struction of a theory of inventory control and 

 to providing a scientific underpinning to lo- 

 gistics decision-making. 



The point of these examples is that the Navy 

 has recognized that its own interests as well as 

 those of society at large depend in one degree or 

 another on the health of basic science. The 

 Navy's research managers are therefore alert to 

 the emergence of new technologies and advances 

 in science even when these are not immediately 

 recognizable as having naval utility. Frequently 

 enough, spinoff useful to the Navy emerged from 

 such advances. How does the manager become 

 aware of new developments? One principal route 

 is through the thousands of unsolicited proposals 

 which pour into ONR annually. These provide 

 important clues regarding what the scientific and 

 technological communities consider to be current- 

 ly worth doing. They also provide clues about 

 new and able scientists coming into the research 

 arena. Some proposals will deal with matters on 

 the front lines of science. Such research often 

 provides the scientific capital on which technology 

 will eventually draw. Dr. Harold Brown, then 

 Director of Defense Research and Engineering 

 (DDR&E), in a speech at MIT in 1965, said that his 

 experience led him to believe that, in Defense mat- 

 ters, the value of basic research as measured by its 

 utilization could be determined in 10 years or less. 



The second principal route is through attention 

 to forums for scientific exchange. These include 

 the relevant literature, attendance at national and 

 international meetings and workshops, and con- 

 versations with scientists in thtir home laborato- 

 ries or when they visit the Navy. In matters of 

 current and pressing interest the research man- 

 agers may mount their own symposia or work- 

 shops to determine the state of the art and adjust 

 their programs accordingly. Negative research 

 results have, on occasion, proved useful in abort- 

 ing expensive development projects by showing 

 that, in principle, the development could not suc- 

 ceed. Contributing to the gathering and dissemina- 

 tion of information are the ONR Branch Office 

 personnel at Boston, Chicago, and Pasadena. 

 ONR offices in London and Tokyo provide win- 

 dows to European and Oriental research. A first- 

 rate science library maintained by ONR is availa- 

 ble to all Navy research personnel. The Navy's 

 program can be influenced also by the content of 

 programs supported by other Government agen- 

 cies whose missions may in part overlap with the 

 Navy's; the Navy research manager therefore 

 meets with scientists of other Government re- 

 search agencies, both on an ad hoc basis, and on 

 a regular schedule. 



One of the more difficult activities confronting 



the Navy's research manager is interesting the 

 scientific community in pursuing research the 

 manager had judged to be of value in the solution 

 of certain problems. The manager may use semi- 

 nars or other means of bringing together naval 

 personnel and researchers. His objective is to 

 make both communities conscious of mutual ben- 

 efits that can result from the awareness by re- 

 searchers in basic science of problems in the mili- 

 tary world as well as the commercial technical 

 community. There are many examples of Navy 

 problems where the Navy's research managers 

 were catalysts for the development of novel tech- 

 nologies or drove existing research in fruitful new 

 directions: 



• A requirement of the fleet ballistic program 

 led to the design of a nitropolymer plasticiz- 

 er — a major contributor to the development 

 of a safe, high-energy, stable solid propel- 

 lant. 



• Marine Corps specification of its requirement 

 for locating enemy troops in dark and remote 

 regions inspired basic electronics researchers 

 to develop personnel sonar systems. 



• A long-term basic research effort in fluid lu- 

 brication and gas bearings responded to 

 Navy needs by producing the gyroscopes 

 used in inertial navigation systems. These 

 same gas bearings are now common in high- 

 speed tape transports and in flying heads for 

 computer disk memories. 



• The application of artificial intelligence tech- 

 niques to Navy command and control prob- 

 lems was pushed by the desire of fleet com- 

 manders for active computer systems which 

 could both alert them to the possibility of 

 impending crisis situations and permit Eng- 

 lish language man-machine dialogue in cir- 

 cumstances pertinent to the forecasted criti- 

 cal event. 



The Navy's research personnel become aware 

 of Navy needs through various channels. Rou- 

 tines have been established for collecting and 

 absorbing documents such as mission statements, 

 planning guides, etc. bearing on research require- 

 ments. Attendance at workshops sponsored by 

 the Chief of Naval Operations and the Chief of 

 Naval Material, where matters of Navy needs are 

 addressed, is beneficial. The research managers 

 familiarize themselves with and interact closely 

 with the Navy's operational communities. 



The optimum consequence of the Navy's basic 

 research program is, as mentioned above, the in- 

 troduction of new science or technology into the 

 fleet. The second purpose, then, of the close in- 

 teraction between research and operation person- 

 nel is this function. It has required continuing and 

 personal communication and dialogue between the 



DEFENSE 71 



