175 NASA asked the most qualified and most knowledgeable scientists to serve on the subcommittees and many agreed to serve. The intense competition and the scrutiny of their peers forced them to examine competing proposals in great detail in order to understand their strengths and weaknesses and to be able to justify the subcommittees' recommendations. There is no way to assemble a group of scientists with the requisite knowledge and experience to, evaluate a group of scientific proposals without, at the same time, assembling their particular prejudices, including their lack of time to carefully read all the proposals and their tendency to follow the herd in making decisions. Some will have to pontificate, thereby using up available time so that the final decisions will be made in haste in the closing hours of the meeting, with half the group gone and the other half eyeing the clock to be sure they catch their plane home. In convening such a group, a compromise will always have to be reached between using the most competent scientists and avoiding conflicts of interest.
Academic participation helps ensure rapid dissemination of the scientific results into society.
Institutions that operate large research facilities must have a cadre of highly competent scientists to help plan and operate the facility. They are needed to ensure that the facility, whether a telescope or a spacecraft, is built to meet the scientific objectives and does not become merely an engineering marvel. These scientists at the facility must be able to conduct their own research projects. Knowledgeable scientists, who are not in competition for funds or the right to use the facility, should oversee the selection process in order to enable academic scientists and scientists operating the facility to compete on an equitable footing. Both groups of scientists are essential for a sound, creative, long-range research program.