Conversations: 1950

December 13 , 1950

MEMORANDUM FOR THE FILE

SUBJECT: Conversation with Dr. Lee DuBridge

Dr. DuBridge and I spent two hours in a discussion here this morning following the brief one we had had some six or seven weeks ago. In addition to being President of California Institute of Technology he is a member of the GAC of the AEC, a member of the President’s Communication Board (or some such title) and during World War II was Director of the Radiation Laboratory MIT, a component of the OSRD.

As to Scientific Adviser to the President with functions previously defined he is now, as he was before, very definitely in favor. As to the creation of a new OSRD he is also in favor. It should probably be started soon with a few projects and evolve as conditions may dictate. As to what areas it should work in he did not have specific ideas but thought it could be justified principally on grounds of providing completely sheltered-from-the-military working conditions for many leading scientists who are eager to help and who can work much more effectively under conditions of great freedom. He pointed out that so far as bringing these individuals, perhaps roughly of the order of 100 for top people, into current organizations they are largely sealed at the top. That is, existing laboratories are already functioning and to bring people like Alvarez, just for example, in would require displacing the present head which is hardly practical. In general he regarded the field for this new OSRD as the long-range and long-shot ideas and also perhaps there would be a considerable field for them to work in on such matters as study of operational problems or other technical problems objectively. . . .

Specifically as to whether he would be willing to undertake the job as Scientific Adviser to the President if asked he said he would have to resign as President of California Institute of Technology in order to do it and this would be a very grave decision. I asked whether this Institute could not be operated by delegation with him spending only a very small fraction of his time on it and he said no it is not organized that way, the President really has to be there. There are about 1100 students at Cal Tech and about 1700 staff members, this unusual ratio evolving in part from the fact that the staff includes people working on certain Government contracts. As to other people, that is an alternative to be the Scientific Adviser, he thought Ernest Lawrence [University of California] was definitely not the man despite his great ability; as to Mervin Kelly [Bell Telephone Laboratories] he thought yes. He thought he is highly enough esteemed in the scientific world and very practical. He pointed out that he is a man of action and might make enemies but we agreed that the Scientific Adviser has to be regarded as expendable.

As to the National Science Foundation his first choice for Director is Dr. Wheeler Loomis. Loomis is somewhat over 60 year of age and was Assistant Director of the Radiation Laboratory at MIT in World War II, that is Assistant to DuBridge.

William T. Golden