DOMINION OF CANADA 
 
 THE HONORARY ADVISORY COUNCIL FOR 
 SCIENTIFIC AND^DUSTRIAL RESEARCH 
 
 PULLETIN No. 10 
 
 ^ 
 
 ^ 
 
 A PLAN 
 
 FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF 
 
 INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH 
 
 IN CANADA 
 
 BY 
 
 R. F. RUTTAN, B.A., M.D., D.Sc. F.R.S.C. 
 
 CANADA 
 
 Published by the authority of the Sub-Committee of the Privy 
 Council for Scientific and Industrial Research 
 
 OTTAWA. 1921 
 
Cornell University 
 Library 
 
 The original of this book is in 
 the Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924089513810 
 
ALBERT R. MAN! 
 LIBRARY 
 
 A PLAN FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF INDUSTRlAfe 
 
 RESEARCH IN CANADA. -„.,^. . .'..„^^„ 
 
 — — CORNELL UNIVERS 
 
 By R. F. RuTTAN, B.A., M.D., D.Sc, F.R.S.C. 
 
 Abstract of an Address before the Chemical Congress, New York, 
 
 September, 1921. 
 
 In 1916 the government of Canada by Order in Council 
 established an Advisory Council for Scientific and Industrial 
 Research. This corresponds very closely in organization to the 
 National Research Council of the United States, and was modeled 
 largely on the Advisory Council for Scientific and Industrial 
 Research in Great Britain which has now become the Department 
 of Scientific and Industrial Research of the British government. 
 
 Among the duties assigned to us as a Council, we were required 
 to ascertain and tabulate the various agencies conducting research 
 in the universities and in the industries, but especially to make 
 ourselves, to quote from the government mandate, "acquainted 
 with the problems of a technical and scientific nature that are 
 met with by our productive and industrial interests, and to bring 
 them into contact with the proper research agencies for solving 
 these problems, and thus link up the resources of science with the 
 labour and capital employed in production so as to bring about 
 the best possible economic results." 
 
 As a result of a careful survey of the research carried on in 
 Canada and of the scientific organization the industries, we were 
 reluctantly compelled to recognize the fact that scientific research 
 in Canada was practically confined to the laboratories of two or 
 three of our universities and one or two departments of the 
 government. So far from there being any research in the industries, 
 we found the absence of any scientific control to be the rule rather 
 than the exception. The industries jrere in the rough, pioneer 
 stage of organization. 
 
 Promotion of Research by the Council. 
 
 By means of lectures, bulletins and addresses before the 
 
 Canadian Clubs and Boards of Trade throughout the Dominion, 
 
 and frequent conferences with the branches of the Manufacturers' 
 
 Association, we successfully directed attention to the value of 
 
scientific method of research. A demand for university trained 
 men in the industries resulted. The Council began at once to 
 aid in training men for research by establishing a system of 
 studentships and fellowships to encourage graduates of special 
 ability to enter the field of research, thus providing trained minds 
 for fundamental and technical research. This year we are sending 
 about fifty of the best graduates of our universities into scientific 
 research work in graduate schools. 
 
 We gave substantial financial assistance to researches, both 
 academic and industrial, on the whole with very satisfactory 
 results. During the summer of 1917 we cast about to find some 
 comprehensive and effective system by which scientific and 
 industrial research in Canada could be developed. We naturally 
 studied the plans for promoting ■ industrial research under con- 
 sideration or actually in progress in Great Britain, and in the 
 other dominions of the Emprie, as well as in France and Italy. 
 We were kept informed by correspondence with the National 
 Research Council of the United States regarding their plans and 
 organization. We were in the fortunate position of having a clean 
 sheet on which to make our plans. Canada had no National 
 Research Institute, no Bureau of Standards, no National Physical 
 Laboratory, no privately endowed Institutes for research. 
 
