ABSTRACT
Since the establishment of the National Science Foundation in 1950 and the Science Advisory Committee in 1951, a number of mechanisms and processes have evolved with the goal of providing coordinated planning and oversight for science and technology activities throughout the federal government. The difference an activist influential Science Advisor can make in these matters is quite substantial and important. One important area that rarely receives a coordinated government-wide perspective is the role of universities and colleges in our research enterprise, and their importance to the health and vigor of science and technology in the United States. The absence of an established mechanism among these agencies to review federal policies that affect the research and development strengths of universities is a serious lack. The panel reached a number of conclusions and made several recommendations to agencies in the Executive branch, as well as to Congress.
