Abstract
IN presiding at the last of the series of meetings on "Science and Industry", arranged by the Manchester Chamber of Commerce, on April 20, the president, Mr. A. H. S. Hinchliffe, stated that to give continuity to the interest stimulated by the meetings and improve the liaison between scientific workers engaged on research and the industrial and commercial world, the Chamber has been discussing with the University of Manchester the formation of a joint standing council the members of which would be nominated by the University and the Chamber. The Cotton Industry Research Association is to be invited to take part in the work of the proposed council, which is intended to be an advisory and consultative body. While its precise functions cannot yet be defined, it is hoped that the results of research work would be constructively examined and discussed and the workers benefited by access to the experience of firms in the area. At the same time, business people would be assisted in their quest for new knowledge and in the solution of difficulties. It might even be possible to establish a bureau of information, and the range of subjects open for discussion in the council would cover economics and sociology as well as technical matters. The council's aim should be to stimulate an advance of thought and encourage enterprising action, primarily in the North-Western area but, it was hoped, also in a much wider sphere. Sir E. Raymond Streat urged, in supporting the proposal, that if, in the coming age of research, we could weave the life and work of the University of Manchester into the life and work of the great industrial area and commercial centre which surrounds the University, we might produce a great vitalizing force. The interest evoked by the meetings shows that people holding responsible positions in industry and commerce in Lancashire realize that only by a fertile marriage between science and industry can we establish and maintain the margin of superiority essential for postwar prosperity. He suggested three main objectives: to be first with new inventions and discoveries and promptest in their application; to be quickest and surest in diagnosis of economic and technical trends; and to be foremost in economizing costs so as to be more competitive without lowering wages. The age of research does not imply disaster for all small firms, though their managers will need much fuller scientific and technical attainments than was customary in the past.
Article PDF
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Science and Industry at Manchester. Nature 153, 520 (1944). https://doi.org/10.1038/153520a0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/153520a0