Methanol at MIT: Industry Influence Charged in Project Cancellation

Cambridge, Massachusetts. Academic institutions in theory provide a testing ground for ideas which is somewhat insulated from the push and pull of the world outside. But, as they take advantage of the energy R & D dollars now so tantalizingly available from government and industry, these institutions may risk compromising or appearing to compromise their academic independence. The cancellation of a research project on methanol (methyl alcohol) as a substitute motor fuel for gasoline at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Energy Laboratory offers a case in point. In the opinion of the scientist who initiated and led the project, it was killed because the laboratory yielded to influence from the oil and automobile industry.