ABSTRACT
A psychologist, Atkinson spent considerable time trying to achieve acceptance in the eyes of the physical scientists, who again were coming to the fore. Cascading political events, signaled by the use of the words “turbulent” and “stormy” to describe the times that confronted McElroy, Stever, and Atkinson at National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) in 1970s, inevitably spill over into national science policies. A national goal set by President Kennedy had been reached; huge investment had resulted in a technolgical triumph. It prompted repeated expression of the idea that if people can land a man on the moon people can also solve knotty problems on earth. The language of authorization sharply delineates how pressure from the political process is exerted on the research agenda at NSF:The Committee intends that this applied social research and policy sciences research focus on the promotion of effectiveness, efficiency and removal of waste from social policies and programs at the Federal, State and local government levels.
