Evolution of the Profession of Research Chemist in Industry Ellington M. Beavers and Barbara F. Nodine Beaver College, Glenside, PA 19038 Invoking the basic principles of chemistry to solve industrial problems and to develop new and better commercial products began in Germany in the 19th century and in the United States early in the 20th. This interaction between science in the universities and business in the secular world proved to hem useful rrsults at times, and both scientist and businessman bezan t o de\.elop mechanisms for the interactions which are still evolving today. T o understand why this collaboration still operates imperfectly, we must recall that the role of scholar-professor was well defined and socially established centuries before industrv. The discoverv of scientific truth and svstematizina of fuAdamenta1 knowledge has always been a highly respected and prestigious pursuit, however poorly paid. The philosophers and alchemists of earlier ages tended to be associated with the church, the universities, or the courts of their patrons, and were accorded whatever deference accrued to the role. The role has changed little to this day, and the university professor continues to endorse teaching as the most honorable and admirable of career objectives for his best students, despite the fact that the position seldom commands much power or wealth. The successful businessperson, on the other hand, can realisticallv attain to ereat uersonal wealth and often wields consideradle power, b;t seidom does his prestige rely on his skill as a teacher or on his having- command of the latest fundamental scientific knowledge. One might imagine that people of such disparate persuasions would find it difficult to work together for the same ends, but the relationship seems to have been smooth as long as i t operated inte1mittek.1~a t arm's length, with the scientist and businessman remaining primarily occupied in their own spheres of interest. General Electric was one of the first American companies to realize the need for more concerted attention to its technological progress, as competitors hoth in this country and in Germanv threatened to take the lead in the marketplace with better light bulbs. Willis R. Whitney was hired in-1900 as the company's first full-time researcher, and he participated in assembling a laboratory staff. The wisdom of selecting such a man was shown by the caliber of two of the early recruits, William D. Coolidge and Irving Langmuir, and by the success they and their associates achieved in the ensuing decades (1). During those same decades and up to the present time, cornorations continued also to subsidize research a t the universities and to sponsor projects at consulting laboratories and a t eovernmental research institutes. Indeed, the attractiveness of industry's funds a t MIT was sufficiently tempting a t times to persuade staff members to compromise freedom of problem choice and rights to publish, until in the latter '30's President Compton effected reforms to reestablish priorities felt t o be more suitable for a first-class universitv (2). Although the experience of other universities is not so well documented, the senior author's 43 years of experience in the chemical industry afforded first-hand observation of schools and individual academicians vacillating similarly in ~
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search of a satisfactory relationship with industry. A common company practice evolved early for academic specialists to visit the research laboratory several times a year and interact with the nermanent staff. Another device is the "industrial associates" concept in which for an annual contribution, the university gives the company certain privileges of access to faculty for advice on scientific and technical questions. These are simply refinements of the arm'slength relationships of a century ago. If against this brief historical background one considers that industry today employs thousands of research scientists, the logical presumption would be that time has created an accommeodethrmsel\w on the hasis of their individual aporaisals bf ollege ;graduates hired by the company first take a series of four or five four-to-sixmonth rotating assignments under the wing of veteran emolovees. . . Thev find out what. if anvthine. . -. thev.like about the opportunities available, and what they want to avoid, and then can bid on a full-time job or leave. (19). The applicability of this concept to young PhD chemists seems not to have been widely tested. One gets the distinct impression from this sampling that the most cost-effective mechanism(s) for smoothing the transition from academe to industry has yet to be conceived and worked out. I t is only fair to say that marked differences are observed among the participating companies in the responses of their young people on this subject, and i t seems clear that some companies have learned how t o manage a smoother transition than others. I t is possible also that the very nature of different businesses may account for some of the differences in ease of adjustment, so that what works well for one company may not be possible for another. Table 4 shows the distribution of years out of the PhD degree for the chemists in this study, as well as thenumber of suggestions made by those in each experience year for improving the chemists' graduate-school preparation for jobs in industry and for improving their later job satisfaction. The aggregate number of suggestions for improving the chemist's lot seems to hear no sienificant relationshio to the " number of years out of school. At least until the chemist is oromoted into sunervisine other PhD chemists. he shows no Indication here oS acceptLg things as they areand dismissing the problem from his mind.
