44 ORGANIZING SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH FOR WAR 



Relation of OSRD to the National Academy of Sciences and 



THE National Research Council 



On July 1 6, 1941, President Roosevelt addressed a letter to Jewett as 

 President of the National Academy of Sciences requesting the Academy to 

 aid the recently established Office of Scientific Research and Development 

 in the performance of its duties in every way possible. He pointed out that 

 the Academy had been organized for the primary purpose of rendering 

 scientific advice to the Government. In the existing emergency, the services 

 of the Academy and of the National Research Council were again essential 

 to the defense of the country; and he expressed the hope that they would 

 respond "with the same spirit which resulted in a fine record of accomplish- 

 ment under previous stress." The President stated that the creation of OSRD 

 was not intended in any way to inhibit the Academy's important function 

 of rendering to the agencies of Government the best scientific advice possible. 

 On the contrary, it was intended to further this important service by better 

 co-ordination with other agencies responsible for specific aspects of the 

 application of science to defense. He ended with an expression of his hope 

 that the Academy, the Council and their respective officers would render all 

 assistance in their power to the OSRD as well as to other agencies of 

 Government which they already advised or which might call for their aid. 



Jewett's reply of July 19 to the President's cordial letter was equally cordial. 

 In it he assured the President that the Academy, the Council, Dr. Ross Harri- 

 son as Chairman of the Council, and he, as President of the Academy, would 

 do everything within their power to aid and facilitate OSRD in its task of 

 co-ordinating the nation's scientific research facilities in all matters involved 

 in the national defense. 



The close contacts which NDRC had established with the Academy and 

 the Council were continued and expanded under OSRD. Particularly close 

 relations were established between the CMR and the Council, as the latter 

 had built up an organization in its Division of Medical Sciences which 

 greatly aided CMR in getting under way without loss of valuable time. 



Staff Operations 



Although the responsibility for advising the Director on scientific matters 

 was divided between the NDRC and the CMR, business operations were 

 handled by a single office. Immediately upon the issuance of the Executive 

 Order, Bush appointed Stewart as Executive Secretary of the Office of 

 Scientific Research and Development. At their first meetings, both NDRC 

 and CMR recommended to Bush that he also appoint Stewart as Executive 

 Secretary of the respective Committees, and these appointments were made. 



