 77
Teaching Industry G o v e r n m e n t agencyM i l i t a r y service Student Unemployed
2,014 Ô.363 090 18 30 80
T o t a l i n e a c l i eciuca-Tioiial level % of total reporting (30,400)
8.795
5,014
28.9
19.5
P r i n ci p*i l
Table IV.
1.175 4.315 314 454
T o t a l i n e a c h edw·:* rimial 1 evel 'i. of t o t αϊ
8,793 28.9
1,724 605
No. 549 398
°
%
75
of e n t r v group (783)
59 1
4.3
55. 1
79
4.0
7.4
1,072
1S.0 18.9 22.0 18 2
845 S.725 850 1,894
6.1 63. 5 6.2 13.8
32.7 49 .3 5 ' .4 61 5
98 1,303 126 173
5.0 66.7 6.4 8 9
3.8 7.4 7.6 5 .6
2,582 17,677 1,654 3.080
1. Full utilization in primary field and at proper level of competence while in military service. 2. Utilization in p r i m a r y field for at least half of the time spent in military service. 3. Utilization in a collatéral field of scientific training or experience throughout most, of military service.
bv
E d u c a t i o n al Level
OH
Vol. Kill i s t n i e i n %of group Xo. 14 41.3 17.6 6 17.6 6 5.9 2 6 17.6
He s e r v e % of group No. 1 10 45. 1 20. 1 49 14.7 36 8.2 20 η 9 29
3
Direct ( No. 90 23 2S 22
Is
244
181
4 5. 4
3 3 (i
13 16 2ό 17 36
20.5 14.7 17. 1 18.6 29. 1
12. 1 15.0 23.4 15.9 33 . 6
04 30 40 31 51
258
107
216
32.9
13.7
27 . 6
08 63 130 89 171
B A C H κι.OR 11.4 137 12.3 72 25.4 126 17.4 92 33 . 5 156
29.6 13.9 1.8. δ * 14.4 23 . 6
56 23 48 34 41
237 124 187 200 344
21.7 11.4 17.1 18.3 31 5
' % of group 49.7 12.7 15 5 12 2 9 9
27 7 Π .4 23 . 8 16.8 20 3
202
1092 % of e n t r y group (2,645)
4 1.3
89 47 121 68 135
oil
583
460
19.3
22.0
17.4
19. 3 10.2 26.3 14.8 29 4
Τ 'OTAL ( D Q CT O R S , M A S T K R S , A N D B A C H K L O R S ) 317 171 241 259 441
1 2 3 4 .5 °, of e n t r y ^ r o u p , T o t a l (3,967)
V O L U M E
2 5,
22.2 12.0 16.9 18.1 30.8
85 85 161 108 213
13.0 13.0 24.7 16.6 32.7
311 151 202 143 236
29.8 14.5 19.4 13.7 22.6
235 93 197 124 194
1,429
652
1,043
S43
3(i.O
16.4
26.3
21.3
NO.
31
>
.
AUGUST
4,
1 9 47
5
S.5 58. 1 5.4 10 1
4. Utilization in either primary or collateral field during relatively short portion of military service. δ. Utilization in neither military serv ice nor collateral fields at a n y time during military service. Many chemists entered the armed serv ices through the organized Reserve C o r p s . Of these about 3 5 % were not properly util ized. Those holding the doctorate degree fared somewhat better with about, 2 0 % re porting improper utilization. Similar per centages hold for those who accepted direct commissions. Among those who volun tarily enlisted or were drafted, t h e per centage4 who claim improper utilization is much greater. While the Ph.D.'s appear to have fared belter as a group, it must, be remembered that failure to utilize a person with doctorate training and experience is a proportionately greater loss to the total effort. Lack of trained personnel people, job analysts, a n d pressure of active combat fronts were among factors that contributed to the failure to use more of our scientific Table VI. S u m m a r v ο f U t i l i z a t i o n i n A r m e d F o r c e s ( M e n a n d \ΐ7 o m e i i )
2·~> S
23.5 12.3 21 . 6 15.8 26.8
%
1,955 0.4
13,745 45.2
5,924 19.5
ΠΟCTOΚ
1 2 3 4 5
3
23.9
Γ»
'
8.5 5.9
7.8 56.3 6. 1 9.5
MAS- l ΚΗ
m u 48
No. 2,571 • 1,781
4.3
34%
53
T O T A L IN W A K W O K κ ( 30,417)
256
14 7
1 2 3 4 5
%
464 3,334 364 559
79 % of e n t r v « r o u p (53 S)
I neon îplete C ollege (/ c of e d . e n g a g e d in level No. 3.3 4.4 86 5. 1 4 6 90
13.6
«roui» 34 .2 I l .4 12.6 13.9 27.9
27 9 10 IL 22
%
of ed. e n g a g e d in level S.2 1.5 35.3 4.0
ion
45.5 24.4 19.0 14 7
Don
1 2 3 4
0 4
' 0
No. 212 628
%
13.0 70. 1 7.7 0 5 7.3 1 4
1.0
D r ul't Ni).
