The Department of Scientific and Industrial Research was a government department which sponsored and supported various forms of research, particularly in the university sector and the industrial business sector, as well as directly running several government laboratories and research stations. It was established in 1915 as a committee of the Privy Council, and became a full department in 1917. The file includes some interesting correspondence with the Principal concerning the Department's role with original research. There is also correspondence relating to the administration of the Department's grants to College researchers, which includes incidental detail on their research, much of it war-related, as well as references to the difficulties of conducting search during wartime. The DSIR became an important financial sponsor of the College in later years.
Former reference: H3a