Penn State University - La Vie Yearbook (University Park, PA)

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. 4m .1. Alua u hi. I, , m-z-mwwi .28- RESEARCH Although rcscurch dates almost from the founding of the 7011ch in 1855. it has hccn only within the past 20 years that it has hccn rccognizcd us a primary IiunCtion of the College. 'lihrough research, the quality of teaching is improved. the competence of graduates is raised, and the College renders a scrvicc to thc Commomvculth and the nation. It is conscn'utivcly estimated that agricultural research adds more than $75,000,000 annually to the income of Pcnnsylmnin farmers, while scientists in the Schonl of Mineral Industries have made possible the salvage of am estimated $93,000,000 worth of Pcnnsylvania oil through research 0n the secondary recovery of petroleum. Dchumidil'ying tests of the Engineering Experiment Station help keep decommissioned units of the United States Navy in usuhlc condition, sawing the taxpayers money, while other projects add to the comforts of living. 21nd, as in the case of penicillin, help to saw human lives. Co-ordinution 0f the research program is cfi'cctcd through the Council on Research on which each major division of the College is represented. R. A. Dutchcr is chairman. Research in the School of Agriculture has been con ducted since 1887 by the Agricultural Experiment Station. Most of the studies are undertaken in response to immcdiv :Itc, practical needs of Pennsylvania agriculture. They deal with many problems such as control of insect pests zmd plant and animal diseases, nutrition of crops and farm animals, development of new and improved varieties of crops. superior breeding 0F animals, manufacture of milk products, application of clcctricity t0 ugriculturc. rcivorcstuv tion of hzlrrcn lands. lnhor-snving nmchincry, :md various problems in agricultural economics and rural sociology. Advances in Fundamental hnowlcdgc in many fields have resulted from research in the School of Chemistry 21nd Physics. In the Petroleum and Rclining Laboratory, chemistry and chemical engineering are now being used as husic sciences in developing and impmving products for the petroleum industry. The Ellen ll. Richards Institute conducts important research in textiles. dyes. laundering, and dry Cleaning, us well as 21 large program throughout the State on human nutrition studies. Research work also is underway on siliconcs, lluorincs. :md hydrocarbons in the Chemical lubm'utorics while physicists are making studies in such iiclds us spectroscopy, acoustics, and bird navigation. In the School of Education, research has aided in the improvement of public education while projccts in psy- chology attempt to discover hotter personnel methods and techniques for industry, business, education. and govern mcnt. Research in home economics helps the homemaker. Tho Instructional Film Research Project. conducted for the U. 5. Navy. sucks to discover and dcrivc principles which shall govern the scientilic development and Cil'cctivc use of sound motion pictures for achieving the most rapid and complete learning of individuals in groups. Engineering research is administered hy the Engineering Experiment Station zmd the Ordnance Research Laboratory. The Experiment Station has done extensive work on heat and moisture conductivity of prefabricated wall sections,

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owned by the Penn State Advisory Board in the particular community. Approximately 3,000 persons were enrolled during the 1948-49 year in full-time class programs CPenn State fresh- men, sophomores, and Day Technical Institute studentQ. More than 12,000 persons were enrolled in part-tirne eve- ning courses in Evening Technical Institutes and in Class centers. The informal instruction program annually reaches sew Cral hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvania residents, both on and off the campus, through its workshops, conferences, Clinics, lectures, and demonstrations; and the film library served nearly 2,000,000 persons during the past year. Correspondence instruction, oflering a wide variety of home-studv courses in many fields, and also courses in co- operation with both the U. S. Armed Forces Institute and the Veterans Administration, reached approximately 3,000 during the year. Of special interest are the growing programs in labor education and management training. Institutes for several thousands of workers are being conducted in State College and in the larger industrial areas of the State, giving to labor a broader inSight 0f the industrial system, of the demo- cratic process, and of labor's rights and responsibilities. Conferences and courses for management executives are given on the campus and in industrial and business estab- lishments in all parts of the State, helping management to discover the most effective and efhcient methods of training its supervisory personnel. The extension services of the College operate on the premise that If you cannot come to the College, let the College come to you. Every eHort is made to lill all bona fide requests for educational programs from residents of the State, in additional to stimulating interest in adult education at every opportunity.

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swaste are a few of the projects of the Experiment Station. ultra-long wave radio emanations, reflection of short wave emanations from the ionosphere, abatement of stream pollu- tion, and lubrication of airplane engines at high altitudes. 1n Diesel engineering research, Penn State has been the leading institution in the country. The Ordnance Research Laboratory, established in 1945, is engaged in research, design, and testing work on under- water ordnance and other technical problems of interest to the United States Navy. Other projects, under cer- tain conditions, are conducted by the Laboratory. One of these projects last year resulted in the development of a gallstone detector which will greatly aid surgeons in com- pleting successful operations for the removal of gallstones. The Division of Industrial Reference within the Experi- ment Station aids smaller industries in the State who do not have their own research facilities. In recent years, there has been a growing feeling that research in the social sciences is equally as important as, that in the physical sciences. Research is underway in all departments of the School of the Liberal Arts. The Bureau of Business Research has been especially helpful to Pennsylvania business and industry while the Institute of Local Government conducts extensive research on practical problems related to Pennsylvania local govern- ment. Research activity in the School of Mineral Industries be- gan in 1861 and today is centered in the Mineral Industries Experiment Station. Many projects now underway are of Vital importance to national defense and the conserva- tion of mineral wealth, Cleavage fracture of ship plate steels, high-dielectric poreelains, study of oil-producing sediments, secondary haulage in mines, production of syn- thesis gas from anthracite, and potential new uses for slate Noteworthy work has also been done in fundamental re search in glass. 1 Research in the School of Physical Education and Ath- letics is concerned primarily with the various aspects of health education, physical education, and recreation. .-29-