Lewis M. Branscomb
Encyclopedia
Lewis M. Branscomb is an American physicist, government policy advisor, and corporate research manager. He is best known as former head of the National Bureau of Standards and, later, chief scientist of IBM; and as a prolific writer on science policy issues.
Following World War II service in the U.S. Navy, Branscomb received a B.A. in physics from Duke University
in 1945. He received his Ph.D. from Harvard in 1949, and remained two additional years as a Junior Fellow
. These years, and his interactions with scholars as diverse as Clyde Kluckhohn
, Merle Fainsod
, William Fairbank
, and Edward Purcell
, kindled a lifelong interest in broad policy issues. No less remembered from this period, Branscomb played the role of "Professor" in Tom Lehrer
's 1951 "The Physical Revue", premiering several Lehrer songs in early versions.
Branscomb joined the U.S. National Bureau of Standards in 1951 as a research physicist. Rising in management through several levels, he became the founding chair of the Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics
(JILA), and was in 1969 appointed director of the National Bureau of Standards by President Nixon. In 1972, Branscomb moved to IBM Corporation as vice president and chief scientist, and was later a member of the IBM Corporate Management Board. In 1986, he moved to Harvard as director of the Science, Technology and Public Policy Program in the John F. Kennedy School of Government
at Harvard University
, holding that position until 1996.
Branscomb was a member of President Johnson's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC} from 1964 to 1968, during which time (a critical early period of the Apollo program) he chaired PSAC's Panel on Space Science and Technology. Under President Reagan, he was a member of the National Productivity Advisory Committee and was chair of the National Science Board (1980-1984). Other honors include president of the American Physical Society
(1979), elected memberships in all three U.S. national academies (NAS
, NAE
, and IOM
)(as well as the American Philosophical Society
), and honorary degrees from 15 universities. In 1998, Branscomb was awarded the Okawa Prize "for outstanding contributions to the progress of informatics, scientific and technological policy and corporate management."
Branscomb is an author of more than 500 scholarly publications and 11 books. He has served on the boards of several corporations (including General Foods
and Mobil
) and many non-profit organizations. For a continuous period of 57 years Branscomb and/or his father, B. Harvie Branscomb
, served as a trustee of Vanderbilt University
.
Following World War II service in the U.S. Navy, Branscomb received a B.A. in physics from 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 1945. He received his Ph.D. from Harvard in 1949, and remained two additional years as a Junior Fellow
Harvard Society of Fellows
The Harvard Society of Fellows is a group of scholars selected at the beginning of their careers by Harvard University for extraordinary scholarly potential, upon whom distinctive academic and intellectual opportunities are bestowed in order to foster their individual growth and intellectual...
. These years, and his interactions with scholars as diverse as Clyde Kluckhohn
Clyde Kluckhohn
Clyde Kluckhohn , was an American anthropologist and social theorist, best known for his long-term ethnographic work among the Navajo and his contributions to the development of theory of culture within American anthropology.-Early life and education:...
, Merle Fainsod
Merle Fainsod
Merle Fainsod was an American political scientist best known for his work on public administration and as a scholar of the Soviet Union...
, William Fairbank
William M. Fairbank
William Martin Fairbank is an American physicist known in particular for his work on liquid helium....
, and Edward Purcell
Edward Mills Purcell
Edward Mills Purcell was an American physicist who shared the 1952 Nobel Prize for Physics for his independent discovery of nuclear magnetic resonance in liquids and in solids. Nuclear magnetic resonance has become widely used to study the molecular structure of pure materials and the...
, kindled a lifelong interest in broad policy issues. No less remembered from this period, Branscomb played the role of "Professor" in Tom Lehrer
Tom Lehrer
Thomas Andrew "Tom" Lehrer is an American singer-songwriter, satirist, pianist, mathematician and polymath. He has lectured on mathematics and musical theater...
's 1951 "The Physical Revue", premiering several Lehrer songs in early versions.
Branscomb joined the U.S. National Bureau of Standards in 1951 as a research physicist. Rising in management through several levels, he became the founding chair of the Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics
Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics
JILA, formerly known as the Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics, is one of the leading physical science research institutes in the United States. Its faculty, graduate students, and postdoctoral research associates explore some of today's most challenging and fundamental scientific questions...
