Though the United States government had begun seriously investing in scientific research for national security since World War I, it was only in late 1930s and 1940s that monumental amounts of resources were committed or coordinated to wartime scientific problems, under the auspices first of the National Defense Research Committee, and later the Office of Scientific Research and Development, organized and administered by the MIT engineer Vannevar Bush.
Meskipun pemerintah Amerika Serikat telah mulai menginves dalam riset sains untuk keamanan nasional sejak Perang Dunia I, namun baru pada akhir 1930-an dan 1940-an jumlah sumber daya menentukan yang dilaksanakan dan diatur untuk masalah saintifik perang, di bawah bantuan National Defense Research Committee, dan kemudian oleh Office of Scientific Research and Development, diatur dan diadministrasi oleh teknisi MIT Vannevar Bush.