ABSTRACT
The period from the appointment of James Killian as Presidential Science Advisor in 1958 to the assassination of President Kennedy in 1963 is generally regarded as the high-water mark for the prestige and influence of high-level scientific advisory committees. High-level advice by scientists serving part-time from outside government has a long history in the United States, but it only became an important political phenomenon after World War II, when it grew hand in hand with rising federal support for extramural research and development (R&D). The Federal Advisory Committee Act was perhaps even more problematical than the Freedom of Information Act, because it required that the agendas of advisory committee discussions be announced in advance. Specialized knowledge is one of the contributions that President's Science Advisory Committee brings to high-level policy debate, but a more important role may be as an intermediary or "transducer" between the specialized knowledge of panels and study groups and generalist politicians and staff advisors.
