OFFICE OF SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT 37 



h. Perform such other duties relating to scientific and medical research and 

 development as the President may from time to time assign to or delegate 



to It. 



The Director was authorized to provide for the internal organization 

 and management of the OSRD. He was further authorized to appoint 

 advisory committees subject to the condition that he should obtain the 

 President's approval for the establishment of the principal subdivisions of 

 the agency and the appointment of the heads thereof. (The requirement 

 of presidential approval was dropped by Executive Order No. 9389 of 

 October 18, 1943.) The principal subdivisions at the outset were the Ad- 

 visory Council, the National Defense Research Committee, the Committee 

 on Medical Research (all three specifically mentioned in the Executive 

 Order), the Administrative Office which handled administrative aflairs, 

 and the Liaison Office through which exchange of information with Allied 

 governments was centralized. Two other principal subdivisions, the Scien- 

 tific Personnel Office and the Office of Field Service, were created later, 

 and minor subdivisions were established from time to time. 



The order directed the OSRD to utilize laboratories, equipment and 

 services of governmental agencies and institutions to the extent that such 

 facilities were available for its purposes; transfers of funds for this pur- 

 pose were specifically authorized. The Office was further authorized to 

 enter into contracts and agreements with individuals, educational and sci- 

 entific institutions (including specifically the National Academy of Sciences 

 and the National Research Council), industrial organizations and other 

 agencies for "studies, experimental investigations, and reports." 



The Director was authorized to take over contracts falling within the 

 scope of the order which had heretofore been entered into by (i) the 

 NDRC, (2) the Health and Medical Committee estaWished by order of 

 the Council of National Defense on September 19, 1940, and (3) the 

 Federal Security Administrator in his capacity of Co-ordinator of Health, 

 Medical Welfare, Nutrition, Recreation, and other related activities as 

 authorized by order of the Council of National Defense on November 28, 

 1940. He was further authorized to assume any obligations or responsi- 

 bilities theretofore undertaken by these agencies which fell within the scope 

 of the order. Under this authority the OSRD assumed the contracts of 

 the NDRC and proceeded to enter into contracts pursuant to letters of 

 intent which had been issued by NDRC. The volume of contracts assumed 

 from the other agencies was negligible. 



Paragraph 6 of the order created an Advisory Council whose function 

 was to advise and assist the Director with respect to the co-ordination of 

 research activities carried on by private and governmental research groups 

 as well as to facilitate the interchange of information and data between 

 such groups and agencies. The Council consisted of the Director as Chair- 



