Government scientist
Encyclopedia
A government scientist is a scientist
employed
by a country's government
, either in a research-driven job (for example J. Robert Oppenheimer on the Manhattan Project
), or for another role that requires scientific training and methods.
. A Chief Scientist is appointed to advise the government through the Office of the Chief Scientist
.
, government scientists are classified according to the Departmental Titles (Alteration) (Amendment) Act 1996, which amended the Departmental Titles (Alteration) Ordinance of 1950.
, government scientists are part of the Scientific Civil Service. However, that was not always the case. Before the Second World War, government scientists were recruited and employed by the Civil Service on an ad hoc basis, with grades, job titles, and organizations that varied between departments. In 1930, the Carpenter Committee was appointed to investigate the organization of civil service scientific and technical staff, and its report proposed a reorganization that covered the entire Service. This report was endorsed by the Tomlin Commission, however it was impossible to reach agreement with the relevant staff associations, who wanted other professional groups within the civil service to be similarly reorganized, and nothing ended up happening.
World War Two changed this by causing a far greater number of scientific and technical staff to be employed by the government. The Barlow Committee on Scientific Staff in Government Departments reviewed the positions of government scientists during wartime, issuing a report on 1943-04-23. This report spurred the creation of a government white paper
, entitled The Scientific Civil Service, which resulted in a reorganization of government scientisgts across the entire Service. This reorganization classified governmenvnt scientists across the entire Service into three major classes similar to those civil servants for the Treasury had already been classified in:
Scientific Officer class:Grades of scientific officer began with Scientific Officer, and progressed through Senior, Principal, Senior Principal, Deputy Chief, and Chief Scientific Officers.
Experimental Officer class:Grades of experimental officer began with Assistant Experimental Officer, and progressed through Experimental Officer to Senior and then Chief Experimental Officers. Experimental officers were either university graduates or people who had qualifications such as the Higher National Certificate
, and were support staff for Scientific Officers.
Scientific Assistant class:This class of civil servant undertook the routine work, and was largely equivalent to the Treasury's Clerical Class.
, the employment of scientists by state and federal governments was, like in the U.K., affected by the Second World War. President Roosevelt first created the National Defense Research Committee
under Vannevar Bush
. This was then expanded to the Office of Scientific Research and Development
, also led by Bush. The OSRD employed scientists on a contract basis, with the OSRD as client and individual scientists as contractors. Scientists were contracted to research (through study and experiement) a specified subject, without constraints as to method, and to issue reports to the OSRD.
After the war, scientific research was continued by agencies such as the Office of Naval Research
established in 1947, which again employed scientists as contractors. Scientific research was published in the normal way. The Atomic Energy Commission
, established in 1946, and the National Institutes of Health
, established in 1930, also paid scientists for scientific research, and were major sources of government research funding.
The National Science Foundation
was eventually established in 1950. Defence research was explicitly excluded from its charter, even though Dr Bush had originally envisioned the NSF as including that as well. The armed forces established their own research departments, such as the Office of Ordnance Research for the Department of the Army
, established on the campus of Duke University
in June 1951.
U.S. local, state, and federal governments also employ scientists directly. The federal government employs them in departments such as the Department of Agriculture
, Department of the Interior
, and the Public Health Service
. States and cities employ scientists in similar rôles, including at fish and game commissions, parks, aquarium
s, arboretum
s, and museum
s; and at agencies such as environmental inspection agencies, crime laboratories, and public health monitoring agencies.
Scientist
A scientist in a broad sense is one engaging in a systematic activity to acquire knowledge. In a more restricted sense, a scientist is an individual who uses the scientific method. The person may be an expert in one or more areas of science. This article focuses on the more restricted use of the word...
employed
Employment
Employment is a contract between two parties, one being the employer and the other being the employee. An employee may be defined as:- Employee :...
by a country's government
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
, either in a research-driven job (for example J. Robert Oppenheimer on the Manhattan Project
Manhattan Project
The Manhattan Project was a research and development program, led by the United States with participation from the United Kingdom and Canada, that produced the first atomic bomb during World War II. From 1942 to 1946, the project was under the direction of Major General Leslie Groves of the US Army...
), or for another role that requires scientific training and methods.
Australia
In Australia, most government scientists are employed by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research OrganisationCommonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation
The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation is the national government body for scientific research in Australia...
. A Chief Scientist is appointed to advise the government through the Office of the Chief Scientist
Office of the Chief Scientist (Australia)
The Office of the Chief Scientist is part of Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research . Its primary responsibilities are to support the Chief Scientist and the Prime Minister's Science, Engineering and Innovation Council .-Chief Scientist:The Chief Scientist is responsible for...
.
Singapore
In SingaporeSingapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, government scientists are classified according to the Departmental Titles (Alteration) (Amendment) Act 1996, which amended the Departmental Titles (Alteration) Ordinance of 1950.
United Kingdom
In the United KingdomUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, government scientists are part of the Scientific Civil Service. However, that was not always the case. Before the Second World War, government scientists were recruited and employed by the Civil Service on an ad hoc basis, with grades, job titles, and organizations that varied between departments. In 1930, the Carpenter Committee was appointed to investigate the organization of civil service scientific and technical staff, and its report proposed a reorganization that covered the entire Service. This report was endorsed by the Tomlin Commission, however it was impossible to reach agreement with the relevant staff associations, who wanted other professional groups within the civil service to be similarly reorganized, and nothing ended up happening.
