ABSTRACT
The present concern about American productivity and the nation's ability to compete in a world that has become so rapidly globalized has initiated a period of self-examination. In 1963, the Congress asked the National Academy of Sciences to determine what level of Federal support is needed to maintain a position of leadership through basic research in the advancement of science and technology and their economic, cultural and military applications. In 1967, the National Academy of Sciences prepared a report for the Congress dealing with the "special problems of effective applications of the resources of science to advances in technology", entitled, "Applied Science and Technology Progress". The Director of the National Science Foundation, with the legislative mandate to improve the linkage between knowledge and development, has asked for help in that regard. That help can best come from the people who practice science and engineering.
