including R&D plant, had risen to $15,745.9 

 million (a more than five-fold increase in the 

 decade), of which the DOD obligated $6,865.0 

 million and a relative newcomer to the science 

 establishment, the National Aeronautics and 

 Space Administration (NASA), accounted for 

 $5,481.9 million. AEC showed $1,539.7 million, 

 HEW had grown to $970.5 million, and NSF had 

 risen to $275.4 million. Of the Federal R&D total 

 of nearly $15,000 million (R&D plant excluded) 

 some 8 percent went to universities, another 4 

 percent to contract research centers at univer- 

 sities, 21 percent to Federal intramural 

 laboratories, and the chief share, 62 percent, to 

 private industry. The remaining performers, 

 mainly nonprofit institutions, took 5 percent. A 

 closer look at the funds earmarked for universi- 

 ty research in 1965, shows that 40 percent came 

 from HEW, 24 percent from DOD, 12 percent 

 from NSF, 10 percent from NASA, 6 percent 

 from AEC, and 5 percent from USDA. 



THE 1960's: A MATURE AND 

 PROSPEROUS SYSTEM OF SUPPORT 



The orbiting of Sputnik by the Soviet Union 

 in 1957 provided both a jolt to complacency and 

 a powerful stimulus to action to enhance the 

 Nation's capabilities in science and technology. 

 In 1958 the new President's Science Advisory 

 Committee (PSAC) reported that "this year the 

 U.S. Government will spend over $5 billion on 

 research, engineering and development, sub- 

 stantially more than it spent in the entire four 

 decades 1900-1939— and more than the total 

 Federal budget of a generation ago." In part as a 

 result of this massive funding, "in less than a 

 generation, the United States has wrested 

 scientific leadership from its birthplace, Eu- 

 rope, and since 1945 over half of all Nobel prizes 

 in the sciences have been awarded to 

 Americans. The Federal Government has 

 played an important role in this achievement." 41 



The coming of the Kennedy years witnessed 

 an even greater flow of funds and optimism into 

 the scientific community. Shortly before his 

 death in 1963 President Kennedy gave an 

 address before the National Academy of 

 Sciences on "A Century of Scientific Conquest." 

 Praising both the growing support of basic 

 research and the closer links between science 

 and public policy, he celebrated the fact that 

 "we move toward a new era in which science can 

 fulfill its creative promise and help bring into 

 existence the happiest society the world has 

 ever known. " 4J 



Whether that goal was a realistic one, it 

 fittingly keynoted the euphoria of science in the 

 1960s. Whether one looks at total Federal 

 spending for research and development (up 

 from $9.3 billion in 1961 to $14.8 billion in 

 1970), total national spending on R&D (up from 

 $14.3 billion in 1961 to $26.0 billion in 1970), 

 Federal investment in R&D plant above and 

 remaining above half a billion dollars annually 

 after 1960, the number of institutions granting 

 doctorates in science and engineering (up from 

 162 in 1962-63 to 229 in 1970-71), « or the 

 number of doctorates earned in science and 

 engineering (8,055 in 1962-63 and 18,466 in 

 1970-71) — the story seemed always one of 

 phenomenal growth. The result of this massive 

 spending was a scientific capability with new 

 facilities, new practitioners, and new expec- 

 tations of support. There were, however, 

 subsurface counter trends, developing into 

 mismatches between resources and claimants. 

 Unforeseen disturbances lay ahead. 



CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SYSTEM 



This large research establishment, as it 

 flourished in the mid-1960's, had several salient 

 features. First, it was heavily dependent upon 



• Strengthening American Science, A Report lo the 

 President's Science Advisory Committee (Washington, 

 1958). pp. 1,3. 



'- John F. Kennedy, 'A Century of Scientific Conquest," in 

 The Scientific Endeavor: Centennial Celebration of the 

 National Academy of Sciences (New York, 1965), p. 318. 

 " Science Indicators— 1972. Report of the National Science 

 Board. 1973 (Washington. 1973). pp. 108-09, 115. 135, 136. 



RESEARCH IN THE UNITED STATES 



15 



