A report by the AEC General Advisory Committee

NOV 01, 1952

The following statement, prepared earlier this year by the nine scientists who comprise the General Advisory Committee of the Atomic Energy Commission, describes the nature of the Committee, its responsibilities, and its manner of operation. The names of the members are listed at the end of the report.

DOI: 10.1063/1.3067391

Oliver E. Buckley

James B. Conant

Lee A. DuBridge

Willard F. Libby

Eger V. Murphree

John von Neumann

I. I. Rabi

Walter G. Whitman

J. R. Oppenheimer

The Atomic Energy Act of 1946 provides in Section 2(b) that “There shall be a General Advisory Committee to advise the Commission on scientific and technical matters relating to materials, production, and research and development, to be composed of nine members, who shall be appointed from civilian life by the President.” The Act further directs that “The Committee shall designate one of its own members as Chairman. The Committee shall meet at least four times in every calendar year.” Beyond that, the Act does not specify how the Committee is to perform its advisory functions, how it is to obtain the information and analysis on which to base its advice, nor how to determine the issues to which it should direct its attention.

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