Guiding big science : competing agency of scientists and funding organizations in American Cold War research

Abstract

This research project aims to evaluate the agency of scientists participating in American Cold War research initiatives funded by the government. The aim will be to weigh the internal direction of scientific programs versus the external pressures faced from patron organizations such as the Department of Defense. The project utilizes secondary sources supported by governmental documentation as well as written and oral accounts of scientific and technical personnel involved in select research efforts. The two initiatives examined were aerospace research and its eventual adaptation to the space program, as well as nuclear testing and the national laboratories which supported it. Sources strongly suggested significant internal direction on the part of rank-and-file laboratory and technical personnel and very little pressure to orient research toward defense-related activities, despite some cooperative overlap.