Some Aids in a Scientific Ca mer HIS broad subject nil1 be limited to a discussion of some
Tpost-collegiate aids which will register the greatest impact in the early years-and actually, are not these the most
-
important years of the young scientist? Let us assume that the young scientist has a bachelor’s degree from a school with a reasonably good reputation. This really means that he has some foundation in the sciences, and a nodding acquaintance n-ith some of the humanities and languages. If he has a graduate degree, he may have a somewhat better foundation in the sciences, and a reading knowledge of English, French, and German. We can further assume that he has secured a position with some industrial concern and is anxious to better his chances for advancement. What can he do? The few aids which will be discussed are things very largely in his own hands. He can do something about them if he will. Of innate ability, many people (including Roger Adams when he received the Perkin Award) have made the statement that you are born with it and it cannot be further cultivated. But if you will read Dr. Adams’ address carefully, you mill note his further comment that many people with lesser innate ability accomplish, a t times, more than their more fortunate competitors, because they stick persistently to the job a t hand. Is not this reminiscent of the fable of the hare and the tortoise? One of the aids that has been highly recommended for hundreds of years is continued study. Still, today many young graduates seem to think that they become completely educated with the receipt of the diploma. They fail to realize the fact that a college training is merely a small step on the road to becoming educated. A college education teaches one where certain information may be attained, and to some extent how to use that information, and perhaps how to obtain it if it is not readily available in the literature.
1
Henry L. Cox, who came to Corn Products Refining Co. a decade ago and is now vice president of the company, is a former “Tarheel” who received his undergraduate education in chemical engineering at the University of North Carolina and his doctorate at Chicago. Mr. Cox has had an astonishingly diversified industrial experience-from food to oil to chemicals and back to food. His experience includes Beech-Nut Packing Co., Cudahy Packing Co., Standard Oil Co. (Indiana), Mellon Institute, and Carbide and Carbon. In this last position he was assistant superintendent of Carbide’s synthetic organics plant at Charleston, W. Va. During World War I1 Dr. Cox was loaned to the Government as assistant to the vice president of Rubber Reserve. He is a member of several scientific fraternities and societies and has been an ACS member for over 35 years.
December 1955
I1lei~elybeing awaj- from a college campus does not mean that one has no opportunity for study. So the young scientist can and should continue to study mathematics, the sciences, languages, economics, whatever he may wish or need. It is true that it requires more self-discipline to study alone than it does in a group, and also that the reward is generally greater. At least the new knowledge is better appreciated. Another aid that should be considered is a better memory. There is no reason why we should forget so much of what we hear or read or learn. But with such a flood of radio and television programs and so many movies to distract attention, life has become very complex, and there seems little opportunity for the study and practice mhich are generally required for a better memory. Yet there are many instances of people with poor memories for names or faces or facts who have made marked improx-ement without too great effort. Kame and face memory is a valuable asset. One should not make the mistake of cluttering his memory with a host of useless and unimportant facts. Perhaps Sherlock Holmes was right when he stated that a man’s brain is somewhat like an attic: You can put only a certain number of facts into that attic, like furniture. After a while each new fact crowds out some older one. Perhaps conscious effort will help you put more information into your brain attic. Certainly it will help put what is there in better order. Attitude is a subtle characteristic that can be a tremendous aid-or an equally tremendous handicap. All young scientists should reread a note entitled “Quo Vadis?”, Francis Frary’s guest arLicle in this column for September 1954, about attitude and its values. The young scientist’s attitude toward his fellow workers, toward those in charge of his work, toward the people with whom he comes in contact outside of working hours-all these have a tremendous bearing on his professional career. Have you ever seen a gem stone with only one facet ground and polished? The real beauty of the gem is brought out only when the many facets are finished. No matter how brilliant, a scientist with a one-track mind is like a gem with only one polished facet. He needs other activities-other facets polished-if he is to take his rightful place in society. Another aid is more rapid reading. Because of the flood of scientific literature alone, there is little time for anything if one does not make an effort to read more rapidly. And this is one ability that can be cultivated with little effort, almost all the time, without any special props. It is amazing to see how rapidly reading speed may be increased with relatively little work. And it will enable the young scientist to save, from the time devoted to his reading, enough time for other worth-while effort.
INDUSTRIAL AND ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY
19 A
433 GAS HAZARDS .a.
Professiona I M a n
and How to Overcome Them!
