Science and Public Policy: Promises and Constraints 55 



Perhaps it is not redundant to remind you once again of 

 what we owe to the Europeans for their dedication to science. 

 In this connection one should mention the revelations asso- 

 ciated with the development of the modern picture of the 

 solar system and of universal gravitation; the development of 

 Newton's equations which form the foundation for science- 

 based mechanical engineering; the discovery of the chemical 

 elements and the fields of industrial chemistry which emerged 

 from this discovery; the revelation of electromagnetic phe- 

 nomena and the worldwide communications net they have 

 made possible; the discovery of the electron and ionized atoms 

 and the countless devices in the field of electronics which have 

 emerged from this knowledge; the discovery of the nucleus and 

 the development of an entirely new source of power; the ex- 

 plorations of the universe which have so broadened our con- 

 cepts of the vastness of the cosmos in which we live; the dis- 

 covery of the means whereby inherited characteristics are 

 transmitted and the revelation of the world of the gene and 

 the genetic code. It is true that American scientists played a 

 role in this development; however, we must not forget that 

 until the I930's most of our outstanding scientists spent a crit- 

 ical period of higher education in Europe. I happen to belong 

 to the first generation which, with a few exceptions, received 

 all of its training on this side of the Atlantic. 



It will reflect to the credit of the Navy for a 

 Unique Navy long period to come that it established the 

 Role Office of Naval Research at a very critical 



moment of transition in the phase of our na- 

 tional history related to science. For it was the Navy which 

 first responded to the challenge described in Vannevar Bush's 

 report, "Science, the Endless Frontier." Other agencies even- 

 tually followed suit and several have already eclipsed the Navy 

 in the magnitude of the support they provide for basic science; 

 however, all have been deeply influenced by the wisdom and 

 foresight which the Navy showed in 1945 and 1946 when it de- 

 cided that applied science could not thrive in the long run 

 unless basic science was well nourished. 



