Army Science Board

Army Science Board

Abbreviation	ASB
Predecessor	Army Scientific Advisory Panel
Formation	16 November 1954 (1954-11-16)
Founded at	Washington, DC
Purpose	Advises Senior Leaders on scientific matters of concern to the U.S. Army. [1]
Headquarters	Office of the Deputy Under Secretary of the Army (ODUSA)
Location	The Pentagon
Chair	Michael E. Williamson
Staff	Ms. Heather Gerard (Executive Director)

The Army Science Board (ASB) provides advice about army science to senior military leaders. The ASB is a Federal Advisory Committee organized under the Federal Advisory Committee Act. It is the United States Department of the Army senior scientific advisory body that was chartered in 1977 to replace the Army Scientific Advisory Panel. The ASB provides the Army with independent advice and recommendations on matters relating to the Army's scientific, technological, manufacturing, logistics and business management functions, as well as other matters the Secretary of the Army deems important to the Department of the Army. The Secretary of the Army delegates oversight authority to the Deputy Under Secretary of the Army, who appoints the ASB Executive Director. Terms are generally three years. ^[2]

The ASB is composed of distinguished individuals from the private sector, academia, non-DoD government agencies, and former senior military officers. Members are selected according to their preeminence in their respective fields, and are appointed to serve renewable three-year terms by the Secretary of the Army. Membership is carefully monitored to ensure that diverse disciplines and points of view are represented. The Secretary of the Army appoints the chair and vice chair from within the ASB membership. The ASB Chair also serves as a non-voting observer to the Defense Science Board. ASB membership is augmented by a small number of consultants who are appointed to provide specialized expertise for ASB studies. The board is composed of 20 voting and 20 non-voting members, each serving three-year terms, and consultants who serve one-year terms.

History

Winter Plenary: 9–11 January 2018 Board members are the Army Marksmanship Unit, Ft Benning, GA

The Army Science Board (ASB) has served as the Army's senior scientific advisory board. When it was chartered as a Federal Advisory Committee under the Federal Advisory Committee Act in 1977, the ASB replaced the Army Scientific Advisory Panel (ASAP). Both the ASAP and the ASB grew out of the need for Army-specific guidance on scientific research and development (R&D) and the Army's desire to maintain its strong technical advantage over other nations. ^[3]

From the founding of the Army through the early 1900s, the Army did not have an effective R&D program — production and procurement were emphasized and the R&D during this era was limited to product improvement. Prior to World War II, the Army's R&D was controlled through the G-4 as a function of the supply arms and services. In October 1943, Secretary of War Henry Stimson indicated that he wanted scientific help in the war effort, resulting in the R&D branch's reorganization and its elevation to division level in May 1944. This elevation eliminated obstacles related to recruiting and retaining enough qualified scientific people, and provided them the clout to effectively perform their duties.^[3]

Following World War II, despite General Dwight D. Eisenhower’s warnings that using scientific and technological resources solely for procurement purposes limited the usefulness of those resources and indications that separating R&D from procurement and production would benefit the military, concerns remained that the senior Army leadership lacked the vision to effectively guide the direction of R&D programs. However, funding and personnel limitations continued to direct R&D toward the necessary areas of procurement and production. A few years later, Dr. Donald Loughridge, the Army's Senior Scientific Advisor, was concerned that the Army lacked an effective basic research program, resulting in its inability to attract desirable entry-level scientists to its laboratories. By April 1950, Secretary of the Army Gordon Gray was also concerned with the Army's R&D program and its ability to support warfighters in future wars. He did not believe that the United States could fight a war based solely upon soldiers, especially with the fall of China to communism. ^[3]

Shortly thereafter, Gray's replacement, Secretary of the Army Frank Pace, evaluated the existing Army R&D program, which was then engaged in supporting the Korean War. In January 1951, the evaluators recommended that a research advisory board be established to assist the Secretary of the Army in R&D matters. Based on this report, General Joseph Collins, Army Chief of Staff, recommended establishing an Army Scientific Advisory Committee as this research advisory board. By March, Pace approved establishing this board in principle and in November he took the first steps to obtain this scientific advice. Without formally establishing a committee, the secretary appointed 10 outstanding scientists and industrialists as his scientific advisers. These pioneer advisers were: ^[4]

• Dr. Detlev Bronk, National Academy of Sciences President, 1950 to 1962, and Johns Hopkins University President, 1949 to 1953. He was credited with formulating the modern theory of biophysics.
• Mr. Crawford Greenewalt, DuPont President, 1948 to 1962. He was instrumental in transforming the theoretical work into a production system capable of manufacturing sufficient plutonium for the Manhattan Project.
• Mr. Robert Haslam, consultant and as Chief of Division 3, Rocket Ordnance Research, National Defense Research Committee.
• Mr. Kaufman Keller, Chrysle board of directors member of W.R. Grace & Co.; retired Standard Oil Co. Vice President. Previously, he was a professor of chemical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
• Dr. Frederick Hovde, Purdue University president, 1946 to 1971. During World War II, he was chairman of the board, 1950 to 1956; Chrysler President, 1935 to 1950.
• Dr. James R. Killian Jr., MIT president, 1948 to 1959; MIT Corp. Chairman, 1959 to 1971. Following his service on this board, he became the presidential science advisor to President Dwight D. Eisenhower from 1957 to 1959.
• Dr. Charles Lauritsen, Danish-born physicist and professor of electrical and radio engineering at the California Institute of Technology, 1911 to 1962. During World War II, his nuclear physics research was instrumental in the Manhattan Project.
• Dr. Murrough O'Brien, University of California's College of Engineering dean, 1943 to 1959. Previously, he was the university's mechanical engineering department chair, 1937 to 1943.
• Dr. William Shockley, Bell Telephone Laboratories Research Physicist, 1945 to 1954. During World War II, he was the Anti-Submarine Warfare Operations Research Group research director. He received the Nobel Prize in physics in 1956 for his role in developing the transistor.
• Mr. William Webster, New England Electric System Executive Vice President and director. Following World War II, he was deputy to the Secretary of Defense on Atomic Energy and the chairman of the Military Liaison Committee to the Atomic Energy Commission. In 1950, he was the DOD R&D Board chairman.

