Perspectives on Naval Research 



by 



The Honorable Paul H. Nitze 



Secretary of the Navy 



Research conducted by the Navy has had a profound effect 

 on our way of life. We are living better electrically, electroni- 

 cally, medically and physically because of many commercial 

 applications resulting from research sponsored by Navy. Our 

 programs have taken us into space and to the other extreme — 

 into the depths of the seas. We are catching up with science 

 fiction exploits, generally attributed to the 25th century, and 

 may even have surpassed them when we began communicating 

 with porpoises in our advancing exploration of the undersea 

 environment. 



The brilliant array of speakers who have preceded me in 

 your convocation has undoubtedly cast much light on the his- 

 tory of our research efforts. However, on this Twentieth Anni- 

 versary of the highly successful Office of Naval Research, we 

 should examine what the organization has meant to the Navy 

 and to the scientific community. A review of the historical ori- 

 gins of ONR will give insights into those aspects of the pattern 

 which might persist for something like the next two decades, 

 even in an era of dynamic technological change. 



The activities of the Navy in shaping the relationship of the 

 government with science have a long past and have played a 

 significant role. Thus, a little over a hundred years ago, the 

 National Academy of Sciences was created to serve as a link 

 between science and the special needs of the governmnt during 

 the Civil War. Navy support was important in its formation 

 and vital for the success of this endeavor. The Academy's first 

 report, moreover, was on a Navy subject. It dealt with the in- 



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