[PUBLIC LAW 507-81ST CONGRESS]

[CHAPTER 171-2D SESSION]

[S. 247]

AN ACT

To promote the progress of science; to advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare; to secure the national defense; and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That this Act may be cited as the "National Science Foundation Act of 1950".

ESTABLISHMENT OF NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION

SEC. 2. There is hereby established in the executive branch of the Government an independent agency to be known as the National Science Foundation (hereinafter referred to as the "Foundation"). The Foundation shall consist of a National Science Board (hereinafter referred to as the "Board") and a Director.

FUNCTIONS OF THE FOUNDATION

SEC. 3. (a) The Foundation is authorized and directed

(1) to develop and encourage the pursuit of a national policy for the promotion of basic research and education in the sciences; (2) to initiate and support basic scientific research in the mathematical, physical, medical, biological, engineering, and other sciences, by making contracts or other arrangements (including grants, loans, and other forms of assistance) for the conduct of such basic scientific research and to appraise the impact of research upon industrial development and upon the general welfare;

(3) at the request of the Secretary of Defense, to initiate and support specific scientific research activities in connection with matters relating to the national defense by making contracts or other arrangements (including grants, loans, and other forms of assistance) for the conduct of such scientific research;

(4) to award, as provided in section 10, scholarships and graduate fellowships in the mathematical, physical, medical, biological, engineering, and other sciences;

(5) to foster the interchange of scientific information among scientists in the United States and foreign countries;

(6) to evaluate scientific research programs undertaken by agencies of the Federal Government, and to correlate the Foundation's scientific research programs with those undertaken by individuals and by public and private research groups;

(7) to establish such special commissions as the Board may from time to time deem necessary for the purposes of this Act; and

(8) to maintain a register of scientific and technical personnel and in other ways provide a central clearinghouse for information covering all scientific and technical personnel in the United States, including its Territories and possessions.

(b) In exercising the authority and discharging the functions referred to in subsection (a) of this section, it shall be one of the objectives of the Foundation to strengthen basic research and education in the sciences, including independent research by individuals, throughout the United States, including its Territories and possessions, and to avoid undue concentration of such research and education. (c) The Foundation shall render an annual report to the President for submission on or before the 15th day of January of each year to the Congress, summarizing the activities of the Foundation and making such recommendations as it may deem appropriate. Such report shall include (1) minority views and recommendations if any, of members of the Board, and (2) information as to the acquisition and disposition by the Foundation of any patents and patent rights.

NATIONAL SCIENCE BOARD

SEC. 4. (a) The Board shall consist of twenty-four members to be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, and of the Director ex officio, and shall, except as otherwise provided in this Act, exercise the authority granted to the Foundation by this Act. The persons nominated for appointment as members (1) shall be eminent in the fields of the basic sciences, medical science, engineering, agriculture, education, or public affairs; (2) shall be selected solely on the basis of established records of distinguished service; and (3) shall be so selected as to provide representation of the views of scientific leaders in all areas of the Nation. The President is requested, in the making of nominations of persons for appointment as members, to give due consideration to any recommendations for nomination which may be submitted to him by the National Academy of Sciences, the Association of Land Grant Colleges and Universities, the National Association of State Universities, the Association of American Colleges, or by other scientific or educational organizations.

(b) The term of office of each voting member of the Board shall be six years, except that (1) any member appointed to fill a vacancy occurring prior to the expiration of the term for which his predecessor was appointed shall be appointed for the remainder of such term; and (2) the terms of office of the members first taking office after the date of enactment of this Act shall expire, as designated by the President at the time of appointment, eight at the end of two years, eight at the end of four years, and eight at the end of six years, after the date of enactment of this Act. Any person who has been a member of the Board for twelve consecutive years shall thereafter be ineligible for appointment during the two-year period following the expiration of such twelfth year.

(c) The President shall call the first meeting of the Board, at which the first order of business shall be the election of a chairman and a vice chairman.

(d) The Board shall meet annually on the first Monday in December and at such other times as the Chairman may determine, but he shall also call a meeting whenever one-third of the members so request in writing. A majority of the voting members of the Board shall constitute a quorum. Each member shall be given notice, by registered mail mailed to his last-known address of record not less than fifteen days prior to any meeting, of the call of such meeting.

(e) The first Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Board shall be elected by the Board to serve until the first Monday in December next succeeding the date of election at which time a Chairman and Vice Chairman shall be elected for a term of two years. Thereafter such election shall take place at the annual meeting occurring at the end of each such term. The Vice Chairman shall perform the duties of the Chairman in his absence. In case a vacancy occurs in the chairmanship or vice chairmanship, the Board shall elect a member to fill such

vacancy.

DIRECTOR OF THE FOUNDATION

SEC. 5. (a) There shall be a Director of the Foundation who shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. The Board may make recommendations to the President with respect to the appointment of the Director, and the Director shall not be appointed until the Board has had an opportunity to make such recommendations. He shall serve as a nonvoting ex officio member of the Board. In addition thereto he shall be the chief executive officer of the Foundation. The Director shall receive compensation at the rate of $15,000 per annum and shall serve for a term of six years unless sooner removed by the President.

(b) In addition to the powers and duties specifically vested in him by this Act, the Director shall, in accordance with the policies established by the Board, exercise the powers granted by sections 10 and 11 of this Act, together with such other powers and duties as may be delegated to him by the Board; but no final action shall be taken by the Director in the exercise of any power granted by section 10 or 11 (c) unless in each instance the Board has reviewed and approved the action proposed to be taken.