World War Two changed this by causing a far greater number of scientific and technical staff to be employed by the government. The Barlow Committee on Scientific Staff in Government Departments reviewed the positions of government scientists during wartime, issuing a report on 1943-04-23. This report spurred the creation of a government white paper
White paper
A white paper is an authoritative report or guide that helps solve a problem. White papers are used to educate readers and help people make decisions, and are often requested and used in politics, policy, business, and technical fields. In commercial use, the term has also come to refer to...
, entitled The Scientific Civil Service, which resulted in a reorganization of government scientisgts across the entire Service. This reorganization classified governmenvnt scientists across the entire Service into three major classes similar to those civil servants for the Treasury had already been classified in:
Scientific Officer class:Grades of scientific officer began with Scientific Officer, and progressed through Senior, Principal, Senior Principal, Deputy Chief, and Chief Scientific Officers.
Experimental Officer class:Grades of experimental officer began with Assistant Experimental Officer, and progressed through Experimental Officer to Senior and then Chief Experimental Officers. Experimental officers were either university graduates or people who had qualifications such as the Higher National Certificate
Higher National Certificate
A Higher National Certificate is a higher education qualification in the United Kingdom.In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the HNC is a BTEC qualification awarded by Edexcel, and in Scotland, an HNC is a Higher National awarded by the Scottish Qualifications Authority...
, and were support staff for Scientific Officers.
Scientific Assistant class:This class of civil servant undertook the routine work, and was largely equivalent to the Treasury's Clerical Class.
United States
In the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, the employment of scientists by state and federal governments was, like in the U.K., affected by the Second World War. President Roosevelt first created the National Defense Research Committee
National Defense Research Committee
The National Defense Research Committee was an organization created "to coordinate, supervise, and conduct scientific research on the problems underlying the development, production, and use of mechanisms and devices of warfare" in the United States from June 27, 1940 until June 28, 1941...
under Vannevar Bush
Vannevar Bush
Vannevar Bush was an American engineer and science administrator known for his work on analog computing, his political role in the development of the atomic bomb as a primary organizer of the Manhattan Project, the founding of Raytheon, and the idea of the memex, an adjustable microfilm viewer...
. This was then expanded to the Office of Scientific Research and Development
Office of Scientific Research and Development
The Office of Scientific Research and Development was an agency of the United States federal government created to coordinate scientific research for military purposes during World War II. Arrangements were made for its creation during May 1941, and it was created formally by on June 28, 1941...
, also led by Bush. The OSRD employed scientists on a contract basis, with the OSRD as client and individual scientists as contractors. Scientists were contracted to research (through study and experiement) a specified subject, without constraints as to method, and to issue reports to the OSRD.
After the war, scientific research was continued by agencies such as the Office of Naval Research
Office of Naval Research
The Office of Naval Research , headquartered in Arlington, Virginia , is the office within the United States Department of the Navy that coordinates, executes, and promotes the science and technology programs of the U.S...
established in 1947, which again employed scientists as contractors. Scientific research was published in the normal way. The Atomic Energy Commission
United States Atomic Energy Commission
The United States Atomic Energy Commission was an agency of the United States government established after World War II by Congress to foster and control the peace time development of atomic science and technology. President Harry S...
, established in 1946, and the National Institutes of Health
National Institutes of Health
The National Institutes of Health are an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and are the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and health-related research. Its science and engineering counterpart is the National Science Foundation...
, established in 1930, also paid scientists for scientific research, and were major sources of government research funding.
The National Science Foundation
National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation is a United States government agency that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health...
was eventually established in 1950. Defence research was explicitly excluded from its charter, even though Dr Bush had originally envisioned the NSF as including that as well. The armed forces established their own research departments, such as the Office of Ordnance Research for the Department of the Army
United States Department of the Army
The Department of the Army is one of the three military departments within the Department of Defense of the United States of America. The Department of the Army is the Federal Government agency which the United States Army is organized within, and it is led by the Secretary of the Army who has...
, established on the campus of Duke University
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
in June 1951.
U.S. local, state, and federal governments also employ scientists directly. The federal government employs them in departments such as the Department of Agriculture
United States Department of Agriculture
The United States Department of Agriculture is the United States federal executive department responsible for developing and executing U.S. federal government policy on farming, agriculture, and food...
, Department of the Interior
United States Department of the Interior
The United States Department of the Interior is the United States federal executive department of the U.S. government responsible for the management and conservation of most federal land and natural resources, and the administration of programs relating to Native Americans, Alaska Natives, Native...
, and the Public Health Service
United States Public Health Service
The Public Health Service Act of 1944 structured the United States Public Health Service as the primary division of the Department of Health, Education and Welfare , which later became the United States Department of Health and Human Services. The PHS comprises all Agency Divisions of Health and...
. States and cities employ scientists in similar rôles, including at fish and game commissions, parks, aquarium
Aquarium
An aquarium is a vivarium consisting of at least one transparent side in which water-dwelling plants or animals are kept. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, marine mammals, turtles, and aquatic plants...
s, arboretum
Arboretum
An arboretum in a narrow sense is a collection of trees only. Related collections include a fruticetum , and a viticetum, a collection of vines. More commonly, today, an arboretum is a botanical garden containing living collections of woody plants intended at least partly for scientific study...
s, and museum
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
s; and at agencies such as environmental inspection agencies, crime laboratories, and public health monitoring agencies.