ABSTRACT
Waterman previously had been scientific director of the Office of Naval Research, which supported basic science while National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) was under-going its fitful birth. Waterman believed the foundation should support basic research in the physical and biological sciences and nothing else. The launching of NSF involved budgetary restraints, critical barbs, and the shadow of doubt cast over goals and operations. Uncertainty lingered in political circles after the passage of the NSF act. The importance of the first command at NSF evoked more than passing curiosity in the science community. Nominations and recommendations surged into the White House from sundry professional societies and groups. Presidential appointments inevitably provoke an active flow of competing communications. Private foundations were represented by the presidents of the Rockefeller Foundation and the Carnegie Corporation. Male dominance and the prominence of physical science mark the appointments to this key position.
