President's Science Advisory Committee Revisited

Abstract

On 30 March 1984, Hofstra University sponsored a panel discussion on the Science Advisory Committee Revisited, during a university conference on the Eisenhower Presidency. Participants in the panel discussion were: Robert F. Bacher, Andrew J. Goodpaster, Emanuel R. Piore, Isidor I. Rabi, and William T. Golden, chairman. James R. Killian, Jr., and Hans A. Bethe were to have participated but were unable to do so at the last minute; both men have graciously written new commentaries especially for this issue. The messages contained in the following edited transcript are clear and timely. First, President Eisenhower recognized that he benefited greatly from the participation of his science adviser. Second, it was salutary that the Science Adviser to the President report directly to him, as did also a President's Science Advisory Committee of independent, non-political, patriotic scientists. Third, the positive aspects of these arrangements argue for the re-establishment of a similar advisory structure in the White House today.