In January 1974, TR published remarks made on October 4, 1973, when MIT convened the six scientists who'd chaired the President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC) to discuss the subject of "Science Advice for the White House." It was a remembrance service of sorts, as President Nixon had recently abolished the committee. What role, if any, a science advisor would have in future administrations was an open question.

What a difference 16 years had made. On another October 4, this one in 1957, the Soviet Union had, with the launch of Sputnik, gotten the jump in the space race; Americans demanded to know how the president planned to catch up. ­Eisenhower quickly established PSAC, with James R. Killian, then the president of MIT, at its head. The president explained that the move would "make it possible for me, personally, whenever there appears to be any unnecessary delay in our development system, to act promptly and decisively."