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Industrial-Academic Interfacing PDF

163 Pages·1984·2.861 MB·English
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Industrial-Academic g In Industrial-Academic Interfacing; Runser, D.; ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1984. In Industrial-Academic Interfacing; Runser, D.; ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1984. ACS SYMPOSIUM SERIES 244 Industrial-Academic Interfacing Dennis J. Runser, EDITOR Marion Laboratories, Inc. Based on a symposium sponsored by the Division of Professional Relations at the 184th Meeting of the American Chemical Society, Kansas City, Missouri, September 1982 American Chemical Society, Washington, D.C. 1984 In Industrial-Academic Interfacing; Runser, D.; ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1984. Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Industrial-academic interfacing. (ACS symposium series, ISSN 0097-6156; 244) "Based on a symposium sponsored by the Division of Professional Relations at the 184th Meeting of the American Chemical Society, Kansas City, Missouri, September 1982." Includes bibliographies and indexes 1. Science and industry—Unite 2. Chemistry—Research—Unite States—Congresses 3. Research, Industrial—United States—Congresses. I. Runser, Dennis J. II. American Chemical Society. Division of Professional Relations. III. American Chemical Society. Meeting (184th: 1982: Kansas City, Mo.) IV. Series. Q172.153 1984 507 83-27558 ISBN 0-8412-0825-5 Copyright© 1984 American Chemical Society All Rights Reserved. The appearance of the code at the bottom of the first page of each chapter in this volume indicates the copyright owner's consent that reprographic copies of the chapter may be made for personal or internal use or for the personal or internal use of specific clients. This consent is given on the condition, however, that the copier pay the stated per copy fee through the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc. for copying beyond that permitted by Sections 107 or 108 of the U.S. Copyright Law. This consent does not extend to copying or transmission by any means—graphic or electronic—for any other purpose, such as for general distribution, for advertising or promotional purposes, for creating a new collective work, for resale, or for information storage and retrieval systems. The copying fee for each chapter is indicated in the code at the bottom of the first page of the chapter. The citation of trade names and/or names of manufacturers in this publication is not to be construed as an endorsement or as approval by ACS of the commercial products or services referenced herein; nor should the mere reference herein to any drawing, specification, chemical process, or other data be regarded as a license or as a conveyance of any right or permission, to the holder, reader, or any other person or corporation, to manufacture, reproduce, use, or sell any patented invention or copyrighted work that may in any way be related thereto. Registered names, trademarks, etc., used in this publication, even without specific indication thereof, are not to be considered unprotected by law. PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA In Industrial-Academic Interfacing; Runser, D.; ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1984. ACS Symposium Series M. Joan Comstock, Series Editor Advisory Board Robert Baker U.S. Geological Survey Martin L. Gorbaty Theodore Provder Exxon Research and Engineering Co. Glidden Coatings and Resins Herbert D. Kaesz James C. Randall University of California—Los Angeles Phillips Petroleum Company Rudolph J. Marcus Charles N. Satterfield Office of Naval Research Massachusetts Institute of Technology Marvin Margoshes Dennis Schuetzle Technicon Instruments Corporation Ford Motor Company Research Laboratory Donald E. Moreland USDA, Agricultural Research Service Davis L. Temple, Jr. Mead Johnson W. H. Norton J. T. Baker Chemical Company Charles S. Tuesday General Motors Research Laboratory Robert Ory USDA, Southern Regional C. Grant Willson Research Center IBM Research Department In Industrial-Academic Interfacing; Runser, D.; ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1984. FOREWORD The ACS SYMPOSIU a medium for publishing symposia quickly in book form. The format of the Series parallels that of the continuing ADVANCES IN CHEMISTRY SERIES except that in order to save time the papers are not typeset but are reproduced as they are sub mitted by the authors in camera-ready form. Papers are re viewed under the supervision of the Editors with the assistance of the Series Advisory Board and are selected to maintain the integrity of the symposia; however, verbatim reproductions of previously published papers are not accepted. Both reviews and reports of research are acceptable since symposia may embrace both types of presentation. In Industrial-Academic Interfacing; Runser, D.; ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1984. PREFACE THE GROWING IMPORTANCE of the relationship between industry and academia has become apparent over the last few years. The relationship is no longer simply platonic; rather it is fast becoming one of mutual need and satisfaction. Reports and editorials on corporate-university ties, not only in the scientific press but in the public media as well (see, for example, the Wall Street Journal for March increasing numbers of symposi attachment. The importance of the industrial-academic interaction has been cata lyzed by many factors. The attention recently focused on our national and worldwide research postures, the evolution of highly visible industry-univer sity contracts, the decrease in Federal funds for university research, and industry's growing need for fundamental research in the face of increasing costs of research resources—all have contributed to the courtship. However, critics have voiced concern over what they see as an underly ing adulteration of the pure academic atmosphere by the invasion of industry-capitalized research efforts. In this view the academic pursuit of basic research is diverted by questions of application from its true purpose. Furthermore, academics see industry's need to maintain confidentiality and to protect patent rights in order to make investments pay off as conflicting with their own mandate to publish in order to serve the public good. If we hope as a nation to compete in the world economy, we must nurture and strengthen the efforts we direct toward research and scholarship. The growing attention the