AS a practical help to anyone who is confronted with the problem of hazardous gases, mists, fumes, smokes and dusts, ACME offers this valuable Protection Guide. It lists 433 of these hazards along with the ACME Gas Mask Equipment designed to give you dependable protection in each specific case. Thia vital information is available rively through ACME. Wri
A CME . . . GAS MASK
the only
with “Picture Windows”
You never have that “horse-blinder’’ Feeling with the ACME Full-Vision Gas Mask. Its patented larger lenses provide full, natural vision with greater comFort along with protection you can rely on. Other ACME features include easier breathing, less fogging, and increased audibility. There’s an ACME Mask to provide the right protection for every hazard such as those listed in the Protection Guide. Write for Bulletins 541 and 542 describing A C M E canister gas mask equipment.
ACME PROTECTION EQUIPMENT C O M P A N Y 1243 Kalamazoo Street, South Haven, Mich. Circle NO. 20 A-1 on Readers’ Service Card, page 111 A
will do YOUR pumping job BETTER! ideal for alcohols, bases, slurries, most abrasive materials, and acids. Very efficient o n viscous, tacky materials.
I
Dependable ?ositive Action under ALL conditions
I 1.
0 Made i n Stainless Steel, Bronze, Ni Cast Hastelloy,
Illium, Monel, Inconel and Nickel Alloy. Non-agitated, non-pulsating flow. 0 Built-in Flo-Control.
8 Only 2 moving parts i n pump, easy to clean. Dealers throughout United States and in many foreign countries. W r i t e for detailed information
Circle No. 20 A-2 on Readers’ Service Card, page 111 A
20 A
INDUSTRIAL AND E N G
i
An unfortunate change in thinking during the past 20 years has been caused by one aspect of the Wages and Hours Administration, particularly during World War 11, Here scientists were classified as exempt or nonexempt, depending largely on salary. The natural consequence was that a nonexempt scientist (usually young) could not put forth the extra effort which might distinguish him from a less valuable man, even despite his willingness to forego overtime pay for the sake of an opportunity to establish a useful idea. This has made many young professional men altogether too similar to the ditch digger, who, when the whistle blew, dropped his upraised pick and thereby suffered a foot injury. Another unfortunate trend is the present thinking about security. Security has been accented to such an extent that it well may become a boomerang and actually cause more damage than good. We talk of social security, job security, and every other type of security from the cradle to the grave. Look a t our Founding Fathers, a t Daniel Boone, at the Mormon band which founded a great state in the inhospitable mountains of the West. These people did not look to government for security; they made their own security with their own two hands. Too many of our young scientists are taught (largely by personnel recruiters from industry) to ask about pension arrangements, vacation allowance, sickness insurance, holidays, the number of pay increases they will receive within five years, and so on, ad nauseam. Many seem more interested in what they will not have to do, than in what opportunity may be ahead of them to make their own security by their own ability. No young scientist should blindly accept just any position offered. On the contrary, he should investigate the company to which he makes application a t least as carefully as the company investigates him. After all, each year of his effective life represents more than 2% of all his assets. He should ascertain what kind of people guide the company. Are they the kind of men with whom he wants to associate? Soon perhaps he will be one of them. In the over-all picture, he should look for opportunity, not security. In this country real security is found only in the penitentiary. Most young engineers particularly, and other scientists in general, have no desire to become linguists. They expect to be engineers, or chemists, or physicists, and not preachers, or teachers, or politicians; hence, they feel little need for a working knowledge of English. Yet throughout their careers they must sell their ideas, and the package in which these ideas are wrapped is the report-written or spoken in English. The time spent in writing and reading, so that facility may be obtained in the use of this tool (English) , will pay handsome dividends. All the aids mentioned are within every young scientist’s easy reach. How he takes advantage of them will define in large measure his progress in his chosen career. Formal education helps prepare the soil and plant the crop, but only personal effort will cultivate and reap it. Whether the young scientific hopeful realizes it or not, his professional neighbors are looking over the fence a t his efforts to grow a good crop; he will gain their respect and trust only as he demonstrates, during the growing season, his competence in preparing for the desired harvest. Correspondence concerning this column will be forwarded promptly if addressed t o the author, % Editor, INDUSTRIAL AND ENQINEERINQ CHEMI S T R Y , 1155--16th S t , N W., Washington 6, D. C.
VEERING CHEMISTRY
Vol. 41, No. 12
