cable to sonar equipment is similar to that of the Naval Observatory in furnishing accurate standards of time or to the Bureau of Standards in furnishing accurate standards of weight. The evolution of new weapons, equipment, and devices passes through four stages: Fundamental or basic research, applied research, development, and production. Every new weapon or device in use today originated from scientific knowledge accumulated through basic research conducted in the past. Our Nation is the acknowledged leader in the application of basic scientific knowledge to accomplish miracles of development and production. We have not in the past, however, held a similar position with respect to fundamental research. This fact combined with the depletion of our stock of scientific knowledge during war years makes it imperative that we lose no opportunity to give maximum support to research. It is only from basic research that the Navy can obtain the ideas and special knowledge required for new weapons, new devices, and new techniques of warfare which alone can maintain the fleet and Military Establishment in the state of readiness required in modern warfare. It is only by having a strong active program of basic research that the Navy, through the Office of Naval Research, can most effectively reduce the time lag between scientific discovery and its application. Furthermore, as history abundantly proves and as industry will attest, a comparatively few outstanding discoveries repay the cost of an entire research program many times over. CURRENT AND FUTURE PROGRAMS Research by its very nature has no theoretical limitation. The solution of one problem raises new questions and widens the field. of possible investigations. The process of research, therefore, is an ever-widening circle. The scope of the research program is limited only by the number of competent scientists and facilities which are available for the prosecution of research. Since its inception, the Office of Naval Research has both encouraged and contributed materially to the expansion of research facilities. Facilities are now available for a broad expansion of fundamental research in the physical sciences, but cannot be utilized fully under present dollar ceilings. This availability of research facilities is illustrated by the volume of new proposals submitted during the past year. A prerequisite for the submission of such proposals is that competent scientists and adequate facilities must be available to conduct the proposed research. The Office of Naval Research received 1,046 proposals during fiscal year 1949, of which 351 were accepted, 531 rejected for lack of funds, and 164 as not appropriate subjects for this Office. Last year the Naval Research Advisory Committee expressed an opinion that the annual level of expenditure for research and development then prevailing (approximately 22 million dollars) was a minimum figure. The Chairman, Dr. Karl T. Compton, in speaking of the potential magnitude of the computer program, urged that serious thought be given to long-range planning. Despite expansion of facilities and the obvious need for long-range planning, a considerable curtailment of existing projects has been required in order to allow the placing of emphasis on the computer program, program research, and research in geography. Other projects have been curtailed in order to reduce the operational level to meet the level dictated by available funds. The amount of the total reduction applicable to this program is $377,500. The Naval Research Laboratory will continue its program of basic and applied research and development during fiscal year 1951 at a level of 1.2 million dollars below that of fiscal year 1950. This reduction results from a decrease in anticipated support from appropriations other than research. The greatest decrease in program probably will be reflected in the field of development; it is possible that the research program will be reduced, but, if so, to a lesser degree. The program of research and development in the fields of human engineering and training devices conducted by the Special Devices Center will continue on a reduced scale in the fiscal year 1951 reflecting the reduction of $144,000. Additional emphasis will be placed on the field of human engineering to fit men to the machines they must operate and to engineer the machines to fit human capabilities. In addition, research will continue toward the development of a generalized computer which will synthesize the flight characteristics of any jet aircraft within the limits of present foreseeable speeds. Work will also continue on other training devices for surface, subsurface, and aviation components of the Navy. The Underwater Sound Reference Laboratory has never been able to catch up with the backlog of work required of it and will be able to do so with its present complement only after a considerable lapse of time. It is estimated that the present backlog would take at least a year and a half to eliminate if no new work were done. Such a work load means that the development of measuring equipment lags far behind that issue standards are not calibrated nearly as often as they should be: and, that services to other activities often must be delayed. As an example, evaluation work on experimental devices intended for the naval services, requested by Bureau of Ships, Bureau