By Amanda N. Weiss
This is the first post on the big idea of the role of government funding in scientific research.
The United States gained its independence as a country near the start of the first Industrial Revolution. Thus, perhaps unsurprisingly, technological research has been an element of our society for much of its existence. As the country has grown and advanced, it has undergone changes in global involvements and societal priorities, and these have been reflected in the STEM research that the federal government promotes and funds. I recently spoke with Dr. Thomas Cornell, a professor of Science, Technology, and Society at the Rochester Institute of Technology, who offered insight into the ways that government funding of STEM research in the United States has changed over time, especially during periods of upheaval such as the World Wars.
Pre-Civil War
In the early years of the United States, STEM research was not nearly as specialized as it is today, and it instead focused more on public works. Nevertheless, the federal government did sponsor some STEM projects to help establish national strategies for defense and safety. For example, the United States Coast Survey was an agency that generated charts and maps of coastal areas, and was brought into high scientific regard and prominence by the second Superintendent, Alexander Bache. The information generated by this agency would later contribute to the success of the Union during the Civil War. In addition to geographical endeavors, this time period also saw the creation of the Smithsonian, a research organization originally under the direction of its first Secretary, Joseph Henry. Henry focused the institution on international exchange of science research in addition to generating knowledge and publications. He was also highly engaged in getting young scientists involved with Smithsonian research and partook in multiple science-focused organizations within the United States.
Civil War to WWI
The Civil War and World War I brought about greater specialization within science fields as well as the rise of government science advising, which has continued to the present day. The first major science advising group, the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), was created during the Civil War with the help of then Senator, and later Vice President, Henry Wilson. This group, comprising the top scientists of the time, aided the government in making STEM-related decisions, and has continued to do so over the years. During WWI, the NAS established the National Research Council in order to expand the breadth of specialized scientists available to help advise on military issues. However, the influence of the council was not limited to the military, as it continued on after the war to advise the government on peacetime scientific and technological matters.
During WWI, advice was not the only thing that scientists could offer to the war effort. Since greater technology often gives one side the advantage in warfare, wartime has historically been associated with increased federal interest in applicable sciences. For example, WWI saw the establishment of the Chemical Warfare Service in the United States, which worked on both generating chemical agents including phosgene, chlorine, and mustard gas, and on maintaining a stock of defensive gas masks. In total, there were thousands of military officers and enlisted specialists who worked for this federal organization. According to Dr. Cornell, “chemists came out of World War I with a much higher profile” as a result. This special attention to one field of useful science highlighted the need for scientists in other STEM fields to capture the interest of the public and the government in order to obtain more support for their research. In addition to the application of chemistry for warfare, WWI also saw the broad utilization of emerging medical technologies by the United States military, such as mobile X-ray units to find bullets or shrapnel in soldiers’ bodies in the midst of battle. Addressing these battlefield injuries quickly was a top priority because delays could allow infection or gangrene to set in. The preventable loss of soldiers to such injuries could lead to post-war economic problems, as it could diminish the returning workforce. Therefore, this medical technology was a boon in both the short and long terms.
WWII to Present Day
Some of the largest changes in government STEM funding occurred during and after the second World War. Akin to the role of chemistry research in WWI, physics took center stage during WWII, with both the use of radar and the development of atomic bombs. In order to bring about these key technological advances, the United States government centralized STEM research. One of the most influential people involved in this endeavor was Vannevar Bush, who became chairman of the newly established National Defense Research Committee and the Office of Scientific Research and Development. The union between government funding and technological research persisted and continued to be of much use during conflicts to come. For instance, the Cold War “[saw] the hand of the military helping with research, helping with development” of technologies such as semi-conductive electronics, computers, and jets, according to Dr. Cornell.
Federally-funded medical research also gained prominence after WWII. In 1946, the Research Grants Office (which became the Research Grants Division later the same year) was created at the National Institute of Health (now the National Institutes of Health, NIH). This division had the responsibility of reviewing grants for federal funding of health sciences. Also around the same time, the NIH, and the Public Health Services more broadly, funded research at many academic institutions. In the following years, the NIH expanded as new institutes were established for various areas of biomedical research, including cardiology and microbiology. Furthermore, additional new institutes and branches were developed through the following decades. NIH funding remains a major resource for labs in all areas of health sciences to this day. In the midst of the NIH’s booming growth, discussion about establishing a National Science Foundation (NSF), an idea first floated at the end of WWII, arose as well. Though there was some pushback from NIH officials who wanted to retain autonomy rather than be incorporated into a larger collective, the NSF was formed in 1950. However, since the NIH already covered a broad range of medical research by that time, the NSF instead focused its research priorities on basic chemistry and biology.
In the late 1950s, the success of the Soviet space program served as an impetus for the United States government to further expand and fund STEM education and research. As part of this push, the Advanced Research Projects Agency was formed with the goal of improving the United States’ technology to become superior to that of the Soviet Union. Around the same time, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was also established to serve American interests in the Space Race.
When the 1970s rolled around, environmentalism was on the rise. To address this concern, as well as concerns arising from the oil embargo and ensuing energy crisis of 1973-1974, the federal government redirected its energy agencies to focus on research and development. Accordingly, in 1977, the Department of Energy (DOE) was established to centralize federal energy interests. In its early years, the DOE heavily prioritized energy research and regulation, though its focus has shifted over time, with the 1980s dominated by work related to nuclear weapons and the present day oriented around using STEM to improve the security and well-being of the nation. Additionally, today the DOE and other national agencies, such as the NSF, fund environmental research, especially related to climate change. However, in many countries around the world including the United States, very little of the funding in climate research is afforded to the social sciences. While this is reasonable in that the development of technological solutions will be necessary to combat global warming, the lack of funding to understand why people are resistant to implementing those technologies could lead to an otherwise preventable loss of actionable change in climate-impacting behavior.
While the attitude and manner of governmental support of STEM research has changed over time, there is no doubt that federal funding remains highly important in present day. In 2017, the federal government was responsible for funding 42% of basic research in science and engineering overall. However, as industrial funding of research continues to grow, federal funding has been in decline. At universities, the amount of research funded by the federal government fell from 57% to 51% between 2000 and 2017. Whether the private sector will eventually take over as the primary STEM funding source in the U.S. remains to be seen, and may very well depend on the tides of the sociopolitical climate and happenstance of global events.
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