 The technical and scientific laboratories of the various depart- 
 ments of the Federal government were isolated units, each intent 
 on its special work, doin^ it well but with no co-ordination or 
 co-operation and not in intimate relatiqins, with the industries of 
 the country. The universities were similarly isolated from the 
 industries and, with one or two exceptions, teaching and adminis- 
 tration work absorbed all the energies of the staff and all the 
 available resources. Training in research was confined to two or 
 three of our large universities. 
 
 The difficult task of bridging the gap which separates science 
 from its application to industries is one which has in recent years 
 called for the closest consideration of the leaders in science in 
 every country. This problem, so vital to the nation, had to be 
 solved by us in a way to give the best results under the conditions 
 as we found them in Canada. We recognized that the liaison 
 between science and its application could be effected only by organ- 
 
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ized effort, by bringing about an intimate co-operation between 
 those who could set the industrial problems and those whose 
 training and knowledge would aid in their solution. 
 
 Establishment of Central Research Institute. 
 
 We finally decided in 1917 upon the policy of establishing a 
 Central Research Institute for both scientific and industrial 
 research. This general plan for developing research in Canada 
 met with the cordial approval and encouragement of the National 
 Research Council, and the group of representative scientists in 
 Washington during the winter of 1917-18. We had the advantage 
 of several conferences at Washington with many of the leaders 
 of scientific organization in this country by invitation of Dr. Hale, 
 then president of the National Research Council. 
 
 As finally developed and outlined in Bill 116 of this year's 
 parliament, the National Canadian Research Institute was prac- 
 tically unanimously approved by the Cabinet and passed the 
 House of Commons without division, but, owing to an unexpected 
 attack of economy on the part of the Senate, the Bill was not 
 confirmed but postponed until next session. Notwithstanding the 
 vote of the Senate, the Cabinet gave us a special grant of $10Q,000 
 which will enable us this year to make a small beginning by 
 securing a site and preparing detailed plans of the buildings. 
 The first building will be a .four-story unit, 200 by 60, with a well 
 designed power plant attached, capable of extension and adjust- 
 ment. It will be erected on a site near Ottawa, sufficiently large 
 to give ample room for expansion, with a flexible organization to 
 enable its activities to be adapted to the varying requirements of 
 a rapidly growing country like Canada. 
 
 Activities of the Institute. 
 
 The activities of the Institute may be classified briefly as 
 follows : — 
 
 1. It will be the Bureau of Standards for Canada and will 
 have charge of the standardization and certification, of the 
 scientific and technical apparatus and instruments for the 
 government service and for use in the industries and labora- 
 
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tories of Canada; and the determination of the standards of 
 quality of the materials used in the construction of public 
 works and of the supplies used in the various branches of the 
 public service. As applied to the industries, it will investigate 
 methods of standardization and measurement generally, the 
 physical and mechanical properties of such" materials as are 
 used by a large number of industries. The unification of 
 standards will be carried on in association with the Committee 
 on Engineering Standards now doing excellent work in Canada. 
 
 2. Closely associated with its function as a Bureau of 
 Standards, it will carry on fundamental research in chemistry, 
 biology, physics and related fields, investigations similar to 
 those engaging the attention of university professors in 
 scientific laboratories. 
 
 3. Investigations in biochemistry and bacteriology, both 
 general and as applied to such industries as the fisheries 
 and packing industry. 
 
 4. Investigations undertaken on recommendation of the 
 Research Council from time to time to promote the utiliza- 
 tion of the natural resources and valuable waste materials 
 of the country. 
 
 Organization of the Institute. 
 
 The type of research work described under these four heads 
 will be carried on by the permanent staff of the Institute, 
 associated with specialists engaged from time to time. The heads 
 of departments will be chemists, physicists, engineers; and other 
 scientists who have already shown high capacity for investigation 
 and will be allowed the greatest possible opportunity to carry on 
 fundamental research, each along his own line. We do not intend 
 to lose sight of the significance of the individual in research. 
 Co-operation in investigations of national importance requiring 
 the combined efforts of chemists, physicists, and engineers will be 
 planned by the director in council with the heads of departments, 
 when such problems meet with the approval of the Research 
 Council and the director. 
 
