Discover
/
Article

Physics funding—the evolving federal role

DEC 01, 1981
Fifty years ago, the US government funds devoted to research were negligible; now they are dominant—and the proposed cuts may drastically alter the way physics research is done.
Emanuel R. Piore

The role of the Federal government in support of physics has altered and grown over the last fifty years. In this article I will review the evolution of this role within the context of four time periods: about 1930 to 1940, 1940 to 1945 (World War II), 1945 to the present (post World War II); the fourth period is on the horizon as the administration in Washington strives for a balanced budget.

This article is only available in PDF format

More about the authors

Emanuel R. Piore, ONR.

Related content
/
Article
A half century after the discovery of Hawking radiation, we are still dealing with the quantum puzzle it exposed.
/
Article
Since the discovery was first reported in 1999, researchers have uncovered many aspects of the chiral-induced spin selectivity effect, but its underlying mechanisms remain unclear.
/
Article
Metrologists are using fundamental physics to define units of measure. Now NIST has developed new quantum sensors to measure and realize the pascal.
/
Article
Nanoscale, topologically protected whirlpools of spins have the potential to move from applications in spintronics into quantum science.
This Content Appeared In
pt-cover_1981_12.jpeg

Volume 34, Number 12

Get PT newsletters in your inbox

pt_newsletter_card_blue.png
PT The Week in Physics

A collection of PT's content from the previous week delivered every Monday.

pt_newsletter_card_darkblue.png
PT New Issue Alert

Be notified about the new issue with links to highlights and the full TOC.

pt_newsletter_card_pink.png
PT Webinars & White Papers

The latest webinars, white papers and other informational resources.

By signing up you agree to allow AIP to send you email newsletters. You further agree to our privacy policy and terms of service.