Document zoV0O0M05dGM0xE08kgZwn666

I L The founding of the O ffice of Science and Technology (OST) w as the la st of sev e ra l step s contributing to the p re se n t science advisory stru ctu re in the E xecutive O ffice of the P resid en t. P rio r to 1957, the only fo rm al scien tific body a t th is lev el w as a science ad v iso ry com m ittee lo cated w ithin the O ffice of D efense M obilisation (which h as sin ce becom e the O ffice of E m e rg e n c y P la n n in g ). S h o rtly a f te r th e S o v ie ts la u n ch e d the f i r s t m a n -m a d e s a t e l l i t e , P r e s i d e n t E is e n h o w e r c r e a te d th e p o s itio n o f S p ecial A ssista n t to the P re s id e n t fo r S cience and Technology (known c inform ally as the P re sid e n t's Science A dvisor) and m ade him C hairm an of the P r e s id e n t's S cience A d v iso ry C o m m ittee (PSAC) w hich w as separated from ODM. In 19S9, the F e d e ra l C ouncil fo r S cience and Technology (FCST) w as created by E xecutive O rd er of the P re sid e n t and the Science A dvisor w as appointed C hairm an. FCST is com posed of policy-m aking re p re sen tativ es from the v a rio u s F e d e ra l ag en cies involved in scien ce and technology; the purpose of the C ouncil is to coordinate the to tal F ed eral effo rt in scien ce and technology to in su re its efficiency and effectiv en ess. P S A C , on th e o th e r h a n d , is c o m p o s e d o f 18 of the N a tio n 's m o s t d istin g u ish ed s c ie n tis ts and e n g in ee rs draw n to g eth er from outside the G overnm ent -- from un iv ersities and from industry. The m em bers are y appointed by the P re sid e n t for fo u r-y e a r te rm s. The full C om m ittee, w hich m eets two days a m onth, p lay s an e ss e n tia l ro le in blending and in teg ratin g g o v ern m en tal and n o n -g o v ern m en tal view s w ith re sp ec t to m ajo r issu e s w hich involve both science and governm ent and w hich b ear on the to tal scien tific and technological p o stu re of this country. In addition, its m e m b e rs c h a ir n u m ero u s p anels designed to study p a r tic u la r issu e s in depth. The Office of Science and Technology w as created by R eorgani sa tio n P la n No. 2 of 1962 to p ro v id e a p e rm a n e n t sta ff to: 1) a d v ise and a s s is t the P re sid e n t on all m a tte rs of national policy affected by o r p e r taining to scien ce and technology; and 2) ev alu ate and coordinate the total F ed eral p ro g ram in science and technology. The D irecto r of OST, who continues to serv e as the P re s id e n t's S cience A dvisor, w as charged w ith advising and a ss is tin g the P re s id e n t w ith re s p e c t to the following: t -.2 .- 2) M a jo r p o lic ie s , p la n s and p ro g r a m s of s c ie n c e and tech n o lo g y of the v ario u s agencies of the F e d e ra l G overnm ent, giving ap p ro p riate em phasis to the relatio n sh ip of scien ce and technology to national sec u rity and foreign policy, and m e a su re s fo r fu rth erin g science and technology in the Nation. 2) A ss e ss m e n t of se le c te d sc ie n tific and tech n ical developm ents and p ro g ram s in re la tio n to th e ir im p act on national p o licies. 3) R eview , in te g ra tio n , and c o o rd in a tio n of m a jo r F e d e ra l activ ities in scien ce and technology, giving due co n sid eratio n to the effects of such activ ities on n o n -F ed e ra l re so u rc e s and institutions. 4) A ssu rin g th a t good and clo se re la tio n s e x ist w ith the N a tio n 's scientific and engineering co m m u n ities so as to fu rth er in every a p p ro p riate way th e ir p a rtic ip a tio n in stren g th en in g science and technology in the United S tates and the F re e W orld. 5) Such o th e r m a t t e r s c o n s o n a n t w ith law a s m a y be a s s ig n e d by the P re sid e n t to the O ffice. The D irecto r of OST has a D eputy, a lso appointed by the P re sid e n t, and a staff of ap p ro x im ately 20 p ro fe ssio n a ls at the top lev els of the Civil Service. Two of these m en serv e as Executive S ecretaries of PSAC and FCST, and o th e rs se rv e a s tech n ical a s s is ta n ts to the D irecto r and have re sp o n sib ilitie s in the g en eral a re a s liste d below . They w ork clo sely both w ith outside co n su ltan ts to PSAC and w ith in terag en cy panels of the F e d e ra l Council. T opics which p a rtic u la rly co n cern ed th is Office in 1966 include the following: National Security: A n ti-su b m arin e w a rfa re and asso ciated problem s, m ilitary aircraft, strategic m ilitary system s. Space: The national space p ro g ram and its future. Civil P ro g ra m s: G overnm ent p aten t policy; rap id excavating technology; the potential role of re s e a rc h in the D ep artm en t of H ousing and U rban D evelopm ent; problem s in education, p a rtic u la rly higher-education. $* ; , II - 3- C oordination of F e d e ra l P ro g ra m s : W ater re so u rc e s re s e a rc h , a tm o s pheric sciences and oceanography, and in te rre la tin g the p ro g ram s in all of the en v iro n m en tal "science's" : 1 In addition, the P re sid e n t gave h is Science A dvisor a num ber of public assignm ents: c A irc ra ft N oise: C hairm anship of a sp ecial interagency w orking group to define a p ro g ram leading to the allev iatio n of je t a irc ra ft ro ise ; ch airm an ship of the F e d e ra l C oordinating C om m ittee on Sonic Boom Studies. Technological Gap: C hairm anship of an in teragency com m ittee to exam ine the p ro b lem s ra is e d by the tech n o lo g ical d is p a ritie s betw een the U. 5. and W estern E uropean co u n tries; p a rtic ip a tio n in a study of th is p ro b lem under the O rganization fo r E conom ic C ooperation and D evelopm ent. P resid en tial C om m issions: Involvem ent in the w ork of the P re s id e n t's C om m ission on P aten t System and the P re s id e n t's C rim e C om m ission. W orld Food: A m a jo r effo rt has been m ounted in resp o n se to the P r e s i d en t's directive to h is S cience A dvisory C om m ittee to se a rc h out new ways to develop synthetic d ie ta ry su p p lem en ts, im prove the quality of nutritional content of food cro p s and to apply technology to in creasin g food production. In h is India Food M e ssa g e , the P re s id e n t sta te d th at he looks to th is study "to supply fu rth e r and m o re definitive guidelines for n e ar-te rm action and for lo n g -term planning." A ttached is an o rg a n iz atio c " h a rt p o rtray in g the W hite H ouse ( science structure. A ttachm ent O i: 'll i !