Co-Operation in Scientific Research
B Y DEFINITION, co-operation refers to collective action for mutual profit or common benefit. The truth of the definition has been demonstrated many times, but never more forcibly than by the achievements of the thousands of scientists, executives, industrial engineers, and skilled workers who, while the nation was endangered by foreign powers, were able to construct and effectively use an atomic bomb. The mutual profit or common benefit of such a co-operative venture is well known. The achievements of the Manhattan Engineer District and the exigency created by the present international political situation have clearly demonstrated the need for increasing our knowledge of all the possibilities in the field of nuclear phenomena and the importance of maintaining a recognized pre-eminence in all phases of nuclear development. The subject is an extensive one and of diverse nature, and the government laboratories could not be expected to investigate adequately the whole field. These circumstances, with the fact that many of the scientists and engineers on loan to the Manhattan Project were planning to return to their chosen work, led to the conclusion that some arrangements should be made for experts in this field to continue their work even though they might return to their former positions. Thus, when the Atomic Energy Act of I946 was written, provisions were made whereby the Atomic Energy Commission was made responsible for providing a program in which the various educational research institutions of the nation would be able to contribute to the field of nuclear research. In Section i, under the title "Purpose of Act," the Atomic Energy Act makes the Atomic Energy Commission responsible, first, for a program of assisting and fostering private research and development to encourage maximum scientific progress; and, second, for a program of federally conducted research and development to assure the Government adequate scientific and technical accomplishment. To a certain extent, scientific and technical advancement is being made individually by the universities and the Government. It is quite apparent, however, that there is an unmistakable need for the large-scale continuance of the co-operative work that proved so enormously fruitful in time of war. The Atomic Energy Commission has a nation-wide program directed toward achieving the goals described in the Act, and possesses the extensive facilities and equipment needed for this work. The universities, on the other hand, have