Scientists Request Aid For Research Projects

The majority of a 15-man panel headed by George B. Kistiakowsky, Abbott and James Lawrence Professor of Chemistry, urged in a major report to Congress yesterday that the National Science Foundation take a more active role in supporting basic research in universities.

The 350-page report, Basic Research and National Goals, is a collection of 15 essays which discuss the need for development of applied and basic research. The report was given to the Committee on Science and Astronautics of the U.S. House of Representatives.

The two basic questions which the report deals with the art first, how existing federal resources should be divided between scientific and non-scientific areas and second, how these resources should be allocated within the field of science.

Kistiakowsky said that the present level of support from the government to the sciences is a satisfactory starting point, but added that a 15 per cent annual increase would be necessary to meet national needs.

Representative Emilio Q. Daddario (D-Conn.) called the report a study of "how far and how fast government should go in its support of fundamental research." He also hailed the 15 essays as a "new dimension in Congressional relations with the scientific community" because it provides expert guidance to the legislative branch in determining the most efficient support of scientific research.

The report studies the level of federal aid which will be necessary to maintain the U.S. as world leader in basic research and its economic, cultural, and military applications. Although the essayists often vary in their conclusions, in general, the report calls for two different forms of action. First, it suggests additional staff and statistical analyses and second, it outlines broad decisions which would change the government's organization of science.

Basic Questions

How should universities operate their research centers and applied sciences labs in relation to educational requirements? To what extent will federally sponsored research distort the universities' aims and functions? How can engineering and basic research grow without greatly increasing federal support? Where can efficiency be increased?

Kistiakowsky, chairman of the Academy Committee on Scientific and Public Policy, is also the chairman of the 15-man panel picked from members of the National Academy of Sciences. Also representing Harvard on the panel were Harvey Brooks, Gordon McKay Professor of Applied Physics; Carl Kaysen, Lucius N. Littauer Professor of Political Economy; and Roger Revelle, Richard Saltonstall Professor of Population Policy.