of Ordnance, and Bureau of Aeronautics, is now scheduled through June 1951. It is gratifying to the Office of Naval Research to know that the services of the laboratory are in such demand. Such a situation, however, is far from satisfactory from the standpoint of the naval service when a delay of 12 months in evaluating an experimental model results in ineffective support to the naval activity having cognizance of the program. Under these conditions the laboratory has had to resort to the establishment of relative priorities by the Bureau requesting the work with relative priorities between Bureaus being established by the laboratory. The work program on calibration and evaluation work for fiscal year 1950 was fairly firm at the beginning of the year. Deviations from the current schedules will be made only in favor of high-priority projects and any further work accepted under this category necessarily will delay other scheduled work until 1951 or later. The work program on calibration and evaluation for 1951 cannot be planned until the backlog from 1950 is known. Due to increased emphasis on the undersea warfare program, it is believed that the services of the laboratory will be in even greater demand. It is anticipated that the new facilities will be available for the last 6 months of fiscal year 1951 partially to meet this demand. Such new facilities will also assist materially in reducing the backlog of work and enabling the laboratory to render more prompt service. MAINTENANCE OF RESEARCH FACILITIES Mr. MAHON. Next is, "Maintenance of research facilities," Admiral, will you justify that item? Admiral SOLBERG. The base for 1951 is $10,466,766; the change in program, minus $45,304, leaving an estimate for 1951 of $10,421,462. These costs are often referred to as the indirect costs of research and development. They include administrative support, program management, field staff services, maintenance of facilities, procurement of equipment, supplies and materials, travel, communications, and other miscellaneous costs. The items in this activity are incurred in connection with the operation of three field laboratories, five domestic, and one foreign office. Costs of this nature are recorded as a separate category because they are not readily allocable to specific individual research projects. In order to conduct a program of research and development, scientific gear and equipment, supplies, materials, travel, printing and reproduction, and many other supporting items are required. Laboratory buildings and grounds must be repaired and maintained. Administrative services and program management must be provided to service and direct the research and development activities of the program. Insufficient maintenance and operation funds would soon nullify the efforts of the most competent scientific and technical research personnel through deterioration of laboratories and equipment, lack of administrative and program direction, and general inefficiency of supporting services. Maintenance and operation costs are as essential to the total program as the direct costs of the research projects themselves. Estimates for this acivity provide for a level of operation during fiscal year 1951 relatively the same as planned for fiscal year 1950. The following table shows a comparison by subprogram of research and development of obligations incurred for 1949 with estimates for 1950 and 1951. Mr. MAHON. This item seems rather large. Will you explain the reason for that? Admiral SOLBERG. We have gone into that very thoroughly. The Naval Research Laboratory, which I believe you are thinking of, is a very large activity. They have to operate their own power plant and to keep up their own grounds and buildings as well as instruments. Mr. MAHON. Did Secretary Johnson find any personnel down there you could dispense with? Did you reduce your personnel under the fiscal 1950 program? The contract research program is a widely dispersed program embracing more than a thousand individual projects divided among 263 contractors scattered throughout 43 States, Alaska, and the District of Columbia. Experience in the last war together with the known potentialities of future warfare make widely dispersed civilian organizations that may be diverted to war work more desirable than breaking up these scientific teams and concentrating them in a few governmental laboratories. This method of conducting research (i. e., in private institutions), though unique to this country, has found excellent public acceptance, particularly since the methods of administration developed by the Office of Naval Research encourage concentrated effort on the problems of research with the least amount of "Government red tape" and technical interference. From its inception in 1923, the Naval Research Laboratory has continually made outstanding contributions to the effectiveness and power of the United States Navy. It has developed a team of research. scientists, engineers, and technicians who possess not only outstanding academic training, scientific knowledge, and experience, but in addition have a long accumulated knowledge of and experience with, naval problems and needs. This team is uniquely qualified to conduct research and development projects where the joint effort of many individuals in several scientific fields is required to find solutions to