OTHER OSRD RESEARCH GROUPS 121 



gram which had been outlined by Briggs and directed him to make definite 

 proposals for consideration when funds had been allocated to the Committee. 



The first funds for the support of the uranium program were voted by 

 NDRC at its meeting on October 25, 1940; and each succeeding meeting 

 of the Committee saw additional implementation of the program. Recog- 

 nizing the potential importance of research on atomic energy, on April 19, 

 1941, pursuant to authorization of NDRC, Bush requested Jewett, as Presi- 

 dent of the National Academy of Sciences, to appoint a special committee 

 to review the program of research in the field and to make recommendations 

 for a future program. A committee of distinguished scientists was appointed 

 and Jewett sent its report to Bush on May 23. When NDRC met on June 12, 

 it felt the need for additional light on the engineering aspects of the pro- 

 gram; and accordingly it requested the National Academy to have the 

 report reviewed by a committee with a membership competent from that 

 standpoint. 



With the establishment of OSRD, the Committee on Uranium was con- 

 tinued as an NDRC activity but with its title changed to Section on 

 Uranium for uniformity of nomenclature. Briggs appeared before the first 

 meeting of the reconstituted Committee on July 18, 1941, to outline a 

 research program. At the same time, the Chairman laid before the Com- 

 mittee the reports submitted by the special Academy committee on atomic 

 fission. It had become apparent by this time that success in the preliminary 

 research program would lead to a very expensive long-range program which 

 would dwarf the other NDRC activities. The Committee accordingly re- 

 quested Bush to consider anew the entire uranium program in its relation 

 to the activities of the NDRC; he in turn called upon the National Academy 

 of Sciences for a further report. 



Upon receiving that report, he discussed the situation with NDRC at its 

 meetings on November 28, 1941, and January 2, 1942. At the first of those 

 meetings, it was agreed that arrangements should be made to handle the 

 program outside the regular activities of NDRC. At the January meeting. 

 Bush informed the Committee that he had completed the necessary arrange- 

 ments. The problems were divided into those relating to physics and those 

 relating to engineering. Three distinct programs were established in physics, 

 and a Program Chief designated for each. In the case of the physics program, 

 Bush acted upon recommendations made to him by a committee of three 

 consisting of Conant as Chairman of NDRC, Briggs, as Chairman of Sec- 

 tion S-i of OSRD (the word "uranium" had been dropped for security 

 reasons), and the appropriate Program Chief. Contracts on the develop- 

 mental and engineering aspects of the program were entered into upon the 

 recommendation of a Planning Board composed of outstanding engineers, 

 with E. V. Murphree, Vice-President of Standard Oil Development Com- 

 pany, as Chief. In practice, orders for large quantities of materials for con- 



