31:2 JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY OF COSMETIC CHEMISTS returns, even given success, would not warrant the diversion of effort. Where and when to draw the line between dropping such a project and insisting on further support by management is a matter of judgment. Management expects research to understand and allow for its broad policies and purposes, and even for its financial and administrative capacities in making such decisions. Nor is an industrial research laboratory a university. The fine line be- tween acquisition of basic knowledge in the company's interest and acquisi- tion of knowledge for the personal satisfaction of the research workers again calls for judgment. Most moderate-sized companies are reluctant to support fundamental research within their own walls that is not reasonably certain to pay off, in one way or another, within a reasonable time. If management is broad-gauged and farsighted, it may sponsor such work in its field at educational or other institutions. But it does not like to mix objectives, and most moderate-sized laboratories are expected to keep management targets in their sights. As laboratories grow larger, men competent to delve deeply into sound fundamental approaches in the com- pany's field can be added to the staff, and feed the balance of the staff and the industry with basic and significant advances. Perhaps most discouraging to management is a staff not qualified to compete with university researchers in advancing the art, and not imagina- tive enough to develop new products or significant improvements, that yet plods on, acquiring technical knowledge (often second-hand knowledge) with only minor increments of improvement and even of product knowledge. Men on such a staff become "experts" of a sort, and production and sales men lean on them for information and aid on minor problems. Important as is such production and sales service, it is not research. If it is confused with research, management soon begins to wonder why competition leads. A related problem is the matter of significance of objectives and results. A moderate-sized company cannot afford large expenditures for improve- ments that have minor economic significance. Nor can it spend much to make only minor increments in the fixed or basic scientific knowledge in its field. Industrial research is a speculation. It may be a calculated risk, and the degree of speculation often varies inversely with the significance of the objectives. But it is a speculation. And management expects of its re- search leadership that when it backs either fundamental research, or expen- sive target-seeking research, the winnings if achieved will be in proportion to the size of the stake risked. Management is becoming more sophisti- cated in its understanding of research, either from continued experience with it, or from including research-experienced men within management. Able, driving, wise management likes, perhaps least of all, frittering away time and money on petty objectives. Lest I be misunderstood, a word of caution here. Increasingly, it is diffi-

WHAT MANAGEMENT EXPECTS OF RESEARCH 313 cult to achieve major research objectives without use of the best in ability and knowledge on the scientific frontier. An industrial research staff must engage competent, up-to-date, creative basic scientists in its fields, prefer- ably, in my view, within itself, but otherwise by collaboration. It is not sufficient for a research man ten years in an industrial atmosphere to depend on his recollection of his professor,,s s.ta..tements, or even on the literature. The liaison between the best scientists and the best industrial researchers should be established on an intimate working basis of mutual respect and collaboration. Today's shibboleth of good management is communications. In few areas do management communications combine importance with difficulty to a greater extent than in the use of applied science and the work of sci- entists and engineers. The problem has spilled over from university and industry into the community. It is a problem to which every scientist and engineer owes time, effort, and attention. A sympathetic understanding and effective working relationship between the world of applied science and the world it serves is today vitally important--not only in the confined sphere of an industry, but in the world around it. Management expects research men to strive mightily to establish such a relationship. CHICAGO SECTION NEWS T•IE ovE/•/• meeting for the fall was held on Sept. 7, 1954. Dr. Peter Flesch, Professor of Dermatology at the University of Pennsylvania, spoke on "Laboratory Methods for Studying the Chemical Effects of Topi- cal Agents Upon the Skin." Dr. Flesch received his M.D. degree in Buda- pest, Hungary, and his Master's and Ph.D. in Pharmacology at the Uni- versity of Chicago. His research work in dermatology includes studies on the chemical effects of human sebum and of epidermal keratinization, as well as work on hair growth and pigmentation. The guest speaker for the meeting on Oct. 12, 1954, was Dr. Adolph Rostenberg, Professor of Dermatology at the University of Illinois, who spoke on "Sensitivity to Simple Chemicals as Used in Cosmetics." Dr. Rostenberg spent six years as a dermatologist with the Food and Drug Administration and is presently a consultant in dermatology for the FDA. Dr. Donald H. Powers, Director of Research at Warner-Hudnut Inc., and President of the Society of Cosmetic Chemists, spoke on "Recent Develop- ments in the Cosmetic Field" at the Nov. 9, 1954, meeting. Dr. Powers re- ceived his formal education at Boston and Princeton Universities and has had wide experience in the fields of cosmetic and textile chemistry. Dr. Powers is a former Chairman of the Scientific Section of the Toilet Goods Association.