LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL 



December 1, 1974 

 My Dear Mr. President: 



I have the honor of transmitting to you, and through you to the 

 Congress, the Sixth Annual Report of the National Science Board. 

 The report is submitted in accordance with Section 4(g) of the 

 National Science Foundation Act as amended by Public Law 90-407. 



In this report. Science and the Challenges Ahead, the Board examines 

 some of the major problems facing the Nation and the world: popula- 

 tion growth, health care, food supply, energy demand, mineral 

 resources, climate changes, and environmental alteration. The report 

 identifies aspects of these problems which could be alleviated by 

 science and technology and assesses the adequacy of present scien- 

 tific knowledge for providing such help. 



The primary contributions which science and technology can 

 make in meeting these challenges are better understanding of the 

 problems and the development of alternate strategies and 

 technologies for attacking them. Present knowledge is inadequate for 

 these purposes. Major advances in virtually all the sciences are re- 

 quired to expand and deepen the understanding of these problems 

 and their interconnections before strategies and technologies of 

 assured effectiveness can be developed. 



Toward these ends, the Board recommends tl\at the Nation's 

 research efforts be expanded substantially in the years ahead. A part 

 of the increased efforts should be directed to basic and applied 

 research on problems now confronting the Nation, such as those dis- 

 cussed in this report. Another part needs to be reserved for "un- 

 targeted" basic research which is not tied specifically to present 

 problems, but is aimed instead at advancing general scientific 

 knowledge. This research may contribute to alleviating present 

 problems, but its principal benefit lies in providing knowledge needed 

 for meeting problems of the future. 



In calling for greater research expenditures — by both the Federal 

 Government and the private sector — the Board is mindful of the pres- 

 ent state of the economy and of measures taken and contemplated 

 for strengthening it. Many of the problems discussed in this report, 

 in fact, have impaired the economy and are likely to continue to 

 aggravate it until the problems are alleviated or solved. 



m 



