National Defense Research Committee
| NDRC | |
President Harry S. Truman with members of the National Defense Research Committee. Seated are Dr. James B. Conant, President Truman and Dr. Alfred N. Richards. Standing are Dr. Karl T. Compton, Dr. Lewis H. Weed, Dr. Vannevar Bush, Dr. Frank B. Jewett, Dr. J. C. Hunsaker, Dr. Roger Adams, Dr. A. Baird Hastings and Dr. A. R. Dochez | |
| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | June 27, 1940 |
| Preceding agency |
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| Dissolved | June 28, 1941 (reduced to advisory body) January 20, 1947 (formally dissolved) |
| Superseding agency | |
| Jurisdiction | United States Government |
| Headquarters | Washington, D.C. |
| Agency executives |
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| Parent agency | Council of National Defense, a suspended World War I agency briefly revived for World War II |
| Child agencies |
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The National Defense Research Committee (NDRC) was an organization created "to coordinate, supervise, and conduct scientific research on the problems underlying the development, production, and use of mechanisms and devices of warfare" in the United States from June 27, 1940, until June 28, 1941. Most of its work was done with the strictest secrecy, and it began research of what would become some of the most important technology during World War II, including radar and the atomic bomb. Its working arm was superseded by the Office of Scientific Research and Development in 1941, but it remained as an influential advisory and consulting agency until it was terminated in 1947.