Following the Korean War, the Advisory Committee on Army Organization analyzed the Army's organization with respect to its ability to support the nation in times of war and peace. This committee praised the scientific advisory group's creation, indicating it was a significant step in bringing the best scientific ability and experience to the Army. In 1954, the House Committee on Government Operations issued a report stating that the Army's scientific advisory group was not being used effectively. Army Secretary Robert T. Stevens, Pace's successor, concurred with these recommendations and established plans to formalize the ASAP with a permanent charter, enlarge its membership and give it more latitude in its efforts. ^[5]

The ASAP — then with 25 members — held its first meeting November 16–17, 1954. During the meeting, the panel heard briefings on various areas involving the Army's R&D efforts. By 1958, the panel grew to 70 members and divided itself into eight different subpanels: ^[6]

• Air Mobility
• Chemical, Biological and Radiological Warfare
• Communications and Electronics
• Firepower
• Environmental Research
• Human Factors
• Surface Mobility
• Research Organization and Planning

The ASB's distinguished members also include two astronauts, three Olympians (one with a silver medal in the long jump), one U.S. Ambassador to France and a member of the first expedition team to ascend Mount Minya Konka in Eastern Tibet, China. ^[7]

Past chairs

Army Scientific Advisory Panel Chair Years James R. Killian 1951–1956 Frederick L. Hovde 1956–1957 Richard S. Morse 1958–1959 James W. McRae 1960 Clifford C. Furnas 1960–1961 Morrough Parker O'Brien 1961–1964 Finn J. Larsen 1965 Harold M. Agnew 1966–1970 Lawrence H. O'Neill 1971–1976 Bruce A. Reese 1976–1977

Army Science Board Chair Years J. Ernest Wilkins Jr. 1978–1981 Richard A. Montgomery 1981–1983 Wilson K. Talley 1983–1986 Irene C. Peden 1986–1987 Gilbert F. Decker 1987–1989 Dennis R. Horn 1989–1990 Duane A. Adams 1990–1991 James Jacobs 1991–1992 Walter B. LaBerge 1992–1995 Wilson K. Talley 1995–1996 Michael Frankel 1996–1998 Michael J. Bayer 1998–2002 Joseph V. Braddock 2002–2004 James A. Tegnelia 2004–2005 Frank H. Akers, Jr. 2005–2011 George Singley 2012–2014 James Tegnelia 2014-2017

Past executive directors

Army Scientific Advisory Panel Executive Secretary Years MAJ Charles H. Curtis 1954–1955 MAJ J.D. Neumann 1956–1957 LTC William N. Harris 1958–1959 LTC Paul D. MacGarvey 1960–1962 LTC Kenneth R. Bull 1963–1964 MAJ Donald E. Rosenblum 1965–1966 LTC Joseph E. Fix III 1966–1967 LTC Wayne D. Miller 1968–1969 LTC Edward E. Roderick 1969–1970 LTC James R. Fuller 1970–1971 LTC William P. Boyd 1971–1972 LTC John G. Burbules 1972–1973 LTC Aubra N. Bone 1974–1976 LTC E. F. Imler 1976- 1977

Army Science Board Executive Directors Years COL Roger Mickelson 1979–1981 Ronald A. Mlinarchik (executive director) 1982–1986 COL Richard E. Entlich 1987–1988 COL Thomas E. Stalzer 1989–1990 COL Bruce Braun 1990–1991 COL Barry Levine 1991–1993 COL Herbert J. Gallagher 1993–1996 COL Leonard Gliatta 1996–2000 COL Damian Bianca 2000–2001 COL Kevin Dietrick 2001–2002 COL Jeffrey D. Willey 2002–2004 LTC Scott S. Haraburda 2004–2005 COL Heather J. Ierardi 2005–2009 Dennis R. Schmidt 2009–2010 Carolyn Nash 2010–2013 COL William McLagan[8] 2013–2014 LTC Stephen K. Barker[9][10] 2014–2016 MAJ Sean Madden 2016–2017

References

1. Hamilton 1988, p. 1.
2. Haraburda 2006, p. 70.
3. Haraburda 2006, p. 71.
4. Haraburda 2006, pp. 71–72.
5. Haraburda 2006, p. 72.
6. Haraburda 2006, pp. 72–73.
7. Haraburda 2006, p. 73.
8. "Updates from Other Boards: Army Science Board" (PDF). DSB Newsletter. December 2013. p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
9. 80 FR 37604
10. 79 FR 51143

Sources

• Hamilton, Milton H. (4 May 1988). Army Regulation 15-8: Army Science Board (PDF). Washington, DC: Department of the Army. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
• Haraburda, Scott S. (2006). "Army Science Board — Providing More Than 50 Years of Scientific Advice and Guidance" (PDF). Army AL&T Magazine. PB 70-06-01 (January - February - March): 70–73. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 28 October 2015.

External links

• Defense Science Board Website at the Defense Acquisition, Technology, & Logistics website.
• Army Science Board Chairs (Army AL&T Magazine Website)
• Army Science Board Vice-Chairs (Army AL&T Magazine Website)
• Army Science Board Executive Secretaries (Army AL&T Magazine Website)
• Army Science Board Photos (Army AL&T Magazine Website)

 This article incorporates public domain material from the United States Army