The National Research Council (NRC) was organized by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) in 1916 to connect the broad community of science and technology with the goals of the NAS, i.e., advancing the state of knowledge and advising the federal government. The NRC has become the principal agency of both the NAS and the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The NRC is administered by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine.

During the early years of World War I, there was concern about the lack of American preparedness if the United States should enter the war. The NAS had been active during the Civil War and for some years after the end of the war, but had become inactive during the latter part of the nineteenth century and into...