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Summary and Conclusions
What then does this study tell us about the evolution of the profession of research chemist in industry after nearly a century of experience with the interaction between business and science? We have the pertinent testimony of a substantial sample of voune PhD chemists who entered the ~rofessionan average of 4:5 years before the timeof our interviews. We find
that they were trained in graduate schools by academicians who in many cases view careers in industrial research as a safety net for their less-bright students not likely to make the grade as professors. In the'usual case, the student is led to adopt standards of professionalism which are characteristic of the academic world. but which will reauire ~ a i n f u l modification and readjustments in industry. Most comnanies hire research chemists as thev would hire electricians,'i.e., as people with special skills that the business needs. The chemists are set apart from the company's other employees in a physical sense, because their work reauires laboratories, but not in any meanindul . -professional sense. Personnel departments and business managers equate research positions to other positions in the company hcerarchv" for ou&oses of salarv administration. in a manner that is influenced to some extent by common practice in the industrv. ..but lareelv - " determined hv business executive .iudament of relative values. When Irvine Lanemuir renorted for work a t GE in 1909, he was invite: to Gok aro&d for awhile a t the research under wav and then to choose a ~ r o i e cof t his own ( I ) . He did so and continued to have that freedom of judgment for over 40 vears. His iudements were excellent, as shown by the record of comier&lly important contributions he made for GE:and for the henetit of society. If Langmuir was exemplar of the professional research scientist in industry in his time, then we must conclude that the profession has surrendered muchof its autonomy and respect by managements since his time, even allowing for the wide variation to he expected on this score among companies. There seems to be little doubt that many chemists experience a period of painful adaptation in their early years in industry, hut the often-suggested "solution" of co-op arrangements and internships in industry for graduate students seems to he a concession t o the inflexibility of both academic and industrial mores. The rationale appears to be that, if only the graduate student could gain some early insight into the peculiarities of industrial management of research, then he could discount the peculiarities of the academic environment and enter an industrial career with fewer illusions. We suggest that a more basic solution to the problem might grow out of creative effort3 to bring into A
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closer accord the academic and industrial concepts of the profession of research chemist. This major undertaking might he a realistic objective for the second century of American industrial research. Acknowledgment
This report stems from a national study made by The American Institute of Chemists, many of whose members participated, including the following interviewers: F. J. Van Antwerpen, Philip S. Baker, 0. A. Battista, Ellington M. Beavers, Hans Breuer, Adrian H. Cubberley, Otto C. Elmer, Homer Hall, Frederick B. Jueneman, Sister Mary Kieran McElroy, E. Gerald Meyer, Martin M. Rieger, David Riley, David A. H. Roethel, Gardner W. Stacy, and Glenn E. U1lyot. A number of respected critics have reviewed the manuscript in earlier forms; especially helpful comments were offered by Sheldon Hochheiser and George Wise. Literature Cited (1) Wise. George. ISIS, 74, 7 (19831, and Reieh, Leonard 6..Tachnol. Cult.. 24. 199 (1983). (2) Servos, John W.,ISIS, 71,531 (19801. (3) Cwk, C. F., R e 8 Manag.. 18.28 (19751. (4) Good,Mary I.,KeynoteAddreaa.DreyfueConference,NorthearternUnivemity.Boston, Jan. 12-13.1979 (taped remrd, loaned by American ChemicalSmietyI. 151 Marernn. Simon. "The Scientist in American Industrv." , ~ ~~~~~~~~~, , .. Hamer & Brothers. New york. ISE.~.~;. 5.14.19.34. (61 Laitinen, H.A., J. Anal. Chem., 51,321 (1979). (7) Long, J. Scott, and McGinnis, R., Amer. Soeiol. Re"., 46,422 (19811. (8) Gri1filh.E. J.,J.CHeM.EDUC.,58,268(1961l. 19) Danes. Gwffrey, J. CHEW.EDUC..56.504 (19791. (10) Louis. Meryl Reis, "O~ganiultionalDynamiea." AMACOM Periodicals Division, American Management Associations. New York, 1982, pp. 68-77. ( ~ 1 Kornhauser. ) Willism,"Scienfis~iinIndus~y." UniversityofCelifmiaPreaa.Berkeley, 1962.p~.12-14.18-19. (12) Mausner, Rernard. and Nodine, Barbare F., T a c h . Psvehol..S, 169 (1982). (13) Hughes, E. C.. "The Socialogical Eye: Selected Papers." Aldine Athertan, Chicago, 1971, pp. 40M16. (14) Moore, W. E.. '"The Professions: Roles and Rulw." Russell Sage Foundation. New York, 1970,pp. 5-16. (151 Giesren, Bill C., Daviea, Oeoffrw. LoQueaoe, Philip W. and Weins. Karl, J. CHBM. EDUC. 53.149 (19761. (16) The University of Texas a t Dallas, "Dodor of Chemistry Industrial Bmhurr" (undated). (The University of Terasat Mington has prop& agraduste cvrrieulvm leading to thedegree of Doctor ofScience in Applied Chemistry. TheUniversityof Southern Mississippi offers advancod degrees in polymer science, giving rcaliatic intraduction to the develupmant of industrial polymer praduds.1 (17) Noble, David F.. "America by Design: Alfred A. Knopf, New York. 1977, pp. M 2 . (18) "Oxford American Dictionary: Oxford University Press, New York, 1980, p. 533. (19) Wise, George, privstemmmunieation.
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Volume 62 Number 9
September 1985
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