18-month period of intensive geophysical research. The scientific program 

 was under the direction of the U. S. National Committee for the International 

 Geophysical Year, National Academy of Sciences. Here again the Bush 

 Report anticipated what was to come by citing the International Polar Year 

 as an example of significant international scientific activity. The Report rec- 

 ommended that "the National Research Foundation be charged with the 

 responsibility of participating in such international cooperative scientific enter- 

 prises as it deems desirable." The National Science Foundation secured and 

 administered Government funds for U. S. participation in the International 

 Geophysical Year to the extent of $43,500,000. 



In the contemporary scene, international activities in science have neces- 

 sarily widened to include political considerations. Through such mediums as 

 the International Conference on the Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy, the 

 nations of the world are working to divert the powerful new forces of nuclear 

 energy into constructive uses. Similarly, the nations may find it necessary in 

 the common good to agree and cooperate on scientific and practical aspects 

 of outer space research. The Antarctic Treaty under which twelve nations 

 have agreed to preserve the Antarctic as a great scientific laboratory is a 

 major landmark in international relations. 



Renewal of Scientific Talent 



In a chapter entitled "Renewal of Our Scientific Talent," Dr. Bush takes as 

 a major premise the statement of James B. Conant that ". . . in every section 

 of the entire area where the word science may properly be applied, the limit- 

 ing factor is a human one. We shall have rapid or slow advance in this direc- 

 tion or in that depending on the number of really first-class men who are 

 engaged in the work in question. ... So in the last analysis the future of 

 science in this country will be determined by our basic educational policy." 



Dr. Bush and his advisory committee on education were concerned (1) with 

 broadening the base from which students with scientific aptitude and talents 

 could be drawn, and (2) with filling the wartime deficit in young scientists 

 and engineers. They were concerned with quality and with the full opera- 

 tion of the democratic process. They felt that all boys and girls should be 

 able to feel that, if they have what it takes, there is no limit to the opportunity. 

 A ceiling should not be imposed on a young person's educational opportunities 

 either by limited family means or negative family attitudes. 



Science, the Endless Frontier also emphasized the importance of teaching 

 in these words: "Improvement in the teaching of science is imperative; for 

 students of latent scientific ability are particularly vulnerable to high school 

 teaching which fails to awaken interest or to provide adequate instruction." 



The specific recommendations of the Bush Report in the area of science 

 education were for the establishment of a national program of science scholar- 

 ships and science fellowships and for the subsequent enrollment of the re- 

 cipients of these awards in a National Science Reserve upon which the Gov- 

 ernment could draw in times of emergency. 



In the establishment and operation of the Foundation's program of educa- 

 tion in the sciences, there has been fundamental and perhaps unanimous 



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