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the planned development of the Atomic Enersry Commission. When approximately 

 ten years later the government again decided on a massive effort in space research 

 and development, the corresponding pool of scientists was much larger. There 

 were perhaps 15,000 physicists in the country at that time and a corresiwnding 

 larger number of chemists whose talents were almost immediately adaptable to 

 the needs of the new program. 



The situation in oceanography, starting from today, 20 years later, is, from 

 this viewpoint, much more critical. Not only is the pool of trained ocean scien- 

 tists very much smaller, but the interdisciplinary nature of the field is far great- 

 er, ranging from molecular biology to physics to such fields as soil engineering, 

 thus making the manpower stretch even further for the demands of this de- 

 veloping field. We should note in this connection that despite the relatively fav- 

 orable situation of the space sciences and the nuclear sciences with respect to 

 manpower, both agencies found it necessary to develop extensive fellowship 

 programs to assure the flow of trained people to their fields. 



When we combine both empirical facts, namely, the low fraction of the na- 

 tional effort one assigns to basic research and teaching and the very small ini- 

 tial pool of trained workers in the field, we conclude that very special efforts 

 must be maintained to protect this part of the new program which is the key 

 to the whole effort. The planners responsible for the overall program have a 

 tendency to concentrate on the 85 percent part of the program, which tends to 

 absorb a corresponding amount of their time and effort. However, they must 

 be very careful to protect that remaining 15 percent and see that it grows care- 

 fully and steadily and that it is not subject to violent budgetary fiuctuations 

 simply because it is only a sma,ll part of the whole. Otherwise, the entire pro- 

 gram can be endangered by frustrations and lack of accomplishment. We note 

 in this connection that the AEC has very carefully over the years developed 

 long-range plans in each of the categories that is important for a healthy com- 

 plex. They have long-range plans for weapons development, for material procure- 

 ment, for building construction, and for aoplied research, but also for the basic 

 research : and its teaching and operating budget. We feel it important in ocean- 

 ography that similar long-range budgeting procedures be adopted. Because of" 

 the much smaller initial pool of trained manpower, we believe it may be necessary 

 to pay special attention to existing programs in basic research and teaching 

 in order to reach an important national program in reasonable time. 



Finally, it cannot be too strongly restated that, at the base of the chain of 

 efforts leading from new discoveries in science to the development of marine 

 resources and technology is the academic institution. The oceanographic institu- 

 tions which have pioneered in this field must continue to provide this base, 

 in an effective manner. They must be supported by an adequate and stable 

 portion of the total funding if they are to do so. 



^. Relationships With Mission-Oriented Oovermnent Agencies 



Since the primary source of scientists and engineers in the government agencies 

 and the universities is the academic graduate institution, these institutions have 

 an obligation to train such i>ersons in such a way as to fit reasonably well into 

 the ob.iectives of those agencies. Because the roles of basic and applied scientists 

 are divergent, both as to scientific discipline and to motivation, this implies 

 that the institutions should recognize the need, not only for scientific specializa- 

 tions within oceanography, but also for specialization in motivation. It is for 

 this reason, for instance, that some of the institutions have developed fishery 

 departments in which the student is not only taught science, but also accustomed 

 to apply it as part of the mission of predicting, developing and conserving the 

 fishery resources. 



In spite of the above, it is unfortunately true that a high proportion of per- 

 sonnel in the government agencies is derived from scientists who are non- 

 pragmatic or philosophically oriented in their training. Many, in fact, do not" 

 even have specialized training in oceanography. We recognize that excellent 

 applied scientists may sometimes develop from those trained in a more philo- 

 sophical atmosphere, as a result of agency in-house training. It is also true that 

 many outstanding oceanographers received their graduate training in one of the 

 basic discii)lines rather than in oceanography itself, becoming familiar with the 

 ocean later. Nevertheless we believe that the main corps of applied ocean scientists 

 for mission-oriented agencies should be specially trained in the ocean sciences- 

 and from a pragmatic viewpoint, and that this is a special role of the academic 

 oceanographic institutes. 



