President's Science Advisory Committee
Encyclopedia
In 1951 President of the United States Harry S. Truman
established the Science Advisory Committee as part of the Office of Defense Mobilization
(ODM). As a direct response to the launches of the Soviet
artificial satellites, Sputnik 1 and Sputnik 2, on October 4 and November 3, 1957, the Science Advisory Committee was upgraded by President Dwight D. Eisenhower
to the President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC) and moved to the White House on 21 November 1957.
and specifically to the President
. About one-half of the panels' studies were directed to the question of how science could support the United States
' national security
objectives. The creation of Arms Limitations and Control, Limited Warfare, the Space Science Panels, for example, reflected the national security concerns of the Committee. Two important themes common to many of the studies are the budgetary problems of funding projects, and the Administration's concern over competing successfully with the Soviet Union
in science and technology.
eliminated the President's Science Advisory Committee. The White House Office of Science and Technology
and the United States Congress
were made to rely on federal agencies for guidance in scientific policy. A similar entity, PCAST
, was established by President George H.W. Bush.
Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman was the 33rd President of the United States . As President Franklin D. Roosevelt's third vice president and the 34th Vice President of the United States , he succeeded to the presidency on April 12, 1945, when President Roosevelt died less than three months after beginning his...
established the Science Advisory Committee as part of the Office of Defense Mobilization
Office of Defense Mobilization
The Office of Defense Mobilization was an independent agency of the United States government whose function was to plan, coordinate, direct and control all wartime mobilization activities of the federal government, including manpower, economic stabilization, and transport operations...
(ODM). As a direct response to the launches of the Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
artificial satellites, Sputnik 1 and Sputnik 2, on October 4 and November 3, 1957, the Science Advisory Committee was upgraded by President Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...
to the President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC) and moved to the White House on 21 November 1957.
Committee members
The President's Science Advisory Committee included many noteworthy scientists and non-scientists, among them:- James R. KillianJames Rhyne KillianDr. James Rhyne Killian, Jr. was the 10th president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, from 1948 until 1959.-Career:...
(Chairman 1957-1959) - George KistiakowskyGeorge KistiakowskyGeorge Bogdan Kistiakowsky was a Ukrainian-American chemistry professor at Harvard who participated in the Manhattan Project and later served as President Eisenhower's Science Advisor...
(Chairman 1959-1961) - Philip HandlerPhilip HandlerPhilip Handler was an American nutritionist, and biochemist. He was President of the United States National Academy of Sciences for two terms from 1969 to 1981. He was also a recipient of the National Medal of Science....
- Herbert YorkHerbert YorkHerbert Frank York was an American nuclear physicist. He held numerous research and administrative positions at various United States government and educational institutes.-Biography:...
- Hans BetheHans BetheHans Albrecht Bethe was a German-American nuclear physicist, and Nobel laureate in physics for his work on the theory of stellar nucleosynthesis. A versatile theoretical physicist, Bethe also made important contributions to quantum electrodynamics, nuclear physics, solid-state physics and...
- Britton ChanceBritton ChanceBritton Chance was the Eldridge Reeves Johnson University Professor Emeritus of Biochemistry and Biophysics, as well as Professor Emeritus of Physical Chemistry and Radiological Physics at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.At the 1952 Summer Olympics, Chance won a gold medal in...
- Thomas GoldThomas GoldThomas Gold was an Austrian-born astrophysicist, a professor of astronomy at Cornell University, a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, and a Fellow of the Royal Society . Gold was one of three young Cambridge scientists who in the 1950s proposed the now mostly abandoned 'steady...
PSAC's activities
The Committee had no operating responsibilities. Its purpose was to provide advisory opinions and analysis on science and technology matters to the entire Federal GovernmentFederal government of the United States
The federal government of the United States is the national government of the constitutional republic of fifty states that is the United States of America. The federal government comprises three distinct branches of government: a legislative, an executive and a judiciary. These branches and...
and specifically to the President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
. About one-half of the panels' studies were directed to the question of how science could support the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
' national security
National security
National security is the requirement to maintain the survival of the state through the use of economic, diplomacy, power projection and political power. The concept developed mostly in the United States of America after World War II...
objectives. The creation of Arms Limitations and Control, Limited Warfare, the Space Science Panels, for example, reflected the national security concerns of the Committee. Two important themes common to many of the studies are the budgetary problems of funding projects, and the Administration's concern over competing successfully with the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
in science and technology.
The end of the PSAC
Shortly after his re-election in 1972, President Richard NixonRichard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
eliminated the President's Science Advisory Committee. The White House Office of Science and Technology
Office of Science and Technology Policy
The Office of Science and Technology Policy is an office in the Executive Office of the President , established by Congress on May 11, 1976, with a broad mandate to advise the President on the effects of science and technology on domestic and international affairs.The director of this office is...
and the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
were made to rely on federal agencies for guidance in scientific policy. A similar entity, PCAST
PCAST
The United States President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology is a council, chartered in each administration with a broad mandate to advise the President on science and technology. The current PCAST was established by on September 30, 2001, by President George W...
, was established by President George H.W. Bush.
External links
- U.S. President's Science Advisory Committee Records, Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library
- Diary of George B. Kistiakowsky, Dwight D. Eisenhower Library
- Hans Bethe talking about his time on the President's Science Advisory Committee on Peoples Archive.
- The Papers of the President's Science Advisory Committee, 1957-1961