142 OCEANOGRAPHY 



Thank you for giving us the opportunity to comment on the bill. 

 The Bureau of the Budget has advised us it has no objection to the submission 

 of this rei)ort. 



Sincerely yours, 



Habry C. Kelly, Acting Director. 



Dr. Waterman. As a general matter, it is our view that, while we 

 concur with the objectives of all of these bills, which are auned at pro- 

 moting the progress of oceanographic research and training, sufficient 

 legislative authority already exists within the executive branch to 

 carry out the objectives of the bills w^ithout the need for additional 

 legislation. We recognize the importance, however, of supporting 

 more intensively those areas of science, such as oceanography, which 

 appear to require urgent assistance in the national interest. 



In this connection, you may be interested in the support which the 

 Foundation is giving and plans to give to oceanographic research. In 

 fiscal year 1958, the Foundation expended slightly over $1 million for 

 the support of research in this area. In fiscal year 1959 our expendi- 

 tures were approximately $2i/^ million. Our estimate for fiscal year 



1960 is approximately $71/^ million and the President's budget for 



1961 has included approximately $9i/2 million for support of oceano- 

 graphic research. This includes support under our programs in the 

 mathematical, engineering, and physical sciences, support for biologi- 

 cal oceanography, including facilities, and support for ship design 

 and construction. As I mentioned earlier, the figures for fiscal year 

 1960 and 1961 coincide closely with the recommendations of the Com- 

 mittee on Oceanography of the National Academy of Sciences — 

 National Research Council. 



As we have pointed out previously, one of the major problems with 

 respect to the promotion of increased research in oceanography lies in 

 the production of more trained research workers in the field. Oceanog- 

 raphy includes, or is related to, many fields of science, and thrives 

 best in intimate contact with various scientific disciplines. There 

 seems to be general agreement among the leaders in oceanographic 

 work, therefore, as to the importance of securing people for oceano- 

 graphic research from those well trained in other related fields, such as 

 biology or chemistry. Provision of oceanographic research facilities, 

 including ships, is, of course, highly necessary. Additional skilled 

 researchers must be provided, however, in order that the expanded 

 facilities can be utilized to their fullest extent. We do feel that the 

 need for oceanographic research workers cannot be solved merely by 

 the provision of more fellowships or by the furnishing of additional 

 scholarship aid. Moreover, on this point we believe that sufficient fel- 

 lowship aid for high-quality students is presently available through 

 various sources so as to enable financial assistance to be provided to 

 persons interested in entering the field. As you know, the National 

 Science Foundation presently awards fellowships in the various sci- 

 ences, including oceanography and related fields, and, in fact, we 

 specifically mention oceanography in our fellowship brochure; but we 

 think there would be risk of lowering the high-quality standards and 

 the recognition which NSF fellowships now have if the Foundation 

 Avere to establish specialized fellowship programs for particular areas 

 of science without some overriding justification. 



With respect to undergraduate scholarships, it is also our view that 

 well-qualified students in the various scientific fields are able to ob- 



