Institute activities

America´s program of National Defense is the prevailing topic of conversation and discussion encountered by your president in his travels about the country in the discharge of his duties of office. Last fall the question most commonly encountered was: “What is being done in other parts of the United States for National Defense?” Currently the prevailing question is: “What are we going to do to get enough engineers to assure maintaining the production required in the Defense program?” We are now enormously overdrawing our available supply of engineers. Not only are all available experienced engineers now employed, but this spring´s graduating engineering students are practically all engaged for positions in industry or for Army or Navy engineering work immediately upon graduation. In fact, if every one of the 150-odd engineering colleges had senior classes triple the size of those that will graduate this spring, the present demand indicates that a shortage of qualified engineers and designers still would exist for the work the nation now has before it. Engineers are not kept in storage for use in emergencies like those now current. The Defense program now in progress indicates that the 1942 demand for engineers will be as great as if not greater than the one now facing us. A continuing supply of high-quality men for engineering work must be available without interruption both for civil and military Defense operations. These engineers and other technical experts cannot be produced quickly — by legislation or mere wishful thinking — but become qualified for the rigorous requirements of their work only through a long period of educational preparation followed by years of practical experience. The more precise the work required, the more specific and thorough must be the training of the engineer to do that work.