RESEARCH
Europe Lags in Applied Research Report points to pride in fundamental work, probes lack of progress in technology "In the social sphere, there still prevails in Europe a prejudice against those who work with their hands." So says Dana Wilgress, former head, of the Canadian delegation to the Organization for European Economic Cooperation, in a just-released OEEC report. On the Continent and in Britain the social prestige of the professor, including the scientist, is very high. However, application of the results of science, says Mr. Wilgress, "suffers throughout Europe from the lack of fondness for working with one's hands, which has become so characteristic of . . . North Americans." Mr. Wilgress's purpose was to point out how West European scientific and technical resources could be intensified; how to make governments more aware of the importance of scientific research to national economies; and how to provide measures for speeding up cooperative action in increasing technical resources. After touring 16 OEEC member countries, Mr. Wilgress makes this deduction: "The full implications of the scientific revolution have not yet sunk into the consciousness of large sections of the populations of western European countries." OEEC countries are reluctant, he says, to adapt their educational systems to the needs of science and technology. "The countries of Europe are faced with the difficult task of preserving their unique culture and at the same time making the necessary adjustments to the needs of modern progress." Mass Production. The answer to the threat of Europe's being left behind in the march of science by the U.S. on one hand and the Soviet Union and China on the other clearly lies in the more energetic application of science to economic growth, the report says. The "quickened pace of scien48
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tific endeavors" has a meaning that is only just beginning to be understood in Europe. In surveying the achievements of the U.S. economy, Europeans thought they saw the answer in mass production. Yet mass production itself was the application of scientific methods to the \ r ast achievements of applied research in the U.S., where $9 billion is being spent this year on R&D. Today large industrial concerns in Europe are very science minded and have well equipped research facilities that can stand comparison with those anywhere. But the largest part of European industry is made up of medium and small companies which are definitely not bent toward science. One of the main problems facing Europe is to make these companies interested in research. This, says Mr. Wilgress, is a difficult task but is one in which international cooperation may help. Educational Problems. Inadequate university facilities and overcrowded classrooms, laboratories, and libraries are important factors in Europe's slow scientific progress today. The rigidity of the European educational system is an obstacle to the adaptation of these systems to present day needs. Britain undoubtedly leads in technological education experiments. France and Denmark are also trying out some new ideas. Yet for all the slowness of European educational systems, Mr. Wilgress points out, information from the U.S.S.R. is tending to confirm that not all of the 60,000 engineers being produced annually in the Soviet Union are up to European standards. In Europe, pride of place is given to fundamental research. The science professor is both teacher and research man, and he has complete freedom to tackle any field he chooses. This freedom, says Mr. Wilgress, is
the basis of the great discoveries that have taken place in the past. But sponsored research is not nearly so general in Europe as in North America. There is a trend, he says, toward encouraging more sponsored research. The Donors Association in West Germany is taking a positive attitude, while in France consideration is now being given to formally authorizing university professors to undertake sponsored research.
Britain's DSIR Is One Way. In Britain the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR) now permits a grant-aided research association to take on sponsored research without consulting DSIR. To work out the problem of such research in universities, Mr. Wilgress recommends the American practice of appointing a research secretary in the university. Unlike U.S. practice, Europe's approach is to organize research associations among companies in the same branch of industry to undertake research on a cooperative basis. This process has been carried furthest in Britain, where DSIR has organized and supported 46 research associations. But Mr. Wilgress warns that too much reliance should not be placed on cooperative research. "It can and has led to the neglect of sponsored research in Europe." By their very nature, research associations negate the competitive spirit—the main feature of the North American economy. They foster the "cartel" spirit that is a feature of the European economy, he says. Contract research facilities are growing in Europe. Battelle Memorial Institute has a laboratory in Geneva, Switzerland, for contract fundamental research and one in Frankfurt, West Germany, for contract applied research. Arthur D. Little has a laboratory in Scotland. Other sponsored research institutes in Britain are Fulmer Research Institute and Sondes Place Research Institute. The French are actively considering the creation of a French "Battelle" type institute. "The Americans have mastered the art of transforming the results of fundamental science into practical applications," says Mr. Wilgress. This art can be developed to the same extent in Europe if applied research is encouraged. Experience gained in trying to solve this problem should be pooled. OEEC, says Mr. Wilgress, provides a suitable forum for this purpose.
