Virtual: “Manhattan, Moonshot, DotCom, and WarpSpeed: US Technology Policy for the 21st Century” Online
From 1941 to 1969, the United States leapt ahead of the rest of the world in every area of science and technology. This was no accident. It was the result of both emergency circumstances in World War II, and a purposeful set of federal policies crafted by scientists, technocrats, and military leaders in the aftermath of the War. From the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980 onward, these policies fell victim to both general post-Vietnam, post-Watergate distrust of government and privatization efforts driven largely by Wall Street. The SARS-CoV-2 global pandemic exposed the flaws in our abandonment of governmental support for science and technology, and drove even the most conservative officials to embrace a publicly funded effort to develop and distribute vaccines.
Lawrence Husick, a chemist, patent attorney, Foreign Policy Research Institute Senior Fellow, and professor will discuss the often-overlooked history of federal technology policy, and provide an outlook for the ways in which we may reignite US leadership in science and technology.
Registration is required. Registration will close 2 hours prior to the scheduled start time of the event. A Zoom link will be emailed to registrants 2 hours before the program starts. Make sure to check the email address you registered with to receive the link. You do not need a Zoom account to attend the virtual program.