Government support of basic research in university physics departments 1952–53

It has been said that there is no correspondence between the amount of money spent for research and the amount of “true” research being carried out in this country. Others use the terms “research funds” and “research activity” synonymously. It is not uncommon to hear it said that more funds tend to diminish the number of fundamental discoveries in basic research, and on the other hand, that more and more money is needed for the kind of research that we are doing today. Probably the true relationship between research funds and the prosecution of worthwhile research lies somewhere in between these extremes. But whatever the correct correlation factor between tangible funds and intangible research may be, good data on funds invested in research are needed in national thinking and in comprehending some of the problems met with in the administration of research programs.

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