NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION 



NATIONAL SCIENCE BOARD 



WASHINGTON, D.C. 20550 



LETTER TO MEMBERS OF NSF INDUSTRIAL PANEL 



Currently the National Science Board is preparing its Eighth Annual 

 Report to the President and to the Congress . The report will concentrate 

 on the circumstances which might affect the capacity of the Nation to 

 continue a strong position in science and technology. It will attempt 

 to identify and to study prospectively selected critical problems develop- 

 ing in the operating research sectors namely, university, industry, 



Government laboratories and independent research institutes. The 

 report is not as much concerned with dollar support as with circum- 

 stances in the institutional, managerial or policy environment which 

 will influence the productivity of working scientists and engineers. 

 In order to identify critical problems for the industrial research 

 sector, the Committee on Eighth NSB Report is seeking input from members 

 of NSF Industrial Panel on Science and Technology. 



The Committee would very much appreciate learning about the two most 

 critical issues/problems facing fundamental (long term, basic) research, 

 as you see it, in the near term future. "Near term future" means 

 issues currently emerging or seen-to-be-emerging in the next decade or 

 so. For example, as you look ahead, in your capacity as a research 

 director, what problems do you anticipate? What critical issues/ 

 problems will condition scientific and technological research in 

 industry and will decrease its effectiveness unless properly addressed? 

 Would you please order your issues/problems "one" and "two" and then 

 provide a brief descriptive paragraph for each? Feel free to propose 

 resolutions or solutions. 



In addition to your views from the research management level, the 

 Committee expects to obtain perceptions from the corporate executive 

 officer in a separate letter. 



104 APPENDIX B 