%
PRESENT STATUS
No. 3,906 21.323 2,363 151 2.235 4 14
1.957
W a r 11 a n d C h e m i c a l K d u c a t
of e d . e n g a g e d in level 21.4 9.3 22.3 6.7
Method of Entry i n t o Army a n d N;Eivy a n d b y U t i l i z a t i o n (Males)
ΓΤΙΙ.ΙΖΑΤΙΟΓ
World
IN' τ OTAL WORK
13.3 49. 1 3. 0 5 2
146
centers about, t-lioir military service. In order to obtain useful unci valid data on this point·, members who reported military .service were further asked to state the nature of their military .service and to what extent their professional training had been utilised. T h e answers were then submitted to objective testing a n d placed in one of t h e five categories following:
Tabic; V.
%
67.1 37.3
19.0 7.6
ΓηΤοΤΤΓ,p l e t e C 03
38.9 15.0 19.5 13.3 13.3
120 58 66 44 66 354 41.6
33 9 10.4 IS. 6 12.5 18.6
357 139 146 94 117
41.9 16.3 17. 1 11 0 13.7
S53 21.2
improper utilization. This may be correlated with educational level, since a much larger percentage of Ph.D.'s is included in the older age group. In all, the poll indicated that almost 40% of those in military service were improperly used in regards to their scientific training, yet in February of 1942 Secretary of War Stimson stated: "The army is greatly in need of men of specialized training, particularly in physics, chemistry, engineering, and medicine. We are equally interested in having adequate numbers of men of such training available to war production industries and seas were received at the Royal Institution by Lord Rayleigh, president of the Royal Institution, and Lady Rayleigh. At 8:30 P.M. a reception was held by the Royal Society ήη Burlington House, with the guests received by Sir Robert Robinson and Lady Robinson. On Wednesday evening, July 16, Imperial Chemical In dustries, Ltd., held a large reception in the Connaught Rooms on Great Queen St. These and other functions created the opportunity for the chemists attend ing to meet informally amid comfortable surroundings and to exchange interna tional viewpoints at a most critical period in world history. On Tuesday afternoon a luncheon for ladies accompanying overseas delegates was arranged by the ladies' committee at the Rembrandt Hotel in South Kensington. On Wednesday eve ning the women chemists and a number of wives of distinguished visitors dined at the women chemists' dining club at Crosby Hall and then proceeded to the ICI reception. Several laboratory and plant visits were held, including the British Drug Houses, Ltd., the Distillers'" Co., Ltd., Epsom, Kodak, Ltd., Harrow, the Wellcome Re search Institute, Beckenham, the Chemi cal Research Laboratory of the Depart ment of Scientific and Industrial Research at Teddington, and the Fuel Research Station of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research at East Green wich. C H E M I C A L
civilian research agencies." And men were still being drafted from essential war industries, even though as early as 1941 the demand for chemists exceeded the supply by 2,000, according to a survey conducted SOCIETY.
by the
AMERICAN CHEMICAL
The results of this poll clearly indicated that a large portion of our scientific man power was not efficiently utilized. If re sults from other scientific groups bear out the results of the ACS poll, and there ap pears to be no reason why they should not, they will clearly demonstrate the need for some action to prevent the recurrence of such .waste of technological manpower in the event of a future emergency. Through the data gained in polls of this type, a basis can be obtained for intelligent action.
Table VIII.. CAST Ρ , N a v y
Ed u c a l i o n in Service
V , ΟΓ
o t h e r technical courses) DID NOT HAVE TECHNICAL COURSES
HAD TECHNICAL COURSES W H I L E IX SERVICE
WHILE: Ι Χ SERVICE
%of total
No.
%of total
No.
29 years a n d under 30 years a n d over
1,024
23.2
1,139
694
15.7
1,380
29.9 31.2
All ages
1,718
3o.9
2,699
61.1
The more than 3,000 chemists and chem ical engineers who attended the Centenary Celebrations of the Chemical Society from practically every country of the world will long remember the warm hospi tality of the officials and fellows of the society. I t is upon such foundations that science progresses a t an international level and the cause of world peace is erected. In concluding this report of the Centen ary Celebrations, I give an excerpt from the address of Sir Harold Hartley, deliv ered at a joint meeting of the Royal So ciety of Arts with the Chemical Society held on Feb. 19, 1947, to commemorate the centenary of the foundation of the Chemical Society and published in full in the Journal of the Royal Society of Arts. And I cannot help reflecting on the con trast between this record of achievement and the sorry state of the world today. Is it not paradoxical that with the under standing we have won of nature's secrets, with our power to control nature in ac tion, that the majority of mankind should still be suffering from malnutrition and many from endemic disease? This seems to me a challenge to science and not least to chemists. Is sufficient effort being de voted to the application of the knowledge we already possess? What should be the priorities? How can we ensure that the same concerted effort is made to use that knowledge for the peace and contentment of the world as made it such a potent fac tor in the war? That is the thought I would leave with you at the beginning of our second century. A N D
E N G I N E E R I N G
NEWS