 This group of twelve or fifteen highly qualified investigators 
 will form an advisory body for the industrial specialists who will 
 be engaged by the Research Council or paid by the industries 
 
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"to conduct investigation and standardization at the request of 
 any group of industries in Canada concerning the materials used 
 by them or of the products of such industries." 
 
 They will, from time to time, assist in and act as consultants in 
 researches undertaken with the object of improving the technical 
 processes and methods used in the industries of Canada, and of 
 discovering new processes and methods which may promote the 
 expansion of existing, or the development of new industries. 
 
 The director, in consultation with the Research Council or a 
 committee of the Council, has the power of deciding on the 
 technical processes and methods which require and would justify 
 investigation and the conditions under which they should be 
 undertaken. 
 
 We are establishing in Canada a number of associations for 
 research in the industries, similar to those in England and the 
 United States. These trade guilds for research, as we call them, 
 will pay their own specialists, the Institute providing the labora- 
 tory accommodation and facilities available in its building without 
 rental. A nominal charge only will be made for power and 
 material. Several are now being organized. 
 
 Under conditions to be determined in each case, laboratories 
 will be placed at the disposal of individual industrial firms, for 
 study of improvements in processes and utilization of by-products. 
 The length of time these laboratories may be occupied and the 
 conditions of secrecy regarding the work will be similar to the 
 requirements of the Mellon Institute. In this phase of its 
 activities, the Research Institute will parallel the Mellon Institute, 
 with this difference, that instead of being maintained by private 
 endowment it will be endowed by the government of the country. 
 
 The difi&culties in equipping and manning any institute capable 
 of carrying on more than a fraction of the research required by 
 the manifold industries of the United States or of Great Britain 
 are almost insuperable. This, we have concluded, is not the case 
 in Canada. A central research institute, having functions such as 
 described, is applicable to a country like Canada having compar- 
 atively few very large industries and a number of unimportant 
 ones scattered over many thousands of miles. Many of these 
 industries are quite isolated from sources of information and 
 materials for research. 
 
The Bill passed by the Cabinet and House of Commons of 
 Canada further provides that, when instructed to do so by the 
 Governor in Council, the Institute should assume a part or all of 
 the research work now carried on in the various departments of 
 the government, or, when found desirable for the sake of efficiency 
 or economy, these investigations should be co-ordinated and super- 
 vised by the institute, under conditions approved by the Research 
 Council. 
 
 Patentable Discoveries. 
 
 The difficult question of remuneration for valuable and patent- 
 able discoveries has been left largely to the discretion of the 
 Research Council. Article 16, dealing with this subject which is 
 of general interest, reads as follows: — 
 
 All discoveries, inventions and improvements in processes, 
 apparatus or machines, made by a member or any number of 
 members of the technical staff of the Institute, shall be 
 vested in the Council and shall be made available to the 
 public under such conditions and payment of fees or royalties 
 or otherwise as the Council may determine, subject to the 
 approval of the Governor in Council. The Council may pay 
 to technical officers of the Institute and to others working 
 under its auspices, who have made valuable discoveries, in- 
 ventions or improvements in processes, apparatus or machines, 
 such bonuses or royalties as in its opinion may be warranted. 
 The intention of the Council is to give a liberal share in 
 the commercial rights of all such discoveries. Its function is 
 to develop research, not to exploit it. 
 To illustrate this policy, all discoveries of commercial value 
 made by persons receiving grants of money from the Council to 
 meet the expense of researches, ntany of which have industrial 
 applications, are practically the property of the investigator. 
 The discoverer is given the right to patent his results, and, except 
 where the discovery is of national importance, he reaps the whole 
 benefit of his research. The extent to which he will participate, 
 if he is not given the entire proceeds of his patent, depends largely 
 on the part played by the grant in bringing about a successful 
 result. In the case of inventions and discoveries made by technol- 
 
