<< Chapter < Page Chapter >> Page >

Unlike other countries, we have not developed coherent national science policies. Indeed, the very idea is abhorrent to many.Our free enterprise laissez-faire system has served us well during periods of expansion and growth, but in retrenchment the development of more formal scienceand technology policies seems essential if we are to preserve the best aspects of our system.

—D. Allan Bromley, 1982

I will upgrade the President’s science advisor to Assistant to the President and make him an active member of the EconomicPolicy Council and our national security planning processes. And I will create a President’s Council of Science and Technology Advisors, composed of leadingscientists, engineers and distinguished executives from the private sector.

—George H.W. Bush, October 1988

During the 1988 presidential campaign, Vice President George H.W. Bush had a science adviser: D. Allan Bromley, Professor ofPhysics at Yale and a charter member of the White House Science Council. Jeffrey Mervis, “Science and the Next President,” The Scientist (June 27, 1988). Upon his election, Bush nominated Bromley as Assistant to the President for Science and Technology and director of the OSTP. Bromley was the first science advisor to hold the title Assistant to the President for Science and Technology. Both of Clinton’ssuccessive science advisors had that title, as does the science advisor to President Barack Obama. The Senate unanimously confirmed him in the latter position on August 4; confirmation was not required for the former.

Bromley brought a significant roster of accomplishments along with him. Soon after arriving as associate professor ofphysics at Yale in 1960, he managed to obtain federal funding for a state of the art tandem Van de Graff particle accelerator, with construction of the facilityitself funded by the university. While at Yale, he made many advances in nuclear physics, and was awarded the National Medal of Science in 1988. He was alsoelected to the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Reviving the substance of the ostp act of 1976

During the Carter and Reagan administrations, Congress had expressed increasing frustration with the failure of eitherpresident to implement significant features of the OSTP Act.

President George H. W. Bush and D. Allan Bromley in the Oval Office, May 1991. Courtesy AIP Emilio Segre Visual Archives, Physics TodayCollection.

For example, although the Ford administration had created the Act’s mandated President’s Council on Science and Technology,the Carter administration never convened the PCST, nor did it ever fulfill its promise to conduct the congressionally mandated two-year survey of the federalgovernment’s science and technology programs. By the end of the Reagan administration, the attitude of Congress towards OSTP ranged from indifferenceto open hostility. Bromley, op. cit. , 39. Bush’s pre-election pledge to reestablish a body comparable to the President’s Science Advisory Committee,created by Eisenhower and abolished by Nixon, seems to have reflected Bromley’s views about the inadequacy of the WHSC. Bromley clearly enjoyed his membershipon the WHSC, but he believed that its membership was hampered in the formulation and implementation of a national science policy by its lack of direct access tothe president. During his first discussions with Bush about joining the new administration, Bromley insisted on three conditions, which the presidentaccepted:

Questions & Answers

the diagram of the digestive system
Assiatu Reply
allimentary cannel
Ogenrwot
How does twins formed
William Reply
They formed in two ways first when one sperm and one egg are splited by mitosis or two sperm and two eggs join together
Oluwatobi
what is genetics
Josephine Reply
Genetics is the study of heredity
Misack
how does twins formed?
Misack
What is manual
Hassan Reply
discuss biological phenomenon and provide pieces of evidence to show that it was responsible for the formation of eukaryotic organelles
Joseph Reply
what is biology
Yousuf Reply
the study of living organisms and their interactions with one another and their environments
AI-Robot
the study of living organisms and their interactions with one another and their environment.
Wine
discuss the biological phenomenon and provide pieces of evidence to show that it was responsible for the formation of eukaryotic organelles in an essay form
Joseph Reply
what is the blood cells
Shaker Reply
list any five characteristics of the blood cells
Shaker
lack electricity and its more savely than electronic microscope because its naturally by using of light
Abdullahi Reply
advantage of electronic microscope is easily and clearly while disadvantage is dangerous because its electronic. advantage of light microscope is savely and naturally by sun while disadvantage is not easily,means its not sharp and not clear
Abdullahi
cell theory state that every organisms composed of one or more cell,cell is the basic unit of life
Abdullahi
is like gone fail us
DENG
cells is the basic structure and functions of all living things
Ramadan
What is classification
ISCONT Reply
is organisms that are similar into groups called tara
Yamosa
in what situation (s) would be the use of a scanning electron microscope be ideal and why?
Kenna Reply
A scanning electron microscope (SEM) is ideal for situations requiring high-resolution imaging of surfaces. It is commonly used in materials science, biology, and geology to examine the topography and composition of samples at a nanoscale level. SEM is particularly useful for studying fine details,
Hilary
cell is the building block of life.
Condoleezza Reply
what is cell divisoin?
Aron Reply
Diversity of living thing
ISCONT
what is cell division
Aron Reply
Cell division is the process by which a single cell divides into two or more daughter cells. It is a fundamental process in all living organisms and is essential for growth, development, and reproduction. Cell division can occur through either mitosis or meiosis.
AI-Robot
What is life?
Allison Reply
life is defined as any system capable of performing functions such as eating, metabolizing,excreting,breathing,moving,Growing,reproducing,and responding to external stimuli.
Mohamed
Got questions? Join the online conversation and get instant answers!
Jobilize.com Reply

Get Jobilize Job Search Mobile App in your pocket Now!

Get it on Google Play Download on the App Store Now




Source:  OpenStax, A history of federal science policy from the new deal to the present. OpenStax CNX. Jun 26, 2010 Download for free at http://cnx.org/content/col11210/1.2
Google Play and the Google Play logo are trademarks of Google Inc.

Notification Switch

Would you like to follow the 'A history of federal science policy from the new deal to the present' conversation and receive update notifications?

Ask