NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCESNATIONAL ACADEMY OF ENGINEERING INSTITUTE OF MEDICINE

COMMITTEE ON

SCIENCE,ENGINEERING

AND PUBLIC POLICY2101 Constitution Avenue Washington, D.C. 20418

202/334-2424

June 27, 1983

Edward A. FeigenbaumDepartment of Computer ScienceStanford UniversityJacks Hall

Stanford,

CA 94305

Dear Dr . Feigenbaum:

to serve as a member of the NaJ

Panel on Cognitive Science andis official confirmation of yoi a

Your panel's briefing will be part of a second round of briefings (seeAttachment A for a list of briefing topics) to be developed in 1983 at thespecific request of Dr. George Keyworth, Science Advisor to the President andDirector of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, and Dr, Edward Knapp,Director of the National Science Foundation. This new round will be patternedafter the seven briefings developed in 1982, which covered the followingtopics: Mathematics, Atmospheric Sciences, Astronomy and Astrophysics,Agricultural Research, Neuroscience, Human Health Effects of HazardousChemical Exposures, and Materials Science. A copy of the report containingthe first round of briefing papers has been forwarded to you under separatecover.

Each briefing will be prepared by a panel of 10-12 experts broadlyrepresentative of its field. Panels will meet once for 2-3 days to addressthe following charge: MWMMMPBMi

o to critically assess its

field;

to identify those research areas within the field that are likely toreturn the highest scientific dividends as a result of incrementalfederal investment in FY 1985; and

o

to develop an informative briefing for the Director of the Office ofScience and Technology Policy, the Director of the National ScienceFoundation, and senior representatives of other interested federaldepartments and agencies.

o

The focus will be on identifying high leverage investment opportunities inthe FY 1985 federal budget. This, and other factors, distinguish the researchbriefings from the longer perspective and more detailed surveys occasionallyundertaken by major scientific fields - e.g., the 1982 report of the NationalResearch Council (NRC) Astronomy Survey Committee entitled Astronomy andAstrophysics for the 1980s. However, research briefings can profitably drawupon the results of such surveys.

2

A rapporteur will be present at each panel meeting to summarize thediscussions and prepare an initial draft of a briefing paper not to exceed 20double-spaced typed pages in length. After review by the panel, the briefingpaper will serve as the basis for a 1-hour briefing and discussion to bepresented to the Committee on Science, Engineering, and Public Policy(COSEPUP) by your panel chairmen in early August (See Attachment B for a listof current COSEPUP members). Upon review and approval by

COSEPUP,

thebriefing will be presented to the Director of the Office of Science andTechnology Policy and his

staff,

and the Director of the National ScienceFoundation and senior members of the Foundation staff, at separate briefingson a date in mid-to late-September. The briefing will also be offered tosenior representatives of other interested federal departments and agencies.Each briefing will be 1-hour in duration, with 20 minute formal presentationsand 40 minutes for discussion.

Overall coordination of the research briefing effort is the responsibilityof Dr. Allan R. Hoffman, Executive Director of COSEPUP . In addition,administrative support for each panel will be obtained from the NRCCommission, Office, or Board having expertise in that particular field. Thewritten briefing papers prepared by the panels will be published in two formsto accomodate various audiences: as individual reports, and as part of acollection of all five papers. These documents will be made publiclyavailable as soon as possible after the briefings are delivered in September.Funds to support the briefings will be provided by the National ScienceFoundation.

The widespread interest shown in the initial set of research briefings,along with strong government and scientific community interest in developing asecond set, suggest that research briefings could become a regular feature ofthe government-scientific community dialogue. In fact, Dr. Keyworth hasexpressed his interest in seeing this happen. Your efforts will contributeimportantly to this end.

Thank you again for agreeing to serve. If you have any questions, pleasecall Dr. Hoffman at (202) 334-2424.

Sincerely,

Attachments: List of briefing topicsList of COSEPUP members

George M. LowChairman

»ATTACHMENT A

RESEARCH BRIEFING TOPICS - 1983

1. Selected Opportunities in Chemistr

Research directed toward enhanced understanding and application of thefollowing promising areas of chemistry:

* The exploitation of emerging powerful techniques and instrumentationto elucidate chemical changes with the aim of designing new reac-tions and processes that advance key innovative technologies.

* The development of new catalyst families, including artificialenzymes, by purposeful design of novel structures and interfaces.

* Application of the ability of chemists and biochemists to deal withmolecular complexity in the development of new medicines, herbi-cides, pesticides, and other biologically active molecules.

2. Cognitive Science and Artificial Intelligence

Research directed toward understanding how intelligent systems, animateor inanimate, deal with problems of communication, the acquisition of know-ledge, and adaptive behavior. The concepts and methods of cognitivescience flow from a confluence of biology, psychology, and linguistics;applications bear on the conditions of expert human performance, the designof instructional procedures, and the diagnosis and alleviation of cogni-tive disabilities. Artificial intelligence, a branch of computer science,generates both general theories of self-organizing systems and workingcomputer programs capable of solving problems whose difficulty challengeshuman capacities.

Research directed towards understanding the molecular, cellular, andintracellular processes of the immune system with a view to understandingcontrol of the immune response and functions of the system.

4. Deep Sensing of the Continental Lithosphere and its Margins and otherselected Research Opportunities in the Earth Sciences

Research directed toward attaining a new level of understanding of thestructure, composition, limits, energetics, and evolutionary history ofcontinents from the surface to their deepest roots, comparable to the greatinsights recently acquired for the crust and upper mantle under the oceanbasins.

5. Computers in Design and Manufacturin

Research directed toward understanding and enhancing the applicationof computers to product design and manufacture.

3. Selected Opportunities in Immunology

»

ATTACHMENT B»

NATIONAL ACADEMYOF SCIENCESNATIONALACADEMY OF ENGINEERING INSTITUTE OF MEDICINE

COMMITTEE

ON

SCIENCE.

ENGINEERING,

AND PUBLIC POLICY lw Constitution Avenue Washington, D.C. 20418202/334-2424

List of Members

George M. low. President, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (Chairman)

Linda H. Aiken. Vice President for Research, The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

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L^torier^"' EXe°UtiVe WCe PreSldent ' SySte»8 ' *»" ***<~Emilio Q. Daddario, Wilkes, Artis, Hedrick and Lane, Attorneys at Law

Gardner^Lindzey, President and Director, Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral

J. Ross Macdonald, William Rand Kenan, Jr., Professor of Physics Deoartm.ni- nfPhysics and Astronomy, University of North CarolinaPhyBlC8 ' l*P«tment of

25J,ttJS°OM' PreSident ' Morld S*at<«° Divi **°"' Communications Satellite

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Ptead1?cie;eChalrnan "nd Pr°feBBor ' S6Ctlon °f Cell 810l<^< »* "n^ersity

Joseph M. Pettit, President, Georgia Institute of Technology

oT^chnoS"' DlVlSlon °f Ge°lo9iCal and Planet«v Sconces, California Institute

Herbert A. Simon, Professor of Computer Science and Psychology. Derartment ofPsychology, Carnegie-Mellon Universityeycnoxogy. Department of

I. M. Singer. Professor, Mathematics Department, University of California. Berkeley

aV^eo^e.' %£J._ TZ/dl^Zrll^"^' *»* °< -"""»Ex OfficioPrank Press, President, National Academy of SciencesFrederick C. Robbins, President, Institute of MedicineCOSEPUP StaffAllan R. Hoffman, Executive DirectorBarbara Darr, Administrative Assistant

January 1983