In 1951 President of the United States Harry S. Truman established the Science Advisory Committee (SAC) as part of the Office of Defense Mobilization (ODM). Its purpose was to advise the president on scientific matters in general, and those related to defense issues in particular.
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As a direct response to the launches of the Soviet Sputnik 1 and Sputnik 2 in late 1957, President Dwight D. Eisenhower upgraded SAC to become the President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC) and moved to the White House on 21 November 1957. James R. Killian was appointed as its director at that time.
The first report of the newly formed PSAC, sometimes known as the Killian Report, 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. They suggested the only defense was deterrence, and set in motion the policies that would later be known as Mutually Assured Destruction. They 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.
Committee members
The President's Science Advisory Committee included many noteworthy scientists and non-scientists, among them:
PSAC's activities
The Committee had no operating responsibilities. Its purpose was to provide advisory opinions and analysis on science and technology matters to the entire Federal Government and specifically to the President. About one-half of the panels' studies were directed to the question of how science could support the United States' national security objectives. The creation of Arms Limitations and Control, Limited Warfare, the Space 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 the Soviet Union in science and technology.
In 1965, the PSAC environmental pollution panel issued a major report outlining water, air, and soil pollution, from sewage and lead pollution to atmospheric carbon dioxide.
The end of the PSAC
In 1973 President Richard Nixon eliminated the President's Science Advisory Committee. Its independence had become an offensive political liability when members openly opposed building a supersonic transport aircraft and an anti-ballistic missile system. The White House Office of Science and Technology and the United States Congress were made to rely on federal agencies for guidance in scientific policy. A similar entity, PCAST, was established by President George H.W. Bush.