RESEARCH BY SCIENTISTS

Press, Volume LXXXII, Issue 24895, 7 June 1946, Page 5

RESEARCH BY SCIENTISTS

TIME TO STUDY DATA NEEDED

SURVEY OF DOMINION WORK The major lack’ in scientific work in New Zealand was opportunity for workers for the exchange of views and leisured thought, said Dr. H. N. Parton, lecturer in charge of physical chemistry at Canterbury University College, when he surveyed research on the physical sciences in New Zealand to a meeting of the Christchurch branch of the Royal Society of New Zealand. The ideals of a national research, envisaged when the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research was founded in 1926, had been partly realised, said Dr. Parton. Substantial advances had been made in the last 25 years. The department had carried out its objective in various ways, partly by research units in which chemists and physicists played a part, by the establishment of research associations, such as those in leather and wheat, and grants to institutions such as the awthron Institute and the agricultural colleges. The expenditure of the department had grown from £BO,OOO in 1930 to £286,000 in 1944, while grants of £5OOO were made to various research institutions in Great Britain dealing with .problems of particular interest to New Zealand.

“There is no reason at all for us to be ashamed of the work they have done,” said Dr. Parton. The work of the individuals was admirable. If the results of scientific observations were to be subject to real research, the staff of the Dominion Observatory would need to be enlarged to release scientists from routine observational work. The situation was much the same in the field of seismology and theoretical consideration of meteorological data was also not being given attention. The late Dr. E. Kidson, who foresaw the development of meteorology through aviation, had to do his research work in his §>are time. Canterbury University ollege was the main centre of research into ionospheric interference under the committee on radio development. Much data had been accumulated, and the staffs would have to be increased to enable genuine study of the data. Healthy results could not be obtained if the workers were confined to observation. The X-ray laboratory, financed of the Cancer Research Society .was at Canterbury College. An improvement in physical technique was essential and accuracy in the dosage was the basis of successful radiotherapy. The laboratory, which worked closely with the Health Department, was both a central standards laboratory and a servicing laboratory.” "New Zealand has, I believe, a big future in the use of artificial radioactivity as a research tool,” said Dr. Parton. "The experience which has been built up here is, I believe, going to play a very big part indeed in the development in the use of artificial radio activity in all kinds of research.”

Physics and Chemistry A further development in the field of physics was the Dominion Physical Laboratory, the director of which, Dr. E. R. Cooper, was a graduate of Canterbury College.- The laboratory had grown rapidly during the war and, inevitably, had ho opportunity of doing ( much research work. It was definitely moving towards becoming a national standards laboratory, the possession of which was essential for those working in the exact sciences. The Dominion Chemical Laboratory’s two studies—of radio active manganese, an important trace element in the metabolism - of some plants, injected into apple trees, and of radio active cobalt, an important trace element thg lack of which cabsed disease in New Zealand sheep—were interrupted by thd war. Since 1928, the number of chemists in New Zealand had grown from 90 to 300. "The problem is: what is going to happen to our chemists?” he said. "The problem was the same in my graduate days and orfe even became an M.P. (Laughter.) We understand that

Government departments alone are 50 chemists short, and the scope for chemists is considerably greater than we have sometimes thought, not only in those departments but in industry.” The main work of the University to date had been the production of the workers. That was by no means an adequate contribution to scientific work in the Dominion. One of the major needs in scientific work, as in other fields of university activity, was more time for the staff to carry out research on their own particular problems. "I profoundly agree with the’ lecturer,” said Dr. F. C. Chalklin, the newly appointed Professor of Physics. Research had not always been done by the men with high academic qualifications. The man with hands was often very much neglected. He was very necessary, and was not always provided. Many men with brains had to use their hands to the exclusion of their brains. Too often in qcientiflc institutions were those skilled hand workers too few.