National Science Foundation's first location 901 16th Street, NW, Washington, DC. (photo courtesy of NSF's 50th anniversary web site)

"I am certain of this -- that science will change our lives in the century ahead
even more than it has changed them in the 100 years just past." President Harry S Truman (1948)

Congratulations to the National Science Foundation on its 50th anniversary and to Presidents Roosevelt and Truman and others who had the foresight to establish an organization dedicated to the advancement of our nation and the world. In 1944, President Roosevelt wrote a letter to Vannevar Bush, Director of the Office of Scientific Research and Development, asking how we could 1) disseminate our scientific knowledge; 2) aid research activities by public and private organizations; and 3) discover and develop scientific talent in American youth to continue the future of scientific research. Mr. Bush wrote a report entitled, Science: the Endless Frontier, which laid the foundation for the National Science Foundation and earned him the distinction of being considered the Father of NSF. President Harry S Truman addressed the Centennial Anniversary of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. His speech is credited with giving rise to the NSF's creation. On May 10, 1950, President Truman signed a Congressional Act creating the National Science Foundation.

Liquid crystal research has been greatly advanced through NSF funding. In the 35 years since Professor Glenn H. Brown established the Liquid Crystal Institute at Kent State University the NSF has continued to provide funding for basic and applied research, K-12 student education and international collaborations. In 1990, NSF recognized the importance of liquid crystal research by selecting a consortium of three Northeast Ohio universities as one of 25 Science and Technology Centers nationwide. Scientists from Kent State University, Case Western Reserve University and the University of Akron comprise the NSF Science and Technology Center for Advanced Liquid Crystalline Optical Materials. Thirty-two principal investigators along with postdoctoral fellows, engineers, technicians and students work to research and create new and improved uses for liquid crystals. Without NSF support we could not have achieved the liquid crystal research and technology that we have today. Through NSF educational funding we are stimulating children's interests and encouraging future scientists; we are supporting college students and teaching them to be professors and researchers; we are training today's highly technical workforce. With NSF collaborative support we work with scientists throughout the world to share scientific knowledge.

I encourage you to visit the NSF 50th anniversary web site to read about the creation of NSF, President Truman's address to the AAAS, and Bush's report, Science: The Endless Frontier. They realized that without scientific progress we could not hope for improvement in our standard of living, increased jobs, and protection against tyranny. Bush stated in his report,"There must be a stream of new scientific knowledge to turn the wheels of private and public enterprise. There must be plenty of men and women trained in science and technology for upon them depend both the creation of new knowledge and its application to practical purposes."

We salute the National Science Foundation for its efforts to improve our lives and our nation. We look forward to the next 50 years of scientific research and to the knowledge, technology, and quality of life that we will obtain through the National Science Foundation's continued support of America's scientists.

John L. West, Director
NSF ALCOM Center and
Liquid Crystal Institute

Research Grants

The National Science Foundation began its support of research at the Liquid Crystal Institute in 1973 with the award of a group grant for studies of the structure and physical properties of liquid crystals. The award supported a broad research effort from the synthesis of new liquid crystal materials to their characterization by experimental techniques such as nuclear magnetic resonance, x-rays, infrared dichroism, calorimetry and optical birefringence, to name a few. A few years later the NSF changed its mechanism of support to individual principal investigator grants. Faculty who have received support for several years include David Johnson for microcalorimety; Alfred Saupe for lyotropic liquid crystals; Adrian DeVries for X-ray studies, Mary Neubert for synthesis and Bill Doane for nuclear magnetic resonance studies. For a more detailed history of LCI research see, Research History of the LCI by J.W. Doane.

With the award of the Science and Technology Center in 1991, research became more interactive with investigators from Kent State University, Case Western Reserve University and The University of Akron added to the list. The Science and Technology Center has accomplished what it was intended to do: couple science to technology, focus research toward specific objectives, and establish an interactive industrial partnership program and a K-12 education program.

NSF support for individual scientists and the ALCOM Center, 1973 - present

ALCOM Patents received with NSF support

History of LCI and NSF collaborations

Anniversary Symposium

In honor of the 50th Anniversary of the National Science Foundation, the NSF ALCOM Center will hold a symposium entitled, Liquid Crystals and Polymers: Past, Present and Future. The meeting will be held October 30-31, 2000, at the Sheraton Suites, Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. Details are posted to the ALCOM web site.