Basic Research Drives Defense Technologies

Thursday, February 28, 2008, Senate Dirksen Office Building, SD-562

Introductory Remarks

Glenn Ruskin
Director, Legislative & Government Affairs
American Chemical Society

Briefing Summary

The basic research supported by the Department of Defense and conducted primarily by universities provides the foundation for future military technologies. Yet DoD’s investment in basic research, under its 6.1 account, has in recent years remained flat in real terms and represents a declining portion of the Department’s S&T investment. Growing recognition of this fact was reflected in a 2007 memo by then-Director

of Defense Research and Engineering John Young, warning that the Defense Department’s S&T program “is not keeping pace” with today’s challenges, and decrying the decline of “the fraction of S&T investment devoted to foundational science, where game-breaking warfighting advances usually occur…to less than 15% of the S&T budget.” This briefing will highlight the importance of basic research to national security and U.S. competitiveness.