AFOSR: Turning Scientific Discovery into Air Force Opportunity
AFOSR The wide-ranging and highly successful United States Air Force basic research program that exists today was born out of the need to address not only a longstanding shortfall in military basic research, but to also help address the overall historical neglect of aeronauticalrelated research and development.
A Brief History
chaired the group that continues to this day as the Air Force Scientific Advisory Board. Arnold convened this group because he was convinced that “the first essential of air power is preeminence in research,” and the war clearly demonstrated the Army Air Force could ignore the frontiers of science only at the nation’s peril.
Such was the sad state of affairs during World War I that U.S. pilots, for the most part, flew secondhand European aircraft during the war.
Arnold did not want the nation to be caught unaware and unprepared again, and as such, he supported a strong research and development program. And Arnold was not alone; for many scientists, the weaponry employed during the war was impetus for not only a strong applied research effort, but for a dedicated basic research program as well.
Decades of neglect and deficiency became quite obvious during World War II when massive civilianled research and development efforts were hastily established to develop much needed weaponry and support requirements. This program of civilian-based research fit well with the future plans of Gen. Henry “Hap” Arnold, the head of the Army Air Forces. In November 1944, Arnold brought together a distinguished cadre of scientists to form the Army Air Forces Scientific Advisory Group. Theodore von Kármán, one of the world’s leading aerodynamicists,
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