NATIONAL DEFENSE RESEARCH COMMITTEE 9 



trusted earlier to the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, it was 

 excluded from the jurisdiction of the NDRC, but the two committees were 

 expected to maintain close relationship. 



One field later to attract a great deal of public interest was specifically 

 mentioned in the President's letter. A committee headed by Dr. Lyman J. 

 Briggs, Director of the National Bureau of Standards, which had earlier 

 been appointed to "study into the possible relationship to national defense 

 of recent discoveries in the field of atomistics, notably the fission of uranium" 

 was instructed to report to Bush inasmuch as the NDRC might consider 

 it advisable to support special studies on this subject. 



Organization of the Committee 



Although the order establishing the Committee was dated June 27, 1940, 

 the letters of appointment from the President were dated June 15, and the 

 members of the Committee held two informal conferences prior to the 

 issuance of the order. Thus, prior to the first formal meeting on July 2, 

 1940, members of the Committee had been able to give preliminary con- 

 sideration to a number of those problems which confront any new group. 



At its first formal meeting on July 2, 1940, the Committee elected Tolman 

 as its Vice-Chairman and selected as its Secretary Irvin Stewart, Director 

 of the Corrmiittee on Scientific Aids to Learning of the National Research 

 Council, a political scientist. At the same meeting it was decided to estab- 

 lish divisions for the preliminary consideration of problems, with each divi- 

 sion being supervised by a member of the Committee. Within divisions, 

 provision was made for the establishment of as many sections as might be 

 needed for the handling of particular types of problems assigned to the 

 division. The Committee member supervising a division was authorized to 

 proceed on his own responsibility in handling the details of assignments to 

 his division and its sections with the understanding that the Chairman of 

 the Committee would be kept fully informed at all times and that progress 

 reports should be made to the Committee from time to time. The Chair- 

 man was given authority to allocate problems to divisions and sections. 



Bush as Chairman had the responsibility for co-ordinating the work of 

 the Committee with that of other governmental and private agencies as 

 well as maintaining direct supervision over a limited number of problems. 

 To assist him. Bush selected as his Executive Assistant Carroll Louis Wilson, 

 manager of the Boston Office of the Research Corporation, an engineer 

 who had served with both Bush and Compton at M.LT. Responsibility for 

 the maintenance of close working relationships between the Committee and 

 the military services was assigned to General Strong and Admiral Bowen. 



Five divisions were created and sections were established within the divi- 

 sions from time to time as the need for them became apparent. A statement 



