If research were to be considered as an industry in itself, it would rank among the largest in the United States. Ever since the beginning of World War II, the amount of money invested in research and development has been increasing much more rapidly than the Gross National Product (GNP); growing from a few tenths of a per cent of GNP in 1939 to about 3 per cent of GNP in 1961. Although research by and for the U. S. Government is now more than half of the total, the expansion of research in the petroleum industry has been almost entirely financed by that industry. Research in the earth sciences has become a large part of the petroleum industry effort. It is, however, different in many ways from research on processes and products. For many years, a lack of appreciation of he true nature and role of geological and geophysical research inhibited effective integration of the results of research into the operations of the industry. By now, research is widely recognized as an important and valuable ally of the exploration geologist and geophysicist.

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