Chiefly correspondence, speeches, articles, Congressional testimony, reports, and memoranda relating to Furnas' role as Assistant Secretary of Defense for Research and Development (1955-1957) and at the National Academy of Engineering and other professional and scientific organizations. Subjects include: the role of science and technology in the Department of Defense, the impact of science and technology on regional development; problems in aircraft construction, a study of Department of Defense In-House Labs; the appointment of Frank Newbury as Furnas' successor as Assistant Secretary of Defense; the relationship of the National Academy of Engineering to the National Research Council and the National Academy of Sciences, and various scientific and technological problems within the Department of Defense arsenals and laboratories. Correspondents include George B. Kistiakowsky, James R. Killian, Elwood P. Quesada, Donald A. Quarles, Senator Henry M. Jackson, T. Keith Glennan, Lt. General Arthur G. Trudeau, Thomas Gates, Lawson McKenzie, Major General Leslie E. Simon, Lt. General Don A. Prett, Edward L. Slodeck, Congressman Emilio Q. Daddaris, Chauncy Starr, Frederick Seitz, and Eric Walker. Furnas was still actively engaged in the Defense Department science advisory progams after January 1961, and the correspondence after that date contains additional information on their activities and functions.