| Committee overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | November 21, 1957; 67 years ago (1957-11-21) |
| Preceding Committee |
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| Dissolved | 1961; 64 years ago (1961) |
| Superseding agencies |
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| Committee executive |
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| Key document |
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ThePresident's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC) was created on November 21, 1957, by President of the United StatesDwight D. Eisenhower, as a direct response to theSoviet launching of theSputnik 1 andSputnik 2 satellites. PSAC was an upgrade and move to the White House of the Science Advisory Committee (SAC) established in 1951 by PresidentHarry S. Truman, as part of theOffice of Defense Mobilization (ODM). Its purpose was to advise the president on scientific matters in general, and those related to defense issues in particular. Eisenhower appointedJames R. Killian as PSAC's first director.
In 1961, PresidentJohn F. Kennedy renamed the agency theOffice of Science and Technology (OST). This lasted untilRichard Nixon's administration in 1973. In 1976 theOffice of Science and Technology Policy was established.
The first report of the newly formed Science Advisory Committee, commonly known as the Killian Report (February 14, 1955, officially "Meeting the Threat of Surprise Attack"),[1] suggested that any defense in the nuclear age was pointless, and outlined scenarios in which up to 90% of the US population would die in an all-out exchange. It suggested the only defense was deterrence, and set in motion the policies that would later be known asmutually assured destruction. It also suggested that the lag in US missile technology was a systemic problem in the education system, which led to widespread reform in the public school system.
The President's Science Advisory Committee included many noteworthy scientists and non-scientists, including:
The committee had no operating responsibilities. Its purpose was to provide advisory opinions and analysis on science and technology matters to the entireFederal Government and specifically to thePresident. About one-half of the panels' studies were directed to the question of how science could support theUnited States'national security objectives. The creation ofArms Limitations and Control,Limited Warfare, andSpace Science Panels, for example, reflected the national security concerns of the committee. Two important themes common to many of the studies are the budgetary problems of funding projects, and the administration's concern over competing successfully with theSoviet Union in science and technology.
In 1965, the PSAC environmental pollution panel issued a major report outlining water, air, andsoil pollution, from sewage and lead pollution toatmospheric carbon dioxide.[3]
During the administration of PresidentJohn F. Kennedy, the PSAC advised against pursuing a human Moon landing due to cost. Kennedy rejected the committee's recommendation and aggressively pursued the goal of putting an American on the Moon before the end of the decade.[4]
In 1973, shortly after winning re-election in a landslide, PresidentRichard Nixon, eliminated the committee. Nixon was frustrated with what he saw as a lack of support from the committee for his administration's agenda, including a member of the committee that spoke publicly against his administration's support for research intosupersonic transport.[5][6][7] TheWhite House Office of Science and Technology and theUnited States Congress were made to rely on federal agencies for guidance in scientific policy. A similar entity, the United States President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST), was established in 1990 by PresidentGeorge H. W. Bush,[8] and renewed by three subsequent presidents.[9][10][11]