POWER TO CREATE COMMITTEES

SEO. 6. (a) The Board is authorized to appoint from among its members an Executive Committee, and to assign to the Executive Committee such of the powers and functions granted to the Board by this Act as it deems appropriate; except that the Board may not assign to the Executive Committee the function of establishing policies, or the function of review and approval (except review and approval of minor modifications of contracts or other arrangements previously approved by the Board), to be exercised by the Board in accordance with section 5 (b).

(b) If an Executive Committee is established by the Board

(1) Such Committee shall consist of the Director, as a nonvoting ex officio member, and nine other members elected by the Board from among their number.

(2) The term of office of each voting member of such Committee shall be two years, except that (A) any member elected to fill a vacancy occurring prior to the expiration of the term for which his predecessor was elected shall be elected for the remainder of such term; and (B) the term of office of four of the members first elected after the date of enactment of this Act shall be one year.

(3) Any person who has been a member of such Committee for six consecutive years shall thereafter be ineligible for election. during the two-year period following the expiration of such sixth year.

(4) The membership of such Committee shall, so far as practicable, be representative of diverse interests and shall be so chosen as to provide representation, so far as practicable, for all areas of the Nation.

(5) Such Committee shall render an annual report to the Board, and such other reports as it may deem necessary, summarizing its activities and making such recommendations as it may deem appropriate. Minority views and recommendations, if any, of members of the Executive Committee shall be included in such reports.

(c) The Board is authorized to appoint from among its members or otherwise such committees as it deems necessary, and to assign to committees so appointed such survey and advisory functions as the Board deems appropriate for the purposes of this Act.

DIVISIONS WITHIN THE FOUNDATION

SEC. 7. (a) Until otherwise provided by the Board there shall be within the Foundation the following divisions:

(1) A Division of Medical Research;

(2) A Division of Mathematical, Physical, and Engineering Sciences;

(3) A Division of Biological Sciences; and

(4) A Division of Scientific Personnel and Education, which shall be concerned with programs of the Foundation relating to the granting of scholarships and graduate fellowships in the mathematical, physical, medical, biological, engineering, and other sciences.

(b) There shall also be within the Foundation such other divisions as the Board may, from time to time, deem necessary.

DIVISIONAL COMMITTEES

SEC. 8. (a) There shall be a committee for each division of the Foundation.

(b) Each divisional committee shall be appointed by the Board and shall consist of not less than five persons who may be members or nonmembers of the Board.

(c) The terms of members of each divisional committee shall be two years. Each divisional committee shall annually elect its own chairman from among its own members and shall prescribe its own rules of procedure subject to such restrictions as may be prescribed by the Board.

(d) Each divisional committee shall make recommendations to, and advise and consult with, the Board and the Director with respect to matters relating to the program of its division.

SPECIAL COMMISSIONS

SEC. 9. (a) Each special commission established pursuant to section 8 (a) (7) shall consist of eleven members appointed by the Board, six of whom shall be eminent scientists and five of whom shall be persons other than scientists. Each special commission shall choose its own chairman and vice chairman.

(b) It shall be the duty of each such special commission to make a comprehensive survey of research, both public and private, being

carried on in its field, and to formulate and recommend to the Foundation at the earliest practicable date an over-all research program in its field.

SCHOLARSHIPS AND GRADUATE FELLOWSHIPS

SEC. 10. The Foundation is authorized to award, within the limits of funds made available specifically for such purpose pursuant to section 16, scholarships and graduate fellowships for scientific study or scientific work in the mathematical, physical, medical, biological, engineering, and other sciences at accredited nonprofit American or nonprofit foreign institutions of higher education, selected by the recipient of such aid, for stated periods of time. Persons shall be selected for such scholarships and fellowships from among citizens of the United States, and such selections shall be made solely on the basis of ability; but in any case in which two or more applicants for scholarships or fellowships, as the case may be, are deemed by the Foundation to be possessed of substantially equal ability, and there are not sufficient scholarships or fellowships, as the case may be, available to grant one to each of such applicants, the available scholarship or scholarships or fellowship or fellowships shall be awarded to the applicants in such manner as will tend to result in a wide distribution of scholarships and fellowships among the States, Territories, possessions, and the District of Columbia.

GENERAL AUTHORITY OF FOUNDATION

SEC. 11. The Foundation shall have the authority, within the limits of available appropriations, to do all things necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act, including, but without being limited thereto, the authority

(a) to prescribe such rules and regulations as it deems necessary governing the manner of its operations and its organization and personnel;

(b) to make such expenditures as may be necessary for administering the provisions of this Act;

(c) to enter into contracts or other arrangements, or modifications thereof, for the carrying on, by organizations or individuals in the United States and foreign countries, including other government agencies of the United States and of foreign countries, of such basic scientific research activities as the Foundation deems necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act, and, at the request of the Secretary of Defense, specific scientific research activities in connection with matters relating to the national defense, and, when deemed appropriate by the Foundation, such contracts or other arrangements, or modifications thereof, may be entered into without legal consideration, without performance or other bonds, and without regard to section 3709 of the Revised Statutes;

(d) to make advance, progress, and other payments which relate to scientific research without regard to the provisions of section 3648 of the Revised Statutes (31 U. S. C., sec. 529);

(e) to acquire by purchase, lease, loan, or gift, and to hold and dispose of by sale, lease, or loan, real and personal property of all kinds necessary for, or resulting from, the exercise of authority granted by this Act;