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The National Academy of Sciences: The First Hundred Years, 1863-1963 (1978)

Chapter: APPENDIX F Executive Orders Defining the Duties and Functions of the National Research Council

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Suggested Citation:"APPENDIX F Executive Orders Defining the Duties and Functions of the National Research Council." National Academy of Sciences. 1978. The National Academy of Sciences: The First Hundred Years, 1863-1963. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/579.
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Page 644
Suggested Citation:"APPENDIX F Executive Orders Defining the Duties and Functions of the National Research Council." National Academy of Sciences. 1978. The National Academy of Sciences: The First Hundred Years, 1863-1963. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/579.
×
Page 645
Suggested Citation:"APPENDIX F Executive Orders Defining the Duties and Functions of the National Research Council." National Academy of Sciences. 1978. The National Academy of Sciences: The First Hundred Years, 1863-1963. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/579.
×
Page 646
Suggested Citation:"APPENDIX F Executive Orders Defining the Duties and Functions of the National Research Council." National Academy of Sciences. 1978. The National Academy of Sciences: The First Hundred Years, 1863-1963. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/579.
×
Page 647

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A P P E N D I X Executive Orders FDefining the Duties and Functions of the National Research C~nci! EXECUTIVE ORDER The National Research Council was organized in ~9~6 at the request of the President by the National Academy of Sciences, under its congressional charter, as a measure of national preparedness. The work accomplished by the Council in organizing research and in securing cooperation of military and civilian agencies in the solution of military problems demonstrates its capacity for larger service. The National Academy of Sciences is therefore requested to perpetuate the National Research Council, the duties of which shall be as follows: 1. In general, to stimulate research in the mathematical, physical and biological sciences, and in the application of these sciences to engineering, agriculture, medicine and other useful arts, with the object of increasing knowledge, of strengthening the national defense, and of contributing in other ways to the public welfare. 2. To survey the larger possibilities of science, to formulate comprehen- sive projects of research, and to develop effective means of utilizing the scientific and technical resources of the country for dealing with these projects. 644

Appendix F 1 645 3. To promote cooperation in research, at home and abroad, in order to secure concentration of effort, minimize . . · .. .. . . . duplication, and stimulate prog- ress; out In act cooperative undertakings to give encouragement to individual initiative, as fundamentally important to the advancement of science. 4. To serve as a means of bringing American and foreign investigators into active cooperation with the scientific and technical services of the War and Navy Departments and with those of the civil branches of the Government. 5. To direct the attention of scientific and technical investigators to the present importance of military and industrial problems in connection with the war, and to aid in the solution of these problems by organizing specific researches. 6. To gather and collate scientific and technical information, at home and abroad, in cooperation with governmental and other agencies, and to render such information available to duly accredited persons. Effective prosecution of the Council's work requires the cordial collabora- tion of the scientific and technical branches of the Government, both military and civil. To this end representatives of the Government, upon the nomina- tion of the National Academy of Sciences, will be designated by the Presi- dent as members of the Council, as heretofore, and the heads of the departments immediately concerned will continue to cooperate in every way that may be required. THE WHITE HOUSE ~~ May, ~9~8 (Signed) WOODROW WILSON (No. 2 8 59)

646 1 Appendix F EXECUTIVE ORDER AMENDMENT OF EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 2859 OF MAY II, 1918, RELATING TO THE NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL Executive Order No. 2859 of May ~ I, 1918, relating to the National Research Council, is hereby amended to read as follows: NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES "WHEREAS the National Research Council (hereinafter referred to as the Council) was organized in ~ 9 ~ 6 at the request of the President by the National Academy of Sciences, under its congressional charter, as a measure of national preparedness; and "WHEREAS in recognition of the work accomplished by the National Academy of Sciences through the Council in organizing research, in furthering science, and in securing cooperation of government and non-government agencies in the solution of their problems, the Council has been perpetuated by the Academy as requested by the President in Executive Order No. z859 of May ~ I, ~9~8; and "WHEREAS the effective prosecution of the Council's work requires the close cooperation of the scientific and technical branches of the Government, both military and civil, and makes representation of the Government on the Council desirable: "NOW, THEREFORE, by virtue of the authority vested in me as President of the United States, it is ordered as follows: "1. The functions of the Council shall be as follows: "(a) In general, to stimulate research in the mathematical, physical, and biological sciences, and in the application of these sciences to engineering, agriculture, medicine, and other useful arts, with the object of increasing knowledge, of strengthening the national defense, and of contributing in other ways to the public welfare. "(b) To survey the broad possibilities of science, to formulate comprehensive projects of research, and to develop effective means of utilizing the scientific and technical resources of the country for dealing with such projects. "(c) To promote cooperation in research, at home and abroad, in order to secure concentration of effort, minimize duplication, and stimulate progress; but in all cooperative undertakings to give encouragement to individual initiative, as fundamentally important to the advancement of science. "(d) To serve as a means of bringing American and foreign investigators into active cooperation with the scientific and technical services of the Department of Defense and of the civil branches of the Government. "(e) To direct the attention of scientific and technical investigators to the importance of military and industrial problems in connection with national

Appendix F 1 647 defense, and to aid in the solution of these problems by organizing specific researches. "~0 To gather and collate scientific and technical information, at home and abroad, in cooperation with governmental and other agencies, and to render such information available to duly accredited persons. "2. The Government shall be represented on the Council by members who are officers or employees of specified departments and agencies of the executive branch of the Government. The National Academy of Sciences shall specify, from time to time, the departments and agencies from which Government members shall be designated, and shall determine, from time to time, the number of Government members who shall be designated from each such department and agency. The head of each such specified department or agency shall designate the officers and employees from his department or agency, in such numbers as the National Academy of Sciences shall determine, who shall be members of the Council, but shall designate only those persons who are acceptable to the Academy." This order shall not be construed as terminating the tenure of any person who has heretofore been designated as a member of the Council. THE WHITE HOUSE, May 10, 1956. /signed/ DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER (No. ~o668)

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Among the oldest and most enduring of American institutions are those that have been devoted to the encouragement of the arts and the sciences. During the nineteenth century, a great many scientific societies came and went, and a few in individual disciplines achieved permanence. But the century also witnessed the founding of three major organizations with broadly interdisciplinary interests: the Smithsonian Institution in 1846; the Association of American Geologists and Naturalists, which in 1848 became the American Association for the Promotion (later, Advancement) of Science; and the National Academy of Sciences in 1863.

The founding of the National Academy of Sciences represented a momentous event in the history of science in the United States. Its establishment in the midst of a great civil war was fortuitous, perhaps, and its early existence precarious; and in this it mirrored the state of science at that time. The antecedents of the new organization in American science were the national academies in Great Britain and on the Continent, whose membership included the principal men of science of the realm. The chartering of academies under the auspices of a sovereign lent the prestige and elements of support and permanence the scientists sought, and in return they made their scientific talents and counsel available to the state.

The National Academy of Sciences: The First Hundred Years, 1863-1963 describes the National Academies from inception through the beginning of the space age. The book describes the Academies' work through different periods in history, including the Postbellum years, World War I, the Great Depression, and World War II.

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