United States National Research Council
| Formation | 1916 |
|---|---|
| Type | NGO |
| Website | http://www.nationalacademies.org/nrc/ |
The National Research Council (NRC) is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Research Council is the research arm of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, which includes the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), the National Academy of Engineering (NAE), and the National Academy of Medicine (NAM).
The National Research Council produces reports that shape policies, inform public opinion, and advance the pursuit of science, engineering, and medicine. It is the research arm, but not member of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, unlike the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the National Academy of Medicine.
On June 19, 1916, then US President Woodrow Wilson requested that the National Academy of Sciences, under its congressional charter, organize the National Research Council. The purpose of the Council (originally called the National Research Foundation) was in part to foster and encourage "the increased use of scientific research in the development of American industries ... the employment of scientific methods in strengthening the national defense ... and such other applications of science as will promote the national security and welfare."
At the time, the Academy's effort to support national defense readiness, the Committee on Nitric Acid Supply, was approved by Secretary of War Newton D. Baker. Nitric acid was the substance basic in the making of propellants such as cordite, high explosives, dyes, fertilizers, and other products but availability was limited due to World War I. The NRC, through its committee, recommended importing Chilean saltpeter and the construction of four new ordinance plants. These recommendations were accepted by the War Department in June 1917, although the plants were not completed prior to the end of the war. In 1918, Wilson formalized the NRC's existence under Executive Order 2859. During World War I the United States was at war, the NRC operated as the Department of Science and Research of the Council of National Defense as well as the Science and Research Division of the United States Army Signal Corps. When war was first declared, the Council had organized committees on antisubmarine and gas warfare.
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