United States. Office of Science and Technology Policy

Institutional History

Abstract

Established by Congress in 1976 with a mandate to advise the President and the Executive Office on the effects of science and technology on domestic and international affairs. Its mission has three parts: first, to provide the President and senior staff with accurate, relevant, and timely scientific advise; second, to ensure the policies of the Executive Branch are informed by sound science; and third, ensure that the scientific work of the Executive Branch is coordinated to provide the largest benefit to society.

Important Dates

1976Established by Congress with mandate to advise the President and Executive Office, Washington (D.C.).

1976 – 1977Guy Stever was Director.

1977 – 1981Frank Press was Director.

1981Benjamin Huberman was Acting Director.

1981 – 1985George Keyworth II was Director.

1986Richard Johnson was Acting Director.

1986John McTague was Acting Director.

1986 – 1989William Graham was Director.

1989Thomas Rona was Acting Director.

1989 – 1993Allan Bromley was Director.

1990President George H. W. Bush chartered the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST), Washington (D.C.).

1993 – 1998John Gibbons was Director.

1998Kerri-Ann Jones was Acting Director.

1998 – 2001Neal Lane was Director.

2001Rosina Bierbaum was Acting Director.

2001Clifford Gabriel was Acting Director.

2001Current PCAST was established by President George W. Bush, Washington (D.C.).

2001 – 2009John Marburger III was Director.

2009 – presentJohn Holdren has been Director.

2010PCAST was reestablished by President Obama, Washington (D.C.).

Places

Headquarters

Washington (D.C.)

Subjects

Science -- International cooperation.

Science and state.

Science consultants.

Citations

Historical information from the Office of Science and Technology Policy About webpage (https://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/ostp/about).

Relationships

People

Employees & Officers

Berlincourt, T. G.

Member, Subcommittee on Superconductivity, Committee on Materials.

Bienenstock, Arthur

Associate Director.

Bierbaum, Rosina M., 1952-

Acting Director.

Bromley, D. Allan (David Allan), 1926-2005

Director and Assistant to the President for Science and Technology.

Chynoweth, A. G.

Member, Panel on High Performance Computing and Communication.

Drell, Sidney D. (Sidney David), 1926-

Consultant.

Gabriel, Clifford

Acting Director.

Gibbons, John H., 1929-2015

Director and Assistant to the President for Science and Technology.

Graham, William Robert, 1937-

Director.

Holdren, John P.

Director and Assistant to the President.

Huberman, Benjamin

Acting Director.

Johnson, Richard G.

Acting Director

Jones, Kerri-Ann, 1954-

Acting Director.

Keyworth, George A., II, 1939-

Director and Science Adviser to the President.

Lane, Neal F.

Director and Assistant to the President for Science and Technology.

Marburger, John H., III (John Harmen), 1941-2011

Director and Science Adviser to the President, Executive Office of the President.

McTague, John P.

Deputy Director and Acting Director.

Panofsky, Wolfgang K. H. (Wolfgang Kurt Hermann), 1919-2007

Consultant.

Press, Frank, 1924-

Director and Science Adviser to the President; Consultant.

Rona, Thomas P. (Thomas Paul)

Acting Director.

Stever, H. Guyford

Director and Science Advisor to the President.

Wiesner, Jerome B. (Jerome Bert), 1915-1994

Director.

Associates & Members

Emmons, H. W. (Howard W.)

Member, Space Science Technology Panel.

Golovin, Nicholas E. (Nicholas Erasmus), 1912-1969

Nierenberg, William Aaron, 1919-2000

Shank, C. V. (Charles V.)

Member, National Critical Technologies Panel.

Other

Bush, George W. (George Walker), 1946-

Established the current President's Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) in 2001.

Bush, George, 1924-

Chartered the President's Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST)

Ford, Gerald R., 1913-

President when the Office of Science and Technology Policy was established.

Obama, Barack

Reestablished the current President's Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) in 2010.

Institutions

Institutional Hierarchy

President's Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology (U.S.)

Established in its current form in 2001 by George W. Bush and reestablished in 2010 by Barack Obama.

Resources

Archival Resources

Author

U.S. Office of Science and Technology Policy records, 1974-1983.

Civil Reference Branch

National Archives and Records Administration

Washington, DC 20408, USA

Subject

Frank Press papers, 1945-1997.

Institute Archives and Special Collections

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

M.I.T. Libraries, Rm. 14N-118, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA

John H. Gibbons papers, 1970-1998.

Manuscript Division

Library of Congress

James Madison Memorial Building, First Street and Independence Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20540, USA

Neal Lane papers, 1964-2002.

Fondren Library. Woodson Research Center.

Rice University

P. O. Box 1892, Houston, TX 77001, USA

Nicholas E. Golovin papers, 1943-1970 (bulk 1958-1969).

Manuscript Division

Library of Congress

James Madison Memorial Building, First Street and Independence Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20540, USA

White House files on science and technology, 1975-1977.

Gerald R. Ford Library

1000 Beal Avenue, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

White House files, 1974-1977.

Gerald R. Ford Library

1000 Beal Avenue, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

William Aaron Nierenberg papers, 1932-2000.

Mandeville Special Collections Library

University of California, San Diego

9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA

Published Resources

Author

Science and technology, shaping the twenty-first century : a report to the Congress.

Science in the national interest / President William J. Clinton, Vice President Albert Gore, Jr.