(JILA), and was in 1969 appointed director of the National Bureau of Standards by President Nixon. In 1972, Branscomb moved to IBM Corporation as vice president and chief scientist, and was later a member of the IBM Corporate Management Board. In 1986, he moved to Harvard as director of the Science, Technology and Public Policy Program in the John F. Kennedy School of Government
John F. Kennedy School of Government
The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University is a public policy and public administration school, and one of Harvard's graduate and professional schools...
at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, holding that position until 1996.
Branscomb was a member of President Johnson's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC} from 1964 to 1968, during which time (a critical early period of the Apollo program) he chaired PSAC's Panel on Space Science and Technology. Under President Reagan, he was a member of the National Productivity Advisory Committee and was chair of the National Science Board (1980-1984). Other honors include president of the American Physical Society
American Physical Society
The American Physical Society is the world's second largest organization of physicists, behind the Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft. The Society publishes more than a dozen scientific journals, including the world renowned Physical Review and Physical Review Letters, and organizes more than 20...
(1979), elected memberships in all three U.S. national academies (NAS
National Academy of Sciences
National Academy of Sciences commonly refers to the academy in the United States of America.National Academy of Sciences may also refer to :* National Academy of Sciences of Argentina* Armenian National Academy of Sciences...
, NAE
National Academy of Engineering
The National Academy of Engineering is a government-created non-profit institution in the United States, that was founded in 1964 under the same congressional act that led to the founding of the National Academy of Sciences...
, and IOM
Institute of Medicine
The Institute of Medicine is a not-for-profit, non-governmental American organization founded in 1970, under the congressional charter of the National Academy of Sciences...
)(as well as the American Philosophical Society
American Philosophical Society
The American Philosophical Society, founded in 1743, and located in Philadelphia, Pa., is an eminent scholarly organization of international reputation, that promotes useful knowledge in the sciences and humanities through excellence in scholarly research, professional meetings, publications,...
), and honorary degrees from 15 universities. In 1998, Branscomb was awarded the Okawa Prize "for outstanding contributions to the progress of informatics, scientific and technological policy and corporate management."
Branscomb is an author of more than 500 scholarly publications and 11 books. He has served on the boards of several corporations (including General Foods
General Foods
General Foods Corporation was a company whose direct predecessor was established in the USA by Charles William Post as the Postum Cereal Company in 1895. The name General Foods was adopted in 1929, after several corporate acquisitions...
and Mobil
Mobil
Mobil, previously known as the Socony-Vacuum Oil Company, was a major American oil company which merged with Exxon in 1999 to form ExxonMobil. Today Mobil continues as a major brand name within the combined company, as well as still being a gas station sometimes paired with their own store or On...
) and many non-profit organizations. For a continuous period of 57 years Branscomb and/or his father, B. Harvie Branscomb
Harvie Branscomb
Bennett Harvie Branscomb served as the fourth chancellor of Vanderbilt University from 1946 to 1963.-Biography:...
, served as a trustee of Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University is a private research university located in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, the university is named for shipping and rail magnate "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided Vanderbilt its initial $1 million endowment despite having never been to the...
.
Books by Lewis Branscomb
- Beyond Spinoff: Military and Commercial Technologies in a Changing World, (with J. Alic, et.al., 1992)
- Empowering Technology: Implementing a U.S. Policy (1993)
- Confessions of a Technophile (1994)
- Converging Infrastructures: Intelligent Transportation and the National Information Infrastructure (with James Keller, 1996)
- Informed Legislatures: Coping with Science in a Democracy (with Megan Jones and David Guston, 1996)
- Korea at the Turning Point: Innovation-Based Strategies for Development (with H.Y. Choi, 1996)
- Investing in Innovation: Creating a Research and Innovation Policy that Works (with James Keller, eds., 1998)
- Industrializing Knowledge: University-Industry Linkages in Japan and the United States (with Fumio Kodama and Richard Florida, eds., 1999)
- Taking Technical Risks: How Innovators, Executives, and Investors Manage High-Tech Risks (with Philip E. Auerswald, 2001),
- Making the Nation Safer: The Role of Science and Technology in Countering Terrorism (co-chaired with Richard Klausner, Committee on S&T for Countering Terrorism, National Academies, 2002)
- Seeds of Disaster, Roots of Response: How Private Action can Reduce Public Vulnerability (with P. Auerswald, Todd M. LaPorte, and E. Michel-Kerjan, Cambridge University Press, September 2006)