Show college research given credit credi t for speeding building trades washington prospects of a 15 per cent increase in residential construction in 1940 over 1939 add significance to the contribution made to the building industry by research laboratories of american colleges and un universities i versi ties during the past decade these research activities have made it possible to get more for each building dollar and effect economies pf af about on the nations annual home construction bill according to a survey by the national home builders bureau the survey attaches more than ordinary significance to the value of new discoveries by tech technicians in institutions of higher learning although only a comparatively small portion of the money expended on industrial research is available to campus chemists physicists and technical experts their contribution to economic recovery has been far greater than generally realized the report stated farmer aided by research the work done by agricultural col leges and university experimental groups in in aiding the farmer is perhaps more widely recognized mod ern era methods of crop rotation more diversified use of farm products intensified fied ways of cultivation have all benefited from the activities in campus laboratories however college research has also developed such aids to better building as a new method of adhering structural glass to concrete to form a single glass stone unit improved weather conditioning of the home for both winter and summer comfort a wide variety of plastics better paints and lacquers it has been estimated conservatively by building engineers that research in academic laboratories during the past 10 years into new and improved proved uses for building materials a is has cut six cents off every dollar spent for such products research in the field of home insulation su is cited in the report as a striking example of this activity through discovery of new ways to use s glass such as the double glazed metal sealed unit known as thermo pane homes have been made more resistant to cold in winter and heat beat in summer the economy comfort and cleanliness resulting from dou ble glazed windows have revived interest in storm sash tests at university of wisconsin proved that from 15 to 75 a year could be sa saved ved by having two panes of glass where one was before much of the development work on modern heating and air conditioning apparatus has taken place in collegiate testing laboratories where in in most cases students and professors worland d in conjunction with private industry A valuable contribution in this field has been the experiments at university of illinois cut trade costs at harvard professors and graduate assistants conducted a study which resulted in sizeable reductions in the operating costs of dealers in building materials and consequent savings to the home builder at ohio state university researchers developed several new types of lightweight clay products new uses for cornstalks corn stalks in the manufacture of plastics and lacquers were discovered at the university of iowa |