With  the  creation  of  the  special  board,  all  scattered  activities  were
brought  into  fruitful  cooperation.  Through  its  affiliation  with  the
civilian  organizations  mentioned,  a  selected  group  of  highly  quali-
fied scientific  men  was  obtained  to  begin  work  at  New  London,  and
this  station  immediately  became  a  central  headquarters.  The  groups
already  established  at  Nahant,  New  York,  San  Pedro,  and  else-
where, and  the  individuals  working  in  the  laboratories  of  colleges
and  universities  throughout  the  country,  continued  their  investiga-
tions along  the  more  or  less  specialized  lines  in  which  they  had
started,  but  the  effectiveness  of  their  work  as  individuals,  as  well  as


52  HISTORY  OF  ENGINEERING  DURING  THE  WORLD  WAR..
its  value  in  promoting  the  common  aim,  was  tremendously  increased
by  the  system  of  information  and  the  supervision  of  the  central
organization.    Also,  by  virtue  of  the  official  character  of  the  board,  I
it  was  possible  to  keep  in  close  touch  with  progress  along  similar.
lines  in  foreign  countries.