ogists in the employ of the government or by holders of fellowships, 
 etc., whose whole time is paid for by the government or the 
 Council, the conditions are different; the practice in these cases 
 has hitherto been to allow a half interest in each patent taken out 
 for Canada, the remainder being retained by the government or 
 Council and applied to the advancement of research. The 
 discoverer has been, however, allowed to patent his results in 
 other countries than Canada and to receive the whole of the 
 royalties, etc., resulting. 
 
 The staff of the Institute will consist of a director and a group 
 of scientific and technical officers appointed by the Research 
 Council, which latter body shall prescribe their remuneration and 
 tenure of office, always subject to the approval of the Governor 
 in Council. The director will be given a very free hand and will 
 receive a salary commensurate with his responsibilities. The Act 
 states that he shall control the work of the Institute, report to 
 the Research Council at intervals, shall have a right to be present 
 at and take part in meetings of the Council while matters affecting 
 the work of the Institute may be under consideration. 
 
 A good reference library will be provided, the nucleus of which 
 is already in existence. Bulletins and reprints will be regularly 
 issued to keep the general public and industries in to'uch with the 
 character and extent of the investigations. 
 
 The Institute will not be a department of the government, but 
 one of the activities of the Research Council. The Research 
 Council is, by the Act, made a body corporate under the Canadian 
 government, with powers to hold lands, receive donative bequests, 
 etc. The Research Council and the government are equally deter- 
 mined to keep the Institute free from political influence and party 
 patronage, hence the powers given the former to make all scientific 
 and technical appointments and to fix salaries. Only clerks and 
 non-technical employees are to be appointed through the Civil 
 Service Commission of the government. The responsibility for 
 the success or failure of this venture is placed upon the shoulders 
 of the Research Council and the director in charge. 
 
 Results Anticipated from the Institute. 
 
 We hope that such an Institute will give us the following 
 results : — 
 
1. It will bring into harmonious and profitable contact men 
 interested and skilled in fundamental or academic research and 
 those interested in the applications of science to industry. 
 
 2. It will offer a career in Canada to the young graduate 
 who has shown capacity as a scientific scout in some field of 
 science. We realize, to quote H. G. Wells, that "to educate 
 without creating opportunity is to set a bonus upon the 
 export of national ability." It will stimulate and develop 
 the graduate schools in science, and will in turn be a source 
 of supply of men capable of conducting real research for the 
 industries and universities of Canada. 
 
 3. It will encourage the organization of industries into 
 guilds for research to enable each industry, as a whole, to 
 meet competition by providing them with free laboratories. 
 Relieved of the expense of building and maintaining a labora- 
 tory, a group of kindred industries could well afford to pay a 
 specialist, or a group of researches, a salary that would attract 
 an efficient man even from Europe. Obviously, industrial 
 research in the Institute cannpt be satisfactorily conducted 
 beyond the laboratory or semi-commercial Stage. The works 
 themselves must deal with the technical research on a com- 
 mercial scale. While we are most anxious to have the 
 industries take a great part in the work of the Institute, it 
 is not sufficient for Canada to provide only for these guilds 
 for research and individual investigations ; industries work for 
 the profit of to-day, the Institute must also look to the 
 preservation of the national wealth of the future. 
 
 4. It appeals to the Research Council especially on the 
 grounds of economy of administration and ease of research 
 control. 
 
 It is obvious that there are many cases in which the functions 
 of the Institute outlined above will overlap, which in scientific 
 work is by no means an unmixed evil. Overlap is the bogey of 
 the official mind. The whole plan makes no claim to logical 
 completion; it is rather the beginning of an organization to 
 develop industrial research in Canada, which should in time 
 become more compact and efficient. I think I may claim for it 
 that it is facing in the right direction. 
 
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