I/EC
The Professional Side
Functions of a Chemical Consultant I HE number of chemical and engi neering consultants has varied i n versely as the index of industrial activity, but normally their ranks are exceedingly small when com pared to the army of able chemists and engineers employed i n industry. The usefulness of the consultant to those companies having well organized laboratories of their own is difficult to judge. Retaining the services of a consultant can be justified when his special knowledge and experience can be utilized to advantage at a fraction of the cost for his full-time employment. Smaller companies having few facili ties or lacking extensive technical coverage find it convenient to employ consultants as required. Such assist ance may be of the most varied nature, relating to better raw ma terial, more efficient process equip ment or process conditions, purifica tion of products, marketing, recogni tion of qualified personnel, knowing where needed information is to be had, etc. I n either case, the arrange ment works best only when wel comed by the company personnel and when some degree of mutual trust and confidence can be estab lished. Policies covering the em ployment of consultants w i l l vary from one company to the next, but in general it can be said that their services are most useful to the smaller ones. Independents and Laboratories
I n defining the chemical consult ant and his services, some distinction should be made between the in dividual or small group of consult ants and the well organized labora tories capable of carrying on re search. I n recent years, such labora tories have grown considerably i n size and scope of activities. Their good reputation is well deserved, in view of their over-all accomplish ments and established services. Like independent consultants, they are sometimes specialized in certain fields such as metallurgy, textiles, cos
metics, petroleum, foods, and indus trial wastes. Some offer a wide range of services. Still, there are many independent chemical con sultants serving industry. They are qualified by their individual experi ence and find great demand for their particular services. I f they do not have extensive facilities, they per form their duties in the plant retain ing them. Background and Development
World W a r I saw the beginning of the greatest expansion of this indus try, which has continued up to the present time. Prior to this war, the American chemical industry, though healthy and important, was not yet in the limelight. There were few chemical consultants, but outstand ing services had been rendered by such men as Charles F. Chandler at Columbia University and Arthur D . Little i n Boston, well known for his work in the field of textile fibers and paper manufacture. Robert Kennedy Ducan had written his famous "Chemistry of Commerce" and it was the realization that the field of industrial research, largely chemical, was as wide as all industry that inspired him to establish the Mellon Institute of Industrial Re search in 1912. Andrew and Richard B. Mellon shared his vision. During and after World War I , anyone who could aid in the many new lines of chemical manufacture found a real demand for his services. Among those who became deservedly well known were Arthur D . Litde, John E. Teeple, William M . Grosvenor, Parker C. Mcllhiney, J. Merritt Mathews, Jerome Alexander, and Alcan and M a r x Hirsch. W i t h the exception ol Arthur D . Little, their laboratories, i f any, were very meager. John Teeple's office was a picture of austerity, consisting of a small wooden table, two straightback chairs, and a typist behind a partition. M a n y university pro fessors were called upon for assist ance, including Col. William H .
Benjamin T . Brooks received his B.A. degree from Ohio State Uni versity and his Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Goettingen. His career as a chemist began with the U . S. Bureau of Standards in 1907. Shortly thereafter he was associated with the Philippine Bureau of Science as a chemist, Mellon Institute as senior fellow, Commercial Research Corp. as chief chemist, and Mathieson Alkali Works as chemical engineer. He has been a consulting chemist since 1924. I n this capacity he has been a consultant to the govern ment of Venezuela and the U . S. Special Commission to Mexico. D r . Brooks was chairman of the New York Section of the ACS in 1924. H e is member of ACS and A I C h E , an Honorary Life Fellow of the Institute of Petroleum (Lon don), Sigma X i , Phi Beta Kappa. H e was chairman of the Committee for Petroleum Research, National Research Council, 1922-24, and a member of the A P I Research Advisory Council, 1924-26. A partial listing of his publications would include: "Chemistry of the Nonbenzenoid Hydrocarbons," two editions; "Science of Petro leum," two editions; "Chemistry of Petroleum Hydrocarbons," 3 volumes (editor), 1955. Walker and Warren K . Lewis at M I T , Charles E. Munroe, an author ity on explosives, at George Washing ton University, and Charles F. Burgess and Colin G. Fink i n electroV O l . 50, NO. 8
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THE PROFESSIONAL
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chemistry Λ little later George Granger Brown, R. Norris Shreve, James Withrow, Ralph McKee, and M i l t o n C. YVhitaker became active as consultants in addition to their academic duties. As the need for assistance grew, it was natural that consulting work, frequently requiring research, be came better organized. I n addition to the Arthur D . Little Laboratories, other independent consulting and research laboratories came into being. Among the better known are: Foster D . Snell, Battelle I n stitute, National Research Institute, Stanford Research Institute, M i d west Research Institute, Southern Research Institute, and Southwest Research Institute. Several univer sities organized departments or special groups to do research under the general auspices of the university sharing i n the results to some degree, as at the University of Wisconsin, Purdue, Ohio State, Armour I n stitute, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Also most of the re search done for industrial associa tions such as the American Petroleum
