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and access to data bases, giving to the time-sharing computer network 

 the character of a public utility. Abundant electrical energy is taken 

 for granted in modern society. 



Government concern with the stimulation of science and the uses of 

 technology has greatly intensified in the Twentieth Century. Basic 

 scientific research, mainly in the universities, relies to a large extent 

 on Government sponsorship. In fields of applied science and techno- 

 logical development, virtually every agency of Government has found 

 some role to play. For many well-established technologies, Govern- 

 ment regulation has been found necessary, such as with rail and air 

 transport, electric power, radio, and pharmaceutical preparations. An- 

 other main interest of Government is in the stimulation of new tech- 

 nologies; specific technological tasks have been widely assigned within 

 the Government, such as weather modification, water desalting, coal 

 utilization, helium conservation, weather satellites, highway construc- 

 tion, high-speed trains, rapid excavation, communications satellites, 

 and marine resources exploitation. 



On the other hand, defects or "second-order consequences'' of mod- 

 ern technology are receiving increasing public attention and present a 

 challenge to engineers to reduce the adverse effects of their innova- 

 tions. Modern issues center on pollution of the air ; pollution of streams, 

 oceans, and ground water; the spread of pesticides; eutrophication of 

 lakes ; disposal of solid wastes ; the effects of noise ; toxic chemicals in 

 general public use; the information explosion; invasion of personal 

 privacy ; the hazards of radiation ; the upsetting of the ecological bal- 

 ance ; automobile unsafety ; and, currently, the complex problems 

 created by a growing energy shortage relative to a dynamically ex- 

 panding pattern of energy utilization. 



Cogent description of the organization of scientists and engineers 

 is beyond the scope of the study. The disciplines of science are prac- 

 ticed in the universities and foundations, in some Government labora- 

 tories, and to a degree in private, industry. Organizations of scientists, 

 mainly to exchange and disseminate information, are largely by dis- 

 ciplines, although interdisciplinary academies of sciences are active in 

 many regions. A large and loose federation of scientists and scientific 

 societies exists in the American Association for the Advancement of 

 Science. A more formal interface between science and Government is 

 provided by the National Academy of Sciences, which has access to all 

 scientific and technical societies through the medium of the National 

 Research Council. Contact of U.S. scientists with those abroad takes 

 many routes: direct person-to-person communication, through the 

 Scientific Unions, and through scientific groups under the aegis of the 

 United Nations, among others. 



Organization of technologies is still further diversified. Technical 

 societies, along roughly disciplinary lines, abound — such as the Ameri- 

 can Society for Metals, the Society of Plastics Engineers, and the In- 

 stitute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers. Other technological 

 societies have been formed along "mission" lines, such as the American 

 Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, American Ordnance Asso- 

 ciation, and the American National Standards Institute. Since tech- 

 nology is a major activity in most private industrial corporations, its 



