L E T T E R Ss Misplaced Talent DEAR SIR:
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Sirs: Please send me the free DHA sample and technical bulletin. Name Company
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4
C&EN FEB. 22, 1960
I read with great interest the case history of Mr. X in the article "Teaching Leadership to Scientists" (C&EN, Feb. 1, page 4 8 ) . It seems to me that one does not have to be a psychologist to see what is really behind. To start off, Mr. X is completely misplaced in the organization. Let me elaborate: According to the description of him, he is more than a technician by heart or abilities. A technician is not supposed to do the things Mr. X takes delight in doing. He should be persuaded and actively helped to go back to school for an advanced degree. A normal person doing his share within the' over-all picture according to his abilities and secret desires does not need excessive and planned applause. It is only when he feels that something is wanting or wasted that he craves for more recognition, WALTER G. ROTHSCHILD
New York, N.Y.
Unilluminated Area DEAR SIR:
Congratulations to Dr. Sidney M. Cantor for his excellent article, "Professional Attitudes" (C&EN, Jan. 25, Part 2, page 7 ) . He focuses attention on a malaise current among industrial chemists. Dr. Cantor overstates "the independent nature of the teacher's work." Most teachers are bound by tradition as to what constitutes proper course content. A visit to a freshman laboratory will make you feel right at home even after an interlude of 20 years. Change is slow and desultory. Dr. Cantor's suggestion for courses which contain "clear descriptions of the function of chemists and chemical engineers in industrial organizations" would, I fear, increase the number of student drop-outs. The sad fact is that the self-image which the chemistry student has is what gives him the head of steam he needs to plow through so much laboratory work and homework. American industrial research, I submit, is misnamed. It is partly an organized effort to make matter take on certain physical properties, and partly
an effort to furnish a free and neverending technical service to customers. Untold numbers of highly trained chemists are mixing and heating untold combinations of natural and manmade materials in order to obtain some property someone needs for some application. It is this aspect of their work, I believe, that helps cause dissatisfaction. If a man were doing bona fide research, his superior would also have to be a research person in order to understand what was being done. Conflict arises in the pyramid of command when a bona fide research man has to deal with the managerial mind. Here is where you need new courses! The management of research is still an unilluminated area driven by values alien to the research mind. WILLIAM I. HARBER, PH.p.
Chemical
Consultant
Chicago, III.
Chemical Technicians DEAR SIR:
It was a pleasant surprise to come across the references to the role of the chemical technician in the article by C. G. Overberger in "Career Opportunities for Chemists and Chemical Engineers" (C&EN, Jan. 25, Part 2, page 5.) The ACS has done very little to publicize or sell to industry the use of two-year college trained chemical technicians. There are certainly plenty of B.S. degree chemists doing work which could be handled by a competent technical institute chemical graduate. In addition to the European recognition of two-year education, in this country the two-year technical college curriculum is accredited by the Engineering Committee on Professional Development (ECPD) of the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE). It might be time for the ACS to consider formal recognition and accreditation of curricula that provide "in part for this badly needed and skilled category." Dr. Overberger is to be complimented that, in spite of his busy life, he is acquainted with two-year technical education and the need it can fill in the chemical industry. FRED W. SCHMITZ
Brooklyn, N.Y.
Japanese Fiber Production DEAR SIR:
The item on page i7 of the Jan. 4 C&EN about Japanese polyvinyl alcohol fiber production is misleading. Polyvinyl alcohol fiber in staple and tow form has been produced on a commercial basis by Kurashiki Rayon Co., Ltd., Osaka, Japan, since 1950. We understand that Kurashiki's present production capacity for polyvinyl alcohol fiber in staple and tow form is 30 million pounds per year. The Dai Nippon Spinning Co., Ltd., has also produced staple Vinylon fiber commercially for several years, though on a somewhat smaller scale. The Daily News Record (New York) for Dec. 28, 1959, reported that Kurashiki Rayon Co. and Kanegafuchi Spinning Co. were planning to start full production of Vinylon K-56, with a joint manufacturing arrangement. K-56 is the Japanese designation for another type of Vinylon fiber, other than Vinylon staple and tow which has been in production for the past decade. The same press release also indicated that commercial Vinylon filament plants are being built by Kurashiki Rayon Co., Ltd., and Mitsubishi Rayon Co.* Ltd. As you stated in C&EN, Vinylonfilamentfiberhas been only in limited production up to now. The Dai Nippon Spinning Co., Ltd., also announced that they were increasing the current daily capacity of the Vinylon staple plant from 18 tons to 30 tons, although the C&EN item indicates that staple production is just about to start. C. S. WYNN
Central Engineering Department Atr Reduction Co. New York, N.Y.
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