the complex and technical problems encountered in modern warfare. It also provides a facility where research can be conducted under strict security. The research program of the Special Devices Center is directed toward the introduction of the human factor into the design and development of equipment, training devices, mass training techniques and the evaluation of training devices and techniques. This program includes studies of the effect of acceleration on the performance of men in aircraft: methods for reducing momentum, torque, gravity, and motion disabilities; research in submarine habitability: recognition and identification of approaching air and submarine vehicles; flight training; application of television to mass training; submarine control; and instrumentation of all types of equipment. The Underwater Sound Reference Laboratory is engaged in research and development of methods and techniques to be used in the evaluation and standardization of the effectiveness of underwater acoustical devices including sonar equipment. Problems of undersea warfare are among the most critical facing the United States Navy at the present time. In submarine warfare, adequate defensive tactics require sound detection devices which are capable of detecting submarines operating at much higher speeds and over wider areas than in the past. Throughout the Navy considerable emphasis is being placed upon undersea warfare countermeasures. The Underwater Sound Reference Laboratory has a relatively small but highly significant role in this task. It provides a facility for the calibration and test of experimental and pre-production models of submarine acoustic equipment and other sonar devices. Virtually all of the underwater sound devices in use or in late stages of development by the Navy have at one time or another been tested by this laboratory. Its measurements, tests, and calibrations are accepted as the final authority on the performance of new devices. Its service to the Navy as appli cable to sonar equipment is similar to that of the Naval Observatory in furnishing accurate standards of time or to the Bureau of Standards in furnishing accurate standards of weight. The evolution of new weapons, equipment, and devices passes through four stages: Fundamental or basic research, applied research, development, and production. Every new weapon or device in use today originated from scientific knowledge accumulated through basic research conducted in the past. Our Nation is the acknowledged leader in the application of basic scientific knowledge to accomplish miracles of development and production. We have not in the past, however, held a similar position with respect to fundamental research. This fact combined with the depletion of our stock of scientific knowledge during war years makes it imperative that we lose no opportunity to give maximum support to research. It is only from basic research that the Navy can obtain the ideas and special knowledge required for new weapons, new devices, and new techniques of warfare which alone can maintain the fleet and Military Establishment in the state of readiness required in modern warfare. It is only by having a strong active program of basic research that the Navy, through the Öffice of Naval Research, can most effectively reduce the time lag between scientific discovery and its application. Furthermore, as history abundantly proves and as industry will attest, a comparatively few outstanding discoveries repay the cost of an entire research program many times over. CURRENT AND FUTURE PROGRAMS Research by its very nature has no theoretical limitation. The solution of one problem raises new questions and widens the field of possible investigations. The process of research, therefore, is an ever-widening circle. The scope of the research program is limited only by the number of competent scientists and facilities which are available for the prosecution of research. Since its inception, the Office of Naval Research has both encouraged and contributed materially to the expansion of research facilities. Facilities are now available for a broad expansion of fundamental research in the physical sciences, but cannot be utilized fully under present dollar ceilings. This availability of research facilities is illustrated by the volume of new proposals submitted during the past year. A prerequisite for the submission of such proposals is that competent scientists and adequate facilities must be available to conduct the proposed research. The Office of Naval Research received 1,046 proposals during fiscal year 1949, of which 351 were accepted, 531 rejected for lack of funds, and 164 as not appropriate subjects for this Office. Last year the Naval Research Advisory Committee expressed an opinion that the annual level of expenditure for research and development then prevailing (approximately 22 million dollars) was a minimum figure. The Chairman, Dr. Karl T. Compton, in speaking of the potential magnitude of the computer program, urged that serious thought be given to long-range planning. Despite expansion of facilities and the obvious need for long-range planning, a considerable curtailment of existing projects has been required in order to allow the placing of emphasis on the computer program, program research, and research in geography. Other projects have been curtailed in order to |