industrial-academic nexus has been receiving sparked the ideas for the initial symposium on which this book is based, and brought together active leaders and spokesmen on the topic from industry, academia, and the public sector. The coordination of a symposium and the subsequent compilation of a book take the generous cooperation of others. I am particularly appreciative of the dedicated assistance of my secretary, Ann Welch, who was invaluable in helping to complete this work. I also wish to acknowledge the assistance of David Stickel and Albert Saad, whose generous support helped this program to run smoothly. Sincere thanks go to all the authors, without whom neither the program nor the book would have been possible. I have sincerely enjoyed the opportunity to work with each of these dedicated ix In Industrial-Academic Interfacing; Runser, D.; ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1984. individuals. Finally, I wish to thank the American Chemical Society's Division of Professional Relations and Marion Laboratories, Inc., for their foresight in supporting this timely project. DENNIS J. RUNSER Marion Laboratories Kansas City, Mo. July 1983 x In Industrial-Academic Interfacing; Runser, D.; ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1984. 1 Mutually Beneficial Academic Consultantships for Industry LOWELL D. MILLER Marion Laboratories, Inc., Kansas City, MO 64134 Consultant arrangements between academia and industry are fre quently used and, I believe cerned. The reasons ar y any companies could hope to have on hand at all times the diverse talents and instrumentation that they need to pursue their com plex research projects. On the university side, knowledge is of little value until it is shared. Yet for being so often used and highly valued, it appears the consulting relationship has been the subject of relatively little analytical thought. The other authors of this monograph will present many aspects of the industrial-academic relationship with analysis which will help understand and utilize this interaction. In this brief overview I will offer the benefit of my experiences in managing consulting arrangements and give some insights into how consult ants have helped our particular situation in an Industrial Lab oratory. Two Major Tasks Before engaging a consultant in any area, two major tasks are undertaken. The first is the more difficult: finding the indi vidual with the type of knowledge needed. This assumes you do not have someone targeted. One of the university's major "products11 is knowledge and much of i t is of immediate benefit to society through industry or some other channel. What is needed to bring this potential to reality from an industrial viewpoint is the further development of this knowledge, by industry, to a useable stage. We really cannot achieve this unless, of course, we do isolate the need, then identify the faculty member, a department, or even a product already developed to a certain point in time. The initial burden for solving this problem falls upon the university or with the individual faculty member so that the new skills for a potential product or for any particular skills can be brought to our attention in industry. The second problem is more subtle but nevertheless common. It is the "N.I.H." syndrome, the Not Invented Here attitude which 0097-6156/ 84/ 0244-0001 $06.00/ 0 © 1984 American Chemical Society In Industrial-Academic Interfacing; Runser, D.; ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1984. 2 INDUSTRIAL-ACADEMIC INTERFACING says that anything coming from outside our laboratory cannot be gooc}. This is an attitude that is really from the industrial laboratory side and not, naturally, of the consultant. This is the toughest one we face in working out a mutually beneficial consultant arrangement. If you are going to have a consultant, the arrangement must result in a working environment that is mutually beneficial to all concerned. If the head of the indus trial laboratory feels the need for a consultant but his managers and technicians feel threatened by the arrangement, this is obviously a lose-lose situation and nobody can win. Information will not be shared, the ideas of the consultant will be ignored, and the "cross-fertilization" will not occur. All you end up doing is wasting money, wasting a consultant's time and talent, and, probably, embittering the consultant to the point where he or she will never want to step into an industrial laboratory again. Preventing vs Solving There are no practical guidelines for solving the "N.I.H." problem once it occurs, for the solution depends on the person alities involved and the particular circumstances. Rather than solve the problem, I prefer to prevent it. This is relatively easy if the people in the industrial laboratory know what is expected of the consultant and of them. The industrial liason and the consultant need to make the laboratory personnel see the relationship as a symbiotic one, one that does not imply failure or inadequacies on the part of the laboratory people. If indus try people see the situation as one which will result in greater accomplishments for a l l concerned, they will cooperate. Three Areas of Consultant Use There are basically three areas where consultants are used —one I have already mentioned, new product ideas. The outcome here can be extremely successful if the consultant is kept close ly involved in the project from start to finish. This is only logical, for the new product idea was the consultant's in the first place. Why take him half way through the development of the product and then drop him? Why think you can do i t better? Keep him in the project as long as he can contribute. Again, watch out for the "N.I.H." syndrome. If the product makes i t to market, everybody wins—the university, the company, and most important, society. However, we a l l know that not, all products/ ideas end up as successful ventures. Therefore, if you are us ing a consultant to assist in the area of product development, they should be properly positioned again at the front end. The second basic area of consultant use is guidance in devel oping or maintaining research programs. This is where most consultants from academia seem to be used. And, I might add, seem to be misused. If you are going to have consultants, use them and use them appropriately. Do not waste their time and do In Industrial-Academic Interfacing; Runser, D.; ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1984.

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