Research Cold War

A. Pearson, Late and Post-Cold War Research and Development of Incapacitating Biochemical Weapons, in Incapacitating Biochemical Weapons Promise or Peril , ed. A. M. Pearson, M. I. Chevrier and M. Wheelis, Lexington Books, Lanham, 2007, ch. 4, pp. 67-101. 

As the result of many years of nuclear reactor research and development and weapons production in U.S. defense programs, a large number of sites were contarninated by radioactive materials. A thorough cleanup of this residue of the Cold War is expected to extend well into the twenty-first century and cost many billions of dollars. New technologies are needed to minimi2e the cost of the cleanup operation. 

Since the end of the Cold War, the focus of all the laboratories has moved beyond weapons, accelerators, and energy-related research to encompass almost every imaginable field of basic and applied science. Most of the laboratories are increasingly being pushed by Congress to create partnerships with industrial firms to commercialize laboratory-des el-oped technology in the hope that it will improve the overall competitiveness of the U.S. economy. 

RESEARCH UNIVERSITIES ARE IN THE MIDST OF MAJOR CHANGE. Historically, the research universities have been supported by the Government with two theories in mind (1) national security is important, and science and technology are critical to a strong defense and (2) human health is important. The interest in human health persists, an interest in national security persists, but the adversary has given up. The Soviet Union no longer exists. The question now is, What is the rationale for the support of universities—support in the post-Cold War era The Department of Defense, which has nurtured an important set of activities, has a role in electronics and devices, structural materials, and high-performance or advanced-performance materials. 

It was] a period which probably had as many changes, programs, and problems as any comparable period in history post-World War II the Korean War the Cold War reorganization of Department of Defense reorganizations of Department of the Army the war in Vietnam and major advances in medicine, the sciences, nuclear weapons, missiles and aircraft. The sheer volume and frequency of change alone provided some indication of the magnitude of the task to be performed. From the outset, the research effort proved to be difficult and cumbersome. 

In the Cold War there were also some specific needs that energized basic research. For example, prior to communications satellites, using the ionosphere to reflect radio waves was the only way to communicate around the world at the... 

Confidence in government also characterized the time after World War II and during the Cold War. Over the history of our country it has been seen that one of the legitimate roles for the federal government is to provide for the national defense. There s been a lot of disagreement about many other tasks but not over this one. Military and security needs carried a lot of development throughout the post-World War II period. Of course, the Vietnam War led to less confidence in the government and caused the termination of classified research projects at universities. 

In exploring what elements make a network sustainable and efficient, it might be worthwhile to look across to one of the most successful networks in the modern world, the Internet. Crucial elements of the Internet such as the digital packet switching are based on the research of Paul Baran conducted in the early sixties. In the era of the Cold War, the RAND (research and development) project was set up to define an information system that would resist a military attack. Within this project Baran deducted that from all constellations investigated,... 

National Research Council, Review and Evaluation of Alternative Chemical Disposal Technologies (Washington, DC National Academy Press, 1996) Tony Freemantle, The Price of Peace The World Struggles to Purge the Poison after a Cold War Chemical Weapons Binge , Houston Chronicle (23 November 1997). 

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