NSB Mission

The mission of the Naval Studies Board, created in 1974 at the request of the Chief of Naval Operations, is to be a source of independent, long-range, scientific and technical planning advice for the Naval Forces. The Naval Studies Board charter also was endorsed by the Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Research and Development), and accepted without modification by the president of the National Academy of Sciences and chair of the National Research Council.

About NSB

The Naval Studies Board (NSB) is an operating unit of the National Academies, which operate under a charter granted by the United States Congress to provide independent scientific and technical advice to the government upon request. The NSB operates under the auspices of the NRC's Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences.

During its 34 years of operation, the NSB has accepted tasks involving virtually all of the scientific and engineering disciplines supported by the Department of the Navy and has conducted studies addressing the design and operation of satellites; C4I systems; stealth technology; atmospheric and subsurface sensors; ship, submarine, and aircraft architecture; weapons development; pollution control; human factors; and education and training. In addition, it has maintained within the NRC a resident expertise in all naval matters involving science and technology. The membership of the Naval Studies Board includes senior scientists and engineers who not only provide oversight, but also participate in leadership positions within the Board's studies.

NSB Sponsorship

The Department of the Navy has been a major sponsor of studies since the establishment of the National Academy of Sciences in 1863. The National Research Council, at the request of the Department of the Navy, has maintained standing naval advisory committees, now represented by the Naval Studies Board, continuously since 1946. The NSB, as it exists today, was formally established in 1974 and continues to draw its support from the Department of the Navy.

NSB History

In 1946, following a long period of ad hoc studies (from 1863 to 1945), the newly established Office of Naval Research (ONR) requested that the Academy establish a standing committee to advise the Navy on technical matters relating to submarine design and systems technology. The resulting Committee on Undersea Warfare drew its initial membership from the Subsurface Warfare Section of the wartime National Defense Research Committee. In 1955, the ONR again called on the Academy, requesting that it accept responsibility for the Mine Advisory Committee. That Committee, which had been established in 1951 under the administration of the Catholic University of America in response to the experience with the minefield that blocked the invasion of Wonson, Korea, in 1950, was responsible for advising the Navy on research for the development of mines and effective countermeasures to them.

These two proactive committees, composed initially of scientists and engineers, produced approximately 200 reports in the years between 1946 and 1973. In 1973, the Chief of Naval Operations asked the president of the National Academy of Sciences to extend the charter of its naval advisory committees beyond the two existing warfare areas and form an advisory organization "to which [the] Navy could turn for advice on any area of its responsibility involving the interplay of science and technology with other national issues." In response, the Naval Studies Board, assuming the purview of both the Mine Advisory Committee and the Committee on Undersea Warfare, was established in 1974 and continues to operate today. Over the years its activities have reflected the language of the original request; to wit, its studies have dealt with the basic and applied science associated with virtually every area of the Navy's overall mission.

As the Cold War escalated and technology improved, the Navy's mission and focus shifted. One result was the creation of the NSB's Panel on the Implications of Future Space Systems for the U.S. Navy (the Space Panel). During the Space Panel's operation, from 1978 to 1990, twelve reports were issued and two symposiums were held to advance the Navy's understanding of the importance of space and its threat to the Navy. As the significance of information networks and the issue of controlling the battlespace became apparent, the Navy responded by creating centers and programs dedicated to the challenges of these areas.

With the end of the Cold War, the Navy and Marine Corps redefined their missions in order to recognize the changing conflict spectrum and post bi-polar international political landscape. These new strategies were embodied in two Navy-Marine Corps white papers, "... From the Sea" and "Forward ... From the Sea." At the request of then LtGen C.C. Krulak and VADM W.A. Owens, the NSB studied the implications of advancing technology and the new strategic and military operational needs to respond to regional conflicts in the world's littoral zones. Since the early 1990s, the NSB has actively assisted the Navy and Marine Corps team in a number of areas, including the identification of transition strategies that would enable the Marine Corps concept, "Operational Maneuver From the Sea." Subsequently, the Board formally established a liaison relationship with the U.S. Marine Corps in 1996.