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What role did the Office of Scientific Research and Development have in the Manhattan Project?
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Vannevar Bush
The first modern analog computer, the Differential Analyzer could solve certain classes of differential equations.
The Office of Scientific Research and Development (OSRD), led by Vannevar Bush, played a critical role in the Manhattan Project by providing the organizational and managerial leadership necessary to transform theoretical nuclear physics into a feasible military program.12
Key aspects of the OSRD's involvement included:
- Absorption of Early Research: The OSRD absorbed the Uranium Committee that had been established by President Roosevelt in 1939. Dissatisfied with the committee's slow progress and its initial report suggesting an atomic bomb might not be possible, Bush reorganized the committee and secured a new report confirming that a bomb was achievable and that Germany was likely ahead in its development.1
- Formal Oversight: On December 6, 1941, the OSRD was officially placed in charge of the project.2
- Facilitating "Big Science": Bush utilized the OSRD to direct government funding toward large-scale scientific research. By shifting the exorbitant costs of such projects from industry to the government, the OSRD made the massive infrastructure required for the Manhattan Project—including pilot plants and laboratories—financially and organizationally feasible.1
- Transition to Military Management: As the project grew, the OSRD shared responsibility with the War Department. By mid-1942, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers took over the management of construction and engineering, eventually leading to the project's expansion under the direction of General Leslie R. Groves.2