Institute has been done since 1925 at universities under the direction of one or more professors. M a n y companies have established research fellowships. A l l of this may be considered as an outgrowth of chemi cal consulting work, a healthy and desirable development. Accomplishments
It is difficult to point out the accomplishments of chemical con sultants, since major developments are invariably the work of a group and consultants work i n close har mony w i t h regular employees of the client and enjoy their con fidence. Examples of this coopera tion might be the assistance of Warren K . Lewis in .developing better dis tillation equipment, of M . R. Fenske in the field of solvent extraction and distillation of petroleum oils, of E. R. Gilliland on processes for butadiene production and purifica tion, and of Chas. A . Kraus on a method for the manufacture of tetraethyllead. I t would be i m possible to list the accomplishments of the large laboratories noted above.
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Services
The work of consultants is gener ally supplemental to the work of regular, full-time company em ployees. Consultants are frequently retained i n cases of patent litigation, for example. Here the consultant acts as an independent party while being retained by a company for the express purpose of seeing that its position is presented i n a most favorable light. T h e independent consultant, or "expert" for the purposes of the suit, develops the , facts with chemists and engineers employed by his client. Facts are far more valuable than opinion : considerable experimental work or research frequently must be done to establish the facts. While company employees may also be fully qualified as "experts," their position is natu rally assumed by the court to be biased. Patent litigation is a matter for the federal courts, and the federal district judges are fair, patient and discerning. A n attorney will very rarely try to persuade an expert witness to give testimony on techni cal or scientific matters at variance with the latter's judgment or con victions. During the technical renaissance of the petroleum industry, beginning around 1920, there was considerable patent litigation. This has abated somewhat i n recent years. O i l and chemical companies now seem to follow a kind of live-and-let-live policy and extend cross licenses to others, keeping an eye out for the antitrust hounds. There is also a definite tendency to be more modest in the matter of patent royalties, which also tends to result i n less litigation. Future
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A development of recent years that is competitive with the consultant chemist or engineer is the large amount of technical service ex tended gratis by many companies to their customers or prospective cus tomers. This is a natural and necessary activity of good sales work. I n most cases it is very valuable to the recipient, although reducing the number of potential clients of the consultant. I n some instances the services of a consultant are still required to augment the coverage of
THE PROFESSIONAL SIDE the technical sales working force. Confidence and good relations can be established w i t h regular em ployees, i f the consultant can make useful suggestions and initiate proj ects freely. A n independent con sultant, free from the internal politics often found in industrial organiza tions, is i n a better position to evaluate the capabilities of an em ployee not otherwise recognized by his superiors. Although this phase of consulting work is little publicized, it is one of the functions required of the consultant, leaning on his background and observations of a variety of industries. The consultant frequently is i n a position to urge that better labora tory facilities be installed or a library be expanded. Such recommenda tions coming from an independent adviser who may be a recognized authority will carry more weight than a similar suggestion from a company employee. Under no circumstances should the consultant's name appear on a publication or patent application. Regular employees would rightfully feel that such action by a "part-time employee" would be a breach of the confidence they had placed i n the consultant. Subsequent contacts under these circumstances would make free discussion w i t h the regular technical staff difficult, an impossible situation for the consultant. There may be the feeling i n some companies that what is learned by a consultant in one company may be passed on to another, possibly a competitor. While this is possible, it is equally true when the services of an engineering or construction company are engaged. The "pro fessionalism" and reputation of the consultant are at stake when his services are engaged. While there undoubtedly may be some unethical people i n the field, common prin ciples of ethics bind the chemical consultant, in much the same manner as any other person acting in a posi tion of confidence and trust. The stature of the consultant is attained only after years of expert service. T o be well known is not enough. T o be well known for the excellence of the services offered is the aim of the professional chemical consultant. The achievement of that aim is the satisfaction of servic ing industry well and faithfully.
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