Message to the Congress Transmitting Annual Report of the National Science Foundation.

To the Congress of the United States:

I am pleased to submit to the Congress the Seventeenth Annual Report of the National Science Foundation for fiscal year 1967.

This Report highlights a year of advance in exploring the frontiers of science and in educating the scientists of tomorrow. During fiscal year 1967, the Foundation has:

--Provided $220 million to support scientific research projects in every State of the Union. Some 5,500 scientists carried out this work in colleges and universities.

--Invested $123 million to improve science education at every level from elementary school through the university. These funds provided training for about 38,000 high school teachers, 5,000 elementary school teachers, and 5,000 college instructors.

The Foundation's programs have helped to unearth new information of both scientific and practical importance. For example, we have now:

--Learned more about how genes pass on hereditary characteristics. This knowledge may some day lead to control of diseases and the prevention of inherited defects.

--Neared completion at Cornell University of the world's most powerful circular electron accelerator, an atom smasher that will enable us to advance our understanding of the atom.

--Begun sea grant programs to develop knowledge and to train manpower for developing our marine resources.

--Increased support for the national weather modification program to speed the day when we can reduce losses caused by drought, hail, and violent storms.

--Supported research on a new plastic for possible use as heat shields for reentry of space vehicles.

The National Science Foundation also continues to increase its support of social science research. A Special Commission on the Social Sciences was established by the National Science Board to provide guidance in this important area.

In my 1967 message to Congress on Health and Education, I directed the National Science Foundation, working with the Office of Education of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, to establish an experimental program for developing the educational potential of computers. This has been done through a newly established Office of Computing Activities. The day is not far when these exciting new machines will be contributing to the education of our people.

The Annual Report of the National Science Foundation deserves the attention of the Congress and the American people. It is proof that we are penetrating the unknown, educating new generations of scientists, and making our scientific research yield maximum value.

LYNDON B. JOHNSON

The White House

March 20, 1968